Ready and Waiting

Today I made and put in the freezer 3 pans of Lasagna. It joins various other things I have made ahead in an attempt to not spend to much time in the kitchen on Christmas. Snow was ordered and delivered.

House is decorated and beds are ready and there is even a door on the basement bedroom!!

We are soooooo anxious to welcome all of you, our children home. Please be wise and drive carefully You are all precious to us. Love, Mom and Dad

Happy Birthday to Grandma

Here it is a practical birthday present. Before you cast any judgment, I requested it and I love it and it was orginally Larry's idea. I haven't been able to get into this cupboard for quite some tiime without pain. Now it is so easy with this niffty pull out drawer. Thanks honey!! Also we had a delightful night out with supper at the Mexican restaurente and a play about 60's music. It was great and now I am officially 62.

It is Beginning To Look Like Christmas

In preparation for Christmas, Dad hung the lights on the house. I helped untangle them. It was a beautiful day outside and does not seem like Christmas at all. The lawns are beautiful green. I also have decorated inside. We are trying to be all organized as we await the arrival of our children.

Thanksgiving Dinner

A turkey feast at Hy-Vee. It was delicious and I did not have to do dishes. We made a pumpkin pie at home and managed to eat most of it over the coarse of the day. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day Project

Our goal was to make the back basement bedroom a little more appealing. This picture is not flattering but it shows that I (we) painted. The walls are brown. This wall turned out great the cement walls not as good. We decided they should have been treated before painting, but non-the-less they are better than they were. Getting this new piece of carpet downstairs was a two man job done by one man. It was quite a process but he did it. Another feat is that Dad decided the room needed lights that turned on by a switch at the door. I did not know he could wire but after several hours of trial and error he did it. Now the room has a light switch. I asked him how he knew to do that and he said watching people and the internet. What a man! Next project he plans to tackle is a door on the room.

Putting the carpet down. It fits the room. Goodbye old gold carpet.

Finished project. Dad also put up the piece of paneling on the unfinished wall. Yes Dave and Anita that is your coffee table. Your love seat is also in there. We decided it was a safe place for them both but we don't intend to keep them. :)

I even hung a pictue on the wall and got new bedding. I had fun making the collage of older pictures. Dave and Anita are the lucky first occupants. :)

The Ostrich Nest

Here is Uncle Matt up in the Ostrich Nest. If only he were little again.

Grandma's Favorites

These pictures are, in my opinion the best of the best. I bought Katelynn this silly hat and I thought she was cute as a button in it even if the balls were almost as big as her head. Who could resist this picture of Josiah and Jonathan with their Grandpa. I will forever cherish this picture and hope that the boys will also.

Again I thank God for my wonderful family and the privilege I have had to live long enough to enjoy these moments.

Kate and Jack

We have been blessed with another set of babies. Ours seem to come in sets now. It truely is double fun. Here is sweet Katelyn

Hopefully the start of a lifelong friendship. Sweet Jackson

Eric and Sarah and children, Becky and children and Matt and Unity came home for the wedding of cousin Liz Zuehlke. We all missed Dave and Anita and their family, and Becky's husband Chaun, but it wasn't possible for them to come this time. The pictures above and below reflect this family celebration.

Jonathan and Josiah

The recent visit by my girls at home gave some opportunity for fun shots of the two boys who aren't twins but seem so to grandma. I heard a knock on the back door and when I opened it, in came these two characters on thier bikes.

Reading at the motel.

Scott and Liz Gamblin

In November we were excited to be part of Scott and Liz's wedding. We enjoyed our trip so much and sharing precious time with family. Following are some snaps of our week-end.

With the happy bride and groom. Congrats Scott and Liz. (Liz is Sandy's sisters daughter)
Pouring punch

With Josiah and Jack Luke holding Katie

Josiah and Jonathan played so nicely at the table

Cousins

Dad waiting for the wedding to begin. Uncle Matt enjoying Katie.

Unity enjoying Katie.

Sisters -

Eric and Sarah visit Meriden

Eric and Sarah came on Nov. 18th. They came for Liz's wedding but got to spend a day at home with us before we left for GI. We had a really good time with them and the little boys. Here is a picture of them at the wedding.

