New - The Four Winds blog!

Check out my new blog, The Four Winds, for commentary and discussion on a wide variety of topics...from the four winds.

See you there!

No crows around so far...

We had great fun this Saturday making a scarecrow. Everyone wanted their picture taken with Henry Scarecrow; unfortunately, this means you can't really see him in the shot! Not sure yet if he's scaring any birds, but he sure has startled me a few times when I look out the window.

Nice kitty

Here are Dad and Naomi with one of our friends' new kittens.

It's cold, it's cold, it's cold!

WOW! THAT'S COLD!!!

Some Fourth of July Fun

Some cool Fourth of July fun at a friend's house outside of town.

Dedicating the girls to the Lord

Back in February (the coldest part of last winter), Nicole and Naomi were finally dedicated to the Lord at our home church. Here, Nicole hangs on for dear life as Pastor Andy speaks.

There she is!

I found you!

Which way did she go?

I know the rest of my gang is around here somewhere. I can hear them, even if I can't see them!

The Pony Gang

The Pony Gang rides again! It's rained a lot this spring, and the evening we took this picture we even had a hail storm (followed by a beautiful rainbow). The kids have to burn off energy somehow, so they saddled up inside. Yes, that is a moose Nicole is riding.

New Year's Eve 2006-2007

Friends from church have a farm about an hour away from us. They hosted a New Year's Eve gathering and took pictures of all the different families. Here we are on 31 Dec 2006. Little Naomi was still getting used to all the people!

Our family

Deja Vu

Check out the similarity of these pictures: Dad giving Naomi a big "Whee!" and Dad playing "drum solo" with Nathan (his favorite game as an infant) 8 1/2 years ago.

Gulliver strikes back!

The odd angles in this somewhat mundane picture make me look about 9 feet tall! It's almost as if I were Gulliver in the land of Lilliput.

Pasta face

Who wouldn't be happy after a nice big bowl of pasta? Can you see the sauce on her cheeks?

A Lesson in Giving

Nicole's sixth birthday provided a perfect lesson in giving. As she was counting the money in her new personalized piggy bank, she wanted to pay Dad some of her money. Dad wouldn't take her money, but later after reading The Treasure Principle, by Randy Alcorn, Dad was convicted not to discourage her from giving. So Dad gave Nicole a choice of ministries she could contribute to. She chose a missionary family in Toulouse, France, for whom we pray regularly.

Not to be outgiven, Nathan decided he would contribute to one of Dad's other choices, the church in Sudan. Then he also decided to contribute to the family in France and then even to Dad's home church.

It's never too early to encourage giving!! When children give, they often give for the best reasons, and we adults often discourage them for the most selfish reasons.

Me and my co-pilots

Our first ride out all together after we finally got Naomi a CoPilot seat for the back of Daddy-o's bike. Naomi was fairly reticent at first, but once she starts singing, you know she's having a good time. Nathan seems to be outgrowing his bike every season (of course, the biking season this far north isn't terribly long). Nicole isn't quite confident enough on two wheels yet, although she did learn to balance pretty quickly (it's the turning and stopping that causes all the problems!).

Daddy's little girl

Here's Daddy's littlest girl...she even has Dad's feet (as her brother and sister do)! What a sweetheart!

Dad, you TOLD me I could dig in the dirt!

Like just about all kids, Naomi loves digging in the dirt. She especially loves pouring it all over herself.

It's a bird...it's a plane...

Nathan's a blur as he speeds by on his bike, one of his favorite pastimes, with friend Keegan in the background.

A sweet-smelling rose for Sweet Nicole

Nicole shows off the pink rose she got from Daddy-o on her special day alone with him.

On top of the world...almost

The crew (minus Dave, our photographic journalist extraordinaire), well before Greg's knees gave out.

Conquering the Badlands

Greg joins seven other men from Trinity Church in hiking through the Badlands in June 2006.

What have I gotten myself into?

At summer camp in 2006, Nathan gets to live out his cowboy dream...his first horseback ride.

How do I get a medal rack like that?

Here's Capt Daddy-o with his chain of command (flight commander and squadron Director of Operations) at the 2005 base awards ceremony (Feb 2006).

Proud proffer Nicole

Nicole couldn't be prouder as she bears the proffer pillow. Look at those cheeks!

It's not a promotion ceremony if no one draws blood...

Nathan meticulously pins Dad's new Capt bars on his flight cap as Nicole looks on.

Future LT?

Before Dad's promotion ceremony to Capt (Dec 05), here's Nathan decked out in Dad's 1st Lt flight cap. Is there a future pilot in the family?

What's a hostfest?

On Nathan's eighth birthday (Oct 2005), he and Nicole performed in the "sweater dances" at the local Hostfest (the largest Scandinavian festival in the Western Hemisphere). Nathan was terribly embarrassed as they played "Happy Birthday" for him, so Dad, sporting his own Norwegian sweater, came out to give him a big squeeze.

Dad's three "budgies"

One last picture from Summer 2005 - Daddy-o with his three special "budgies!"

At the zoo!

Nathan and Nicole in their safari outfits on the mini carousel at the zoo. I call them my smiley guys!

Visit from Gramps and Grammy

Gramps and Grammy made a special trip up last year for Nicole's fifth birthday.

What's the vector, Victor?

Last August (2005) continued to be an exciting month as Nathan and Nicole tried out the headsets in this Mooney Ranger, courtesy of Mr. Bennett. Dad and Nathan flew with Mr. Bennett for a few hours, and Dad even got to fly the plane for about 5 minutes (VFR of course!).

Thank you, MSgt Rehm

Nathan and Nicole give a big thank-you smile to MSgt Rehm, the Air Force SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) specialist of 2005. If they ever have to eject out of an airplane in hostile territory, they'll be well-prepared.

Two Thumbs Up!

Nathan and Nicole give two thumbs up. These ejection seats don't really work, do they?? Better hold on!

How do I steer this crazy thing?

In August 05, Nathan and Nicole had an exciting time at the base parachute simulator. Here's Nathan trying his hand at landing on the deck of a ship.

Wee Links, here we come!

What a beautiful day at Wee Links golf course. Nicole sports her pink outfit and new red clubs as Dad and Nathan wait patiently in the background (taken June 05).

Toot, Toot!

On her first special day alone with Daddy-o, 22-month-old Naomi couldn't contain her excitement about wearing her big sister's hand-me-down piggy jammies. She danced, sang and played the recorder for hours!

Here we are!

Here's Daddy-o with his three precious blessings: Nathan, Nicole and Naomi (taken 4 July 05)

Test Post

This is my first blog post...testing, testing, testing!