Berge Central

Coffee break

2009-11-16T15:42:00.003-06:00

It's a wonderful November when you have days that one can still work outside without having to bundle up against the elements!

Fortunately the men could continue to work on the siding as the house is almost all enclosed..

But, because of the marvelous warm (41 degrees) weather (and it felt so much warmer in the sunshine, actually) a table was prepared for afternoon coffee...

OUTSIDE!

Guests joined the homeowners and the builder for a lovely little coffee break!

Martha served some of her tasty goodies and..

a good time was had by all.

Sunday afternoon relaxing

2009-11-15T14:38:00.002-06:00

It's a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon for father and son.

A little football and

..a little light reading....

Seriously? Hebrew?

It's Greek to me.

Berge Bed and Breakfast

2009-11-14T09:27:00.003-06:00

Late last evening our Bed and Breakfast received it's most recent guests.

The beds were ready and welcomed by the weary travelers.

The morning started bright and early, thanks to one early riser...

Breakfast was made by the man of the family, as the little woman isn't such a great "get up and make a hearty breakfast" kind of gal....
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And they were off.

One month already?

2009-11-13T12:46:00.002-06:00

This little sweetheart was a month old yesterday!

I just had to take a few pictures...

Isn't this little outfit sweet? I love the bunny feet!

Can you see the happy expression on her face? She is so alert and cooing and looking happy.

Adorable.

Taking time for..

2009-11-12T15:39:00.003-06:00

... afternoon tea!

Sometimes we need to remember to take a moment and enjoy the blessings around us -

with a good cup of tea (Mrs. Earl Grey is my favorite).

I had a recipe for pumpkins scones with berry butter (dried cranberries) and thought today was the perfect day to make them.
Actually, any day is the perfect day for scones, as far as I am concerned...

I have some extra if you want to drop by....
they're still warm...

Minnesota mild..

2009-11-11T14:37:00.002-06:00

We are so thankful for this mild (and not wet) weather as of late. It has allowed good progress on the home under construction for Wally's brother and wife. Shingles, windows and doors are all signs of progress; next up is the siding.

And then... well, it can snow and there's plenty of inside work!

What a deal

2009-11-08T16:02:00.003-06:00

Last evening we took Daniel and family out to Perkins to celebrate his birthday.

We didn't know the kids meals were free on Saturday nights.

We didn't know Daniel, the birthday boy, would receive a FREE dessert of his choice..

and we certainly didn't know that a nice couple, who were total strangers, decided to hand us a 20% off coupon for the total meal bill!

Thank you!

What a deal!

And this little lady was a perfect little girl the whole time!

All in all, it was a nice birthday celebration with NO dishes to do afterwards!

Happy Birthday Daniel!

2009-11-07T09:13:00.003-06:00

29 years ago this little fella joined our family!

He started out life in Canada.

As the youngest of three brothers, he brought lots of spunk to the family scene!

(I thought you three boys would get a laugh at this picture!)

Anyone remember where it was taken??

The only one in our family to travel to Israel to do some archeology..

here he is in the magazine Biblical Archeology....

And by age 29 he is settled in the small town of his childhood

with his lovely wife and 4 children.

Happy Birthday Daniel!! We're so proud of you!

Girl time

2009-11-04T21:38:00.001-06:00

It's good to have girl time...

no matter the age...

Right?

Building

2009-11-03T16:22:00.002-06:00

Not too far from us is the newest building project that Wally and his brother are working on- a new home for Wally's brother and wife.

It's coming right along. We look forward to lots of great evenings together in their home when it's completed!

The home is actually on the other side of the same river as our home.

It would be faster to get there by water then to drive, so maybe next summer we'll have to boat on over!

Just a fun picture with the zoom lens.
It makes the home across the river look so close, but it is just the zoom affect.

The main room will enjoy a wonderful view towards the river and a wonderful large oak tree.
The little area that has the bay window shape will be for the dining table.
I just thought some of you Berge relatives would enjoy seeing the progress.

Okay, okay, Happy Birthday to me....

2009-11-02T11:34:00.002-06:00

62 years ago...

I'm speechless.

But hey, Happy Birthday to me.

Halloween visitors

2009-11-01T16:22:00.003-06:00

Of course, the best part of Halloween is when little grandchildren come to show off their costumes - and get some candy.

We had a snow princess...

a cuddly bear that likes football....

a serious Minnesota Vikings football player...

and a sweet little leopard honey....

October 29, 1920

2009-10-29T19:15:00.000-05:00

This is an amazing story. I don't know if you can read the newspaper clipping above this post, but it was posted in the New York Daily News on October 13, 1920.

My grandmother was a single mom and made the difficult decision to allow my father to be adopted into a family that could care for him better then she.

I can't imagine how difficult that decision was for her.

But a widower in New Jersey saw the newspaper article and choose to become my father's daddy - by marrying my grandmother!

Here is the proof of their marriage: dated October 29, 1920...

I would say that a 16 day courtship was rather brief...

Shortly thereafter they took this family picture.

I treasure it.
And every October I think about my grandmother, my grandfather and my father.

Big Day for Emersyn Anne

2009-10-26T10:15:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the baptism for our precious new granddaughter.

Here is a picture of the event; you can see her godparents, Norman and Martha, as well as the large picture of Emersyn on the power point screen.

There were many of us there to share the day.

Following the baptism we had a nice afternoon together to celebrate.

Here are the pleased parents and the not-so-pleased infant...

