Our Family Seal

Fish Houses and Winter

2009-02-19T18:53:00.007-06:00

Thought I would put some pictures out here on how our winter has been this year. We've probably had about 50 inches of snow which isn't that bad but it's been so stinking cold that it hasn't melted. I keep thinking we still have about 2 - 2.5 months before we'll see the ground and I mean without snow. I'm really hating this northern MN winter life.

Here is a picture of Max when we went outside 1 day. His paws were getting pretty cold - he's lifting the 1 paw as it was freezing up on him.

This is a view from my office window at home. We had 6 fish houses out in the bay this year. The ice is about 20 inches thick. Alot of weekend activity with people driving their cars out there and fishing in the open (no houses). The houses have to be off the lake the last week in February or first part of March.

The last 2 nights we've had -13 temps at night. I made chili this week and instead of putting it in the frig I just put it out on the deck. Frozen solid in the morning.

This Sunday Clayt and I are becoming members of Bethany Lutheran church in Nevis. It is a small church but is a wonderful church. We started going to it last October. The first Sunday there was new members Sunday. I could tell immediately this was the church we were meant to join. I thought we should just cut to the chase and go to the front of the church and join with the others on that day but we went through the usual routine and will join this week.

I joined the Hannah Bible Study circle. They are the 'working women' as the other circles have the retired ladies in their group. It's a very fun group with a wide range in ages. We're reading the book 'Facing your Giants' by Max Lucado. I'm really enjoying it. I highly recommend it.

Please continue to say a prayer for my niece Jaclyn. Chemo and radiation are going well for her. I love her and her family so much. I know Jaclyn's giant is her cancer. There is a saying in the book that I really like...

Focus on giants -- you stumble

Focus on God -- your giants tumble

www.caringbridge.com/visit/jaclynguthmiller

Take care - talk to you later...

Waaay behind - Christmas 2008 photos

2009-02-19T18:37:00.008-06:00

Boy, am I behind. I should have posted these a long time ago. My problem is my husband is on our home computer so much of the time so it's hard for me to get on it myself. I don't like using my work compute...you know, that would be against company policy so I wait until I get on our home laptop. Maybe I'll have to make a sign-up chart for it so I can get some dedicated time.

This picture was taken on 12/27/08 right after breakfast. You can tell that some of us haven't been up very long. Oh well, that's what the weekends are for...relaxing and kicking back. Look at Roxi's collar...it's a pearl necklace/collor. I have a close-up her with it. It's so cute! That dog sure likes to hear herself bark. It's more a 'woof' and just loud enough to be funny. Quite the dog.

Too cute, don't you think?!

I'll try to get better about getting pics out on a more timely basis. It's hard to do when work has been busy. Nothing that the rest of you don't know, right. Take care!

Jaclyn - My Hero

2009-01-25T21:45:00.004-06:00

The last 10 days have been a whirlwind for my niece, my Godchild, my Hero - Jaclyn. On 01/15/09 she was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cervical cancer. The next 2 days involved CT and MRI scans in Sioux Falls (SF) and then by the grace of God, her sister Katie was able to setup 2nd opinion appointments at the Mayo Clinic in AZ on 01/20. But first, on 01/19 Jaclyn had a PET scan in SF and then the Guthmiller family and my twin sister, Coleen (Jaclyn's mom) all boarded a plane to AZ. The next few days were a blur for Jaclyn and Judd. Judd took notes and Katie was medical interpreter. Jaclyn unfortunately was the patient. Jaclyn started chemo Friday 01/23 and Saturday 01/24. Sunday was a day of rest and on Monday 01/26 she goes in for her radiation prep work. They all head back to SF on Monday afternoon. Life as they once knew it is now different. Follow Jaclyn's story at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jaclynguthmiller
Jaclyn is a very strong woman and just amazing. She has a very nice family with the 2 most adorable little boys. Her husband is a fun person albiet a dry sense of humor but he is her 'rock' and will do whatever he has to help her through this. He was a devoted husband before this came to be so what he has done for her in the last 2 weeks is no surprise.
Katie and Josh (Jaclyn's sister and husband) have opened their home to the whole crew and with their 2 young boys they have given Jaclyn a chance at treatment that most people wouldn't get.
My sister Coleen and my other sister Jan that lives nearby in Cave Creek have been the designated nannies for the week. Wow, 4 boys under the ages of 2.5 years old. I bet that was one busy house every day! From all accounts everything was under control. I guess Jakob is enjoying wearing shorts (opposed to jeans and winter coats) and asked Aunt Katie if he could wear shorts again. What a bonding time for those 4 little boys.
Here is the Christmas picture the Guthmiller's sent out this year. I just love it. A picture of health and love.

