ANI AND GRISELDA'S TRIP TO SPAIN & UK. NOV 2012

Wow...my last post was in September...sorry folks have been rather busy..not to mention that Ani and self just returned from a 6 weeks hiatus in Europe...mainly Spain and the UK.

I won't go into much detail at present, but just to say that this was a goal I had set myself back when I first started taking my children to visit my roots in the Old World. Took Pat in 2005, May went with Miss Rachel Trotter in 2009 and stayed for 5 months! so now it was my youngest Anne Marie's (Ani) turn. To say I was dreading it is an understatement, given the European current state of affairs and adding a 19 year old (beautiful one I might add) to the mix...all sorts of things could have gone wrong, but God is good and nothing amiss happened, in fact it was an excellent and successful trip on all counts. No luggage lost, no harm to life or limb, nobody got sick,...except I got sore knees and toes from walking so much and trying to keep up with Ani... :)

All in all my goals (visiting church groups and reconnecting with my various first cousins) and hers (sightseeing and reluctantly meeting MY relatives and her second cousins)...were met and the whole experience exceeded my expectations. PTL

We were in Spain with my sister Karenza and her friend Gracia from Alcala de Guadaira. Spent almost a week in Madrid, then 5 days in Rome, Ani and self took a day tour by train to Florence. Then we all trooped by bus to Seville and attended the convention there which was very good. Nice hobnobbing with the FM as it usually does not happen when they come to The Land. Ani was very animated and talked to many of the FM and seemed happy to be there. Touched based with my friends and reconnected with many whom I hadn't seen for so many years it seems...my first students from way back in the 70's are now all grown, married and having kids...makes one feel old...gratifying though to have them come up to me and hug me and tell their spouses "this is my frist teacher"...

In between services Ani and self took another day bus tour and went to the ancient port city of Cadiz. Ancient as in dating back to the Phoenicians. Can you imagine? Well, we traipsed up and down and saw many ruins and such. then came back in time for the evening meeting.

Once back in Madrid, we parted company with K and she returned to TX and we spent 2 more weeks in the UK with my various and assorted cousins from both the Argentine and Welsh branches of the family. We managed to meet 4 of the 10 that live there, plus some of the cousins children, whom I had never met and who are now all very accomplished young adults. Met infront of the Palace and then spent a very nice time sharing a meal at St. James. Ani was able to meet 2nd and 3rd. cousins as well, all in all an enjoyable time. While Ani visited the British Museum I caught up with my cousin Francis whom I had not met before. All the cousins had to travel from their own homes to meet in London about 2-3 hours I think...thanks to all for the xtra effort of being there!

We managed to get in about 4 days in London and even a live Broadway show based on "Los Paraguas de Cherbourg"..Ani simply loved it! it was very well done complete with gallons of water falling on the stage...

The UK trip ended with a few days in Bristol with my Arg. cousin Lorraine who has lived there for decades. That was very enjoyable and peaceful, Bristol was one of the slave ports of call...rather infamous for it but still very interesting. 

Once back in Madrid, we took in a tour of the ancient moorish city of Toledo, a service with the brethren in Villaviciosa and then it was back to the airport and the long haul to Alaska.

No place like home! Especially after witnessing the homeless and beggars in some of the countries we visited. We are fortunate to have warm homes and families to come home to.

Last but not least a big thank you to all who helped make this possible:

• Pat my hubby who took Rob's academics in hand for 6 weeks and did an awesome job! 
• My daughter May for watching over Rob and helping her dad and taking care of Reep.
• Gramy Flo for watching out for Rob
• Jo Cox for helping/watching out for Rob during swimming lessons in town.
• Andy Trotter for taking my Spanish students.
• All those who had to fill in while I was gone in various capacities. Thanks to all for watching my back while I was gone.

 First and second cousins meet infront of Buckingham Palace...

cousin Lorraine from Bristol and the Argentine side of the family.

 Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain

Famous Alcazar in Seville, still the monarchs place of call

at convention in Seville, Spain

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO KEPT US IN THEIR OWN HOMES AND CHURCHES ALONG THE WAY:

• THE BRETHREN AT VILLAVICIOSA. CHENCHO, MARI, MARTA AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY THERE. GRACIAS POR HOSPEDARNOS Y ALIMENTARNOS. NOS ENCANTO PODER PASAR UN RATO CON VOSOTROS.! A ANI LE GUSTO MUCHO EL POLLO QUE MARI LE HIZO...Y LA FRUTA.

• DANIEL MERINO, GRACIAS POR LLEVARNOS A MADRID EN TU COCHE.

• THE CHURCH AT LA LINEA: LEONARDO AND LILY. GRACIAS!

• THE MARZANS IN GIBRALTAR: THANKYOU FRANCIS AND MERCY FOR SHARING YOUR FAMILY WITH US, YOU ARE SO GENEROUS! WHEN I THINK OF MY TIME WITH YOU IT MAKES ME SMILE.

• DANIEL AND NADINE CENTENO: GRACIAS! 

• GRACIA IN ALCALA: MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS POR HOSPEDARNOS. NOS ENCANTO ESTAR CONTIGO EN ROMA Y SEVILLA.

IN THE UK

• CAROL AND DICK DOLAN. MANY THANKS FOR PICKING US UP AT THE AIRPORT ALTHOUGH IT WAS A RATHER LONG DRIVE. AND PUTTING US UP IN YOUR HOME. SO PEACEFUL AND QUIET...WE LOVED IT. ENJOYED THE DRIVE TO THE SEA AND THE WALK ALONG THE MEADOWS WITH ROSE AND THE BABY..AND DICK, YOU MAKE A WICKED CURRY!!

• LORRAINE: SO SWEET TO PUT US UP FOR A FEW DAYS. ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! THANKS FOR COMING TO LONDON EVEN THOUGH IT WAS XTRA. AND THANKS TO JOSIE AND ZOE FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME AND MEET US.!

• COUSINS EVE, ROBERT, ZEE, CAROL, FRANCIS: IT WAS LOVELY! HOPE TO REPEAT IT WITH MORE TIME...

• COUSINS DAVE, JANET & MICHAEL: HOPE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO SALISBURY NEXT TIME....AND AUNTY SILVIA WITH CHARLY, GRACE AND JON...HOPE TO BE ABLE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME AROUND...SIMPLY RAN OUT OF TIME...

Thank you Lord for making this a memorable experience, for both of us.and one which will not be forgotten and which will continue to bring warm memories as we think on all that we experienced together.

                                                                 &&&&&

Here is a farm report from my neighbor:

                                                                   

Well, the long weekend is over, and we’re back to school.  This week, we are cutting up and putting away more beef cows.  We should have plenty of meat for awhile. 

The weather has steadily dropped by several degrees every day.  This morning, it is a chilly -41°.  Ugh, ugh, ugh!!!!  Our cold weather is so drying and cold and miserable and static-y. 

We had many visitors for Thanksgiving.  I’m going to see if I can have permission to send a few of the pictures out (like of Pat Lou and his cute little family).  Visitors were:  Toby & Flori Stoeber, Chris & Rebekah & Ella, Jake & Phanta & Zayden, Andrew & Kylin & Landon, Kylin’s dad & aunt & sister, Stephen & Melissa, Peter & Stacey, Pat Lou and familiy, Toby & Marie, Sam & Marki & children, Prins & Linda, Penny, and the Nathan Milliron family.  It was a quiet Thanksgiving in a way since we didn’t have many planned events.  It wasn’t quiet in that we had lots of family and friends visiting so there was much talking and laughing.  Jeni and her first graders sang a song for us, and Tony read a story that Brad wrote. 

Some random persons, here and there, have been getting the flu bug.  Some folks are hardly bothered while others get hit real good.  Tony woke up last Saturday and passed out and hit his face straight on.  Danita had to come over to give him stitches on the inside and the outside of his bottom lip.  She also hooked him up to and IV, giving him several bags of whatever is in those bags.  His mouth and teeth are so sensitive that Tony can hardly eat. 

The loggers are using Tok Forestry’s chipper for chipping.  It is such a loud machine.  It sounds like they are taking whole homes and stuffing it in there to be made into chips. 

