Christmas at the Farm

With only five days left in 2010, we are left with a quiet house and many happy memories of our Christmas at the farm. The size of our group was smaller than we had at Thanksgiving, but we didn't lack for good times or good food. The Smith family from Mitchell and Derek and Sarah from BYU made our Christmas special. They arrived on the 23rd and were here four days, leaving today after church in Rosebud.

Derek, Sarah, Marla, Haley, Curtis, Maren, Maggie

Decorating Christmas cookies is a fun tradition.
(Derek watching Maggie, Maren, Sarah, and Haley)

I had wondered how things would be on Christmas Eve with no tiny ones eager to sit on Santa's knee to get a gift or dressing up in costumes for the nativity pageant, but it was a fun time. Roy, Barbie, and Steve joined us for the evening. We had a variety of cheeses, crackers, dips, shrimp, etc. to go with the chili and an assortment of candies and desserts to follow.

After eating, I'm glad we still had our nativity pageant. Sarah as Mary required a bigger size dress than our usual child Marys of the past, but costumes were soon put on and Steve began the narration. With nearly everyone in the pageant, the only ones left in the audience were Roy, Barbie, Sam, and I.

Curtis, Haley, Marla (wise men), Maggie (shepherd),
Steve (narrator), Maren (angel), and Sarah and Derek as
Mary and Joseph (holding the Baby Jesus' birthday cake)

Sarah and Marla had planned some fun games for the evening. Our group was quite evenly divided into three teams having a dad, a mom (but not married to the dad in the group), an adult child or grandchild, and a younger grandchild. The first game was a series of Christmas trivia questions. The second game was a timed challenge to put colored paper Christmas lights into the required sequence by following detailed directions. For the next game, we had a shopping list of available gifts for people with specific likes and dislikes while keeping within the budget allotted. It got rather tricky meeting all the requirements. The last game involved listening to a CD with Christmas music where we had to provide the title of the song and the next line of the lyrics when the music abruptly stopped. All ages had a good time and the team scores were very close.

We remembered to take the obligatory pictures by the Christmas tree even though we missed having Santa pictures.

Roy, Barbie and Steve


Sam and Narene


We enjoyed having Derek and granddaughter, Sarah,
celebrate Christmas with us.

Some new games added this year to our assortment are Wit and Wagers for the Family, Say Anything, and Rummikub; and they seemed to be a hit. A new puzzle with 500 pieces didn't take long to complete, but the 1,000-piece Greg Olsen puzzle was more difficult with so many similar colors.

Making progress on the Greg Olsen puzzle:
Derek, Maggie, Haley, Maren, and Sarah.


Sam got a Kindle for Christmas and is checking it
out Christmas morning. The first gift I opened was
a new Canon camera.

The weather was warmer than at Thanksgiving time, but we didn't have enough snow for sledding. They did go ice skating one afternoon at Bad Hair, and Sam went with Derek and Sarah pheasant hunting.

Oh, yes, we watched Inception together, and I'm glad Marla had seen it already and clued me in from time to time.

Now we are left with too many sweets, nuts, and home-made candies; so we need you to stop by and save us from overindulgence. :-)

Thankful for Family

The temperatures dipped down after family members came to spend a week with us for Thanksgiving, but we had a good time together in spite of the cold weather. We have much for which to be thankful.

Grandpa Sam playing with the grandchildren.
(Brynlee, Grandpa, Kate, Isaac, and Jamon)

Todd and Beth's family arrived first from Utah on November 20th, followed a few hours later by Doug and Shannon's family also from Utah. Jeff and Rochelle's family arrived from Arkansas the next afternoon. Curtis and Marla's family got here from Mitchell on the evening of the 24th and had to leave the next evening in order for Maggie to be to her show choir practice the day after Thanksgiving.

Kate, Rebecca, and Isaac seem to be
wondering why Grandma wants them to smile.

