Memory Lane Monday

Hello all!

I have SO MANY things to share with you in the coming year(s) in these Memory Lane Monday posts but can't seem to get myself together right now to follow through with posting them right now. Thanks for understanding.

I hope the others who are posting don't think I've given up the idea. Please continue to post yours-I LOVE THEM!!! I'll be back on board soon...hopefully! ;)

Alison

Family Reunion Highlights

Here are a few pictures that we took at our Family Reunion in July. As you can see I didn't take many pictures and the ones I took were not all that great. But at least I got some of the highlights except for the afternoon at the lake and all the good food. I also missed pictures of most of the 102 family members that were there but we had a wonderful time and good memories to look back on.

Our hearts are with Uncle Budd and his family today as he is finishing his journey. We will miss him so much. I'm thankful for the memories I have of him and his generation of hardworking, generous, loving people that are slipping through our fingers like the sands of time through an hour glass.

May we never forget them,

Home for the Harvest

Tall buildings outlined by approaching dawn,

Like the silo silhouette bein' slowly drawn,
On the skyline scene from the farm-yard lawn,
And the front porch from which I have gone.

I thought the city would give to me,
A life of ease, a life carefree,
I try to deny that I long to be,
Home for the harvest, naturally.

Home for the harvest is where I'll be,
Home where my family is needing me,
Home where my heart can wander free,
Home for the harvest, naturally.

Does the moon still rise to the coyotes call,
And hang in the skies o'er the wheat so tall,
Like an old yellow hat on the hook in the hall,
When I'm home for the harvest in the fall?

Is the air still heavy with approaching dusk,
Is it hot and thick with the combine dust,
Is supper still cheered, are the breakdowns cussed?
Get me home for the harvest, yes I must.

Home for the harvest is where I'll be,
Home where my family is needing me,
Home where my heart can wander free,
Home for the harvest, naturally.

I miss planting, branding, the old swing tree,
Home for the harvest, I will be.

~Chuch Suchy
www.chuchsuchy.com

Lessons From Grandpa

I love these pictures of Grandpa Larry showing Colter how to safely operate his new BB gun.

I have no doubt that he got a good education from his Grandpa as they sat on the grass in the setting sun that evening.

It's a good thing to have Grandpas and Dads that can pass on the wisdom they have learned through the years. Makes this Mom feel a little more at ease.

To the Boys of America

Of course what we have a right to expect from the American boy is that he shall turn out to be a good American man. Now the chances are strong that he wouldn't be much of a man unless he is a good deal of a boy. He must not be a coward or a weakling, a bully, a shirk or a prig. He must work hard and play hard. He must be clean-minded and clean-lived, and able to hold his own under all circumstances and against all comers. It is only on these conditions that he will grow into the kind of a man of whom Americans can really be proud.

~Theodore Roosevelt

Guns are not toys! Rules are important! Be careful!

A Loving Mother,

Colter's Birthday-July 10th!

Not only did we get to celebrate Colter's Birthday in Glacier Park, we also got to celebrate it with Grandpa Larry and Linda (she came all the way from Virginia)! Here we are in front of the Lake McDonald Lodge after a wonderful lunch. After lunch we headed out to have a ride on the Lake McDonald Tour Boat. Here is Colter in the very front of the boat (below).

Thanks for the boat ride Grandpa Larry...

Then we headed to Apgar for a some swimming and lounging around on the beach...
Then Grandpa Steve and Grandma Judy joined us for a barbeque supper and birthday party...

Happy Birthday Little Man...
A bb gun from Dad and Mom and bb's from his sisters...
Thanks Grandpa Larry for the RC 4 wheeler and other gift...
Thanks Grandpa Steve and Grandma Judy for the legos' and other gifts...

A parting shot of the lake that evening...
P.S. For those of you who are wondering... yes, you can have firearms in the park this year. The bb gun is only an air gun but nice to know we were totally okay with having it... :)

Looking Ahead to March 5th!

Here are the kids with a picture! They are very excited about this and we wanted to share it with you! Can you guess what the picture is of?
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Yes, that is a picture of their new little sister/brother!

Maybe this explains why I haven't been out on the front porch much lately. I'm doing really pretty good and can't complain at all. Mostly tired and sick feeling but am thankful for all my little helpers and my one very big helper (Love you Hon!) Sure doesn't bother me to get out of doing the dishes or moving sprinklers around the yard!!!

The Dr. says the due date is March 3rd but my pregnancy calculator says March 5th. I think I'm going to go with the 5th since that is my little brother's birthday and if the baby comes before that I won't complain one bit!

I had a GREAT weekend and seem to have the extra energy/motivation today to go through my July pictures. I didn't take a lot of pictures but we did have a special visit from Grandpa and Linda in July and Colter's 8th Birthday and a family reunion too. So yes, I do have some catch-up posting to do.

But, just this for now,

Memory Lane Monday: Looking Together

In July we had a family reunion- a result of the union of my Great Grandparent's in the picture above. I will try and post some pictures soon of our reunion and some of our other July happenings.

About this picture. It was taken in Norway. It was probably an engagement picture because they did not marry until they where reunited in America. My great grandfather, Marcus, left Norway to make a life for them in America. His soon to be wife, Borghild joined him a short time later in Wisconsin.

They married on June 23, 1908 in Wisconsin. In 1909 they headed to Minnesota and then later onto Montana where they homesteaded and raised their family. I wish I could share all the pictures with you today of their little homestead soddy, their 10 children, their life of seeming toil and desolation... but more than this, their richness of spirit and endurance, their patience and love of family and God.

When I look at this picture, I wonder... Did they have any idea what their future would hold? I'm sure they knew he would be leaving for their new life soon and she would follow later. They may not have been gazing at each other in love, the kind of unabashed, brazen love you see so much of these days that only lasts for a moment. Together, they were looking ahead, ready to meet the future, whatever it would hold for them, for better or for worse... That's a love that last's the ages. That's a love that we can even share in today as we continue to celebrate the unity of their lives and the love of family.

What's around the next corner on Memory Lane?
See you next Monday!

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