Steve and Judy arrived home last weekend.  Just in time for the cold weather!!!  Bonnie andChris made it home before thanksgiving.  They had a great time in Maine.  Miss Jannis made it home, as well, before Thanksgiving.  (maybe I’m repeating myself?)  Oh yes, Annie and Gri are home from their European travels.  It has been nice to have everyone home again. 

It has been extra pleasant to have the Casey families hanging around for a couple of weeks.  Joey has been home from work these past couple of weeks too. 

I heard from Seth briefly on Thanksgiving Day.  They must’ve been passing through town on their way to and from going to a Mennonite community to pick up a milking machine (if I understood Seth’s texts correctly). 

Cathy Purdy has been sick a lot recently with stomach troubles – colitis?.  She isn’t totally recovered from her knee surgery and now this. 

Pat is preparing for a piano tuning excursion in Barrow. He will be leaving on Saturday. 

Have a great weekend

Cont.Fall news from The Land, Alaska

A few belated tidbits from our last few weeks....I only have a few minutes before I need to get moving along.  Due to the crazy winds, we had a very warm September week.  This morning, it is 39°.  We will pick up potatoes across the road today.  Looks like it will be a beautiful day for such an event. 

We have had a busy week cleaning up debris and fixing roofs from the Sunday night windstorm.  Mostly, it has been the guys doing all the clean up and fixing.  Some of us girls/ladies went out yesterday to help pick up tree debris. 

We have been cutting moose like mad whenever it arrives down from the mountains.  We have one more partial moose to cut up before we are done with moose meat for the season.  Tony, Kevin, Chris, Cody, Benj, (and Seth went part way), and ? went to Fish Lake for the last moose this week.  They had to take chainsaws and it took them quite awhile to make it to the meat since they had to cut their way their after the windstorm.  Same thing when they went up for the last moose out of East Fork.  A bear had gotten to the last moose in the Fish Lakearea since it took the guys so long to get the meat out.  The bear hauled away the neck and a big hind quarter. 

Yesterday the Seegars and the Gormans were out to celebrate Grammy Irene’s 90^th birthday which will be next Wednesday.  They brought with them Eric Eads, Justin Bauman, and Tim Chavez.  These boys plus Laura Jennings came over to visit us. 

Sis Betty Hilliker turned 80 yrs sometime here in the past week.  She can be greeted by writing to: blouhilliker@starband.net

School starts on Monday.  We still have a few more work nights before all is buttoned up for the winter.  We appreciate the nice weather but can do without the wild, wild winds. 

Wenda went to the Anchorage area to attend Paul Lawrence’s wedding to a girl named Rebekah.  Some Millirons went down as well. 

Wendy and Paul Jennings just showed up for church.  Uh oh!!!!  But… Wendy wanted to let us know that her back troubles are 90% better, and she feels so much better in every area of her life.  She appreciates all our prayers.  Wendy is doing exercises that are strengthening her back. 

I better get making breakfast and getting off to potatoes

UPDATE

Taters were all picked and stashed away...we had quite a nice crop and a good turnout. You can look at some photos here

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4296200174971.163132.1585591801&type=1&l=9d3330de7b

By now you all know about our hurricane winds clocked at about 114 mph at some point. For photos on the damage click here

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4265561329019.162291.1585591801&type=1&l=cb57eaca2f

We are thankful that nobody was hurt and that our cabins were safe, some out buildings and some business premises were damaged and some of our neighbors suffered some damage to their property but on the whole we were kept safe and none the worse for wear...it could have been much worse!..PTL

The area where Pat and Beth live in Palmer and the surrounding areas has been hit hard with flooding from rain and swollen rivers. Praying for safety and for those who have sustained lost/damaged property.

First days of school have been uneventful  but full. Students seem eager but we know that will not last...ha! I am enjoying teaching 6 HS students + Rob. with the Rosetta Stone Spanish software. Have 3 computers with 2 students each, everybody seems happy with it.

Madly making plans for our imminent trip to the Spanish Convention in Seville. Hoping for a good and prosperous and safe time in the company of my sister Karenza and the brethren over there. 

