PICTURES

LUNCH WITH COUSINS

We met Marguerite and Charlene at Panera for lunch; sat there for almost two hours reminiscing about the "old days"! A few pictures below. We are very happy in this little condo we have. The pool just outside our door and the beach and waves beyond that. Very friendly group of people around here. I fixed two huge t-bone steaks last night - well, actually Jerry grilled them outside - two baked potatoes and a mini-dutch apple pie from Publix for desert! Almost better than eating out except for the work involved AND the clean-up following!! After all, I'm ON VACATION! Tomorrow we plan to go to the Ellenton Outlet Mall and then meet old friends from Dwight for a late lunch near the mall.

ENJOYING FLORIDA - FINALLY

The weather has been quite cloudy/rainy/cold since we arrived in Florida, BUT finally today we have beautiful sun and warm weather. We are going to meet Marguerite and Charlene at Panera for lunch. That will be interesting as they are both very social and fun to be with. This is a "test" post as I've tried a couple times to post something and it didn't work. So you might or might not see it.

Housekeeping

I was unaware that commenters had to do the "prove you're not a robot" routine with the numbers, before a comment would post.  Since only blog members can post comments, that is not necessary, and I have turned it off.  Sorry for the irritation that that has caused.  Please let me know if there is any continuing problem.

David James

Here's an updated picture of David- he's an alert baby!

David James Endress - 4 days old

David James Endress

He is 20 minutes old in this picture.  We may post more pictures soon. :)

David was born Thursday evening, January 30th, weighing in at 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches.

David's siblings are Matthew, 15, Sarah, 14, Laura, 11, Andrew, 8, Julia, 5, and Heidi, 3.

Perry and I are delighted to welcome grandchild #17, and we are thankful that mother and baby are both doing well. --- Grandma Carol

Surprise for a Birthday

Of course I didn't get any pictures--just one on my phone that didn't turn out very nice--but Ada, Jerry, and I pulled off a surprise on my dad on Tuesday.  :-)

Dad's birthday was yesterday.  Ada called me last week and said they wanted to come see them (Dad and Mom) on their way to Florida, and what did I think about them surprising Dad for his birthday?  Of course I thought it was a great idea.

The original plan was for Mike and me to plan to take Dad and Mom to a restaurant they really like called the Galley, a place with good food and a beautiful view of Lake Hartwell.  Ada and Jerry were going to be there ahead of us, so that when we were seated, they would already be in the booth.  This was all on Tuesday, actually the night before his birthday.

Things started getting complicated when Mike found out he had to work later on Tuesday night.  Then the reports of an impending winter storm started coming in.  The snow started about 2:00--and I know you Illinois people think this is funny, but when snow starts, things shut down around here.  (And if you saw the news about what happened in Atlanta when things don't shut down on time, you know why.)  Furthermore, the road to the Galley goes over what is called the Double Bridges, which are treacherous enough when the weather is not bad.  (The bridges are very long, very narrow, and have no shoulder whatsoever.)

So we went to plan B.  Ada and Jerry went straight to my folks' house and surprised Dad at the front door.  (He was equally surprised even though the circumstances changed.)  Then I pulled together a birthday dinner at my house and they came over and ate here.  Mike got home really late, not only from working over, but because the roads really were treacherous.

Anyway, it was a nice evening, we celebrated Dad's birthday, and pulled off a surprise!

EMMA AT THE PIANO

Here are a couple pictures of Emma playing her new piano. She is such a sweet and pretty girl and very excited to have this.

THIS AND THAT

We recently gave our piano to Emma. She was so excited to get it. I've asked Jodie to send us a picture of her playing the piano so we can post it here. My dad bought the piano for me when I was about 9/10 years old. Also have a picture here of Owen as he was playing his Cello in an IMEA competition in Peoria yesterday. He is very talented and it was so fun to listen to this group of 6, 7, and 8th graders perform.

Sunday morning in Lester, IA

 Anderson, Milan and Jesse in the baby room.