Please pray for Jaclyn and her family as they go through this horrible journey. May God bless them with good health. I love you Jaclyn - you're my hero!

First Time Ice Fishing

2009-01-04T16:17:00.009-06:00

More stories from Christmas at the cabin. Clayt and I went to Christmas Eve church. We both just love the new church we are going to (Bethany Lutheran in Nevis). It is such a friendly church and immediately we felt a part of it. Julie and Nate came up on Christmas Eve so the four of us had a quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Nate was able to get out and do some snowmobiling but we have so much snow up here and it's very light so he was gettng stuck off and on. If he was on a trail then it went fine but it was getting to a trail. Nonetheless, he had a good time. Christmas night we played Polish Poker, 6-5-4 and Farkle. It was fun. Then on the 26th I had to work until 1 pm. Kristin and Jeremy got up to the cabin around 1 pm so then Julie and I went into town to get the pork crown roast and miscellaneous groceries. Kristin stayed home and started on the appetizers. Alan, Christa and the girls (Alexandra, Angelique, Kathryn and Carissa) got to the cabin around 3:30 pm. Since we knew we were going to have a late dinner we decided just to have some appetizers to hold everyone over before dinner.

I made a crown roast of pork. It's the first time I've ever made one. It tasted wonderful but I would have had it in the oven about 1 hour more just to make it more tender. I made some really good dressing/stuffing and mashed potatoes. Crista made her corn souffle (kinda like scalloped corn). It's such an easy recipe to make. I'll include the receipe further down in the post.

Then after dinner we opened Christmas gifts which everyone liked what they received. Then we started playing cards again. It was fun night.

The next morning Tom and Jenny (friends that have a lake home up here and happen to be Kristin's first grade teacher and wife) came over for breakfast. We had waffles and pancakes, bacon and fruit. Tom and Jenny brought a delicious egg bake with carmelized onions and mushrooms. I loved it! Later that day we went into town and bought flannel. I told the girls I would make them pajama pants back at Thanksgiving. Well, I didn't get started until around 3:30 pm but I got 6 pair finished before the evening was over. They didn't turn out too bad either.

That night Nate took the girls down to the fish houses to dip their poles in the water (and to watch a DVD also...guess it was slow for awhile). Anyway, Angie caught 4 fish. Here are some pictures of her first catch. I just love the expressions on her face.

The next day we had a brunch of all leftovers. What a mix of food we had but at least no one went home hungry. By 4:30 pm the last of the group had left and Clayt and I watched the 'Sound of Music' by ourselves and with a nice fire.

It was great having all the kids home and to share a meal with our friends! Thank you everyone!

Corn Souffle

1 can cream of corn

1 can whole corn - drained

8 oz. sour cream

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

Mix all together and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Delish! ;o)

Christmas at the Laughlin's

2008-12-30T20:15:00.003-06:00

Clayt and I came down to the Cities to celebrate Christmas with Jeff, Melanie, Alyssa and Zachary and then our 2 daughter's and husbands (Julie and Nate and Kristin and Jeremy). We gathered at Kristin and Jeremy's and had some yummy appetisers and Melanie's famous brandy slush. We decided it has become our drink of choice for our annual gathering. We had a wonderful ham dinner with all the fixings. It was all so good. After dinner Alyssa and Zach got to decorate sugar cookies that Kristin had made the previous day. Zach told Kristin they tasted wonderful! I really enjoy our get-to-gethers. We don't get together enough to catch up on everyone's lives and I so enjoy talking with everyone. The kids are so cute and so well behaved. They are a joy to be around. Here is a picture from our gathering. Last year we met at Jeff and Melanie's and next year it looks like it will be at Julie and Nate's. Thank you Laughlin's for hosting it this year!

