Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter, Marsie Diane Jensen. My friend Pam told me yesterday "Marsie is a classic beauty....and she is so sweet inside and out." That is very true. To know her is to love her. She is a lovely mother of five beautiful children and a loving and loyal wife to her husband, Ben. Pictured below with her siblings, cousins and friends of whom she is still very close to. The passage of time has only increased her patience and kindliness to all. Have a wonderful day - you are loved!!
Sunday, January 11 was a special day for the baby blessing of little Alice. Afterwards the family met at Eric and Rebecca's charming home for a delicious taco supper. The little girls were enchanted by the pond Eric had created, the boys were enchanted by the dogs and everyone else was enchanted with baby Alice and baby James. All of Eric's siblings were able to be there. It was especially nice that two great grandmas - Oma Dessie Bielefeldt and Grandma Margaret Sevey could attend. It was such a lovely day.
Happy Birthday to our beautiful daughter-in-law, Rebecca Folz. She has a smile that lights up the room when she enters and a contagious laugh that brings everybody together. What a loving and caring mother and a dedicated wife to our son. The entire family is thankful she is part of us. May your day be a joyous adventure.
What a beautiful day for a picnic at the park! Well.....the chilly breezes soon encouraged jackets for all but the little ones, some of whom were barefoot the entire day (was that genetically passed down from Gramie who never wore shoes except for school and church ?) Opa would have insisted on undershirts, jackets, socks and shoes for everyone if he had been there. The chilly day did not stop the adventerous grandchildren from exploring all the lakes, rocks, hills, and paths. Many treasures were found - leaves, bamboo woven matts, dead fish, rocks, and an assortment of interesting vegetation. Robin created what looked like a snowstorm when he blew the seeds of a huge cattail. The ducks on the lake were greatly excited by the abundance of bread, lettuce and one hot dog they were given by the generous Bielefeldt grandchildren. Actually the hot dog was completely ignored. But, everyone enjoyed a barbeque of hamburger, hot dogs, polish dogs, steaks and a variety of chips. One package of oreo cookies was shared by all!! David, Ben Jacob and Jesse had a great adventure walking on David's Christmas stilts. We all held our breath and were relieved as they managed to keep their balance and gave us a great performance. Some were involved in table games that challenged the intellect in spelling words as well as visual images. Some just enjoyed visiting. As the sun went down, even the little ones were chilled and all relunctantly decided to leave the fun day - but not ready to go home, most went to Beth's and had pizza. What a great time of family activity!!
Christmas morning started at 1:30 a.m. in our home. Oh, yes, our Jared still comes sneaking downstairs, hoping to catch Santa before he goes up the chimney. However, Santa was up the chimney, quick as a flash while Jared was dreaming of sugar plums dancing in his head. Joseph missed the action as he was working his all night job as security guard in Mesa. Even so, Joe pounded on parents door when he arrived home at 5:30 a.m. and announced Santa had come. Naturally Marty in his cap and Sylvia in her kerchief flew downstairs with great anticipation. What wonder, what fun to discover the treats Santa had left in our stockings - especially new toothbrushes for everyone. (Was that a hint?) We were all magically surprised that evening when Santa suddenly arrived in the midst of all our 30 family member dinner and fun! He had stuffed candy canes (what a relief after all the treats) decorated with imported German charms for everyone.
This exquisite wall hanging below is handcrafted from Lima, Peru. I purchased it in Santa Fe, New Mexico a year ago when we were there for an art workshop.
Joe was so surprised that Santa thought to give him a Garmin GPS map finder. This may remind him of his trip to Germany when it says "recalculating".
Jared couldn't decide which was more fun - his tool set or his knight set.
Naturally when you get up at 1:30 a.m. you must find time to sleep.
