Somebody. . .

I just found out that SOMEBODY in this family is celebrating one of those milestone birthdays today.  Somebody who makes everyone else chuckle because of her great posts and comments.  Does the celebrant want to come forward on her own and 'fess up?

KLOPFENSTEIN COUSINS GET-TOGETHER

We had a wonderful day with the Klopfenstein first cousins today.

 Catherine, Carolyn, and Mim



 Jim K, Perry K, Larry Stahl, Gene K, Paul K, Ada, Nancy K Davis, Lynn, Alice, Merle K, and Carolyn K Schlipf

All the guests except the photographer, Paul K are in this picture. Everyone was very enthusiastic about the event. About half of us went on the cemetery-grave-visit and stayed for the Memorial Day Service, but due to the heat, some went back to our house or just came in time for lunch.  

 Paul K, Carolyn, Jim K, Ada, Gene K, Perry K, Larry Stahl, Nancy Davis, Alice, Merle W, Lynn.

 Note the burned bush. A neighbor to the north called our house to say there was smoke and flames at the northwest corner of our house! Fortunately we had the fire out before the trucks arrived. Mulch under the bushes/trees somehow kindled a fire!

Certainly reminded us of Christmas at Perry's. If Denny hadn't been home and seen the smoke/flames, our bedroom wall might've been destroyed before we discovered the fire!

All's well that ends well. We thank the Lord for watching over us. It was a wonderful day - and they all want to do it again next year! Hope you all had a great Memorial Day.



Milan

                                 Milan Perry Emch
                                 6 lb 1 oz 18 1/2" long
                                 Born @ 2:27 am, May 26, 2012

Milan Perry Emch

Perry and I are happy to announce the arrival of our 15th grandchild.  Brandon and Maria have a new son, born this morning at about 2:30 am.  He was 6 lbs 1 oz.  Milan's siblings are:  Anna, Timon, Jesse and Alice. Hopefully we will have pictures to show you soon.   ---Carol

READY FOR OUR REUNION

We've been busy for the last few weeks getting our yard spruced up and our flowers planted. I've picked a few to show you. My "color palette" this year is green, yellow, orange with a little red and blue thrown in. I painted all my old pots in bright colors and they have really brightened our deck. I made the tablecloth and chair pads - wish I'd bought more of that fabric so I could've covered the backs of the chairs also.

 Front porch - got the chair from the Antique Shoppe in Fairbury and painted it yellow.

 Our turtle is enjoying the zinnias and petunias. This morning when I opened the front door to get the nenwspaper, a rabbit ran out of this garden, stopped at the end of the sidewalk and looked at me like "get out of my way!". I just stood and stared at him as he stared back at me. After about 4 or 5 minutes he hopped smartly back to the purple petunias at which time I yelled and chased him (or her) away. The nerve of that little fellow!!

I love the new birdbath. You can see one of several rose bushes which are loaded with buds and should be in full bloom by Monday. 

A view of the deck w/painted pots.  I have begged for years for something to hang the hose on - finally got it this year and I love it! Thanks to my long-time sweetie.



 These 12 grave decorations will go to all the Klopfenstein gravesites at the cemetery - at least I hope I got all of them. I copied them from Jeffrey Alens.

These two will go to Chenoa to Jerry's parents and siblings graves.



Wetzel-Celis Update

Well, it's been awhile since I wrote an update on our family, so I thought I would get one done today. I came home from work not feeling well today ~ slept awhile, then went to the store to buy some food to make a good dinner. In actuality, it wasn't really a "good" dinner, but it was alot better than the ones we've had for the last couple weeks. I just do not like to make dinner at all.

Early this month, Jerry and I went to Jacksonville to move Kelsie from one place to another. She is staying in Florida this summer to work at at State Farm agent's office. We helped her for a couple days and then spent a few days on the beach. There was a surfing contest right outside our hotel. That crowd, plus the "super moon," made for an interesting time! Kelsie has one more year of college left, with one of the semesters to be spent in Thailand. More to come on that at a later date.

Nathan has one day and one hour left of Kindergarten. He's had a great year and made many friends. This summer, he'll spend his days at State Farm daycamp and another daycare's daycamp. I hope they wear him out, because he sure has alot of energy. As I type, he jumping over me from one couch to the other.

Heater is graduating from Normal West High School this Saturday. The ceremony will be in the US Cellular Colesium and we will have a little gathering here afterwards. Her plans are to go to Paul Mitchell School of Cosmetology, starting in June or July.

Heather is still managing at Chipotle and having a good time with lots of friends. We see her about once a week or so. Yesterday, she joined us at the Strollathon for Rett Syndrome with the Poppen Family (from Gridley). It's also worth mentioning that she has a dog that I love. Yes, it's true. I even let the dog ride in my car with me from time to time.