Christmas Card 2008

2008-12-29T21:00:00.004-06:00

Christmas Greetings one and all! I'm embarrassed to say that I have been terrible about keeping this blog current. My issue is that I only want to use our home computer opposed to me using my company issued laptop (that's the 'good' person in me). By the time I get off my laptop for work the last thing I want to do is get on our home computer and do some surfing. My work load at work is lessening up. The client is going live as we speak so the hours I put in daily should get to a managable level. I just love my new position at work. I'm working in Implementation and doing work as a Business Analyst for interfaces. I enjoy the interaction I have with the client and with the 3rd party vendors and ensuring all the requirements are met. I can't wait to get my next client. I've learned so much with this one and know that the next client will benefit from what I've learned.

Here is a picture of the Christmas card that Clayt and I sent out this year. It's not bad. It was a last minute photo we took. It was cold that day. Well below zero. I really wanted to use a picture we took in Key West of us in October on our 30th anniversary tour of Florida but it wasn't the most becoming picture of me (that darn roll of 'fat/love' I have at my waist line). Anyway, we decided to use this picture.

It's getting late now so I'll sign off for now but will update the blog with other pictures from Christmas and before. We had a great Christmas with family at the cabin and a few weeks before in the Cities.

Only a couple more days left before 2009...let's hope the economy bounces back! :o)

Welcome Landon Alexander!

2008-05-08T20:32:00.005-05:00

Welcome Landon Alexander ~

Today our niece Katie and her husband Josh had their 2nd boy. Landon Alexander was born at 8:06 a.m. and weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz.. He joins big brother Aiden Nicholas. They will have a busy household in the years to come. Congratulations Katie and Josh! You have a cute family.

I'm in Raleigh NC for work this week. The weather has been just wonderful! It's making me anxious for summer in MN. We've had such a long winter and then the month of April we had 3 big snowstorms that resulted in 50 inches of snow. That's about 45 more inches than I cared to see. Hopefully the nice weather will be coming soon and staying around. Have a good weekend everyone!

Happy Birthday Luke & Ethan!

2008-05-02T12:41:00.006-05:00

Happy 12th Birthday Luke and Ethan ~

Well, as you can see the Seal's have a flux of birthdays all together. Today we celebrate our grandson's Luke & Ethan's 12th birthday. They are fraternal twins and their personalities are as different as their looks. But, no denying it they are both adorable and very lovable kids! We're lucky to have them for grandchildren.

Luke is on the left and weighed 10 lbs 2 oz when he was born. Ethan weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. Can you imagine carrying either of them as a single birth let alone as twins? Their mother Sandy paid the price physically for it. After some mending and additional surgery she's was good as new.
The past 2 summers they have spent time with at the lake and it has been such an enjoyable time for us to get to know them better as individuals. We knew this time would come but this summer will probably be a shorter visit. Luke is signing up for football camp and Ethan is signing up for a computer video class. Of course, they get out of school before the kids in MN and with our late spring the lake water won't be warm enough for activities until the middle of June. It's still up in the air as to when we'll see their smiling faces again.

I remember when they were born. Julie and Kristin were at the age where they loved being around babies and helping out. It was great as they both got one and no fights insued because of 'not sharing' them. :)

This last summer was very fun for them as they got to be good friends with another neighbor boy at the lake. Sleep-overs, fort building, swimming and games kept them all busy and they became fast friends. It will be a quiet summer without them around.

Gotta go...Happy Birthday boys! Grandpa and Grandma love you! xoxo

Happy Birthday Madeline!

