The blessings never stop

The Bible says blessed is the man whose quiver is full. I think the blessings continue to the children! I have experienced the blessings of a "full quiver" family my entire life (even when I didn't recognize it as a blessing). The support, constant friendship, fun, spiritual accountability, mentoring, listening ear, unconditional love (just to name a few) I received from all of my sisters and brothers has enriched my life immensely. I can't imagine my life any other way! It is fun to see all of our kids enjoying the same closeness that we all feel - not only with their siblings but with their cousins.

The Beco crew! We all went on a walk one day and decided we needed to take a picture of all of us "wearing" our babies! Unfortunately, Julie and Ira were sleeping or we could have had one more baby and beco in the picture. Jesse (holding Jude for Cori), Bekah and Georgia, Hannah and I and Laura and Lyrik

Breakfast, first shift :-) Closest to camer: Ira (Jesse's), Kiaran and Lily (Laura's), Ruby and Abby (Bekah's) and Madison and Isaac

Chloe (Levi's), Madison, Lily, Ruby and Abby

We actually accomplished a pyrimid! Don't they look cute! Lyrik is the perfect top - looking cute as can be :-)

We were so successful with the smaller pyrimid we decided to try larger! It worked out okay, although not quite perfect. They were all agonizing over their sore back's but I managed to get them to smile before they collapsed :-)

It was pretty cool the second half of the week so hot chocolate was a big hit after hours of playing outside. Kiaran, Lily, Madison and Abby

Sweet little Georgia sleeping away, Julie and Ira relaxing - Ira was a little sick in this picture so didn't feel like acknowledging the camera - or maybe it's ever presence has wore off and he pays it no attention :-) Georgia showing her chubby little cheeks and Lily proudly sporting her new smile! She lost her top tooth while we were there.

Visiting Grandma

My grandma and I

Madison and my cousin Teresa's daughter Emily. Madison and Emily share the same love of horses so they have lots of fun together

My dad and his siblings. My dad has always been a talker - can't you tell :-)

Snippets of life . . . .

when visiting my parents and everyone* comes home

Their 9 kids
with their 7 spouses
with their 21 children!
Yes, it does get crazy, but it is FUN! :-)

*(there were 2 spouses and 3 grandchildren who didn't make it)

Violet (Bekah's) Isaac and Eli (Levi's)

Madison and Abby (Bekah's) with a dog that was visiting temporarily. Such a pretty dog!

Cori (my oldest sister) and Julie (my brother Jesse's wife)

My dad watching a funny you tube video with all the kids. He still laughs and laughs even though he has seen it many times! The explosion (literal explosion and his explosion of laughter) scared poor Violet right off his lap :-) Click here to watch it for yourself :-)

One of our many game nights. We stayed up late each night and usually played Apples to Apples or just talked and laughed. From Back: Bekah, Cori, Karmen, Laura (and Lyrik), Nicole, Julie, Jesse, Rachel (my brother Levi's wife), Josh (my cousin) and Joey (Laura's husband)

Lily (Laura's) and Madison coloring during their sleepover

Eli and Isaac had a sleepover also. They took forever to fall asleep and eventually Eli decided a sleepover wasn't all it was cracked up to be and went home :-) Luckily his parents were still upstairs visiting :-)

Chloe (Levi's) and Madison getting tucked in for a night in the camper. My parents borrowed one from a friend to have enough sleeping space :-)

A Gift

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you. - Desmond Tutu

I love this quote - it is so true too. I can't imagine life without family - not only for myself but for the kids too! They love being with the cousins and grandpa and grandma as much as we love being with each other!

Nicole (my sister just younger than me), Isaac and Ruby (Bekah's daughter), Bailey (Nicole's) and Lyrik (Laura's) and Karmen (my youngest sister) and Hannah

Isaac and Kiaran (my sister Laura's son) had lots of fun together. They are 3 months apart and had their 1st sleepover. They were really cute - hyper of course but cute. They watched a movie at bedtime and then fell asleep. Such crazy positions they ended up in :-) I love this age where they think they can "read". They actually do pretty good at remembering what the pages say. Isaac really surprises us now and then with how quickly he memorizes a book!

The 4 youngest grandchildren - Georgia (2.5 months, Bekah's 4th child), Lyrik (8 months, Laura's 3rd), Hannah (15 mo) and Jude (15 mo, Cori's 4th). There are 2 more on the way (Levi's wife Rachel is having their 4th in November and Jesse's wife Julie is having their 2nd in April) That will be 23 grandchildren!!! Crazy huh

Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa - so much fun! Today on the list of activities with grandpa is airplane rides and computer time!

In the Midst of Happiness . . .

. . . . . is sadness

This became a reality as we prepared to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday and were faced with the unexpected death of my uncle Wayne. He was my dad's youngest brother and was only 50 years old. An autopsy later revealed he had a heart attack due to a large tumor on his heart. He was a happy, friendly guy who gave freely of himself to his family and friends (and his beloved dogs) :-) So, sadly, a couple days after celebrating with my grandma we mourned with her, and his girlfriend, his children, my dad and the rest of the family.

My dad and brother Jesse did the music for the funeral and did an awesome job. They also did great picking the songs.

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Bob Bennett

I know that my Redeemer lives;
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my ever living Head.

He lives to silence all my fears,
He lives to wipe away my tears
He lives to calm my troubled heart,
He lives all blessings to impart.

He lives triumphant from the grave,
He lives eternally to save,
He lives my mansion to prepare;
He lives to bring me safely there.

He lives and grants me daily breath;
He lives, and I shall conquer death:
He lives, and while He lives, I’ll sing;
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King.

He lives, all glory to His Name!
He lives, my Jesus, still the same.
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives,
I know that my Redeemer lives!

I know that my Redeemer lives!

