June 23, 2013

I noticed today that I have not posted anything this year. That is really sad and unfortunate as there have been many noteworthy events.

In February we found out that our oldest son, Steve and his wife Diane were planning on moving back to Minnesota. I never thought that any of our children would ever consider moving back to Minnesota but it has been a blessing to have Steve home with us and we are eagerly awaiting the time when Diane will be able to join us. As I write this blog, she is on her way back here from Idaho. They will be looking for a place to live this week. I hope they will find a place that will serve them well and will be comfortable and warm in the winter.

 Clark Andrew Yerka , our tenth grandchild,was born on March 21st, which also happens to be our son, Jason's birthday.
In April, Steve and I drove down to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend some time with Melinda, Jordan and Melia. Melinda purchased a cute little house and is busy with her job with the USDA. Melia and Jordan were busy with school but we still managed to spend some time with them as well. It is good to have them back in the Mid- West after their short stint in Athens, GA.

In May Brian and I drove out to Utah to be to Clark Andrew's baby blessing.
It was a blessing to be able to spend some time with our family out in Utah and Idaho.
We were able to go to Diane's graduation from Idaho State as well. Why do I always get so choked up when one of my family members graduate from college? I think it is because I am just so proud of them for all their hard work. Anyone who can make it through college deserves an applause and a hearty congratulations! I never made it that far in school. Raising my children was my career.

Winter took a long time leaving us this year and our last big snow storm came just the day after we left to go to Utah for our visit. Since we have been home  the weather has been fluctuating a lot between mild and hot. The last couple of weeks it has finally warmed up and now we are getting thunderstorms with a lot of rain. The night before last we got 1.6 inches of rain and last night we received an additional 1.7 inches. I worry about the big, old Cottonwood tree on our South lawn. It's roots are shallow and with the ground so saturated with moisture and the high winds whipping it around It could come crashing down. I had the tree trimmed a couple of years ago to hopefully keep it from crashing into the house but you just never really know which direction the wind might take it if the roots were to let go.

Brian and I and Steve have managed to squeeze in some distance on our bikes since it has warmed up. We took a four mile run around Lake Ripley and tonight Brian and I took a five mile ride on the bike path between Dassel and the high school. It was a good ride and after it was over I could feel the blood coursing through my body. The downside was that my allergies flared up and so my face and eyes became inflamed and itchy. It feels good to be able to have time with Brian as our schedules do not always agree and except for some brief time here and there we do not get to see each other. Tonight bike ride was awesome! Thank you for the date Brian!