A VERY WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas with most of the family. We were missing the John Seaba family and the John Neir family and Grandpa Tucker(he was in the hospital). We had our Christmas dinner at our house and then went to Greg & Susan's house to open presents. Greg had to work Christmas Day so he drove by in the fire truck to see the family for a moment. We quickly got a picture of most of us that were at his house at the time and had just finished opening presents.

Below you can see that everyone is looking forward to opening presents.


The computers are lots of fun for the grandkids(and their moms and dads) and with the webkinz being so popular now, they all had to take care of their animals.

Trevin - Micah - Dawson

Owen - Caleb - Evan - Meryn

Below there is one full living room with many things going on. Computers - games - picture taking - and just sitting and visiting -- We had a really good time together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERTA!

Today is Roberta's birthday - #65 - . Roberta and her husband Don live in Edinburgh, TX, and minister at RGBI. They are here for 2 weeks and have been able to enjoy Christmas with all of us. Below is a picture of her with Meredith Veer. We love you Berta and hope you have a great birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

SONDY CELEBRATES HER BIRTHDAY

Today Sondy, my sister-in-law, turns 62 years old. Sondy keeps busy working at a furniture store as well as substituting as a school teacher quite often. She and my brother Jim live in the country near Strawberry Point, IA. and keep busy at their church and are always busy doing something to help or encourage others. We love you Sondy and hope you have a great birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

THE GIRL I PRAYED FOR

Today I, Roger, am blogging for Mary. You see, Mary turns 65 today. She is the love of my life and a gift from God. When I was a young teen, I heard Billy Graham tell a story about his daughter when she was 8 years old. "Daddy, does God know who I will marry some day?" "God knows everything, let's pray for him right now." From that day on, I began to pray for that girl that God had for me. Girls came and went and I kept their names out of that prayer. I met Mary when I came to Hutchinson in August, 1966, to teach at Central Christian. It took very little time until I realized that this was the girl that I was praying for. She was everything that I had dreamed about. She is my dearest friend. Mary is wonderful Mom to our 6 children and a very devoted grandmother to our 23 grandchildren and a loving daughter to her parents. Mary, it is so special to know that God picked you out for me. As your husband, today on your birthday, I praise you (Proverbs 31:28) and the God who gave you to me. Happy Birthday, Mary! I love you - Rog

The Roses below were a gift from Rog

BIRTHDAY WISHES TO OUR YOUNGEST

Our youngest son, John, turns 29 years old today. John and Liz share the same birthday and isn't he cute. John has grown up to be a fine man and we are very proud of him. We are grateful that God provided him to be a brother to our firstborn, Roger. We love you John and trust that you have a wonderful birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

LIZ IS 61 TODAY

Liz celebrates her 61st birthday today. We are glad that she can be close to us and to her parents. She is such a blessing in providing beautiful music in our church as well. Thanks Liz and we love you and trust you have a special birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUNE!

June turns 37 today. June was always playing school and she was the teacher while growing up. Now she is teaching her own children and doing a great job of it. She has become a wonderful woman and we are very proud of her. We love you June and hope you have a great birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

THANKSGIVING DAY WITH FAMILY

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with most of our children and grandchildren here for our big turkey dinner. We were blessed to have 37 around our tables, a good meal and a time of giving thanks. In the afternoon we decorated the playhouse with the children and just enjoyed our time being together.

DAD CELEBRATED HIS 91st BIRTHDAY

Dad turned 91 yesterday, November 18th. We celebrated by having dinner together last evening with the folks and Greg & Susan's family. We decided to stay home and grill instead of trying to go out. Mom made him an angel food cake. We had a precious time of singing choruses around the table when we finished our meal. Dad is battling some confusion but had no confusion about singing the old choruses. We love you Dad and wish you a very Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY BOY - COOPER IS 5

Today Cooper is celebrating his 5th birthday. I understand that he is not feeling well but we hope he can enjoy his birthday a little. Cooper loves to help in any way he can and is a sweet little grandson. We love you Cooper and hope you have a fun birthday and that you feel better very soon.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, GRANDMA, & GREAT GRANDMA

Today Mom is celebrating her 88th birthday. We thank God for a mother who prays and walks with God. We also thank God for the opportunity to have Mom in our home(along with Dad). We love you and pray God will bless you in the coming years.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!


the pretty roses Dad gave her

OUR BABY GRANDSON IS ONE YEAR OLD

Yes, Hudson is one year old today and yes, he has this big smile on his face most of the time. He is such and sweet little guy and yesterday we were able to see him in KC and have lunch with him and 25 more of our family. Hudson brings joy to all that he is around and we want to wish him a Happy Birthday with lots of love to a dear little grandson.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

TREVIN IS NINE YEARS OLD

Trevin is 9 years old today. He happens to be here getting ready for school and told me he turned 9 at 2:32 a.m. Trevin is full of fun and always concerned for the needs of others. We love our Trevin and hope he has a wonderful birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

DEE DEE CELEBRATES HER BIRTHDAY

Today Dee Dee turned the big 40. Where have the years gone? Dee Dee is a very talented girl and has been responsible for some of the updating and decorating in our home. We really appreciate her and her creative talents. We love you and hope you have a great birthday(we heard her sister came to visit her for the weekend - a great birthday surprise)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

MICAH IS THE BIRTHDAY BOY TODAY

Micah Duehring is 8 years old today. Micah is a joy to have around - he is so quiet but always enjoys being with his cousins. I think he is waiting for his two front teeth to come in - you look cute without them Micah. We love you Micah and hope you have a very fun birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

ETHAN HAS A BIRTHDAY

Ethan Seaba is 3 years old today. He has the biggest smile and is a very sweet boy with lots of energy and curiosity. He keeps his Mommy a hoppin. We love you Ethan and hope you have a very special and fun birthday.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

CHICAGO HERE WE COME! (with our three little ones)

We took our 3 oldest children to Chicago on the train twenty some years ago. At that time our 3 youngest children were very sad because they wanted to go with us and we told them that we would take them another time. Well, you know how busy things get and time gets away - here twenty three years later we decided to make that promise good.