I'm still with State Farm, having recently been assigned to a project called Integrated Customer Platform. My little piece of it is to build/buy a content management system to store, track, use marketing messages. I also continue to do my "for fun" job -- with 31. Jerry is still with the State, transferring to an office in Peoria in a week or two. It will be good for him (and our Ford Focus) to have a much shorter drive.

We've been working on our house, and it is now for sale. If you know someone looking for a nice, large home in a very family-friendly neighborhood, have them call me! Friends and neighbors ask when they see the sign, "What are your plans?" And we always tell them, "To sell the house."

I've found that having a little boy is much different than having little girls. No longer do we spend the evenings on the couch rubbing feet and brushing hair. We now entertain oursevles with made-up jokes ("Why did the spray go to the bug?" "To kill the bug." And then I must laugh.) and homemade wrestling matches. Here's a pic of a recent one. Nathan always wins!

Hope to see you all at the annual K5K later in the year!

A Sad Time in SC

Yesterday morning we received the news that Mike's youngest sister had died suddenly. She was 47 and she has a 14 year old son and a 10 year old daughter. The service will be tomorrow, and Mike and his brother will be conducting it. The circumstances are very sad, and we would appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

BUSY COUPLE WEEKS

Jerry and I have both been busy the last couple weeks. I painted all my flower pots bright colors, and planted lots of new flowers both in the pots and in the front gardens. Jerry's having trouble keeping up with the grass - he fertilized so it's growing like mad. A couple times he had to use the grass-catcher and unload it after every trip to the front and again at the back. He was a little tired that evening! But it's all coming together and shaping up.

 My color pallet - yellow, red, green and orange.

 Last week had a mess painting pots in the garage; this week a different project!

And this project is continuing in the dining room.



Babes in the Woods

Can anyone tell me the history behind the song Babes in the Woods? How did the Klop family make singing it a tradition? Also, could someone post the actual lyrics? I'm not sure I've got them correct.

We joke about singing it to the kids "so they'll have nice dreams." Sometimes I change the words to "poor babes in the woods they laid down and died went down the slide. And when they were dead went to bed..." When I sing that version Zion will ask me "did you sing it all? what about when they die?" He also has a lot of questions about who stole them and how did they get lost?

Appendicitis!

I just wanted to let everyone know that my mom is having an appendectomy this afternoon.  She had abdominal pain through the night which only got worse until they finally went to the ER this mid-morning.  When I talked to her around 2pm, they had her pain under control and she was awaiting surgery.  We're now waiting to hear the post surgery report.... I'm sure she and Dad would appreciate your prayers! 

...the picture is from last fall with Alice, Timon, and Jesse :)

Maria

Elmer, Alice & Anna

On the back of this photo it says:  Elmer, Alice & Anna go to church.  No date is given.   ---Carol

Young Perry

Recently someone gave Perry an old scrapbook with this clipping in it.  I would guess it is about 63 years old.   ---- Carol

A Mutual Friend

Dr. Charles Dunn is a native of Bloomington and an ISU graduate, who for many years was a political science professor at Clemson University and whose four children were all in my classes while teaching in Greenville.

Dr. Dunn was also instrumental in my meeting Mike, and in Mike's Christian experience as well, but that's another story for another time.

You can imagine how far my jaw dropped some 29 years ago, when I met Dr. Dunn for the first time, on the sidewalk in front of school, and he said "Klopfenstein. . .Klopfenstein. . .You wouldn't know a Perry Klopfenstein, would you?"  Turns out they were both political science majors at ISU who liked to drink coffee and talk in the student union!

I heard from Dr. Dunn today, but not under the best of circumstances.  His daughter who still lives in this area had a wreck a week ago.  She saw the car coming toward her, raised her hand to honk the horn, when the airbag deployed - and broke every bone in her hand.  She is married with three young children, and is totally unable to care for them right now because her pain is intense and the doctors cannot seem to get it managed.  So the Dunns have come to help, and he sent word with another friend to give us a big hello.  It's been several years since we've had any contact, so that was nice.

I have always thought that the story of the connection between Perry, Dr. Dunn, and me was quite an interesting and unusual link.

Birds of a feather.....

Have you ever had one of those moments in church, where you hear a gasp go out across the congregation? Or, maybe hear somebody speak out with "surely he wouldn't do that in here"? Well, we had both of these things happen this morning in our worship service. Our preacher, Jerry, spoke this morning about the sin of "Gossip". He started by showing a video clip from the movie "Doubt". In the movie, the priest tells a story about a lady who came to confession and sought penitence for gossip.

