We Interrupt this Blog Break...

.....with an actual post!  My apologies for not getting back to the Alaska trip coverage.  Hopefully that can resume at a later date.

Since November, my thoughts have been more focused on a different topic--weddings! : )  Yes, plural!

T and J announced their engagement in November!

M and B announced their engagement in December!

Oh dear, I may have to break down and start using actual names on my blog, or we'll all be totally confused.  : )  It won't even work to use last name initials, as those overlap with some of our first name initials!  Yep, I think it may be time.

So.......

Matthew (our oldest) and Brittany will be married in Louisiana, where she is from, the beginning of May!

Trina (our youngest) and Josh's wedding will be here, at our home church, the end of June.

Meanwhile, in January, Kelsey (our second born) and Adam bought their first house, an older farmhouse, that they are so happy to call theirs!  That meant the fun of helping with their move.  (Really, it was fun!)  Of course Benny and I realized there will be two more moves to help with later in the year, so guess we were just getting practiced up!

 (taken at annual New Year's Eve party, this year at Other Farming Couple's home)

Spring Hodge-Podge

It was fun to see these colorful train engines one day.

A pastor from Papua New Guinea visited our area. M, B, and our pastor showed him around. He enjoyed seeing a Kansas farm first-hand.

Pastor C takes a break!
This is taken at Alcove Springs, a stop along the Oregon Trail.
They also took him to the dairy where T used to work, checked out the calves, and helped with the milking!

Then it was back to our place for kite flying and our first picnic of the year!
Another Spring day in April the director of a day care in a nearby town asked M to come over and fly kites with the kids. Good thing B, B's sister K, and I went along to help. They've mostly gone back inside now, but there were bunches of kids who tried their hands at flying kites!

We celebrated Easter at K and A's, their first time hosting family for a holiday. They did a fine job!

A trunk back of the van full of Spring!

Sarah Circle handed out the pansies after church for May Day gifts.

Yes, though it took its sweet time getting here, Spring has sprung!

Miscellaneous Winter Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, someone told me it was Spring! What? I didn't get any pictures from winter posted! So, without further ado, this past winter included.....

A caroling party
Celebrating Christmas (A, K, T, and M)
Gathering with family
A new game... ...or two
Starting the New Year out on the right foot
A little snow and a lot of cold

The basement walls finally getting some border, which we bought years ago, before border was "out of style." Isn't that right, Mom? ;)

A Swedish supper with church and neighborhood friends

And adding a "few" more miles to the van!
(if you enlarge the photo, you'll see that's five zeros after the two)

Some September/October Stuff

Seven sweet kittens--do you see all of them?

A.'s prize-winning horseshoe pitching form.

Dahlia and cosmos by the barn.

T and M at her new place

T's first kitty, Spud. Only 5-6 months old here, I think he's going to be a Big cat!

We enjoy having friends over to fly kites. This looks much better if enlarged.
This is what's at the other end of those lines!

Our swing tree in October

The Big Day

Time to finish posting about this wedding, don't you think?

(Thank you to my sister-in-law for the photos taken in the sanctuary.)

-Early morning at the church-
The hairdresser blessed us by coming there to save on extra trips into town!

-The girls-

-My two favorite girls and me-

-Filling in some extra time-

-The flower girl fixing a little snack before the ceremony-

-Pastor with B and my mom-

A's mom and I had the privilege of lighting the candles.

-The guys-

-Concentrating on their tasks-

-My dear B, with a serious job to do-

-Bubbles for the newlyweds!-

I just enjoyed the reception, so didn't take any photos of that. The hall was decorated beautifully with navy and bright pink, and included many fresh flowers from B's sister; my brother, P, did a great job of emceeing; everyone liked the photo booth; the food was delicious; and it was a fun, relaxed time with family and friends!

-Time for Mr. and Mrs. to leave the reception-

-But maybe not quite yet-

-At least not without a little help-

Best wishes, K & A, with prayers for a long and happy life together.
We love you!

25

Happy Birthday, M!

These first twenty-five years of having you for a son have been great, and we look forward to many more. Hope you had as much fun celebrating today's birthday as you did your first one! (or maybe more--You can't tell by the smile in this picture, but you actually weren't feeling all that great. You were coming down with roseola, though we didn't know it at the time of the party.)
We love you, our Gift from God! --Mom and Dad

Live and Learn

Something funny happened happened on M's birthday earlier this summer. Can you tell what from the photo?Here's what happened.
We had been having a lot of cake, so to celebrate M's birthday, I decided to make his favorite--peach pie. Had filling in the freezer, so that was no problem. I "always" make my own crust, but for some reason had some store-bought ones in the freezer, so decided to use those. That might have been okay for a one-crust pie, but it didn't turn out so good for a two-crust. These crusts were smaller than what I usually make, so there wasn't room for all the filling. Even without using all of it, the filling bubbled over. At least the pan caught it, instead of making a mess in the oven. It was late, I was tired, and I had actually forgotten to cut vent holes or make any kind of design in the top. It didn't look right for pie, but oh well, it would still taste good.
The pie was done.
Time to celebrate.
Put the candles in so we can light them and sing "Happy Birthday!"
Oh no!
Quick, get them out!
Moral of the story--Wax candles don't hold up so good in hot-from-the-oven-pie!