Milan and Jesse

Here is a small (less humorous) part of the "story."  Sunday morning, when I got to church, Brandon handed Milan to me and said that Maria wasn't there because she took Alice to the doctor.  Alice (3) had been sick all week-end with fever and cough.  Milan was not at all happy to leave Daddy, but when Daddy was out of sight, he was fine.  When it was time to go in, Jesse was on the bench just outside the sanctuary with Julia and Heidi.  I went to tell them it was time to go in, and I noticed that Jesse was crying.  I asked him what was the matter and he said, "I want Daddy!"  Daddy was walking up to the pulpit to preach and Jesse proceeded to cry so loudly it became a big wail.  I knew if I put Milan down or gave him to somebody else, he would join the chorus of tears.  Jesse's loudest cries were right when the congregation was silent in prayer just before the service.  Brandon could hear him on the pulpit and he thought it was Milan.  (This wasn't typical behavior for 5 year old Jesse.)

I managed to persuade Jesse to follow me into the baby room where I distracted him by reading him a book. We could hear Brandon preaching, so I told Jesse that even though we can't be with Daddy, we can listen to him, and Jesse was fine the rest of the morning.  At this point, I decided the best place for me to stay with the two boys was in the baby room.  Charity was in there with Anderson, so I got out my new smart phone and took these pictures.

Shortly before the service started, I was told that Matthew was also not there.  He was resting at somebody's house nearby because he wasn't feeling well.  About 11 am, I texted him, and he said he was doing better and would be coming for the afternoon wedding service.

Maria, Alice and Matthew were there in time for the wedding, and we all sat up front.  It was a beautiful service. ----Carol

still more wedding photos . . .

                          All sixteen of them ready for the photographer. (I only took one picture and then decided it                                    was best to wait and let them be fresh for the "real" pictures.

                                              Anna, Laura, Ellie and Julia in their matching outfits.

Father of the groom and father of the bride.

The bride and groom with the maid of honor (Kyla's sister, Becca) and the best man (Perry II) at the         wedding supper at the church the night before.  All of the out of town visitors were invited to this meal which was followed by a singing in the church sanctuary.

Bruce and Rod Bajema shared the wedding service and both had wonderful inspiring words.  Brandon had the morning service and also did well.  If I was Judy, I would write up a funny story about all the little things that happened from the time we left home until we left Iowa.  It would be an enjoyable read since "all's well that ends well."  You can ask me about it some time when you have lots of time to listen.  Sadly Elizabeth was not able to attend the wedding.  She was able to listen to the service over the phone.  We are thankful her health is improving, and we would welcome prayers for her and her baby (boy) as her time to give birth will soon be here.  She is due January 30th.  Love, Carol

Mr. and Mrs. Preston A. Klopfenstein

We had a wonderful week-end and it was a beautiful wedding service for Preston and Kyla.  The couple is now in San Diego enjoying weather in the 70's.  Sadly, I forgot my camera and only had my phone to use. The quality of the pictures is not as good as it would have been on my camera.  We'll be glad to get the ones the photographer took.----Carol

Recent Happenings

This has been a very busy week, what with starting second semester and several other things going on. But I thought you might enjoy seeing this picture.  Mary Lee told me in December that she had something we had to do on a particular day--Tuesday, January 7--and it was for my birthday and Christmas.  It was very difficult to figure out what it might be.  My students offered up some interesting suggestions, such as Build-A-Bear, ice skating, and Gravitopia (an inside jumping-trampoline place)--to which I said it better not be that!!

Well, this is what it was.  A painting class!!  And it had to be that date because this was the subject to be painted that night--she knows how much I like birds, especially cardinals.  We went out to eat beforehand and all in all had a wonderful evening together.  It was one of the nicest presents, and most well-thought out, I have ever received.  It was an honor to paint alongside my artist daughter!

Speaking of wildlife, with Cleve's pictures in the previous post--last Saturday night, Mike, Mom, and I drove out to an area about 10 miles away where a rare owl for our area (a short-eared owl) had been spotted in the fields.  Mike and I had actually tried a couple of other times, but couldn't find it.  Well, that night, right at 5:00, we saw it, and it put on quite a show for us, swooping, diving, and landing on fence posts quite close to where we were watching from the car.  It was beautiful, and we were able to watch it for about 20 minutes as it stayed quite close by.  Unfortunately, no pictures due to dusk and a camera that wasn't any good in those light circumstances.  Mike said the next morning that every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was that beautiful bird.

