Summer Adventure 2010 Begins!

Steph has a great blog post about her trip to Nebraska at http://stephaniebrandt.blogspot.com/ and some cute pictures, but these are my pictures of the same days.
I love this first picture of Bri from the Firth playground.

I was really excited to take the girls to the Prairieland Dairy Days because I'd never been to it. It is quite the event! My hats are off to all the Prairieland people for their tremendous gift to our community. We need to ALL be buying their milk whenever we can.

Emily's milk moustache, of course.

Emily and I explored the tunnels under the giant haystack. That was fun!

Even though we had ice cream at Dairy Days, we had another cone that evening. Never too much ice cream for the Traudt/Brandt girls! Plus, it was a reward for working so hard on their stepping stones for my garden. Now their stones are next to Jacob's from 10 years ago. Next will be Rainey's, and Paisley's, and Piper's. I can't wait!

The McDonald's we stopped at on our way to Minnesota didn't have a Playland, but did have some fun old tractors to climb on. These pictures are for Great-grandpa Miles!

This picture is out of order (not sure what happened). We had a wonderful tea party with Jessie's tea set (thanks, Jessie) and some strawberries, blueberries, and granola bars, and lemonade, of course.

Last time I was in Minnesota in April, I took the girls over to their nearby park in the double stroller (just like always) and now they're riding their bikes! They've grown up already--sad, but exciting, too.

Hope to keep you posted on my Summer 2010 adventures.

Have a great day!

Storm Warning by Billy Graham

Storm Warning by Billy Graham is a compelling (and very apt to our times) account of the four horsemen of the Revelation to John.

Graham continues the theme of his 1992 edition of this same title and his earlier book, Approaching Hoofbeats, by sounding the warning to those who are ignoring God’s plan for His creation as revealed in His Word. One by one Graham discusses each of the four horses released in Revelation 6—the white horse of deception, the red horse of war, the black horse of famine, and the pale horse of death.

Billy Graham, who has called people to faith in Jesus Christ for more than sixty years, holds nothing back in pointing to the sin and deception of our world. He warns that the culture of self, the destruction and threat of terrorism, the trauma of starvation and disease, and the prevalence of abortion and AIDS are daily evidence of the truth of God’s warning to all of mankind.

Graham does not exclude the believing church from these warnings, but calls all of God’s people to use the signs of our times to minister to our world through intercession, service, and witness.
Graham’s Storm Warning is the perfect blend of scripture, autobiography, and contemporary commentary. I recommend it highly and thank Thomas Nelson for the privilege of reviewing it.

Stormy Skies

Although some parts of our country have had too much rain, we've had just enough to keep plants watered and make some beautiful stormy skies. These first pictures were taken last night.

Lightning or lightening--God does both.

This morning started out beautiful and clear, but another quick storm soon rolled through.

This is Ingrid's barn as the sky darkened.

But, in the midst, I caught a shot of this eight spotted forester moth.

I hope all your storms have been beautiful ones.

Have a great day!

A Walk in the Woods

This afternoon I walked down along our creek and back into our woods. Who needs Glacier National Park, anyway? We have some beautiful sights right in our own backyard. Sure, Glacier has huckleberries everywhere, but right now Nebraska has mulberries everywhere.

My excuse for going to the woods was to look for mushrooms. I've always wanted to find some morels, but so far have never seen any. Any hunters out there who want to guide me? Since we've had cool, wet weather, I did see loads of tiny mushrooms, but nothing edible (I don't think).

And, there were a variety of flying attractions. Frittilaries, dragonflies, and birds.

I thought this bright blue dragonfly was beautiful!

And . . . blue seemed to be the color of the day. I had the privilege of watching an indigo bunting pair along the creek. Although I have occasionally seen them in our backyard, I hadn't yet this year. They are so pretty.

And, last time I promised a picture of the oriole pair at the feeder. This is my best shot at that.

And for those who like their birds a little larger, here's a turkey strutting on the edge of our front yard. We typically have a small flock down in the field in the mornings, but once in a while one will venture a little closer to the house.

Hope you enjoyed this little nature walk.

Have a great day!