Have a good rest of the week everybody and keep praying for my brother in law Don and my sister Alejandra Burgess...they are being faced with the trial of their lives...praying for peace, job and that their faith fail not.

Off to bed

ROB TURNED 15!!

END OF MOOSE AND MEAT...

Moose season ended successfully with us shooting 10 moose – we already knew about Kathryn, Tony, Chris, Brad, Tommy, and Rich.  Near the tail end of the hunting season, Jarred, Seth, Kevin, Cody each shot a moose.  We did have trouble with bears getting into the meat that was shot at East Fork.  One night when Tony went to get the meat, the bear and her cubs had hauled away and buried some quarters.  Tony and the boys moved the buried meat to a different location.  Once the bear figured that out, she was highly bothered.  Then when Tony went up to East Fork to get another batch of meat, the bear had gotten into that meat as well. 

Rus B had a successful lens transplant surgery.  He is very happy with his doctor, his treatment, his recovery, etc.  On their way home from Anchorage, Rus and Millie stopped at Sapa for Ted Hesser’s memorial.  While driving home from Sapa, Rus tapped the butt of a moose.  All passengers were unharmed; the car has a little body damage, and the windshield needs to be replaced. On the whole a productive  trip! When one considers that Bro. Rub is in his mid 80's it is amazing.

Garth took some folks to Sapa for Ted Hesser’s memorial.  I guess that went okay?  I never heard anything about it.

I think Kevin and Jill Brandes went home today. Olivia, their daughter, is staying with the Milliron seniors for the school year and I have a Rosetta spanish class with her...

We’ve been cutting meat several times a week to put away our many moose.  We lost most of our carrot crop this year due to weed spraying followed by rain.  Whitestone Farms generously gave us 30 bags of carrots equaling ¾ to one ton of carrots.  This coming Sunday, we should be harvesting our potatoes. 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4236750728772.161505.1585591801&type=1&l=b1ccd29471

We had super high winds on Sunday night.  Andy said the winds were 60 mph, gusting to 114 – 117 mph.  It was a miserable night if winds are bothersome nobody could get a good nights sleep, in our house the kids came downstairs and tried to sleep in the living room... When we woke up, several of our large spruce trees were down, Cathy P’s back porch mostly blew away, one of Garth’s dormer windows is damaged, Ben and Tom’s solar panel poles were injured.  Along the creek bank, there were so many trees down that it looked like a logging site.  Bob and Betty’s road was un-drivable.  Tony and Kevin were going to go meat packing up East Fork way, but they had to return home in order to get chainsaws to clear their path.  The trees that fell were all so huge that the horses could not step over them.  Big messes!  The guys all stayed home from work on Monday to clear the roads and paths and to pick up all huge fallen debris.  Some of the women went out in the afternoon to help pick up some of the smaller debris.  We haven’t had winds like that since ’76; it was definitely worse than the windstorm of ’81.  I posted some pictures on facebook so I put the link on here for you all to see.  As far as personal dwellings are concerned, nobody's got damaged, as far as I know, but the LAM kiln lost its roof and some other stuff got damaged and thrown around. Some folks had large trees fall on their roofs but thankfully nothing got badly dented.

I went about, as did others, and took some photos. Click these links if you want to see some.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4265561329019.162291.1585591801&type=1&l=cb57eaca2f

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151059383746569.420931.674561568&type=1&l=7f38a06f94

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151044002856569.417983.674561568&type=3&l=ab283c6d10

Ok, more another day.  Have a great week!  

COULD NOT PASS THIS LOVELY STORY UP! ENJOY... 

WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN

By Al Keeney

I had noticed the young man bagging groceries before. He took his job seriously and worked at it diligently. It's not easy for a person with Down's syndrome to find a job and he appreciated the opportunity to do something useful and earn his own money.

That particular day he bagged my groceries and placed them carefully in the cart for me. I thanked him and moved to push the cart out the door. After all, I'm a man! I can carry my own groceries. But he would have nothing of that. He informed me that that was his job.

I said, "OK," and he followed me out to my car. I opened the trunk and he put the bags in. I smiled and said, "Thank you."

Suddenly, he put his arms around me and said, "I like you!" I said the only thing I could say; "I like you, too."

