WEEK END NOOS...AND SUCH

Hi folks,

This news release from Sarah our resident photographer and journaler, like me:

Friday was our last day of school for a week.  The school day was a very hectic as the kids were wound up.  On Friday night Joey and Chris Toby decorated two sleighs for us to take caroling.  Wendy, Kathy C, Griselda, and I went out with a lot of kids to carol.  It was only -12* at the most so if dressed properly, it really wasn’t all that terrible.  I had fun and was able to get a few good pictures despite the pitch blackness of our Alaskan night.
After caroling, Tom and Jeni had all the kids over for treats and a movie. I think it was Nick and Benj VanderHart’s first “young people” outing.  J

I did have fun that one night of the lunar eclipse.  I shocked even myself at being able to get a few good pictures.

Sis Betty Hilliker is home now and recovering nicely.  Her daughter, Pam, has been home with them to help them get settled and to help take care of things for a little while.

Sis Claire Farmer will be returning home to New Hope.  Various ladies have pledged to spend a day a week with her.  The New Hope ladies will do the rest of her care. Sis. Claire is in her 90's.

Shamy, which is her nickname, Maxi’s daughter, came to visit us for a few days last week.  She wanted to find out more about her father and to see where her dad lived for a few years of his life.  Prins came out one day and they took Maxi’s ashes to the Johnson River.  If anyone has a story or a memory about Maxi that we could send to Shamy and her mom, I’d be happy to send that along to them. By the time, Shamy was born, her father was mostly sick and she has few memories of what a nice fellow he was.  My hubby Pat used to room with him here on the farm, in the beginnings, during the "dark ages" - as I call them....a bunch of single guys lived in very primitive conditions somewhere above what used to be the old schoolhouse....that was in the early 70's....way before my time...Maxi and his family are from Shrilanka...

That beef bull cow that has been so sick off and on did die this week.  Because of our extreme weather, the more delicate pack horses have been having a hard time.  A couple of them have lain down; one did right in the middle of the highway as it was crossing.  Tony has used the forklift and some huge tarps to help move them or get them on their feet again.  The one horse, Tuscan, had a pinched nerve after having her baby; her one leg would go numb.  Once while laying on the ground, not able to move, the ravens just munched his rump and turned it into a pile of raw meat.  Now that it’s recovering and on it’s feet, the ravens leave it alone.

Oh, and I heard that Tommy Geyer cooked his first breakfast ever for his family last week. It is quite the milestone!  He’s only been married for almost 25 years and has five kids.  Maybe now that he is a grandpa….

And, Tommy’s dad is in the hospital with pneumonia.  I guess they sucked some of the stuff out of his lungs yesterday.  That sounds totally awful even if it is helpful. Penny, Tommys sister, is with their dad helping out.

Speaking of Tommy reminds me that we ate steaks from his beef cows last night.  Our steaks were scrumptious – Pat actually cooked them outside cause it was not too cold.

Jon Squires is home from Fbks for a school break from his paramedic studies,

Okay, well more later,  I hope all your holdays so far have been great.  Off to a scrumptious Sunday dinner of ham, with all the fixins'.

PS: Betty came over tonight for the ham dinner and gave  a short testimony on how God has moved on their behalf. They still need our continued prayer support for healing.