Christmas In Arkansas

We woke up to a winter wonderland Wednesday after Christmas

Christmas morning the kids had some surprises in their stockings.

Joy dressed to the nines for Christmas eve.

Josiah dressed up, too, and brightened up for the occasion of gift opening. (He fought a fever that finally broke Friday afternoon.)

Our children received this manger last Christmas. Joy set it up this year, notice the angels on top of the stable.

A Great Concert In Missouri

We had a terrific concert in Republic, Missouri.

Josiah shared some great sounds. He and Joel have been working on a song they call "The Train." They also played "Jesus Loves Me."

Then Joy had an opportunity to play the ukelele and violin.

California - Pacific Coast Beach

We had a great time at Newport Beach.

This was the first time Joy and Josiah got to run on the beach of the Pacific Ocean. They had a great time running from the waves and got wetter than planned.

They even found a chance to just walk away from us.

Grand Canyon National Park South Rim

Pictures just cannot do justice to landscape after a global flood!

We met a family in the Grand Canyon who had visited two years earlier when the ground was covered with three feet of snow and the temperatures were in the teens. We had lots of sunshine and night temperatures in near 30 degrees. Who could ask for more?

We parked south of Tusayan, Arizona less than twenty miles from the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park. We had no neighbors during our four days of boondocking among the trees.

Anniversary Number 22!

We celebrated our anniversary while spending time near Grand Canyon National Park. The food and service, by Jesus, at the Coronado Room were great.

New for 2012

We left South Dakota on December 26th while the weather was holding. The most snow we saw on our way to Arizona was in Grants, New Mexico where they had had two storms: one brought 14 inches of snow and the other brought 8 inches. The city isn't prepared for the removal of that much snow, there were rutted streets and piles of snow everywhere.

Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Finnesgards one week early at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Bismarck, North Dakota. All of us were together with the exception of our nephew, Jesse Baade.
This is only a portion of the gifts and givers. We had a terrific time and enjoyed being together.


Monday before Christmas my Dad, Lu, visited us. We had a delicious meal at the Centerville Steakhouse with him one evening.

Life Is Short

We've had a very eventful week. One that I hope will not be repeated for a long time, if ever. My Mom, Addie, passed away Thursday from severe heart failure. She lived a full vibrant life of seventy-three years. Services will be held in Maddock, ND on Monday and in Toronto, SD on Wednesday.

I celebrated my birthday yesterday with a wonderful evening dinner with my husband and children. It is such a blessing to spend time with our children.

We took a quick trip to Medora, ND to do some sight seeing, shopping and enjoy the Medora Musical. These pictures were taken that day in front of the Rough Rider Hotel and the candy store.

More with Friends from Years-Gone-By

Glenn and Barbara Larsen came to celebrate Josiah's 3rd birthday! We had a great time!

We had terrific weather, too. It was near 70 with the sun shining and limited wind.

Of course we had to be inside for cake, ice cream and playing with gifts.

Visiting Friends from Years-Gone-By

While we spend some time in Arkansas we will have a few opportunities to visit with Glenn and Barbara Larsen. Glenn was Joel's pastor in Crosby, North Dakota during high school. They live in Arkansas where winters are supposed to be milder. This winter they had some snow.

This picture is from March 8th last year (2010).

Grace Card Movie

We don't often go to movies (it is hard with a preschool daughter and toddler son) and don't often promote movies but this is one worth your time. It is opening weekend for The Grace Card a movie of forgiveness and restoration. Locate a theater where it is showing at the website.

End of February

It is almost March and we've had some great weather in Gulfport, Mississippi. We have had temperatures in the 60's the last few days. Today we played tennis in the rain. My first time playing in rain. Unfortunately I was not on the winning side.

Happy New Year!

What happened to that "global warming?" Temperatures in Gulfport, Mississippi are close to 20 degrees below average for this time of year. We are staying warm with electric heaters and our furnace periodically. We are glad to be here rather than in other areas of the country with colder, more severe weather.

Sarah Getto

Joy was inspired by Sarah Getto, a terrific musician/entertainer, who was blind at birth and has accomplished so much. We had the opportunity to meet her in Texas last February.

One More Fantastic Year! Twenty-One!

We celebrated our twenty-first anniversary with a wonderful dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse. This year I received a bouquet of twelve beautiful red roses that kept getting fuller for about a week before showing some age. Aren't they outstanding?

Mississippi Christmas

We are enjoying a cool spell in Mississippi while much of the country is covered in snow.

We will be spending the rest of December and January in Mississippi and then move into Louisiana for February. A new strategy that Joel has implemented when we have an open Wednesday or Sunday evening is to visit area churches that could potentially become a concert opportunity. It has been working well since our schedule has been a bit on the light side.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Cumberland Falls

We had a terrific afternoon at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky.

Kentucky has been experiencing a drought. The fall colors are unusually dull and leaves are falling immediately after changing.

Spring? or Winter?

But we haven't seen the end of winter.

Spring is here!

State to State

We've put on a few miles since last October.