CT update

Now that my computer is up and running I am hoping to do some more designing for Blind Sight Designs. Here is my latest layout using her Family Ties Kit.

Labor Day Weekend

It's funny how all summer the weather was cold and breezy... except for Memorial Weekend, The Fourth of July and Labor Day Weekend. At least that is how I will remember this summer.

We spent the weekend with my family out at Lake Alexander. Surprisingly, we got to visit with everyone's family this year.

Matt came out without the rest of his family... work... Brittany turned 21...

Jeremy and Angie stayed for the weekend, a pleasant surprise since they usually stay home and enjoy family time on Pierz Lake.

Tom and Dayna brought up Dayna's mom, Summer. She moved to Minnesota this a few months ago. She has such a positive outlook on Minnesota and Minnesota weather, we'll see how she feels after the winter cold stretch.

Mike came out with the kids... no Amy, I think she's busy studying. Gracie celebrated her birthday with a home made cake. Yummy! She was also wearing the cutest outfit, but she changed before I could snap a picture.

Sarah and the kids stopped by on Monday, they had just returned from their summer vacation in Arkansas. They brought back cool crystal they chiseled off the mountains.

Pat and Sarah were up for the first half of the weekend.

Jim and Dez brought out James for a day. We looked at some of her dress options for the wedding, talked about colors... etc. James starts kindergarten, along with Eli, this year. Soooo according to Dez she's ready to have another baby.

Johnny and Meagan were out for a little while. They were gone before I got a chance to sit and talk with them, but we caught up with them last weekend. John is back to school, so I'm guessing he left to study as well.

Even Jacob was out for the weekend. He is still in Fargo, but working in Jamestown. He spends the day compacting sand by remote control.

Meagan bailed on us, she had to work. Levi bailed on us... too poor to visit, but he should be home TODAY!!!! He has a short leave before he heads to Mississippi. Luke came along to visit Milissa, he probably would have bailed if she wasn't at the lake. He is back at the U of M today. Senior year, and I forgot to take a back to school picture....argh! Maybe his Dad can come through, more likely we'll have to fake it tomorrow.

And last but not least... Curt and Nancy and Mary and the kids were out. Curt is teaching in Randall this year.

That's the latest, I'll take time to add pictures shortly. Back to work and back to school...

Summer, parting is such sweet sorrow!

Rebuilding New Orleans

March 2007 we took the boys to New Orleans hoping to find work that needed to be done. If you talked to anyone in the family, you know they weren't ready for our help. They suggested we enjoy what New Orleans had to offer, and to return home to promote "coming back to New Orleans."

Well we had a fabulous time enjoying the bayous, shopping, architecture, food, and New Orleans traditions.

This past summer our church's youth group was heading down to New Orleans for a rebuilding mission trip, organized by Youthworks. Two weeks before their trip they put a call out at Sunday mass looking for a volunteer driver. Since Bob has so much free time, and he didn't really rebuild the first time he was in New Orleans, and he really loved the experiences we had while we were there, and we love the enthusiasm of our youth director, and ..... well there wasn't really any reason for him not to volunteer, he volunteered. a couple days before he left he said they had room for one more chaperon, and I really had no reason not to help out.... SO we both headed to New Orleans with St. Joe's youth mission group.

We really didn't know what we were signing up to do. We knew no one other than Denise the youth director and only in a very professional manner. Our first lesson was taught on the road trip down. Red (girls) and Blue (boys) don't mix... ie. make purple! We had to make a detour to pick up an additional mattress. What were we thinking? In seven days I seen less of Bob than I typically see him in a day.

Here's a glimpse of our experience...

The city of New Orleans is a vibrant city that boasts some of the greatest entertainment and finest cuisine in the world. Residents welcome tourists to the city with hospitality and flair. But in 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans with devastating results. Eighty percent of the city flooded—much of it completely destroyed—leaving thousands of people homeless. Your group has a unique opportunity to partner with local ministries in their amazing recovery efforts. You’ll help wherever you are needed most, through work projects, children’s ministry and more. -youthworks

Bob's group helped Miss Margaret work on her house, painting and yard work. Her yard has not been touched since the hurricane in 2005. Bob has a great story she shared about how she was rescued in a boat and how the boat was found lying on a road sign two years later.

