Happy Birthday, Danielle!!

     Happy birthday, dear daughter!! We can't believe that you are 24 already!!  It seems like yesterday as we were looking at all of the other birthdays that we have celebrated with you.  You have grown up to become such a wonderful young woman, and we are so proud of all that you have accomplished.  You are a beautiful, caring, funny, and creative person who is loved so very much!!

 Pictures of previous birthday celebrations...lots of them with Grandma & Papa O.

Through the years...

Wishing you a year filled with lots of love and happiness!!  We love you so very much!!  

Homecoming 2011

     HOMECOMING 2011...was a lot of fun!!  We always have a week of dress up days and contests for the kids for who have the best outfit/most school spirit each day.  The teachers partake in the festivities as well, so the kids always get a big kick out of that!!  Here are some highlights from the week...

 Pajama Day

 

 

 Superhero Day...Alison and I dressed as English Superheros

 (Comma Crusader and Apostrophe Avenger) 

Those are comma rules & apostrophe rules hanging on yellow ribbons from our shirts.  Our tiaras, black shields, and tops of our shoes even proudly displayed our "fighting bad habits in writing" initials: CC and AA

I know...English teachers are dorks, but we have fun and even wear tights all for the sake of school spirit!!!

 

 

 My TA (Dallas, a senior)

 

 

 Melodie as the Run-On Rescuer (NO MORE RUN-ON SENTENCES!!!)

 

 

The English Department (+ one math teacher superhero...way to go, Becca)

Here's to Captain Contraction (Bischoff), Captain Capitalization (Schreifels),

Run-On Rescuer (Miller), Word Girl (Eisinger), Comma Crusader (Seth),

Apostrophe Avenger (Osty), and Super Sentence (Martinson)

English department...we rock!! :0) 

 We also involved our librarian as the Book Wizard. :)

Two of my favorite superheroes...English students as well as two of my advisees :0)

Wacky Hair Day
Way to be brave, Alison!!  I went with the plaid hat as that's wacky enough for me! :)

Our traditional Blue and Gold Day

Jill having fun with our Big Lake Hornets tattoo while selling them for Student Council. 
She went for the forehead while I went with the normal approach...my cheek. :0)
GO HORNETS!!!!

The Smith's Annual Autumn Harvest Party

     Today we spent the afternoon and evening at Keith and Beth's place for their annual autumn party.  They have been hosting this for several years, and it is always a lot of fun.  They live in Big Lake and have some nice acreage around their house including two horses and a pole barn.  Beth is a teacher at the high school, and Keith and Darrell have worked together and known each other for the past thirty years. 
     It is always nice to see all of the beautiful autumn colors as well as Beth's decorating skills in and around the pole barn and gazebo area.  Their house is always decorated beautifully too.  The day started off cloudy and rainy but ended up being a beautiful afternoon and evening with sunshine and temps in the 70s.  God is good!!
     This year and last year have been especially meaningful as both Keith and Beth are stage three and stage four cancer survivors.  They both had cancer at the exact same time and went through very intense treatments simultaneously.  It's more of a celebration of life amongst their family and friends.  Thanks for another wonderful harvest gathering, Keith and Beth!!

 Here I am with the hostess, Beth.

 Here we are enjoying each other's company.

 Sugar Foot and One Eyed Willy

Sugar Foot kept popping her head in the pole barn window while we we eating, so I just looked out the window to take her picture.  She was looking for attention...and an apple!!

 The view from the fire pit

The entrance to the pole barn...I thought I was back in Wyoming!! :0)

Signs of Autumn

     One of our favorite seasons of the year is autumn.  Darrell and I usually go to Duluth for a weekend and hike Gooseberry Falls, walk along the shoreline of Lake Superior, enjoy S'mores by the campfire at the hotel we stay at, and enjoy the fall leaf tour that Darrell takes us on (oh...and enjoy a yummy meal at Little Angie's Cantina). It is such a beautiful time of the year!!

     This year, however, we decided to take Darrell's mom to St. John's where she grew up.  She always enjoys the ride, and since Darrell knows all of the back roads, it ends up being quite the long drive!!  The trees were gorgeous, and it was such a beautiful  Sunday- sunny and warm!! Mom really enjoyed reminiscing about her childhood years and pointed out her childhood home and homes of all her neighbors.  Even though the homes have now been turned into school apartments and other campus buildings, she still points them out and shares stories with us every time we take her there. :0) 

     We ended up having a nice dinner afterwards.  She really seemed to enjoy the day.  It probably took a lot out of her due to her rapidly declining health, but she really appreciated spending the day with us where so many of her childhood memories were made!!

The Abbey at St. John's University

 Some of autumn's lovely colors...

 A stop for me at the apple orchard for pumpkins, gourds, and Honeycrisp apples...

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

-George Eliot-

Happy 80th Birthday, Mom!!

     Today is my mother's 80th birthday, so I want to wish her a wonderful day with our family.  I am very sad that the circumstances turned out the way they did, and the birthday gathering was changed to this weekend instead of Christmas Eve.  WE SO WANT TO BE THERE, mom!!!  Knowing that Darrell and I are not there is heartbreaking on your special day, but we want to wish you the most blessed birthday ever.      
     Mom, you have been an amazing source of strength, love, compassion, and generosity for so many years.  You worked nights as a surgical nurse, full-time, so you could be with all six of us before we left for school and after we came home from school.  I am truly amazed by that!!  You always made sure that we had a healthy breakfast before leaving for school, and you were always making after school snacks (homemade, of course) or starting dinner.  So many times we started on our homework to the smell of chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies baking in the oven. 
     No matter how tired you were and knowing that you had to go to work each night, you carved out a few hours each evening to make sure that you assisted us with our homework, went through the bedtime ritual (baths & books), and only once in awhile, was it possible for you to sneak a 30 minute nap in before you had to get ready for another night at the hospital. 
     I can still vividly remember the smell of your lotion that you put on (Silicone Glove by Avon) as I handed you your white nurse's uniform.  Then you would always pop a peppermint Lifesaver into your mouth and give one to me (and sometimes Steven) as well.  Mom, you've made a lifetime of helping and serving others before yourself.  I don't know how you did it, but I will be forever grateful!!

     My mother (in the orange dress) with her two sisters, Leone & Leta, and her father and mother celebrating at a family member's wedding...the late '60s/early '70s based on the clothing and glasses :0)

Picture # 1 - My mom when she received Employee of the Year at Sheridan Memorial Hospital (mid '80s)

Picture # 2 - A very youthful looking mom and dad :)

Picture #3 - My mom's nursing school graduation picture

     My mom's always up for some fun; this is one of my favorite pictures of her from a couple of Christmases ago.  How cute is she?! :)

Here she is being goofy on our annual donut making day...

     You have done an amazing job, along with dad, raising us six kids and always being there for our spouses and your grandchildren!!  We are so loved!!!

Your dream came true when we took you and dad to Nashville and The Grand Ole Opry.

Happy 80th birthday, sweet lady!!  Time to celebrate, mom!!!

LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!!