SUMMER NOOS SO FAR...

As mentioned, today is the last day of school.  After wrapping up a few minor things and doing some cleaning, we will be off for a picnic with the whole school.  We planned on going down to the Johnson River again since the kids really liked that last year, but I don’t know if there is a nice sandy place for us like there we’ve had before.  Ann was going to check it out last night.

The last week has been very hot.  Three forest fires have sprung up in the area – one near the Gerstle River, one near Tok (with voluntary evacuations), and one on the road into the Pogo mine.  Today seems cooler, I can’t tell if it’s because of cloud cover or smoke cover or both.  It is 47° at 6:30 am.

Yesterday was Rus and Millie’s 60^th wedding anniversary.  Some of the girls – Wendy, Carolyn, Kim, and ???? made a special cake for them and cake for all of us.  Yesterday also marked 10 yrs since Bro Larry Cox passed away.  It seems hard to believe that Bro Larry has been gone that long.  I still have papers in my school work that have his writing on them.  He has been missed!

Seth’s graduation went very well.  Someday I might put together a little paper on it so I can share a little of the graduation with you all.  It was definitely short and sweet.  

Judy and Steve arrived home this week. 

I’m sure there is more news, but I need to make breakfast and get ready for this exciting last day of school. 

Here are some links that I found on the fires.  http://news.mywebpal.com/index.cfm?pnpid=1040  and  http://www.adn.com/2010/05/26/1296026/wildfire-quickly-threatens-tanacross.html

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The school picnic went famously.  We went to the Johnson River where the kids could roam far and near, wade in little riverlets, and roll in silty sand.  It was a wonderful day.

There are many fires all around us.  We’ve actually not had a lot of smoke here, yet, but I heard that Delta and Tok were terrible.  Today was hot, which was enjoyable, but we really could use some rain.

Tomorrow is farm clean up day.  Garth usually has jobs lined up for all of us.  We are broken into groups to do clean up, farm maintenance, and farm improvements.

Someday, maybe, we’ll plant our garden. 

JonLeo, Sarh's nephew from CA, will stay for the summer.  He is totally enjoying himself so far!  he is 12 I think and loves it here! The other day, Rich was walking by the hay barn when he heard a thud and someone started yelling.  Jon Leo was throwing hay bales down from the hay stack to the hay wagon; Jon went with the hay bale.  He scratched and bruised his back a wee bit, but he is otherwise fine. 

Bethany Chartier has gone home for two months.  Olivia Geyer went on a trip to Canada and the states for 6 weeks. 

More another day.

Why Women Are So Special.

Why Women Are So Special.   Mum and Dad were watching TV when Mum said, "I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed." She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning. She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button. She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer. She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the excursion and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair. She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her bag. Mum then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night Solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth. Dad called out, "I thought you were going to bed." "I'm on my way," she said. She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.. She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and radios, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals. About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. "I'm going to bed." And he did...without another thought. Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer...? 'CAUSE THEY ARE MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL......... (and they can't die sooner, they still have things to do!!!!) Send this to five phenomenal women today...they' ll love you for it! And Forward this to as many men as you can so that they know why women are so special :) ..........! God's very own creation! :)

                       AND THEN YOU TURNED 17…

My beautiful Annie,

Here are 17 things I love about you. I wanted to write them down in honor of your sweet 17th. Wow! Already? Where did my little girl go…well she is all “growed up” and into a lovely young lady to boot…what more could a mother want?

1.             You will still give me a hug or an unexpected kiss on the cheek.

2.            You have beautiful, delicate hands and I love the way they glide so effortlessly over the piano keys, making lovely music.

3.             Those hands look delicate but they are strong and steady, giving amazing foot and back rubs to anyone who needs them. You like to serve.

4.            You know yourself very well.

5.     You have a great fashion and color  sense and are quick to tell me when I’m dressing like an old frump.

6.     I love the way you look like a French  artist in your flamboyant red beret and specs and scarves.

7.        I am so proud of you when people tell me how lovely and talented you are!

8.          You have a wonderful sense for design and line and  I    love your art and the way you are developing it.

9.          You don’t see the need for a boyfriend right now.

10.                  You love your friends and show great loyalty. 

11.       I love the way you care for your little brother, even when he is a challenge.

12.       You see people’s needs and want to help.

13.        You love your Grams and are willing to help her out with chores and just by being there for her.

14.       You love deeply, laugh loudly, sing beautifully,  and try to boss your little brother boldly!

15.        You help your Dad by doing chores when he is not around.

16.       You do what needs to be done without being   asked.

17.        You are beautiful in every way.

What an honor to call you my daughter. My Annie.

God bless you richly and give you the desires of your heart as you seek Him in your life daily.

I love you,

Mum

Dry Creek, May 26^th. 2010

MAY NOOS CONT....PRE GRAD...MADNESS...

Hi everyone,

We had a busy, enjoyable, sunny weekend.  There is a ton of family from the Jepsen (because of Seth) and Mehaffeys (because of Kelsey)...lots of cars and people...don't know where Sarah Jep is putting everybody...glad it's not my cabin! ha!