The dialogue goes like this:

Father Brendan Flynn: "A woman was gossiping with her friend about a man whom they hardly knew - I know none of you have ever done this. That night, she had a dream: a great hand appeared over her and pointed down on her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day she went to confession. She got the old parish priest, Father O' Rourke, and she told him the whole thing. 'Is gossiping a sin?' she asked the old man. 'Was that God All Mighty's hand pointing down at me? Should I ask for your absolution? Father, have I done something wrong?' 'Yes,' Father O' Rourke answered her. 'Yes, you ignorant, badly-brought-up female. You have blamed false witness on your neighbor. You played fast and loose with his reputation, and you should be heartily ashamed.' So, the woman said she was sorry, and asked for forgiveness. 'Not so fast,' says O' Rourke. 'I want you to go home, take a pillow upon your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me.' So, the woman went home: took a pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer, went up the fire escape to her roof, and stabbed the pillow. Then she went back to the old parish priest as instructed. 'Did you gut the pillow with a knife?' he says. 'Yes, Father.' 'And what were the results?' 'Feathers,' she said. 'Feathers?' he repeated. 'Feathers; everywhere, Father.' 'Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out onto the wind,' 'Well,' she said, 'it can't be done. I don't know where they went. The wind took them all over.' 'And that,' said Father O' Rourke, 'is gossip!' "

Jerry then used texts from both Leviticus and Romans to show that gossip is in fact a sin, covered the different types of gossip: rumors, being nosy, prayer requests given as gossip, etc. Then, in an effort to make his point memorable (and maybe to spur on a little gossip also), he called 3 kids up front (my Amber being one of them). Jerry took a big feather pillow, cut the top open and handed it to Amber. The two boys behind her picked up a fan and power cord and that is when the "gasp" went across the church and several said "he wouldn't". Well, he did, or should I say, Amber did. The entire sanctuary was covered in feathers and Amber did a great job of showering people with them too. I'd have to say that many people were horrified by the site. As he concluded his message, we moved into a communion service and he asked us to imagine the feathers as representing our sin that Christ came to die for. Only Christ could cover our multitude of sins.

Yep, all three aisles. By the time Sunday School was over afterwards, there were feathers in the foyer, hallway, Sunday School rooms and fellowship hall, etc. I'm sure some mothers will be cleaning them up in their vans and cars this week too. Last I knew, Jerry was still at church with his shop vac trying to sweep them up. EDK

Two memorable Saturdays

Yes, memorable indeed. Last Saturday was a first and hopefully a last--we attended two funerals in one day. Morning found us in Ft. Wayne, IN attending the funeral of our long time friend, Verlin Stoller. Several years ago he requested that Lynn participate in his service and although not easy, my husband had part of the service and did a good job, especially considering his proneness to as he terms them "emotional meltdowns." Then we drove on for slightly more than an hour to Bremen for the memorial service of Letty Hueni, the twin sister of Betty Schumacher, whom many of you know. Both services were sad but not grievous since both deceased were bedridden and well ready to meet the Lord. Saturday today was on a happier note. Julie Hazelrigg, a dear young Chinese (like late 30's)friend that I knew in Decatur from teaching her English as a second language and from her attending the Bible study, came here along with her American husband Ron and her Chinese parents, who are visiting for six months and know not a word of English! They came mid-afternoon and had supper with us. Julie and her mother went with me to Ann's for a drop in bridal shower that Mary Lee was hosting for a friend. Julie got excited about the Bailes' screened in porch, so Mike took the men to his house to see the porch. It looks like Ron has a big project ahead. Anyway, we enjoyed their coming. It is interesting how well we communicated without conversing. Of course, Julie interpreted.

A Journal Entry

My seniors turned in their last set of journal entries last week, and #91 was titled "Graduation."  This was what one girl turned in.  The first part will be a little boring, but I thought you'd enjoy reading the last part.  Don't know how Dad will feel about being termed "adorable," but maybe it won't bother him too much.  :-)
*******************************************
Journal #91  Graduation -
I'm so excited about graduation!  High school has been fun, but I'm ready to go.  I'm ready to have more freedom and sleep during summer vacation.  I'm also excited about making new friends.  Senior trip is going to be so fun!  I'm so excited to go to Washington!  Mr. Klopfenstein (your dad) is going to do such a great job at graduation!  I'm so glad he's speaking.  We all love him so much.  He is so adorable and full of wisdom.  It's going to be a great conclusion to a fantastic year.

K5K!

In answer to the question, "When is the annual K5K?" the answer is:

Sept 1
Tipton Park (same place as usual)
8:00 am
Breakfast afterwards at Dave and Judy's

Mark your calendars! We love to have runners, walkers, and those who just like to enjoy the early morning get-together.
We're looking forward to it!