Winter Finally Arrived

SNOW! Here it is going into the 2nd week of January and only now is it feeling (or looking for that matter) like winter. This is the first real snow we've had this 2010-11 winter season.
A week or so back I saw a few barely visible snowflakes fall but you had to have been in it to know it had happened.

This has been a nice snowfall. It's not blowing white blinding blizzard. Or drifts towering over fences causing waves across roadways.

It's been enjoyable to sit inside my nice warm house and watch the beautiful winter snowscape. I hope all of you out there are safe and warm, too.

Merry Christmas!

I got my little Christmas tree down from the attic and set up. It's still as pretty as ever, don't you think?
I put my singing and dancing tree, penguins and snowman under the tree along with the presents. When you have a small tree, you need small presents.

Because my daughter works on Christmas this year we all gathered at her house on Christmas Eve day.

With all the presents placed under the tree the children entertained themselves playing video games.

No Christmas meal, just loads of snacks, finger foods. I brought over my new smoothie maker and ingredients like bananas, creamer and other fruit. My brother supplied the Baileys.

First we snacked and the kids continued to play.

Then we opened presents.

Do you see K-monster with his hands full of the little boxes? The Princess is opening hers. The hand show the bling from the little boxes. Jewelry they were ALL happy to receive. Definitely one size fits all. Then after the unwrapping it was back to playing.

The menfolk spent most of their time back out of the way, out from under foot.

Another Merry Christmas for the KS Born bunch. Hope You and Yours enjoyed the same!

K-5 Christmas Concert

Kindergarten & First grades...

Granddaughter in 2nd row from top, 4th from the left.

Second & Third grades...

Fourth & Fifth grades...

Grandson 2nd row from bottom, 4th from the left.

The band and an overview of the audience.

The following is a condensed video of the complete concert...

Thank You, Children for a Wonderful Program!

Old Frame

I was going through some things that I had brought home from my Aunt Leta's apartment and decided to take the old pictures out of their frames and put them in the albums with the family pictures and history. The pictures in this frame I already have copies of, they are of my mother and Aunt Leta in the first picture. My Uncle Vernon in the second picture and my Uncle Howard and Uncle Donny in the third picture. I never met Uncle Donny. He drown not too long after this picture was taken.

I like the old frame, it has that folk artsy quality to it. So I turned it over and pulled the nails out that were holding in the cardboard.

It was then I discovered a message, written in pencil on the cardboard backing.

It says,

"I got 5 gallons of gasoline. I was out or I awaited till tomorrow.

pay you later

Lewis Nowak"

I called mom to let her know what I found. She said the Nowaks lived down the road from them in Brewster (near Goodland) KS and that Lewis went to school with Uncle Howard. Lewis' father, Carl, drove the school bus for the Brownsvilled School District, Sherman County. Carl was from Poland and when driving the bus would say he "pulled the hill up" and "turned the corner round." Later Lewis drove the bus. Mom knew nothing of the note, nor any idea when it might have been written. Lewis died in 2008, so far we haven't been able to contact any of his children to find out if they'd like the note.

For the time being, I think it shall remain in the old frame.

Golden Wheat AHSGR Christmas Party

Sunday, December 5th was our annual Christmas Party for the Golden Wheat Chapter AHSGR. We had a really nice gathering of friends and family this year.
We started out our program wishing my granddaughter a Happy Birthday. Her Great-Grandmother, my mother, brought her a nice big sheet cake decorated with her favorites, horses, to share with everyone for the occasion.

For our Christmas Party we celebrate with finger foods and goodies galore...

Our program begins with the reading of the Christmas story in both German and English...

Then we had members share stories of personal memories of Christmases past and also stories of German beginnings of Christmas traditions that we all celebrate now.

Joel and Karen shared their childhood memories of visiting their grandparents on Christmas. The apron that Karen is wearing is reminiscent of her grandmother's apron and has her grandparents picture on it. The told of standing on that very stool and reciting passages for their grandparents. Then the grandmother would fill her apron with oranges and candy and they would all get to pick their treats from it.

We all stood and sang Christmas songs in German and/or English.

Rachel shared with us the Certificate of Appreciation that she received at the Kansas Round Up.

And then, what all the children had been waiting for... Santa! The children seemed to be a bit shy this year. They hurried up as Santa called their names and then scurried back to their chairs, often moving so fast they were but a blur on my camera.

Santa stuck around and helped with the drawing for the door prizes but had to go tend to his reindeer. Children were called up on to help with the fund raiser drawing.

It was wonderful to see the families that were able to make it, and we had cooperative weather this year for travel.

Here's wishing everyone

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

and

HAPPY NEW YEAR

from the

Golden Wheat Chapter AHSGR

Happy Halloween!

The granddaughters came over to get ready for Halloween. The older granddaughter is wearing my leather fringe jacket and bag that I got for Christmas around 1970 or so... The hat and boots are mine also but not as old, the boots being much newer.

For the younger granddaughter I found some long hair on a headband in with the dress up stuff to complete her Astrid costume from "How to Train Your Dragon." You never know what you're going to see on Halloween night.

Or what modes of transportation they will be taking.

All types walking together on Halloween night.

I really like these and wondered if their costumes lasted till the end of the night. I think they were suppose to be the Fruit of Loom guys.

I hope you all had a very Happy and Safe Halloween!

K-Monsters Birthday 2010

Another grandson Birthday! The kids really like the Halloween decorations. The cat below is quite nice... It's head is motorized and moves back and forth.

K-Monster's party started out with pizza!

He decided he'd rather have a cookie rather than a cake.

Guess that makes him the Cookie K-Monster.

Boys never grow up, their toys just get bigger and more eleborate.

Finally a slide show of him opening his presents.