Over the years I have read hundreds of books on a wide variety of subjects: I have heard countless sermons and preached hundreds myself; I have witnessed several remarkable, even historic events. But you know, I don't remember any of those things as clearly as I recall that simple expression of innocent love.

Now, some will say that when I see that young man in Heaven, he will have been made whole. In other words, they think he will be like the rest of us. But I wonder.

I wonder if, when by God's grace I am made whole, I won't be more like that young man than he like me. You see, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Galatians 6:22-23]. My friend the bag boy was blessed with all those qualities and none of the pride or meanness that so often afflicts me.

When we get to heaven, few of the abilities we value so highly here will matter very much. And honestly now, would you like to spend eternity debating the finer points of physics or theology or fine art with some world renowned authority, or would you rather spend it singing in the choir seated next to a kid who is not embarrassed to give you a hug and tell you that he likes you?

FALL NOOS...

Good morning!  We woke up to a super hard frost yesterday morning.  There was a tell tale layer of frost still on the ground at 7 am.  I heard that the temperature went down to 24° and happily stayed there for a while.  Also last week sometime, we woke up to a lot of snow on the mountain tops.  It was pretty, but unwelcome.

We’ve been busily putting up things from the garden since it is that time of year.  Last night we picked peas.  If you picked the peas that were buried under the plants, they were large and untouched by the frost; the top peas were that great.  We’ve put much greens, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, and much more.  Jeni has figured out a recipe to make smoked salmon which is then canned so that it’s cooked as well as smoked.  We don’t have the right equipment to smoke it and cook it too. 

  

We had an excellent visit with Sis Janet, Bro Art, and Sis Sarah.  Sis Janet and Bro Art both preached on resurrection.  Sis Janet came over to our house and ended up telling my kids and their friends about her experience when her husband died.  I was blessed with the story, as were they, and it was an excellent testimony of God’s love and care.

The first hunting crews go out on Friday since moose hunting season opens on Saturday.  We have to be there for the first hours of moose season, right?  Tony and his help are frantically packing in camps and supplies, raking hay, and trying to bale it with broken balers. 

So far no crews reported any moose...hoping that changes soon since the season is not all that long and we need at least 10....

Tommy and his girls, Jessie and Kerri went up, as did Brad Coxand all his family, Tony and his boys and am not sure who else. May is waiting for her dad to return from his piano trip to Valdez so she can go hunting with him. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and we are hoping it will stay this way for the whole month. A true "indian" fall, and excellent for hunting. PTL.

Lawrences and Pete and Stacey stopped by and did some quick hunting by the bridge and the river.

Geyers have put up an internet dish!  Yay!  But, Tommy has to cut down trees that are blocking the signal before it works superbly. Some kind of grant from the state which is helping folks get internet and covering some of the equipment and installation.

Not sure what else is happening, I cooked this past Sunday and there was a bunch of people and guests, so that all the ones who are hunting were actually not missed....Today it's back to normal and there are empty spaces where hunters and their families should be....weird.

Next week we start Teacher's Prep and all the teachers start to madly run around in circles and put their neglected classroom and paperwork in order for the new school year. I will have a rather light schedule, only one student for Spanish and 3 others who are just doing the Rosetta Stone. Rob will continue with his academics which actually never stop!...lol

Hard to believe that is turning 15 in a few days! wow...

I tried to take some photos of the "blue moon" we had a few days ago...

I should get going.  Have a great day! 

Rob and the bison at the local truck stop...he thinks it's cool!

FALL NOOS FROM THE LAND DC ALASKA

ahhh Fall skies...so lovely! setting sun ATR (across the road AK highway)

cranberry pickin' is hard work!...gotta have that snack...lol (Robin)

love messin' about in boats, fish are a bonus!

FALL NOOS FROM DRY CREEK,

Yesterday’s weather was really strange.  We’d have these strong gusts of wind interspersed with strong, big dropped rain showers. And, it was cool outside – if I were to close my eyes, I could envision snow.  Hopefully, the sun will return so we can have a beautiful fall. 

Hunting madness has started.

Last weekend, Kevin, Chris, and Bekah each shot a grizzly bear. Baby Ella stayed with happy granparents Sarah & Rich.