Prins and Linda Samuels came out share/preach on Sunday morning.  Prins gave a small travelogue of his recent travels in India.  Then he preached on drinking of the Living Waters.  Very good.  Tom led worship.  J

Serena and Michael Augustin and their three boys came out yesterday to visit my folks and us.  We had enjoyable time with them. 

This morning my students are testing to make sure they can pass into their next grades – not really. We give the Iowa state tests every other year, but it is as much for us teachers as it is for the students.  Obviously, if a student shouldn’t be in a certain grade, the Iowa’s would confirm that, but also, if we aren’t doing a good job as teachers in certain subjects, this is where it would show up. 

This Saturday is Seth and Kelsey’s graduation.  We are having the commencement exercises at 3 pm followed by a meal, slide show, and dessert.  That will be followed by fellowship and a soft ball game, I think. 

The following Sunday, because we will have cancelled church due to the graduation, the men are having some sort of shoot thing out at the runway. 

Allyson, Joey, and Kelsey start some online college classes this week for their EMT training furthering.  They will take this class online with the phone every Monday and Wednesday evening from 5 – 7 pm. 

Our ambulance and EMTs have been getting at least one call per week, it seems.  They have to go fetch people from the highway, do immediate assessments and whatever before running them to Tok and/or Fairbanks. 

One of Micah and Robin’s therapists and a musician friend  came out Friday and again on Sunday.  Margie, Rob's sped  showed us how she draws; the music guy did some piano/singing lessons after supper last night. Sort of a Susuki method...pretty interesting!Then Vanderharts and myself took them on a tour of the farm. They are Christians so appreciated what we are doing here even more..

May Buongiorne gave us a detailed and interesting travelogue last Sun. of her 5 months spent overseas.  I put a short iMovie clip on you tube so you all could see it if you’d like.  We compiled some of May’s photos into a nice slide show. I am now working on putting them into a memento memory book via My Publisher...Mac does such a good job!

Erica, my niece, and her new hubby, Robert Farrin,  stopped through before they left for California and New York last weekend.  Erica called on Sunday morning to say that they had made it through Canada and now were back in the US. I think they are settling somewhere in NY eventually, at a base there.

Dropped Beth W at the airport and she called later on to say it was an uneventful trip. Leg was sore but made it OK. Doctor's visit confirmed no infection but still pretty bruised and will take another 2 months till can even try to walk...a long road ahead. Bless her!

On same trip Flo had an "episode" and doc caught her heart acting up so in a sense that was good. They hooked her up and took an echo reading and gave her some new meds. The rest of the day was spent shopping and going to Rob's dental eval.

Seems he needs an aggressive retainer spacer...so we are looking into getting him fixed up with that..hopefully funds will come in from various sources...

PatLou's back from small fire and now back in Wasilla until further notice. Beth and him together for a while until she goes to her summer spot in Cordova to be with some friends and their kids.

Well gotta go cook and prep for the big meal tomorrow...

Enough news for now – have a great week end! 

BLESSINGTON, ETC. SHORT SLIDE SHOW

">

SPRING HAS SPRUNG...AND all that stuff...

So glad to have my Maymay back...safe and sound. We are working on a picture show from her hundreds of photos!!

It has started to snow – can you believe that?

Caseys (Bill, Kathy, Joey, Peter, Stacey) and Fouses have flown to Redding, CA for Stephen’s wedding which is happening this weekend.  (Steph, we’re thinking of you!!!!!  Trusting EVERYTHING goes smoothly and wonderfully.)  

The farm is kinda empty...seems like lots of people gone.

Group of young folk going to Whitestone this week end for a graduation ceremony, they finish earlier than we do. I think our school is out May 28th.

Flo and self are gonna drive ourselves to town and have a nice Mother's Day dinner special...!!

A crew of the loggers have gone to Fbks for a couple of days to build a house kit. 

Jo’s honey bees have been staying clustered in the hive eating sugar water with this “wonderful” weather.  Last week, we had plenty of rain and chilliness. 

Bethany W is slowly mending, plenty of bed rest, icing, young girls are taking turns visiting as are others through the day. 

School kids have a serious case of spring fever, hard to have them in school, still another month. Help!

Big Pat's still in Cordova...merrily fixin and tuning pianners...coming back Sun....hardly hear from him so know he is busy.

PatLou at his new post as medic/hotshot for the Galena Fire crew...sort of like a boot camp with early morning runs and lots of workouts...hope her does well.

I better get to devotions and school – I just wanted to see if you all would feel sorry for us with our great weather. :)

Have a awesome day!  

MISS CARA SENT ROB A HANDPAINTED ORIGINAL!! THANKS !!

ROB WAS AT A LOSS FOR WORDS (YEAH RIGHT!) SO HE PLAYED HER A TUNE INSTEAD...

MEXICAN HIGHSCHOOL SPANISH CLASS FIESTA!!

