Dorene

Yup, the one in orange is Dorene -
Dorene was always working, from the time I can remember - but then she was 16 years older than me. I can remember one Thanksgiving, it snowed so much that Mark and Dorene walked to town to buy a Turkey and some of the food to go with it. Jane and I stood on the step landing with our noses pressed to the window waiting for them to return. We were so excited when we saw Mark pulling the sled with the all the food! Mom, Dorene, Jean, Betty and all of the older girls of the family spent many hours canning fruits, vegetables and meat to hold and feed all of us through the winter. I can remember going down to the basement for potatoes and everything else, there were shelves and shelves of food.

Two Birthday People -

Rachel celebrated her birthday on February 24th and Dorene will celebrate hers on March 25th. Can you pick them out of the crowd? Dorene is still at Fountain West Health Center, I'm sure she would appreciate a card or a phone call. Hopefully she won't have to be there very long. Here is her address:
Fountain West Health Center
1501 Office Park Road
West Des Moines, IA 50265

Chris & Connie's birthday this month too!

Well, this month is Connie & Chris's birthday month, they did an awesome job on the reunion and making everyone feel so welcome! Since I have started telling stories on the birthday people, I am going to tell one or two on the girls. As you know they are exactly one year apart in age and Chris had to compete with Connie on everything. Chris was the entertainer of the two, she would stand in her high chair and sing at the top of her lungs. Always something made up, always with lots of hand gestures and always loud. That is our Chris, still the life of the party.
Connie on the other hand was the sportsman, loved to play many sports and went into the right profession. She is organized, smart, awesome mother and I stood up for her at her Confirmation. I'm just a little prejudice you think?

Mary Ann's Birthday Month! And a few others!!

Well, Mary Ann is celebrating her birthday in Heaven this year, but we all still miss her zest for life. How much she loved life, a good joke and lots of fun. She was sandwiched between Virgil and Bernadette and was dubbed part of the 'Katzenjammer Kids'. (The 'Katzenjammer Kids' was a famous cartoon strip created in 1897 and consisted of German children's stories featuring the adventures of twins, Hans and Fritz. They were fellow warriors in the battle against any form of authority, it is the oldest comic strip still in syndication.) Virgil and Mary Ann were the "twins" in the family and when they were living in DeWitt the Priest used to call almost daily to get Hans (Mary Ann) and Fritz (Virgil) out of the goldfish pond in front of the church. The two grandmas came to live with us about that time and of course Grandma Umthun came when Virgil was a baby and became attached to him, and Grandma Holtkamp came when Mary Ann was a baby and that was her girl. So when trouble came calling, they knew to run behind the grandmas for protection, and protection they got. One time, the grandmas got into an argument about their little angels and one ended up having a wet wash rag thrown at her. Grandma Holtkamp always took a hot brick and Mary Ann to bed with her, one to keep her feet warm and the little body of Mary kept the rest of her warm all night.
We come from many generations of strong women in our family, but especially Mary ann who was a woman who had lived her life with humor, grace and faith.

Happy New Year!

OK, its a new year and I was hoping that I would have new pictures to put into the blog, but nothing from Bill yet. (Hint, hint Bill!) And I know that I haven't blogged enough since the reunion, so I am going to do better. January is Frank Umthun's birthday, and of course I was a day late in wishing him 'Happy Birthday'! You would think with the new calendar, we would be quicker in staying on top of all birthdays!
Dorene is in a 'Care Facility' recovering from a pacemaker and defibrillator being installed a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully she won't have to stay there very long and gets back on her feet and home soon. Will keep you updated on any changes.
January, 2008 is a new year and new beginnings, hope everything will be new and this year will the best ever for everyone!

Thanksgiving Dinner?

No, it's not Thanksgiving Dinner but it sure was good.
I haven't posted in a while but I was waiting for some new pictures which I haven't received yet - so this will have to make up for the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy and pumpkin pie.
Remember all those wonderful dinners we used to have at Grandma's - the fun!!
Can we go back?

Welcome to Eagle Grove, IA

Those of us who grew up in Eagle Grove, which was most of us, we all know the wonderful part of sitting at all the railroad crossing. I think half of our life was spent waiting for the trains coming and going. I don't miss that action at all!