A crew had also gone to Fish Lake to bring in the hunting camp and to look for caribou – that would’ve been Tommy, Chris Toby, and Jarred.  On their way home, Chris Toby shot a grizzly bear. 

• Last week, Sarah Rogers (Jennifer Milliron's sister) and her children returned to New York.  
• Nathan and Melani and children have moved to Delta. They are living in a rental from Jason Underhill.  
• Miss JoAn is still gone and is recuperating from her recent surgery. I haven’t heard any report on her recently.  
• Erica Greenleaf and Patrick Eckstrom were married over the weekend.  Mark Coy and Seth and May attended that wedding too. I drove Jannis and May to Rikas with Ani and Rob and dropped them off for their boat ride to the farm for the wedding reception, at Whitestone. Not many other people went either because they were busy or fear of catching the whooping cough. annis and May both spent the weekend at Whitestone, but they are now home.
•  Amaris will be moving out at the beginning of next month with the intent to begin her year with Seth.  She will live with Wenda. 
• Please continue to pray for my brother in law Don Burgess and my sister Alejandra, they are facing serious financial expenses as Don's condition continues to deteriorate...pray that their hope in God not fail, in the trial of their faith.
• Ani has closed down her bunny operation, sold all her last bunnies, even her nicer ones...she is done...until the next bunny fever hits her...lol
• Rob is done with his summer riding program. Fully enjoyed his 8 weeks of weekly riding and we hope to continue where we left off next summer. Thanks STARDUST STABLES, and Amanda Brown for being such an awesome instructor.
• Allyson had an important birthday on Saturday.  Anyone wanting to congratulate her could write tojon.ally.squires@gmail.com
• Cathy is slowly recovering from her knee surgery.  Therapy is progressing on schedule, if not even better. 
• Becky is back home to Delta recovering from her lung excise surgery.  If you want more detailed news on that, send me a note and I’ll send Becky’s last report. 
• Our greenhouse and garden went well but not as well as other years, mites, bugs and other stuff happened. I know the tomatoes had some kind of bug. We are grateful for what we had been able to harvest and put away.
• Canning ladies have been busy with salmon, pickles, beets, cabbage, squash, tomatoes, rhubarb, raspberries and an assortment of other goodies.
• Pat, Rob and self have been cranberry pickin once, not as good as other times but plan to bring in our regulatory 5 gallons for juicing for the winter. Gotta keep that vitamin C up...and a whole bunch of other good antioxids...all from the humble cranberry..
• Pat's planning another piano trip to SE Alaska...should be gone about a week, so Ani, self and Rob will man the fort.
• School is around the corner for us and so is Teacher's Prep...'course for me it never really ended, Rob tries to get in some Math, Phonics and Typing every day....harder in the summer when he wants to be outside with his buddies....

I better get to devotions and then on with my day.  Like I said, the hunting madness is upon us!  We are busy harvesting and buttoning up things for the winter and thinking about our next school year.  Summer is definitely over; fall is fully here.  We had a very hard frost last Wednesday. 

Have a great week. 

WEEK END EVENTS 8/12

SOME FARM NEWS AND EVENTS MAINLY FROM SARAH MY FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR...

Hi all,

I realize that I left out a lot of news the other day so I’m trying to write more.  Today Jeni and I are taking the cousins+ to Fairbanks to the fair.  We’ll meet up with Jake, Phanta, and Zay there.  Thomas will be flying in tonight so he’ll come home with us; Zay will come home with us too for a few days.  Thomas flew to Medford, CA, and was picked up by my folks.  After staying with them for a few days, my folks drove Tom to Eugene, OR, where he picked up a semi truck to drive home.  Thomas arrived home with the “new to us” semi truck just in time to hop on a plane to meet Tim in Jacksonville, FL.  There Tom and Tim sailed on the Tiger Cruise to Norfolk, VA.  Tom was able to spend a few days with Tim and his family before coming home. 

• This past week Kylin, Andrew, and Landon came out to visit Bill and Kathy Casey.  Actually, they’ve come out twice in the past two or three weeks.  Such good children!  Vanessa (Jewel’s daughter) is out now spending a few days with her grandparents.