The Ostrich Nest

The tree house has been officially named. The winning entry came from Uncle Matt. I am sorry all you wonderful grandchildren. I loved every suggestion but in the end I couldn't resist Matt's name, "The Ostrich Nest". Josiah and his daddy were the first ones up. I don't think Josiah was too thrilled but his parents thought it was neat. Hopefully we will have a nice enough day over Christmas when everyone can go up.

A Trip to Milwaukee and Chicago

Near the end of October I took a trip by myself to Milwaukee and Chicago. The trip there was challenging, rain, some night driving and staying in a motel by myself. The reward however once I got there was oh so sweet. First (Friday morning) I stopped at Sarah and Eric's. Josiah was excited to see me and that squeezed Grandma's heart. He was delighted with my bag of books and wanted me to sit down and read immediately. Jackson was so sweet and a pure delight to love on. Around supper time Sarah, the boys and I climbed into my van and drove to Chicago to Dave's. There I was met by 4 enthusiastic Grandchildren. We had soooooo much fun. Eric came to Dave's later and then the next morning their family left for Kentucky. Saturday I spent with Dave's family. We went shopping, ate ice cream, read books and just soaked up being together. I love visiting Chicago. I had to leave on Sunday but before I left I had breakfast with Unity. We had a nice visit and a good breakfast. Then I left Chicago and headed home. The trip home was daylight and a beautiful day. It went good. I still am amazed that I can do this trip by myself but oh so thankful! It was wonderful to return home to Larry. How thankful I am to gave him waiting at the end of the road.

Jacci visits

We so enjoyed a visit from Jacci Zuniga (Missionary from South Africa) last week-end. Here we are sitting on a bench at pumpkin land. Besides visiting there we spent alot of time talking and enjoying each others company. Jacci always encourages our hearts and she says we do the same for her, so that is a pretty good deal. Hopefully she will be back to see us in a couple of years.

Golden Fields

Why don't I ever remember seeing the beautiful golden bean fields before. I wish I had a better camera because these pictures don't do justice to the beautiful golden spots dotting our landscapes this fall.

The Ostercamp Tree House

Here it is! Getting closer and closer to completion. Dad is having sooooo much fun making this tree house. It has been such a good project for him. Soon all the walls will be up. Dad still has a few finishing touches he is thinking about to make it special. No matter what happens it has already provided him hours of entertainment.

School Year 2009 - 2010

Another school year has started. We were all ready and it was so fun to welcome our new students. This year I have 16 students. 9 of them are girls and 11 of them are 3. So far they seem to be pretty good and I see no severe problems. PTL I love reporting here each day.

Here is Erika and I. I am so thankful for her and what she adds to our team. She makes my day much easier.

Last week I got to go visit a little girl that I had 2 years ago and got attached to. She has since been adopted and her new family contacted me and asked me to come for a visit. This was a fun thing that I have never gotten to do before.

Scott and Liz

It was really fun on Labor day to have Liz and Scott visit. We really enjoyed meeting Scott and getting to know him. He is a third grade teacher. We learned to play disk golf, visited the ice cream capital and played "5 Crowns". Larry will preform their wedding in Sept. We look forward to that.

Praying For A Car

About a year ago we started to look for a different car. Our van had 229,000 miles on it and it was time to retire it. I wished for a gold color and Dad wished for Stow N Go seats. We had saved the money for it, so we needed a certain price and we wanted reletively low mileage. This was our request. After looking for awhile we weren't seeing any Stow N Go seats so Larry gave that up. I wasn't so quick to give up the gold color however, but thought I might have to when we discoved a silver one that was very nice. Before we bought it however God led us to look one more place. And there we found a gold one that met all the requirements and it even had Stow N Go seats. And there you have it what we have known all along, God delights to give his children the desires of their hearts. We thank Him.

Giving Thanks for our New Car

Here is the car we recently purchased. We are excited about our new purchase. It is gold in color. These pictures were taken at dusk and the color may not show up as good as it could. It is basically an updated version of our other car and we have always enjoyed our van.

Our trip to Milwaukee

What fun to see Josiah and Jack in August. Jackson had really grown. He was so smilely and that was really fun for us.

CUTE!