My Spanish Fiesta was a success..my students and rest of young people were awesome...a great time was had by all!
Check out the pics on my FB profile.

Thanks to all who participated...even Rob came at the end to take  a swipe at the piniata...and Emely Nerbonne...kids ended up inviting all the highschool plus rest of young adults so it was a nice crowd...food was abundant and plenty to spare...haha

Miss Jeni (Nerbonne) was awesome, could not hv done without her...thanks Jen...!

We tried our hand with the fried ice cream which is actually a Mexican delicacy...and it worked...girls coated the icecream balls about 3 times with cream and graham crackers and made a nice coating that was fine in the hot oil (course a very quick dip in it!)...I made my signature flans which is also a Spanish traditional...this time I baked in a deep muffin pan and they came out very well, topped with whipped cream.

Here's the link for the pics...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47658&id=1585591801&l=b531eff4c6

PARA REIRSE....

Esto te va a hacer reír, me lo mandó mi hermana Marina:

 Dicen que todos los días tenemos que comer una manzana por el hierro y un plátano, por el potasio. También una naranja, para la vitamina C, medio melón para mejorar la digestión y una taza de té verde sin azúcar, para prevenir la diabetes..  Todos los días hay que tomar dos litros de agua (sí, y luego mearlos, que lleva como el doble del tiempo que llevó tomárselos)..  Todos los días hay que tomarse un Activia o un Yogurt para tener 'L. Cassei Defensis', que nadie sabe qué mierda es, pero parece que si no te tomas un millón y medio todos los días, empiezas a ver a la gente como borrosa.  Cada día una aspirina, para prevenir los infartos, más un vaso de vino tinto, para lo mismo. Y otro de blanco, para el sistema nervioso. Y uno de cerveza, que ya no me acuerdo para qué era. Si te lo tomas todo junto, por más que te dé un derrame ahí mismo, no te preocupes pues probablemente ni te enteres.  Todos los días hay que comer fibra. Mucha, muchísima fibra, hasta que logres defecar un sweater. Hay que hacer entre cuatro y seis comidas diarias, livianas, sin olvidarte de masticar cien veces cada bocado. Haciendo un pequeño cálculo, sólo en comer se te van como cinco horitas.  Ah, después de cada comida hay que lavarse los dientes, o sea: después del Activia y la fibra los dientes, después de la manzana los dientes, después del plátano los dientes... y así mientras tengas dientes, sin olvidar pasarte el hilo dental, masajeador de encías, buche con Plax...  Mejor amplía el baño y mete el equipo de música, porque entre el agua, la fibra y los dientes, te vas a pasar varias horas por día ahí adentro.  Hay que dormir ocho horas y trabajar otras ocho, más las cinco que empleamos en comer, veintiuno. Te quedan tres, siempre que no te agarre algún imprevisto. Según las estadísticas, vemos tres horas diarias de televisión. Bueno, ya no puedes porque todos los días hay que caminar por lo menos media hora (dato por experiencia: a los 15 minutos regresa, si no la media hora se te hace una).  Y hay que cuidar las amistades porque son como una planta: hay que regarlas a diario. Y cuando te vas de vacaciones también, supongo. Además, hay que estar bien informado, así que hay que leer por lo menos dos diarios y algún artículo de revista, para contrastar la información. ¡Ah!, hay que tener sexo todos los días, pero sin caer en la rutina: hay que ser innovador, creativo, renovar la seducción. Eso lleva su tiempo. ¡Y ni qué hablar si es sexo tántrico!! (al respecto te recuerdo: después de cada comida hay que cepillarse los dientes!).  También hay que hacer tiempo para barrer, lavar la ropa, los platos, y no te digo si tienes perro u otra mascota... ¿hijos?!  En fin, a mí la cuenta me da unas 29 horas diarias. La única posibilidad que se me ocurre es hacer varias de estas cosas a la vez, por ejemplo: Te duchas con agua fría y con la boca abierta así te tragas los 2 litros de agua.  Mientras sales del baño con el cepillo de dientes en la boca le vas haciendo el amor (tántrico) parado a tu pareja, que de paso mira la TV y te cuenta, mientras barres. ¿Te quedó una mano libre? Llama a tus amigos.. ¡Y a tus padres!! Tómate el vino (después de llamar a tus padres te va a hacer falta). El Yakult con la manzana te lo puede dar tu pareja mientras se come el plátano con el Activia, y mañana cambian. Y menos mal que ya crecimos, porque si no nos tendríamos que clavar un Danonino Extra Calcio todos los días.  ¡Úuuuf! Pero si te quedan 2 minutos, reenvíale esto a los amigos (que hay que regar como las plantas) mientras tomas una cucharadita de All Bran, que hace muy bien... Y ahora te dejo porque entre el yogur, el medio melón, la cerveza, el primer litro de agua y la tercera comida con fibra del día, ya no sé qué estoy haciendo pero necesito un baño urgente. Ah, voy a aprovechar y me llevo el cepillo de dientes...