OFF TO SAINT LOUIS

On Wednesday morning, I am off to St. Louis for the "Unwrapped" conference, a national campus ministry gathering. I'll return on Saturday just in time to prepare for the Guatemala mission trip - leaving Stevens Point about 6 pm on Sunday, January 6 (Epiphany).

I'm not sure what to expect either at the conference or on the mission trip, but I know that they will be blessings to me and others. At the conference, I am leading one sectional on international student ministry. On the mission trip, I am the designated "evangelist," although I would expect that others will be vocal about sharing their faith.

For the Guatemala trip, this blog will become the communicating tool between the mission trippers and "folks back home." It seemed like the easiest way to do it, although I just don't know how good the internet is in Zacapa.

VIDEO OF ANOTHER SNOWY WALK. I just love this snow!

I was out making bowls again this afternoon. If I have to say so myself, they seem to be shaping up pretty nicely (get the pun?). I am more and more pleased with them. I'm beginning to note the techinques of how to get them "lineless," that is, so that they are perfectly smooth inside and out. I think that is a significant advancement.

These are the bowls that I've made since Christmas Day when Karol left. The smaller ones are all birch and the bigger, flatter ones are black cherry.

When I was out to get the mail today, I saw a bunch of turkey tracks along the driveway. I saw some the other day too, but I thought that maybe they were crows. This time I'm sure that they are turkey.

This is just to let you know that the snow hasn't melted yet! We'll much sooner have a meltdown in Washington before any of our snow melts.

 

 

WHAT A YEAR THIS HAS BEEN! I AM THANKFUL FOR WIFE AND FAMILY; FRIENDS AND RELATIVES; SAFE TRAVEL AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADING WORSHIP; BOWLS AND GARDEN; ENGLISH CAFE AND ISM, INC; BUT MOST OF ALL FOR JESUS WHO HAS SET ME FREE AND FORGIVEN EVERY SHORTCOMING AND MISTAKE. SUCH A BLESSING IT IS THAT HE LOVES ME!

PARADISE!!

Last year, the prediction was for cold and lots of snow, but it turned out to be warm with hardly any snow at all. I don't know what the prediction is for this year, but it has been cold and we've had lots of snow. I just noticed that my last two blogs were about snow. Well, that will be a part of this one too! It is just too beautiful to not take notice.

VIDEO OF A SHORT WALK FROM THE BACK DOOR DOWN OUR DRIVEWAY

Karol is off in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl activities. She traveled out with the Wisconsin Badger football team as the "caregiver" for Ross and Miriam's four children. They left on Christmas Day and will be returning on January 2. The quiet days have given me time to read, make more bowls, catch up on paper work, and make a whole lot of "thank you" phone calls.

The road down to the shed and our pond.

To the left is the beginning of my supply for next winter. The empty space is where I have taken wood for this winter's heat. I still have the wood to the right to use (and there is more in the shed).

This is the view from the entry to our property. Ten years ago, I don't recall any evergreens standing in this spot. We planted some (especially spruce) but most of these are volunteers.

This is one of the two feeders right at the kitchen window. If the glass weren't there, you could catch the little pine siskins in your hand. Other birds that come to our window are: redpoll, goldfinch, cardinal, chickadee, mourning dove, nuthatches (red bellied and white breasted), and sometimes a bluejay (also the ever-present English sparrows). Each of those birds have to compete with both the gray and the black squirrels.

I've got the wood all stacked by the library door so that Karol does not have to carry it very far. I will be gone to Guatemala and later to Hong Kong for mission trips.

While Luke may look like an orphan, he was just one of the many grandchildren who used this sliding hill that Nathan had carefully groomed. It was a good run!

 MY FAVORITE HOME AWAY FROM HOME (EVEN THOUGH IT'S AT HOME)

I don't get to see my sister, Ruth, very often. She lives in Oshkosh, and, while that is not far away as the miles go, it seems to be off my beaten path. Rob and Penny had a Christmas Day meal and I was able to join them after leading Christmas Day worship in Westfield, WI.

A COUPLE OF VIDEOS

The first video is of the snowfall in Rosholt. I wanted to take a picture of the snow falling from the branches as the wind blew, but it didn't happen. You'll notice blurs passing across the screen. Those are chickadees flying to and from the bird feeders on the south side of our home.

SNOW VIDEO

The second video is of grandson, Isaac, in Pittsburgh. The weather was nice and so we were out in the backyard. He wanted to get out his play lawnmower. When I took it out of the garage, he proceeded to pull the cord to get it started. He pulled and pulled. Then when we got near the garage, he pulled some more. It was a joy to watch him operate the mower.