There's the smiles I wanted:
Kate, Isaac, and Rebecca

It was great having the grandchildren join our branch's Primary for the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation on Sunday, November 21. Patti was out of town being with her ailing mother, and four of the Primary children didn't come; so we were glad for the extra voices and help. Beth's twins, Amanda and Megan, and Jesse Allen accepted the remaining speaking parts; and the grandchildren from Utah joined in the singing. This is such a good experience for the children, and I was pleased with the program and how the children performed.

We had 38 for Thanksgiving dinner and had the traditional meal with all the ladies helping. Four tables were set up downstairs and two in the utility room with 12 eating at the main table. We had both turkey and ham plus the trimmings and had a nice variety of desserts with 14 home-made pies.

There was lots of good food from which to choose.


Joshua and Brynlee waiting to fill their plates.

There are a lot of pheasants this year, and the guys went hunting several times. The first day was very cold, and the younger grandchildren who went with them didn't think it was too much fun. Jeff came back with the tale of being without ammunition when a huge bunch of pheasants flew up right in front of him, and all he could do was simulate virtual shooting.

Getting ready to go hunting.
(Doug, Zack, Jeff, Jared, Todd, and Jacob)

It did warm up somewhat two days later, and some of the grandchildren were willing to go again with their dads. They came home with nine pheasants and had also gotten nine pheasants the day before.

Jared, Todd, Ethan, Zack, Jeff, Doug,
Jacob, Jamon, and Joshua
and nine pheasants from the day's hunt.


The granddaughters stayed inside and had fun putting
together outfits from the collection of dress-up clothes.
As you can see, they get quite creative.
They also enjoyed trying on my old cheerleading outfits.

It was fun to have a combined cousin birthday party for Maren (Nov. 22), Rebecca (Nov. 24), Weston (Nov. 25), and Jamon (Dec. 8) on Thanksgiving, which was actually Weston's real birthday. Shannon decorated the cupcakes with footballs for the boys and flowers for the girls.

Jamon, Weston, Maren, and Rebecca
with their birthday cupcakes.


Yum! Rebecca enjoyed her birthday cupcake.
(Turned 1 year old on November 24.)


Isaac enjoyed celebrating the cousins' birthdays,
especially the cupcakes. Do you think he liked
the cute football decoration his mom made on top?


Weston turned 9 on Thanksgiving day.


Rebecca's lst birthday was the
day before Thanksgiving.


Although Maren's birthday was three days earlier,
she also got to celebrate with her cousins.


Jamon (blue shirt) was pleased he got presents, too, even
though his birthday was not until December 8th.


An appreciative audience of parents and older cousins
enjoyed the original Thanksgiving play featuring
Pilgrims and Indians.
(Rachel, Kennedy, Ethan, Zack, Jamon, Weston, Austin,
Brynlee, Jacob, Joshua, Megan, Amanda, and Maren)

Beth took the pictures of the birthday celebrations as well as many other photos recording our Thanksgiving day. Thanks, Beth!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

I thought I had better get this entry posted before we are in the middle of celebrating Christmas. Sarah and Derek and Curtis and Marla's family will be here tomorrow. We're thankful they are coming to spend Christmas with us. Brent and Tauna's family have gone to Utah to spend Christmas with Tauna's family, and others who came for Thanksgiving are staying home for Christmas; so we won't have a lot of stockings to hang Christmas Eve.

We are appreciating the cards and letters we are getting with Christmas greetings. Our home is ready for the celebration with decorations in all the rooms, Christmas music playing, and the Christmas spirit in our hearts. Well, I haven't gotten all the baking and candy making done yet; so I had better get busy.

Merry Christmas to all!
(Narene & Sam in Cairo, Egypt - February 1, 2010)

Fall Farm Update

With the completion of the corn harvest last week and the sunflowers before that, they have put the combines away for another year. Now they are weaning the calves, and I can hear them crying for their moms as I write this. They are also moving hay.