• Speaking of grandchildren, I do miss Ella and Essie. Wish they lived closer...such a bummer. I see other grammas cuddling theirs..oh well. Pat was called back down to Boise for fires with his crew...so Beth is home alone with the girls in Palmer. Such a trooper...not sure I could've done that alone and with 2 at that! Hope they can come for Thanksgiving.

• Sarah Rogers (Jennifer’s Milliron's sister) and her two girls plus Beth’s girl have come to visit for a month.  We sure are being overrun with girls!!!!  Someone better start bringing the boys home!  Oh wait, we did have some boys visit. On Sunday night, Charity Baltrum Timm with her two boys surprised us with a short visit.    

• Rachel and Sarah Jane Trotter have gone to Anchorage for the weekend to see Becky.  The latest reports on Becky are very encouraging – she’s doing better each day even though the pain is quite intense at times. 

• Jon Squires is down in the Pebble Mine area working as an EMT for a three week stretch.  That way, when September rolls around, he can take his boys hunting.  Hunting is so sacred around here!

• Michael Squires and Benj VanderHart spent five days at a little fishing camp or school last week.  They had a blast, of course. 

• Ann and Micah have had to go to town a couple of times this summer for a few days of intensive therapy for Micah.  That seems profitable.

• Garth & Jarred have had a lot of work to get done this summer – they are working long hours trying to get things buttoned up before winter.  Nathan, Craig, Seth, and John are their crew.

• Miss JoAn is recovering nicely, as far as I know, while spending time with her daughters in Wasilla/Anchorage area.

• My brother in law Don Burgess, is not doing so well. We are praying for a miracle and complete healing even though the doctors do not offer much hope...we pray also for strength for both him and my sister Alejandra, that their faith fail them not in this time of trial.

Hmmmm…. What else?  

• We did finish getting in our hay in good time.  The kids are mowing still or again – I’m not sure. Emy and I went out and got MORE pictures of them.  

• David Underhill and some of his offspring (J) came out last week end to put up a head stone for Miss Jay.  The graveyard seems to be shaping up nicely, mostly due to Sis Margaret’s efforts.

•  I noticed that the road behind Trotter's cabin and near the graveyard is badly eroded from the creek.  This week, Tony went down there since then and rearranged rocks and dirt – very impressive work.  I took some photos of that.

• Cody ordered ducks this year; they are growing nicely.  They are in a pen down at the end of the garden; I can hear them quacking often.  Cody dug and lined them a little pond in their pen.  Quite cute.  

• Jordan was out picking raspberries and got stung by a yellow jacket four times.  When I told him he was a brave boy, he said, “I know”. 

• BTW May also got stung by a yellow-jacket when she was cleaning out the bushes in the raspberry patch...ouch! I am amazed they nasty things did not get me since I was out there for a bit last week...

• The new greenhouse is coming along nicely, thanks to Steve, Andy, John, and anybody else who i recruited. It will be used for flowers to decongest our tomato/pepper greenhouse. Sadly the tomatoes did not do as well as was expected, not sure why. We are coming to the end of the season...it was nice to have all those goodies while they lasted! Now we are looking forward to our new potatoes, freshly dug out of the ground...yummmy...

• My brother Gavin who lives in northern Argentina in the province of Salta, is working for a Canadian company and is therefore, closer to Alaska. We are hoping that he can come up from Calgary to Alaska for a short visit before he has to fly back to South America. Waiting on the visa, hummm...I haven't seen him since '94, so that would be nice...my children have  barely met any of my relatives from Argentina...hope he can make it...fingers crossed..

• Ani sold one of her necklaces at a local store yesterday, she was pretty happy about that!

• Pat took us fishing and we actually got about 5 trout, which were promptly make into a delicious supper!! I love floating on water...Rob enjoyed himself although he left the fishing to us and preferred eating his sister's snacks., while keeping up a running commentary and scaring the fish away..ha!

Tomorrow is my Sunday cook day and we are making Chef Salad, with frozen yogurt and our own strawberries on top! Should be good. Visiting ministry for this week end are Janet Meyers and the Jahle's.