This picture is special as she is being held by two great grandma's.
(My mom, who is almost 92, makes it three great-grandma's for Emme!)

The proud grandparents. Emersyn is wearing a baptism gown that was brought from Norway years ago. It is well over 100 years old.

Here are our three granddaughters.

Brooklyn is a very attentive and caring sister to Emersyn.

And the SIX grandsons!

How about this bow?

I just love it!

Oh, the girly thing... the girly thing...

Worth the wait....

2009-10-21T17:33:00.003-05:00

Finally! 9 days after this little girl was born, we get to meet her!

It was a long ride back from the East, knowing she was waiting to meet us!

Sisters.

The proud siblings show off their new baby sister to Grandpa!

A kiss from brother...

Oh, so sweet in pink!

90 years of life and still perky...

2009-10-18T19:41:00.006-05:00

r Last evening in Rhode Island my relatives gathered from New Jersey and Pennsylvania and Minnesota to celebrate the 90th birthday of my Aunt, along with her "adopted" Rhode Island family.

We enjoyed a great evening together at a nice restaurant.

Then today, Sunday, following the morning church service my Aunt's church gave her a surprise 90th birthday party. She thought it was just a potluck meal following church but it really was her birthday party.

Here is the wonderful cake they made for her.

This is my Aunt Bea on the left, who is 90 on Wednesday, and my mom, her sister, on the right, who will be 92 in December. 90 looks pretty good!

These are the Crater girls; my sister Marlane on the left;, then me, then my sister-in-laws, Debbie and Ann-Margret.

A picture with my sister.

My oldest brother John.

Ah, my youngest brother, Jeffrey.

It's a girl! Emersyn Anne!

2009-10-12T02:16:00.002-05:00

yeah! It's a girl! At 1:26 a.m., central time, Meghan gave birth to a little girl, 8 lbs 2 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. Long of dark hair and totally adorable! Congratulations to Meghan and Daniel!
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Her name is Emersyn Anne!

It's time.

2009-10-11T22:09:00.001-05:00

Finally. Soon.

Adam's installation at Westby

2009-10-11T16:28:00.007-05:00

One of the members of Adam's church took these wonderful pictures of today's installation.

How thrilled I am to get them! Thank you Jerry for taking these pictures and burning them on a CD so fast!

The bulletin.

Adam begins the service and we sang a hymn.

Adam and I sang a duet - the first time since 1997, I think.
We sang "Unfailing Love."

Yup, we were singing out!

Pastor Boe from our seminary came to Westby today, presented the message and performed the

Installation Writ.

Adam was asked questions and answered accordingly.

He said "yes" "yes" "yes" and "yes"...

Andrea and the children were invited to come forward.

The members of the congregation were standing.

A closing prayer was offered for Adam and his family.

Pastor Adam Berge and his lovely wife Andrea posed with the cake.

Adam's installation

2009-10-11T14:16:00.003-05:00

This morning Adam was officially installed as the Pastor of Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church in Westby, Wisconsin. Hannah was dressed for the occasion.

I didn't take too many pictures, sorry.

The interior of the church.

Adam and I sang a duet today. That was pretty special for both of us.

Here is the lovely cake the church had for the potluck meal and celebration following the morning service.

A quick view of the church potluck.
It felt so much like our years in the church in Hagen.
A warm fellowship.
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A good time was had by all.

A little Westby

2009-10-11T14:01:00.005-05:00

This weekend Wally and I came to Westby for the first time. We got to see the church that Adam serves and the Parsonage in which they live.

This is the cute little church.

Right next door to the brown church is the large white house that is the parsonage. Andrea has decorated it so lovely!

We drove the short few blocks to downtown and I took a few pictures.
This large Victorian home is a bed and breakfast.

I loved the sign on the window advertising fresh made lefse.

I wanted to go have coffee at Ole & Lena's but they had closed.

I'll have to do it next time.

This will only make sense to Scandinavians.

"uff-da" is an expression that Scandinavians say that sort of means.."good grief!"

Need I say that this is very Scandinavian community?

Uff-dah.

Ya, sure, ya betcha...

Still waiting...

2009-10-09T10:06:00.002-05:00

In case you have been stalking this blog (along with Meghan & Daniel's blog) I thought I'd report that there is no baby yet and no signs of one in the near future...

When I was due with Daniel, the due date was the end of October. But since I had gone early with the other two sons, and, in fact, was SO much larger with Daniel, I told folks I was due "the middle of October."

He was born November 7th. He was 9 lbs 3 oz.

AHH. I think this baby is taking after Daddy.

Happy 13th birthday to Alison!!

2009-10-04T11:53:00.002-05:00

This is birthday week for three of my nieces!

And this is one very special birthday - a teenager has arrived!

Alison is 13 today!

Happy birthday dear Ali - I hope to see you in about 2 weeks!

Until then, have a wonderful day!!!!

Happy Birthday Jill!

2009-10-03T08:15:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday today to my dear niece Jill (pictured here with her daughter Courtney at Courtney's first communion). I hope you have a wonderful day today Jill!

I wonder if you will get to share your birthdate with a new first cousin once removed? Doubtful...

Brooklyn's riding lesson

2009-10-02T12:36:00.002-05:00

Today was lesson 3 for Brooklyn. I took a little video clip so she could see what she looks like on Pistol, the horse she rides. This part of her lesson was for her to get used to a slightly faster movement of the horse - each week she becomes more confident. She sits up nice and tall in the saddle. Enjoy.