Weaning calves
November 8

Our weather has been exceptionally warm this fall and was in the low 70's today. My geraniums have not frozen yet, and the garden did not freeze until about two weeks ago.

We did have a light snow shower on November 1st,
but the snow had melted by the afternoon.

Saturday afternoon, Sam went pheasant hunting with Brent and his kids. It was the third week that the season had been open, so some of the birds are getting pretty well educated. Sam says they saw lots of pheasants and managed to get nine in a couple of hours. In some areas there are so many pheasants that they do a lot of damage to the crops.

The deer season is also now open for bow hunters and for kids to shoot does (rifle season opens pretty soon). Two of our nephews (Brad and Todd) from Nebraska are here bow hunting and staying with us. They work at Cabellas corporate office and seem to have nearly all the hunting gear known to man. Brent's two oldest boys are also trying for deer with their bows. As for me, I'm just trying to avoid deer with the car. We always see lots of dead deer along the highway.

We are Glenn Beck fans and DVR his weekly show to watch in the evenings when Sam is home. When our hired man told us Beck was coming to Rapid City to begin his book tour, we went online and got tickets. We find him to be an interesting speaker who is sincere in wanting to teach his listeners about our nation's history and promote restoring the Constitution and appreciation for the Founding Father's.

Glenn Beck speaking in Rapid City
October 26

The Glenn Beck rally was held in the Civic Center. Our seats were on the main floor right behind the most expensive seats, so we actually found ourselves watching the big screens rather than Beck on stage. Prior to Glenn speaking, there were two other speakers. One of them gave an elaborate introduction for the "special guest." The audience enjoyed the moment when instead of Glenn Beck coming out at the end of this flowery introduction, the trademark chalkboard was rolled out.

Glenn Beck had a trusty chalkboard handy,
but only used it to highlight these points.

Of course, we bought Glenn Beck's newest book, "Broke: The Plan to Restore our Trust, Truth and Treasure;" and I stood in line to get it signed and shook his hand. Sam has been reading the book, and I have started it. A reviewer, who is not a big Glenn Beck fan, wrote on Amazon.com that it is worth reading for the historical and educational value in the first 2/3 of the book. The last part deals with what needs to be done. Here is an interesting quote from the book:

"If you were to take $100 bills--not $1 bills or $20 bills, but $100 bills--and stack them seven feet tall and fill in every single inch of an NFL football field from end zone to end zone, that would represent one trillion dollars. Now put thirteen of those fields side by side and you start to picture the size of the debt we've incurred."

I served on the election board on November 2nd, leaving home at 6:00 a.m. and returning about 7:45. We had a fairly good turnout for the election, so that makes the time seem to pass more quickly. In the afternoon, we had a lawyer and associate from Washington, DC spend some time with us in their rotation to each precinct. They do this because of our Native American population. We also have a Lakota interpreter available; but no one ever needs his services, as all voters are English speakers. Louie White Horse is a nice man and had brought his photo album from his visit to Washington along with other South Dakota World War II veterans. His son, Wyatt, had gone with him and took the pictures.

Making Memories with Family

A memorable part of our recent vacation was being with family.

As recorded in my November 4th post, our vacation began September 10th visiting in Scottsbluff with Bill and Karen, which was followed by going to Denver the next morning to be with Scott and Kristine's family where we attended the BYU - Air Force game, watched Trent's football game, and heard Judd report in church on his mission in Guatemala.

After that, we spent 16 days with Greg & Chris Shepard sightseeing and hiking in Colorado, northern Arizona, and southern Utah. Our next destination was Cedar City and St. George for a two-day Russian Mission Reunion and then on to Orem and Lehi for two reunions with mission presidents on October 1st.

We were pleased to have a nice visit with K. & Ina and Harold while we were in St. George and stayed with them two nights. Leaving St. George Friday, October 1, we joined family in the Mount Timpanogos Temple at 1:00 p.m. to be with Carson who is getting ready for his mission in Mexico. This was a very special experience, and we are so grateful that they planned the temple event to include Sam and me.