VIDEO OF ISAAC PULLING THE IMAGINARY STARTER CORD ON HIS LAWNMOWER 

Another special event was to watch good eater, Isaac, consume some of the Greek yogurt that I had brought with me from Stevens Point. He loved it!

ISAAC EATING YOGURT

We're enjoying our stay in Pittsburgh with Matthew and Angie and their two boys, Isaac and Caleb. We hope that all is well with each of you.

Caleb, at eight months, still enjoys his bottle. He's just starting solid foods.

Isaac. Two years old.

I can't believe how blessed Matthew and Angie are with their two joy-filled children.

The brothers have just begun their bath together. Isaac is great at sharing the toys.

Ray (and Jackie) Feller used to be the "across the street" neighbors until they sold their home at the end of August and moved to a Lutheran Retirement Center, north of Pittsburgh. Isaac calls them Grandpa Ray and Grandma Jackie. Both of them have become a wonderful Pittsburgh family for Matthew and Angie.

OUR FIRST SNOW

The first measurable snow of the season always seems to be spectacular. Yesterday was such a snow. While there was only 4.5 inches, it clung to every possible object so that we would certainly appreciate it's beauty.

Enjoy the snow with us - I'm always thankful for the reminder that as the snow covers all of the dead debris of the fall, so God in the Christmas gift covers all of our death with His life.

An early morning snack for one of our numerous black-capped chickadees.

This shot was taken to the south out of our great room even before the sun had some near the horizon. The snow looks like spider webs on the branches.

Taken out of our bedroom window.

The seed heads look like they all are wearing white caps.

Cheeto to the rescue. He comes to plow whenever we have a 3+ inch snowfall.

The birdhouse rests from it's labors and keeps watch over the pond.

What a beautiful frame for our house.

The sun just peeked over the horizon.

Tufts.

All waits for Spring. But the rabbits never rest.

.

The view from our Great Room. So blessed we are!!

The sun is now up and our world begins to take on a real sparkle.

Now that the cranes have their winter coat, they'll stay plenty warm until the spring thaw.

With this view as I sit at my desk, you know exactly why it is "fun" to work.

A BEAUTIFUL "WINTER" WEEKEND

It's been a while since I've posted. Of course, I'd say, "Nothing really exciting!" but that would not be the case. There's always excitement each and every day. Surprises, acts of love, relationships, opportunities for service, and what not else.

Megan (Nathan and Holly) stayed with us last Tuesday night - always so very special.

Taylor (and the other kids) loved the hats that I scrounged up for them.

Abram loves tearing around the circle on one of the hot cycles.

Elizabeth, Rachel, and Asher enjoy the bikes and the battery powered jeeps.

Joshua loves his Green Bay Packer jacket - they start young in central Wisconsin.

Kaitlyn enjoys the swing - we've had that now for about 10 years. She travels "make believe" on airplane rides to many places around the world.

This weekend was wood cutting, with Andrew and with Rob, my brother. I love to cut wood, or stack it, or even split it with a splitter, but it wears on my body.

ANDREW CUTTING WOOD

Grandchildren were over this weekend too - seven of them.(Andrew Selle's and Kolodziej's). It's always great to have them around, and Karol is the number 1 GRANDMOTHER in the whole world. Abram and Asher stayed last night, and the four Kolodziejs will be here tonight. The weather was absolutely beautiful this afternoon, so Karol and I even sat in lounge chairs in the driveway. While it wasn't 74 degrees, it was nice!!

We're so thankful for this home. The outdoors gives the children room to run and play; the driveway "circle" is great for tricycle, hot cycle, and bicycle riding. You know, of course, that there are rules. The traffic pattern is always in a clockwise manner, and the end of the route is the rail fence. It works to have some kind of order because I know it would otherwise be chaos.

Rob and I cut wood on Friday morning, into the afternoon (we only stopped when we were hungry for the egg salad sandwiches that Karol had prepared for us. We have discovered that it is harder for us to cut a HUGE amount of wood every time we go out. No longer do we take our trailers with us - only our pickups. Whatever is extra from the pickups is stacked to dry until next fall.

The combination lock is severely rusted, the cabin has been undermined by woodchucks, and the once frequently used spot for family gatherings and campfires has fallen into disrepair. Nathan is looking into fixing it up so that it can be used by the next generation.

We just discovered that if we attach a rope to the logs, we can drag them out to where the roads are. In that way, we (usually me) don't have to carry the huge logs a long distance. Many of those big round chunks need to be split.

WE HAD TROUBLE WORKING THE VIDEO

ROB DRAGS A LOG TO THE ROADWAY

It really was a nice weekend. Tomorrow, I'm off to Immanuel, Westfield, to lead worship. The sermon title is "Advent Hope."