I just heard from Andrew tonight that he is seeing the Yangtze River today.  He will be sending pics as he is also going to see the Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world.  I asked him if he remembered reading "The Story of Ping" as a child, about the duck that lives on the Yangtze River.  We read that book over and over when the kids were small.  Who would have ever thought back then that one day he would actually get to see the Yangtze in person.

In our backyard on a recent snowy morning....

The weather seems to be the main topic of everyone these days.  Here's what I saw on a recent early morning glance at our rear hillside.  These 2 bucks took off running across the creek and into the woods as soon as I clicked the camera shutter. 

 

I'll admit I did zoom in just a bit on these 2 deer, but they were no more than 30 yards from my rear deck.  If I'd had the Bailes' shotgun, it would have been "no contest".  I did not realize they were bucks until I studied the picture!

 

 

We often see a herd of 8 deer grazing in late evening, coyotes, baby foxes wrestling with each other, even a wild turkey (last Spring).  I know this is nothing new to Mike and Ann, and perhaps many others, but I  try to grab my camera when I'm able. 
                                                                              

                                                        Happy New Year to All !!!

"Kids" Today

Thought I'd share just one more picture from Christmas together. Mary and I were hoping to have a nice face to face conversation but we couldn't get these kids off their electronic devices!!!

 

Joey did a great job acclimating Dad to a new iPhone and Mom to a new iPad mini in the short time he and Mary were in SC. Dad is back on his iPad while Mom is getting more of a tutorial. I'm quite impressed that they are as technology savvy as they are!

More pictures of the shower at Ada's

Kathleen, Judy, Kyla, Preston and Ada

On the left are Kyla's 3 sisters and her mom.  On the right is Pearl Miller and her granddaughter, Michelle and Charity

Cathy, Amy and Reagan

Carolyn

Preston, Ellie, Kyla and Alice

 

Ada had everything looking very pretty and the food was delicious!

---Carol

Christmas at Perry's

We had our family Christmas on Thursday evening, December 26th.  Perry and I gave each of the grandchildren (except Anderson who received other gifts) a new sweater.  They put them on for this picture and they are standing in order of age (except for Anderson and Milan who are being held by a sibling.)  Lord willing, soon two more will be added and we will then have 18 grandchildren.  Each one is precious and my favorite thing is to hear them sing.  That is one of the things that made the birthday surprise so special.  ---Carol

SHOWER FOR PRESTON AND KYLA

We had a good shower for Preston and Kyla at our house today. Here are a few pictures. Note the little girls are enjoying helping the bride and groom open presents - and getting the ribbon tied in their hair. Sorry I didn't have time to take more pictures, but maybe someone else can post some.

Uncle Jay Story

I'm not a regular on the blog, so not sure if this is an appropriate "post" or not...but here goes.

Thomas and Erin were just telling us that the Chicago area grocery store  chain Dominick's is closing.  This news, along with thinking about Christmas memories, prompted a recollection of a story from years past.

However, my recollection is incomplete...hence this question.  Does anyone remember hearing Uncle Jay, in Grandma's/Uncle Perry's Living Room on Christmas Day following dinner, telling an entertaining and drawn out story?  I'm hoping someone remembers, or perhaps heard it in another setting, because it was very funny - though suspenseful along the way, as I didn't see the ending coming.  The punch line, as far as I recall, in context of a headline in the paper, was: "Artichokes, two for a dollar at Dominick's"

The way it was said, and as connected to the story, was: "Artie chokes two for a Dollar at Dominick's" - does this ring any bells with anyone?

I have often (well, not that often, but on occasion) thought of Uncle Jay telling this story, with a straight face and a twinkle in his eye, and I was wondering where on earth the story was going with talk about murder and the like.  But I have always wished I could remember the whole story.  Not sure if Bruce or Linda ever read this blog, but maybe some other cousins will remember this from the "Christmas Living Room circle," listening to the Uncles talk.