Grandpa Sam, Carson, and Grandma Narene
after being in the Mount Timpanogos Temple with Carson.
(October 1, 2010)


[front] Sam, Ryan, Carson, Tani, Narene, Shannon, Judd
[back] Marisa, Brady, Beth, Doug, and Brittney


Mount Timpanogos Temple


Carson with Brady, Marisa, Brittney, and Judd

We accompanied the family to Chili's where they ate together, but we didn't stay because we needed to get on our way to the Moscow missionary reunions in Orem and Lehi. After the reunions, we returned to Ryan and Tani's to stay overnight.

Saturday morning we left Eagle Mountain and went to Layton to be with Doug & Shannon's family. We enjoyed watching Brynlee's soccer game, hearing our church leaders speak at General Conference, and had work done on our minivan. We got new tires and had the windshield replaced (for the third time due to rock chips!).

Brynlee ready for her soccer game
Saturday morning, October 2.


Brynlee is the one ready to kick the soccer ball.


Jacob in his soccer uniform.
His game was earlier before we got there.


Isaac enjoyed the playground more
than watching Brynlee's game.

Sam went to the Priesthood session at the Conference Center with Doug, Ryan, Carson, Brady, and Greg Shepard. It was nice to be able to experience this with two of his sons, two grandsons, and a good friend.

Sunday morning, on our way to Todd & Beth's in Spanish Fork, we stopped to have a visit with Richard & Joanne Loosli in Orem. They were the Humanitarian Country Directors for Turkey while we were in Russia.

Joanne & Richard Loosli in their home in Orem.
They are a fun couple whom we enjoyed getting to
know while serving as humanitarian missionaries.


Beth is a good hostess.


Shannon brought the supplies and showed those
interested how to make cute hair bows from material.
Megan and Amanda had fun making their bows
and so did Brittney and Sarah.


Megan and Amanda are wearing the new hair bows
they made, and they also created the doll's outfit.
Using colored markers and sewing with dental floss,
they also created the little gift that Brynlee is holding
and made something similar for me.


The children having fun eating berries in
Todd & Beth's backyard.
(Brynlee, Megan, Jacob, and Amanda)


Doug and Jacob helping Isaac feel more comfortable
around Jack, the Graham's pet labrador.
Jack is very friendly, but watch out for his wagging tail.


Jacob and Ethan having fun with the wii.


Isaac, such a cutie!


Rebecca, another cutie, is our youngest grandchild.


I had heard that Ethan very much wanted a guitar,
so I found one at Walmart for his birthday. Maybe
there will be a guitar trio now, as his sisters have
guitars and have been taking lessons.


Sarah likes playing the piano whenever she gets
an opportunity. The guitar belongs to one of the twins.


Judd and Brittney, former missionaries and now BYU students.
Brittney is also wearing the new hair bow she made that day.


Derek eating one more cookie before he and
Sarah leave. They are also BYU students,
and they are obviously a happily married couple.


Grandma Narene & Grandpa Sam with
Brynlee Narene and Jacob David.
(Yes, I'm pleased to have a namesake!)


Doug & Shannon with their children:
Jacob, Isaac, and Brynlee.


Ryan & Tani's family with their children:
(minus Kyle who is on a mission in Indiana)
Brady, Carson, and Marisa.


Todd & Beth's family with their children:
Megan, Jared, Ethan, Joshua, Rebecca, and Amanda.

Monday morning (October 4), we took pictures with the Graham children before they left for school.

Amanda and Megan ready for school wearing the
new bows in their hair.


Grandpa Sam with Joshua, Rebecca, and Ethan.


Grandma Narene with Ethan, Rebecca, and Joshua.


Returning home and admiring the fall colors in
Provo canyon.

We enjoy traveling, seeing and doing new things, and being with family and friends; but it is always nice to return home. This was a fun trip, and we love spending time with our family whenever we can. Now we are looking forward to those who will be coming to spend Thanksgiving with us.