They also worked with the youth at Kingsley House, imagine 8 hours of piggy back rides.

My group work with Recovery School District. We painted the second floor hallway of Charles Drew Elementary. It hard to imagine a public school in such poor condition. The second and third floors were not even damaged by the flood, but the quality of the decor was way below standards.

BEFORE

AFTER the first coat

My Group

My group also worked with the youth of New Orleans creating and implementing "Kid's Club." I monitored the craft room... pop tab bracelets.

Both groups also spent time with the elderly.

We traveled all that way and my favorite part of the trip was getting to know the outstanding youth in our community. They are all leaders with an unending amount of generosity to share. We are so fortunate to have amazing children coming up behind us.

If you have never "payed it forward" whether it's with a church group or not, I would highly recommend it. The amount you gain is so much more than you can give and even greater than you could imagine.

I got my kid fix

The girls pose with flowers.

Who said flowers were for girls???

Jordon... not to be left out.

Mike is such a lucky guy!

What does six days + six children= ???

A whole lot of fun. I spent the past week with a few of my favorite kids, and I think I can survive for a while. We went to Como Zoo, Como Town, Lake Josephine beach, Bunker Beach, Brunswick Bowl and Arcade, we played restaraunt, bocce ball, caught over 40 crayfish, went tubing, played badmitton.... FUN OVERLOAD!!!

Thanks kids!

Fourth of July Weekend 2009

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A visit from Zachery

I can hear the complaining already.... Auntie Nancy, it's not "a" ry....

Sorry, I just noticed I spelled the kid's name wrong. Oooops!

So Zachery is back to visit since his tour in Iraq. We had a busy couple of days with him. Hopefully he'll have time to stop back before he heads back to base.

On Sunday my cousin Curt brought his family over to visit. He was taking Milissa to tour the U of M. She's there oldest. What a mile stone, shopping for colleges. I wonder if it makes them feel old? According to Meagan we are the worst parents alive, because she didn't get to go on any college tours. Boo hoo.

We hung out with the rest of family. Lydia was a perfect little angel. Of course she had a lot of attention. My cousin Ang sent her baby, Garret (16), to Curt's house for a few weeks this summer, and he decided to hang back with us until the 4th. I'm not sure if it is a coincidence or not but... I do think the whole slew of them; Luke, Milissa, Garret, Zach (Korey's) and most of Luke's friends have similar personalities. They are very intellectual, or they think they know everything. At least they have each other to have meaningful conversations with, since the rest of us are SOOOO foolish. Just Kidding!!! well, maybe not! Anyways, I've enjoyed having Garret over, since we rarely see them, and when we do he is usually quiet. I guess that was just a comfort level, because he is a blast. Oh yes, he's helpful too, he even dusted by basement without being asked. Nice kid.

Bob's brother and part of his family came over to visit Zach. They live next door (Farmington) and we barely see them also, there baby is now the tallest in the family! Boy are our kid's growing up fast.

Luke came back from France on Monday. I guess he had a fun time. He has 4000 picture's! You'll have to ask him about it when you see him. His favorite story is his geochaching experience. He really suffered from jet lag, but I believe his back to normal now.

Maegan came home for the night to vist everyone.. always good to see her.

Then yesterday we took Zachery up to see his Mom. He met his new brother, Steven Holiday. That makes seven for Karen and she claims she's done. Finally!

Steven is doing really good. He was a little fussy when we got there, but he loved Zachery. As soon as Zach started palying with him he was all smiles and giggles.

Well, we are off the Jeremy and Angies for the fourth! Thanks to all those who serve our country.

and

God Bless America!

Zachary's Visit

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