Okay, I better quit for now.  Have a great weekend!

THE ESSENTIALITY OF ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS...

INTERESTING FOR YOUR HEALTH

www.bodybio.com/BodyBio/docs/BodyBioBulletin-4to1Oil.pdf

Success Stories ROBIN BUONGIORNE

Family and Friends,
Here is a link to my recent report on Rob's progress, using the CHANGING MINDS FOUNDATION PROTOCOL (Treatment and Research for Down Syndrome).

check it out!

Success Stories

with his niece Ella

REACH Academy Juneau trip

JULY EVENTS 2012...

Greetings all!  

I’m so sorry that my usual is getting to be not writing very much.  This past I was busy with hosting my grand babies and their wonderful mummy, plus taking Rob back and forth to Delta for riding lessons, plus celebrating my big 60, our 26th anniversary, keeping up with farm chores, managing the cabin alone while Pat was gone to a Piano Guild Workshop in Seattle...hummm...etc, etc. ...

I know, nothing new under the sun, and you all are just as busy...but ...just sayin'... 

Why has July gone so fast I wonder? And now almost August…yikes!

The weather has cooperated some so that we’ve been able to get most of our hay in.  It does seem that every time we’d cut a bunch of hay, it would pour for several days.  Finally the rain would stop and we could dry out and pick up the hay.  We’ve have finished putting up all the square bales needed for the summer.  We need the weather to stay nice for a few more days so we can finish the round bales. August promises to be lovely so far...hope it keeps up! Pat and self have tried to go fishing twice, lovely but windy! I don't mind, I just love floating on water!...

Let's see for some currrent events & farm noos:

• Pat came back from a good Piano Tech workshop in Seattle. He always learns something new at these things and enjoys them.
• Rus and Millie had a good trip to Anchorage.  They brought Bradie home with them.  Jannis will come home with Wenda who took JoAn down.  Wenda and Jannis will be coming home on the 31^st.  Wenda has become our farm chauffeur it seems..and here I am hardly venturing out into the big city alone…shame on me! cluck, cluck…and I used to drive amidst the crazy traffic in Madrid…oh well...
• The Milliron team has been working night and day on their various jobs.  To make it easier to work longer days, this week, their families went and camped at the job site to be with the guys. 
• Harvey and Linda Blevins with their 10 yr old grandson came out to visit on Wednesday.  We looked the farm over and esp the sawmill.  Linda wanted to show Bay the homes they had lived in while here.  Bay was more interested in wading in the creek. 
• Micah VanderHart had a couple of weeks of intensive physical therapy over the last couple of weeks.  And, last week, he had a hernia surgery.  Poor guy has been through the wringer. 
• Ben made some curtain rods for the Black Rapids Lodge and has had to go up there several times to install them.  This weekend, he is going again because they needed some sort of special wooden pieces installed for the rods.  
• Cathy made it home from Fairbanks after her knee surgery.  She’s had a tough week adjusting to caring for herself while still recovering.  Wenda and Emily have been good helps to her – bringing her meals, fetching things, etc.
• PatLou has come back from the L48, having been in Colorado, California, Idaho, Utah, and now perhaps Canada. Fire-season is still going strong down there, Alaska amazingly has been so damp that fires were not as abundant as in previous years, They might come back to visit DC, we shall see. I know PL would like to go hunting with his dad.

Black bears have been sighted near our dump and closer to the farm than is nice to think. Ani and self have had to watch our backs on our daily walks.

Please continue to pray for my BIL Don and my sister Alexandra Burgess, that the Lord heal and bring complete restoration to Don. They are both faithful servants in the Lord's work and have been for years in various capacities and ministries. They are being such troopers amidst their health battles…God bless them! That their faith fail not.

We also remember various ones that have come to our attention: Sis. Becky R, Bro. Tim H, Sis. Audrey S, that the Lord intervene on their behalf and that His glory might manifest in the midst of battle, bring peace, hope and healing. All faithful servants and well known to us.

No more for the time being.  Have a great week.  Here are a few photos for your enjoyment.

a 

mother's Day gifts from Ani

 
HAY BARN IS FULL! PTL