Hey, I got a new camera!

I got a new camera to try out! It is a Fuji S2000. Very cool! We had some money left in our equipment fund, so I was able to get exactly what I wanted! And then, to boot, it was all on sale, so I could get a tripod too! I actually got a good picture of the demon squirrel and as soon as I figure out how to download pictures, I will post some! Now we have to take a family/prayer card picture. Sam is excited because he is going to make a lego stop motion movie....this winter, probably.
I am sitting here listening to a Ukele and a tuba. Quite a combo. If Kris were here she could join in with her violin, Thomas on the Bass, Nick on his uke, Andrew on the harmonica and Alena could sing! Now that could be fun....
I will post again soon!

One more thing...

Today I was blissfully asleep...I stayed up late finish a book...when I was awakened by the...wait for it....TORNADO WARNING SIREN!
Yes, indeed. I shot out of bed and pulled on some clothes, thinking all the while, "gotta get the dog, gotta get a jug of water and get to the basement!"
Just to interject here, it is amazing what your mind thinks of when you are in panic mode...I kept thinking how mad the kids would be if I didn't get the dog...for heaven's sake...the DOG was the first thing I thought of. I would like to think the kids would have been my first concern, but they weren't home...
Back to the story.
Anyway, I run downstairs, grab the dog and my cell phone, then I notice...no wind, no rain...
to interject again...I have seen the movie Twister, I know that there is wind and rain with tornados...
Suddenly, my brain kicks into gear and I realize that the siren has gone off, but apparently for no reason....I got the newspaper to see if there was some sort of drill, then I notice the lady in my backyard...
To interject once again, when people in Montana walk through your back yard, we usually get the shotgun out...Apparently in Illinois, this is normal...
She waves at me...
yes, I am in my pj's with my hair uncombed...
And keeps walking.
I check out all the windows and nope, no tornado. By this time, the dog thinks I am insane...and that brings me to another story....

I came home from the store to discover that my garage side entry door was wide open, in fact, so was my side door into the house.
point of fact...we live in a very large house. If you count the attic and full basement, it is four stories high!
Well, being the brave soul that I am, I grab a knife from my rack in the kitchen and my cell phone...
hey, I watch CSI! I know that if you are stuffed in a car trunk, you want your cell phone...
And begin to scour the house....first the upstairs...Each and every room has a closet, some of them have two...a shower (2 upstairs) and of course the attic, which I determine no one could be in because the door has stuff in front of it.
meanwhile, the dog is following me around..now you have to picture this...I am sneaking around my own empty house, with a butcher knife and a cell phone ... and a very curious dog.
I check every room upstairs, downstairs and then, I have to check....THE BASEMENT!
Point of fact....I have seen the Jason movies and several others...I know what happens in basements!
So, I turn on the light...creep down the stairs...
the dog is still following me...
and there is nothing there. Except puppets. For some of you, that might make you nervous...for me, it is just the way life is in my house.
I must say, if the dog could talk, she would have said "you are such a moron...." Instead, she sighed and went to sleep on the couch.

All this, and Brett has only been gone two days.
Who said life wasn't interesting in small towns??
By the way, it was a drill, the wind blew the garage door open...and my dog still thinks I am stupid.

Ed and Linda visit Blackhawk....

We went to a place called White Pines Park...and saw Turkeys!! But no guns to shoot them with. I am not sure I would know what to do with a turkey, anyway...
Blackhawk...He is big!
Ed, Linda, Brett...reading the information and wandering.
The Belleque's
It is really beautiful up there! And so green!

Ed and Linda enjoying the view.

We almost had Ed run off the cliff! There was a downhill

slant and he just kept going faster and faster!

Poor Linda was hanging onto him. I just got in front of him.

I figured I would just sacrifice myself for the cause....lol!

The trees here are amazing. I want to build tree houses in all of them!

They are fabulous! They look like something that fairies would live in!

And still more of my hometown!

Home sweet home, yep...Emily Street.This is our house, at least the one we want to be our house!

It is really nice and comfy. We really, really, really don't want to move...again.

Andrew, Sam and I spent the day raking leaves in our yard.

It is alot smaller than the yard in Montana, but alot more trees...

One of those picturesque farms in the midwest.
The corn is almost ready to harvest.

You know, now that I think about it all those fields of corn are kind of creepy....hence, all the scary movies.

Ah, yes, the famous Black Hawk...leader in the Indian wars that Lincoln fought.

He actually is pretty cool.

Autumn On Parade!

Autumn On Parade...

think Saturday market under the Burnside Bridge, except no bums...

This is a really big deal in Little Oregon, Illinois!

Let me tell you. People come from all around to see the craft market,

toy show and street performers. There is also a Renassiance Fair

up at the Stronghold that is pretty cool.

We didn't get there this year, but we did see some folks dressed in their costumes. This guy was awesome! He was really graceful on his stilts and the kids loved him!
The Balloon guy...nope, not Brett!
Another stilt artist...person...dragonfly!
On Sunday before the parade, it rained and rained and rained!
Andrew and I ate in the rain...drizzle by now.

Our food needed to be under cover more than we did!

Autumn on Parade is really cool. It was alot of fun, lots of people
and fun stuff to look at!

FOOTBALL! FOOTBALL! FOOTBALL!

Senior night at OHS! It is a big deal! Trust me! Once again the Oregon Hawks took over the field and whomped on the Winnabego Indians.

It was kind of sad for the Indians,

the score in the first half was 35 to 0.

Obviously, the Hawks are going to the playoffs.

The Pep Band, in all it's loud, obnoxious glory.

Here is a better picture.

Mr. Ekhart, the band director, looks pretty spiffy in his suit.

The band played and marched inthe "Autumn on Parade" Parade.

They did great! It was really fun to watch the parade...more on that later!

A Quilt for my mom...

I wanted to put these pictures up awhile ago, I just forgot. I started making this quilt about 2 years ago. I had just gone to see my mom, as it turned out, for the last time. She was still able to visit and was pretty coherant. That was in December of 2006. She went to be with the Lord in March of 2007. My mom loved to quilt. She loved beautiful things. She loved the color purple. When I went home in December, after spending time with her, I started making this quilt. This was my first one. I made each square first, then when she died, I stopped. All the embellishments were from mom's stash. Some of the fabric is from Kris's prom dress, some from Kim and Jason's wedding. It took me a long time to want to put the quilt together. It felt like it might mean that she was really gone, that I would be finished with the whole process.

I got back from conference and realized that I wanted, no, needed to finish the quilt and hang it up to share with others. I think it turned out pretty nice.

I miss my mom every day. I sometimes still forget that I can't call her up and visit. I know that she is with Jesus, and is no longer in pain. I wish that she could have been here for Kristine's wedding, she would have loved Thomas. I wish she could see Sam play in the band and Andrew graduate from high school. My mom loved her family. Sometimes she drove us all crazy, but she loved me, she was proud of all of us and she was a great mom. I owe alot of who I am today because of who she was.