Looking forward to any replies.  Thanks!
Larry

Atlanta Christmas

We met at Mark and Molly's home yesterday for the LCK Christmas.  We had a huge and classic Christmas dinner with turkey, ham, three kinds of dressing (Mom's, oyster, and cornbread), and all the sides.  It was a nice day--Thanks to Mark's family for hosting.

We were able to Skype with Andrew in China--it was 4 a.m. his time!  Mark remembered a Christmas at Grandma K.'s when Cleve was in Vietnam, and we made a tape to send to him.  What year would that have been?

Some pics for your enjoyment:

The grands who were able to be present, with their Aunt Rhoda:

GOOD TIME IN CHICAGO

Jerry and I had a great weekend in Chicago with Kelsie. We went to the Willis Tower (former Sears Tower), had lunch by the huge Christmas Tree at Macy's (former Marshall Fields),took a cab to Water Tower Place and made a few small purchases, caught another cab and went back to hotel to get ready for dinner. Drake and Jason and their families met us at Wildfire for a delicious dinner.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS . . .

We are planning a weekend in Chicago. I think we might get a little hungry wandering around the city, so had to make something special to keep us going.

DAP (Day at Perry's) Annual Gathering 2013

DAP was yesterday, Saturday, Dec. 7th, at the Homeplace under sunny skies and with warm hospitality from Perry & Carol, as usual.  Great fellowship was provided along with the usual delicious meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing & gravy, corn, salad, rolls, etc.   Aunt Alice again provided the coveted Heavenly Hash for dessert along with great candy assortments. 
Following the meal, a fun and interesting game/contest was held to "write down as many distinct memories you can remember of Grandma & Grandpa K in this house from years ago".

A beautiful day greeted us all as we gathered in Gridley.  No fires, spills, or casualties whatsover this year!.....only good times and more memories....

 

                       We gathered at the tables promptly at noon, led in prayer by Tim.

 

 

Cathy won the contest and the prize with the most specific itemized memories of good times from this household and of Grandma and Grandpa.  Everyone's list evoked lots of other examples  & conversation.  Perhaps the most unusual, impressive, and unique one was of Uncle Perry's which stated, "I was born in the room directly above us and was "reborn" in this room, where we sit.

Feel free to add more of your own recollections in the COMMENTS section below.

In fact, one memory of the plaque that hung in the dining room for countless years prompted Perry to get up and retrieve it from his collection of memorabilia.  Do you remember this from many years ago?
We missed seeing those who were unable to attend due to other commitments or were understandably too far away to travel to Gridley for this 2013 DAP.

Aunt Mary Martin's Cookies - Pantagraph

Every year, Mom makes filled oatmeal cookies with date filling from this newspaper clipping in her recipe scrapbook.  Today she said she thought it ought to be on the blog, and I agreed.  The other recipes are for angel cookies and pinwheel date cookies.  The first part of the article reads as follows:

"Holidays are a time for old-fashioned cookies in the home of Mrs. Mary Martin of Gridley.  The oldest cookie recipe in the family is for a 1921 date-filled oatmeal cookie.  Angel cookies and pinwheel date cookies are also popular with the family."

This was printed in the Dec. 24, 1969, issue of the Pantagraph.   Here's a close-up of Aunt Mary.

Friday News

With today being the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's death, I am so glad that Ada, Judy, Rhoda, and I had the opportunity to go to the Texas Book Depository last summer.  It has given great perspective, and helped all of us to see exactly how the tragic event could have taken place.  The first picture is Dealey Plaza, and the second is the book depository building right before Dealey Plaza.  Seeing that spot is something everyone ought to try to do at some point in his life.

In other news, Andrew says from China:  "It's so cold but everyone says it is warm... They say "when winter comes it will be cold." I didn't know how much I hated snow until this blizzard...There's more snow on the ground right now that's fallen in the last few days than I have seen in my entire life combined."  He is in the northeast part of China, and it is going to get bitter before it is all over with!  

p.s. later in the day -- I forgot to mention that the central IL area has been greatly in our thoughts and prayers this past week what with the tragic tornado last Sunday.  We've not heard of any family injuries/property loss and are very thankful for that.