2008-05-01T18:44:00.014-05:00

Wow, I can't believe Madeline is already 5 years old! Madeline is our great niece and such a sweetie! Madeline was one of the flower girls in Julie & Nate's wedding. It was so much fun to watch her and her cousin Alyssa walk down the aisle together dropping flower petals. One of favorite pictures is of Madeline picking the flower petals up down by the alter (see Julie and Nate's wedding pictures in the post dated March 29th). Too cute. I wished Madeline and her family lived closer to us so we could get to know the kids better. Happy Birthday Madeline...we love you!

The ice is still on the lake up north here. It has melted alot today and with the wind picking up it will be gone soon...maybe tomorrow. It's been nice working from home this week. I've gotten up every morning and gone walking - 2 miles. That's pretty good for me. I've been wearing my pedometer trying to keep me on track and give me the incentive to keep moving. Work is having a 'contest' to get everyone to walk 100 miles in 8 weeks. Week one I walked 23 miles. Week two 19 miles. Not too bad - it's a start!

Last week I was in New Orleans for work. We had team meetings on Wednesday and Friday and then on Thursday we worked on a Habitat for Humanity house. It was very fun. There were 57 people from work that participated. I worked with 3 men putting up 'F' channell and soffitts. Not fun work. Working on a ladder and hammering upside down. Next time I'm going to grab a paint brush. :) Here is a group picture of us, a picture that tells the story about the new owners of the house I worked on and a picture of Terry. Terry is the main carpentar and heads up the organization for that site. During break time and throughout the day he would get his bagpipes out and play songs. Very nice person and a very fun day.

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2008-04-21T21:00:00.003-05:00

I haven't been keeping up with the blog as I was hoping to put pictures in from our summers with our grandsons. I ran out of gas but will make a concentrated effort at getting more motivation. But, until that I want to wish a happy birthday to our nephew Jeff. Hope you have a wonderful day and all your dreams come true! Love you bunches - Uncle Clayt and Aunt Doreen

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Summer 2006

2008-03-31T18:18:00.022-05:00

1st Fish

Take us out to the ballgame!
Holey Board - Luke
Joyce with her Grand & Great GrandchildrenEthan, Luke, Jeremy at the track
Grandma's favorite picture

Luke

Ethan

Tubing is hard work - Ethan & Luke

Itsaca State Park - Headwaters of Mississippi River

Luke

Grandpa Nate & Ethan Brotherly 'love'

Kristin & Jeremy's Wedding -9/01/07

2008-03-29T09:22:00.006-05:00

Julie & Nate's Wedding - 10/29/05

2008-03-29T08:56:00.007-05:00

Greetings one and all!

2008-03-25T18:10:00.008-05:00

Hello everyone ~

This is my first entry into my blog. It's kinda exciting but scarey too! I hope I don't embarass myself or my family. :) As with most people our lives revolve around or at least involve working on a computer daily. In my case, it's my job so I live and breathe it 24/7. Sometimes it's very hard to to get on it at night when I've been working all day but it also brings me some relaxation and of course, I have an inquisitive mind so I'm constantly searching and 'googling' different sites for anything and everything.

This site will be changing alot I'm sure as I become more knowledgable in customizing it and making it my own. Have some patience with me...it will be a work in progress.

We had a nice Easter weekend. It snowed in MN where we received about 10 inches from Good Friday to Easter afternnoon. At church it was the topic of trying to remember the last time we've had snow on Easter. Of course, this is the earliest we've had Easter in 95 years.

In February Clayton and I took a 4000 miles road trip. It was so much fun. We headed to Atlanta to see our grandson's, Luke and Ethan and then to Florida and then over to New Orleans and then to Branson for our last night on the road. Our first day and our last day on the road were the worst travel days. Bad weather going down (rain, snow and sleet through Illinois) and high winds in Iowa and Minnesota coming back. It made us want to be back on St. Pete Beach again. I'm sharing a couple of my favorite pictures from that trip. Enjoy! :)

Happy Birthday Gina!