We left KC on the train at 7:45 last Friday morning. We arrived in Chicago at 3:15 and decided to walk to our downtown hotel. It was a good walk and we were glad to get to the hotel and be done with the luggage. Shortly we headed out to find a trolley that would take us to the Navy Pier. We walked around for a little bit and then rode the huge ferriswheel at the McDonalds.

Later we were ready to have some of the good pizza that we enjoyed at Ginos 23 years ago. Then we bought a 2 day pass for the transit system so we could ride the subways and buses the next couple of days.

On Saturday we visited the museum of science and industry and went through the smart house which has some amazing technology and also went through the u-boat that we captured from the Germans in World War II.
We then went to Michigan Ave. to do some shopping and then
later on Saturday evening we rode the subways.

On Sunday we attended Moody Church and enjoyed a good service with hundreds of others. We then went back to the hotel to check out of our room and then went to lunch before heading for the train station.

By 3:00, we were back on the train and ready to head back to KC. We knew from 23 years ago that the seats were reversible but we couldn't figure out how to get them turned. Susan was persistent and finally figured it out and we thought we would have a fun time on the way home but.... as they came to check our tickets, they told us we would have to turn them back around. The other family that thought that was a wonderful idea were admonished first and they turned and said we had told them how to do it:)

We enjoyed a meal in the dining car
on the way home - we intended to do that on the way in but they were all out of food so we had to wait.

We had a very fun and busy weekend and were somewhat exhausted as we boarded the train on Sunday. We thoroughly enjoy being with our children and only wish we could have had all of them with us.

Ready to leave for Chicago at Union Station in KC

resting up for the busy 48 hours ahead

walking with our luggage to our hotel in downtown Chicago

(a mile and a half)CHICAGO

carousel at Navy Pier

taken from the ferriswheel

Lake Michigan from the ferriswheel

downtown Chicago from the ferriswheel at Navy Pier

Wonderful Pizza place

Enjoying pizza

Our name on the wall with the millions in Ginos

Elisa writing on the wall in Ginos

the seats like they were when we took our 3 oldest kids some 20 years ago

enjoying some of the displays in the museum of science and industry

a free trolley that we rode to Navy Pier

when it started raining - the hoods went up

Moody Church we attended Sunday morning

riding the bus

arriving back in KC Sunday night

OUR GRANDDAUGHTER MALIA TURNS 6

Today Malia is celebrating her sixth birthday. Malia loves gymnastics and has started school this year. I think she loves school and is doing well. Isn't she a beautiful little lady and we love her very much. She is missed at home by her 2 little sisters who followed her around all day. We hope you have a wonderful birthday Malia, and very soon she will be moving into a new house so her next year will be spent in a new home.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

A BUSY WEEK

Last week was a busy one. We had Phil & Julie's 2 youngest girls for a couple of days while they were house shopping. Then on Thursday, we took them back to Emporia and met June with her 5 children to return to our home while June and Damon go to Branson for their anniversary and June was taking Meredith & Brooklyn back to their home. We have had a lot of fun and work but we love spending time with the grandchildren.


Brooklyn was looking forward to seeing her Mommy & Daddy.

Meredith was sleeping and didn't like it that we were not going to take her clear home so she did not want a picture taken.

Here's the carload we brought back home

And they spent quite a bit of time outside since the weather was so nice.

Maggie & Molly all ready to go to church

Damon and June came back Monday evening and Tuesday morning left for home. Now it is very quiet around here.

It is Thursday and we are ready to head for KC to take our "three little ones" on the train to Chicago. We told them when they were very young that we would take them because we had taken the three older ones when they were in high school. We really didn't plan that it would be twenty some years later but better late than never on a promise. Watch for more about our trip.

OUR OLDEST DAUGHTER CELEBRATES # 39

Julie has turned 39 years young today and it's a week she will never forget. Last Sunday Julie called us to ask if we had a busy week. She was needing a couple of grandchildren to be taken so she and Phil could seriously look for a new home since theirs had sold overnight. We were happy to oblige and met them halfway and brought Meredith and Brooklyn home with us. They have found a new home and she was able to relax and celebrate her birthday. She is such a good Mommy and wife and we are so proud of her. We love you, Julie, and hope you have a wonderful birthday!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

BIG BROTHER CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY

Yes, Jim is 66 years old today. I called to sing to him and it took him a few minutes to get to the phone so I guess he's slowing down - just kidding Jim. I'm not far behind him so I better not give him too much grief. We appreciate and love you Jim and your heart for the Lord. Jim is very involved in his church there in Iowa and in his spare time is working to repair his home from the water damage in the basement from the flooding in Iowa several months ago. We hope you had a good birthday Jim.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!