Presence of the Lord
Eric Clapton
I have finally found a place to live just like I never could before. And I know I don't have much to give, but soon I'll open any door. Everybody knows the secret, everybody knows the score. I have finally found a place to live in the presence of the lord.
In the presence of the Lord

I Lift My Eyes Up
Brian Doerksen

I lift my eyes up to the mountains
Where does my help come from
My help comes from You
Maker of heaven, creator of the earth

Oh how I need you Lord
You are my only hope
You are my only prayer
So I will wait for You
To come and rescue me
To come and give me life

This song was such a good ending to the funeral . Such an awesome reminder that there is no other hope but the hope we have in Jesus. We have life, eternal life, in HIM! I just pray that anyone without this hope will see their need and allow Him to do as the song says - "come and rescue them, to come and give them life"

In the Midst of Sadness . . . .

. . . . . is happiness

It is nice that time spent together - time with sisters, brothers, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces, nephews and friends - brings happiness even in the midst of sadness. We were all able to talk and laugh about memories shared (especially about Uncle Wayne) as well as create new memories together. We also had the opportunity to take lots of pictures :-)


Nicole, Shane, Bailey, Liam and Maggie

The big fam! This is the second whole family picture taken within 6 months! Unfortunately, it has been a funeral both times that has brought us all together. I don't know what was going on with my camera but all the pictures in this room were a bit fuzzy (maybe it was the lighting) I tried to sharpen them but this was the best I could do. Too bad we didn't stand in order but I guess that would have made it too easy for those of you who have the order memorized :-)

Back Left: Cori, Nicole, Bekah, me, dad, Levi, Jesse, David Front: Mom, Laura and Karmen

Another try with the fuzzy pictures!

My aunt Myrna and her family. Teresa, Myrna, Todd and Debbie (Todd's girlfriend)

My Uncle Allan and Aunt Jane and their family - Ashley, London and Josh.

My aunt Susan and cousins Ian, Shannon, Melissa and Allan Bruce

My uncle Wayne's kids - Scott, Christina and Eric

Celebrating in Song

Here is a song that my dad and uncle sang to my grandma at her party. I have always loved this song!

Unconditional Love

Here's to the people who gave me life
And then showed me how to live it
And taught me that you measure love
By how freely you can give it

And the gift I give to you
Is the lesson that I learned
That when a love is true
It has nothing in return

Unconditional love, that they gave to me
It wasn't mine to keep and I knew someday
I'd hand it down to you and hope that I can be
The one who makes you see
The importance of unconditional love

And there were times I know I let them down
But never once was I rejected
And when I stood alone to face this world
Somehow I still felt protected

That's the common bond we share
And it will last through the years
And you can trust that I'll be there
Through the good times and the tears

Unconditional love, like they gave to me
It's not yours to keep and I know someday
Someone will look to you and you will have to be
The one who makes him see
The importance of unconditional love

Happy 90th Grandma!

Today is my grandma's 90th birthday. Labor day weekend we went to ND to help her celebrate and it just so happens that I am finally getting those pictures on the blog. It is good timing though (if I do say so myself) considering today is her actual birthday!
(There are several pictures with multiple people in them so don't forget you can always click on the picture to see it better) :-)
Grandma with my Aunt Myrna, Uncle Gary, my dad, Aunt Susan and Uncle Allan

Cori flew from AL to Minot and I picked her up on my way through. She was only able to bring her youngest child, Jude (15 mo), along

Bekah and her family live nearby. Bekah and Georgia (2 1/2 months), Dale and Violet (2 1/2 yrs), Ruby (5) and Abby (7)

The kids and I (Brock was not able to come). I feel pretty lucky to have such a healthy grandma - she is fun to be with, has a great memory and shares lots of memories with us all! I hope that if I live to be 90 I am as capable as she is!

Nicole and Shane and their family drove from WY. Bailey (11), Maggie (5) and Liam (7)

Laura and Joey live nearby and their kids are Lily (6), Kiaran (4) and Lyrik (8 mo)

Jesse and his wife Julie and their son Ira (1 1/2) drove from WA

Lots of great grandchildren! Isaac, Ruby, Violet, Jennika (my cousins), Maggie, Madison, Abby and Lily

More Birthday fun

Liam holding Lyrik (Nicole's and Laura's), Bailey (Nicole's), Isaac and Liam, Jude smiling away (Cori's) and Hannah in her cute little outfit being shy

Grandma and Isaac and Hannah, Hannah and Uncle Shane, Grandma holding Brooklyn (my cousin's) and Abby, Violet (Bekah's) and Ira (Jesse's)

My uncle Gary and my dad - this picture has poor lighting but I loved it so put it in anyways. It makes me laugh because I can just hear them laughing! Kiaran (Laura's), Maggie (Nicole's) and Isaac playing in the kid's corner, my cousin Josh and my brother David, my mom and our good friend Sheila (holding Bekah's baby)

And Still More!

My uncle Gary and Jesse. He moved to the same town we lived in in Idaho when I was in 3rd grade (I think) and although we all moved my senior year he still lives there. It was such a blast having him nearby as we grew up. We all had tons of fun with him. I had to capture this picture of him in action - he is a big story teller and always keeps us laughing. Half the time you don't know what is real and what is made up so you don't dare laugh (just in case this time he is telling the truth) :-)

More kiddos - Brooklyn (my cousins daughter), Ruby (Bekah's), Isaac, Kiaran (Laura's) and Maggie (Nicole's)

The guys looking quite bored! David (my youngest brother), Dale (Bekah's husband), Joey (Laura's husband) and Shane (Nicole's husband) (L to R)

What a bunch of cute girls!! Jennika (my cousin's daughter), Ruby, Lily (Laura's), Madison, Abby (Bekah's) and Maggie