A Month of Christmas Pictures

I am going to try and post a month of Christmas pictures.  This may not look like a Christmas picture but it will always be to those of us who are fans of the movie "A Christmas Story".  Whenever I see this picture, though it is my brother, I still hear, "You'll shoot your eye out!"

Happy Birthday Heidi!

Happy Birthday Heidi!  I love this picture because  it shows the personalities of the girls at the time.  Carianne clearly did not want to do this.  Heather is being very angelic (she always loved having her picture taken and getting dressed up) and Heidi hated being around strangers plus her sisters had just done something mean to her just before this picture was shot.  In other words it was a typical day!

I love this picture because of how angelic Heather looks, once again. This picture was taken when Heidi was 3.  The girls were part of a last minute Christmas pageant  we did in North Carolina.  The girls were part of the "Heavenly Hosts".

This picture was taken last summer in Texas.  We were there with them as they visited the Pfiesters and had a wonderful time.  Heidi is a very special daughter, wife and mother.  We are so proud of her accomplishments.  We are even more proud that she is ours.  (Heidi, did you know you shared a birthday with Bette Midler?)

I am Thankful for the Christmas Season

This picture of Carianne was taken at Heather's 4 years ago.  It portrays our love of Christmas in the family.  I will post more over the next few weeks.  I am thankful for this time of year.  It makes you think about the Savior, others and you long to be together with family.  Fortunately the last few years we have been able to be with at least one of our daughters and their family.  Last year we were also able to celebrate Jared and Juliannuary!  More of that to come as we approach their first anniversary.  

I am Thankful for my Mother

The above pictures are from all over the place.  The first picture is our family picture from Christmas 1970.  The second picture is the day my brother Bob was blessed  with my sister Marianne and my mom and the bottom picture is Mom and me the day I graduated from Heidelberg High School in June of 1971.  I don't have that many pictures of my mother.  Today is the 10 year anniversary of her death.  It doesn't seem that long in some ways and in other ways it seems like forever.  I miss her.  There were so many things I wanted her to still teach me.  But she was so sick, it was time for her to go.  I am so grateful for the things she did teach me and for the fact she was my mother.  I am grateful she was there to be an amazing grandmother to our daughters and my nieces.  I am very blessed to have had parents who loved and cared for me.  I am very blessed to still have my father living.

Happy Birthday Luke

Today is our grandson, Caspian Luke Bahlmann's third birthday!  Happy Birthday sweet Luke!  We wish we could we could be with you for your birthday.  It won't be long until we are with you and your family.  We hope you have a wonderful day.  I am thankful for such an amazing grandson.  I am also thankful for the beginning of Advent tonight.  It is always such a wonderful start to the Christmas Season!

I am Thankful for Daughters Who Love Each Other

When our daughters were very little they loved each other and they played together so well.  For the most part they were best friends and I marvelled at how lucky I was.  And then they got into the mid grades of elementary school and that kind of went out of the window for years!  I wondered if any two of them would be friends at the same time again.  Adulthood and marriage came and now they are all best friends and sisters again.  It is such a joy to watch them.  Many times I am not even included in a problem because they call each other first - which is fine.  They are closer in age and their families are the same dynamics - so they know how to deal with the problems at hand better than I do. 

When Pam was very little, on occasion, she would call Carianne, Nana (now she calls her that or Nan most of the time).  I was laughing to myself last night because Carianne has become somewhat "Aunt Nana the Nanny" in the family.  She goes to the girls before I do when a new baby is born.  She was there for Pam because I couldn't move and now she is going to Heidi so we can go for Christmas and the baby blessing.  Clyde and I were teasing her last night that Carl gets to go on hunting trips and she goes for the newborns.  She said that Carl brings back something though.  She brings back something too - lots of love and the satisfaction of a job well done.  I am grateful for my amazing family.  I know that is pretty much all I have blogged about this month but they are the best and greatest blessings of my life.

I am Thankful for Wonderful Get Togethers

Yesterday we got together at the Church with anyone that didn't have a place to go.  We ended up with about 30 people and had a wonderful time.  I had originally come up with the idea so the military students wouldn't be left alone, but they were not allowed to leave the base.  By that time I had asked a few of the young couples if they would like to participate with us - knowing they really couldn't afford Thanksgiving on their own.  Then a few other people heard about it and it just kept growing and getting more wonderful.  We had people of all ages.  I brought "How To Train Your Dragon" for the kids to watch but what happened was that the kids played with balls and trains and ran and had fun while the teenagers and adults watched the movie.  We had a wonderful time with so much food that everyone took home generous leftovers.  Clyde and I cooked a 14 pound turkey and 12 pound ham.  I am still astonished at how much meat was leftover and how much meat was taken home.  It was a glorious day and great day of Thanksgiving.  It truly was the next best thing to being with family.  I am thankful for ward members that are like family.