Newest Addition to the Family

Meet 'Mr. Moose'! We are having so much fun with him, he's a great passenger!
He rides along quietly, never says a thing, yet evokes smiles from passersby of all ages.
Papa even noticed a lady driving behind him the other day and she was taking a picture of Mr. Moose as she drove! In a parking lot today, I noticed a group of senior adults staring at the back of the truck as they walked by, and then they started smiling and I realized they were 'interacting' with Mr. Moose. :o)
He really has a friendly face, wouldn't you agree??

Not a Picture-Worthy Lifestyle!

Having been over a month since our last entry, I've figured out that we don't really lead a picture-worthy life ! If you're wondering what we're doing, just look back through the blog and you'll probably see almost the same activities from a year ago.
So.....I decided to default to family pictures so give everyone a chance to look for any family resemblances along the way. I found yet another box of pictures from Great-Grandpa Luke - some I don't remember ever seeing before -- so I've created a little walk through the Luke family's past.
I have no idea how old I was in this picture, but, yes, this is Granny as a VERY little girl!

Here is Great-Grandpa Luke with his little brother, Richard. I see some similarities between the blondie here and our little blondie overseas - do you?
Here is great-grandpa Luke as a kid -- maybe 11 or 12? I wish I could zoom in on the pins he's got on his sweater!
and here is our very own 'secret agent' -- who knew?? She could have starred in a 007 movie, for sure! This is great-grandma Luke for those of you who don't 'recognize' her LOL

Merry Christmas Family! Happy Birthday Jesus!

One of our favorite family traditions was 'suitcase kids' and whenever we went to the playground at grandma-pa Lukes' dad always had to carry you like 'suitcase kids'!
Christmas 1980 was a special one with all our family at our California house! Jennifer LOVED her play phone! What a cutie!
Thom got started playing 'Santa' very early....delivering a package to great-grandma...his assistant, Grandpa Luke, is in the background getting the next delivery ready :o)
We always laugh at the memories of our Christmas in Montana....dad giving us all a 'driving in the snow demonstration'.....snowmobiles.....sledding down a favorite hill.....snow forts.....Princess Bride....and great times.
Love you all!

Special Christmas Thoughts

As we put up our tree for another year (thanks Thom for being our "tree-master"!) it looks like any other Christmas tree at full glance. But....hanging on this tree are many special memories and reminders of what Christmas is all about, and how special family is!


















This Snoopy ornament is from Dad Luke's collection and hangs on our tree in remembrance of him. It holds precious memories for me because we gave these to him and he always had them sitting on the coffee table. He didn't hang them on his tree because the cats thought it was their personal playground!!















We also have great memories of early years with our two kiddos :o) Those hand-made school ornaments get more precious with each passing year. Interestingly enough, they don't always hold the same memories for you kids as they do for us LOL









But the hand-made kiddo ornaments didn't stop when ours grew up! thank goodness!
These 2 special ornaments were created by our 2 lovely grand-daughters and hang with special honor on Granny and Papa's tree.








Then we have the special places reminders, those places of ministry and memories that remind of us God's love, good friends, and beautiful scenery.

May God richly bless all who travel through our little blog!
Merry Christmas!

Why I Love Walking at the Zoo!

I can expect the unexpected! Who would've thought I'd see 'cow-milking' going on!













Or 'rough-riders' speeding through the bushes










Giant ( and I DO mean giant!) birds! This is a Marabou Stork, and it's wing spread is 7-10 feet! If Hannah stood on her daddy's shoulders, that's how wide this bird's wings would spread!











He was very impressive standing guard on his look-out perch.


























Cactus blooming/growing in the sunrise were a gorgeous surprise as well.

Busy Times

It has been a busy month!
Driving to Star Valley this past Sunday, Granny made the trip alone because Papa was preaching elsewhere. Needless to say, there is new construction on the route, and there is now several miles of 2-way traffic....just like the good old days. My drive home looked something like this!
You can see traffic backed up behind our car as well. Surprisingly it only added about 10 minutes to my total drive time :o)
Granny has also been enjoying going to the zoo to get some walking in. I go in the early morning before the zoo is open to the general public and it's wonderful. I get to see how the zoo-keepers put out treats, snacks, toys, and food for some of the animals...
Granny also got a haircut...changing up the style some, and making it much easier to take care of.
Papa had some surgery on his foot, but we didn't take pictures of that! LOL

Weclome to Open House!

Families and Faculty attending our open house were greeted with one of our famous Monsoon storms. It was a downpour for about 45 minutes, flooding everything and drenching most everyone!
Needless to say, people didn't try to venture down to the music room. I saw about 6 families and had some good visits, but mostly I got some good work time in :0)
By the time I was drivng home, the rain had stopped and we got some incredibly sky colors. This is looking south, and is the moon behind the clouds!