Livin' the Country Life!

An Emotional Week....

2009-09-15T14:39:00.000-05:00

Is it stupid that I am sad over a soap opera going off the air? I don't feel stupid....but emotions are a funny thing. I have watched Guiding Light forever. F-O-R-E-V-E-R. The Bauer's, Lewis's, Cooper's and Spaulding's may as well have lived in Niagara for as much as they have been in my life. I sit here watching the last episodes as we speak through tears as they call the villainous Alan Spaulding a hero for saving his son's life. Or watching Reva and Josh (who DO belong together, no matter how good looking Jeffrey O'Neill is) as they deal with their kids and grandkids. Friday is the last time I will be able to catch a glimpse into the lives in Springfield. I have been a frequent "visitor" since I was born. I honestly can't imagine a weekday without watching it at 2pm. To make matters worse, they are replacing it with a gameshow. A GAMESHOW! I seriously have no use for CBS anymore. With that, it is with teary eyes that I bid my "GUIDING LIGHT" goodbye! Thank you for the entertainment.

Harvest 2009

2009-09-13T21:50:00.000-05:00

Harves 2009 is in full swing at the Steffan Farm!!! First and foremost, I have this pic to tell you about! Our nephew Nathan who is 11, got to drive the grain cart while Jeff took a weekend to spend with his boys over Labor Day weekend. Here he is unloading on the go and doing a WONDERFUL job with timing, spacing, etc. He was out there from 10 in the morning until about 7pm so he put in a full day of driving! Labor Day was definitely one to remember! The weather was GORGEOUS--a terrific day to combine. The weather was about to change so the guys decided that they would probably be out until 3 or 4 am. They ended up going until 7am Tuesday morning when it started raining! This is a picture of the double swaths of wheat. I thought it was a neat view. I think some of these random photos capture the beauty of harvest. I love this time of year! It cools off quickly in the evening, and the grain dust hangs in the air and smells soo good! I love that it is starting to get dark earlier in the evenings and Friday nights mean football!! Happy Fall everyone!!!

Democrats BEWARE!!!!

2009-09-10T17:36:00.001-05:00

I am going to rant like never before on my blog. It has been 4 months since I posted anything and now I have had it.   I am SICK to death of people calling me a RACIST because I am not a follower of Obamessiah. The man can NOT be trusted. Look at his friends: William Ayers a known anti-war terrorist. "Rev. Jeremiah Wright- the man IS a RACIST. Van Jones-the recently ousted "Green Jobs" Czar who is a self proclaimed communist. Cass Sunstien-the man voted in as Regulatory Czar today who OPPOSES hunting, wants to give animals the right to file lawsuits, believes everyone should be assumed to be an organ donor unless explicitly stated directions exist, AND wants to do away with meat and dairy in school lunches. Scary people he chooses to surround himself with. But we, as a nation are supposed to believe that this man knows what is best for us as a nation? REALLY?   The man has promised change and hope. The only change I have seen since his inauguration is in his approval ratings and the unemployment numbers rising at an alarming rate. What is it with people who are happy to believe the BS the government and the mainstream leftist media feeds them? It is OUR duty as citizens to be mindful of what our elected officials are doing for us. They represent US not their own interests or own agendas. I am scared of where our nation is headed. This administration is corrupt!!! Obama comes from the state of Illinois where the Governer tried to sell Obama's senate seat! For Pete's sake people: WAKE UP!

For those of you who are all for this health care reform: What guarantees have you heard that make it worth while? Last night Obama said that EVERYONE will be able to be insured, even those with pre-existing conditions. NEWSFLASH--You can get insurance now, but you will pay through your nose to get it. Obama DID NOT say that people with pre-existing conditons will have affordable premiums. The reason why private insurances charge so much for premiums for people with pre-existing conditions is that they pay through their nose for the necessary ongoing medical care. WHY is the GOVERNMENT going to be different? Look at how far in debt they are! NOW answer me, HOW is the government going to be able to provide more AFFORDABLE insurance to the uninsured?   Another question I have is how do they determine whether or not you can afford to have private insurance or if you need to be enrolled in the "public option". As a farmer, we own land. It is considered to be an asset but it is how we make our money. Will they look at that and say "you own land, you can afford private insurance". Obama said last night that there will be a waiver for those who absolutely cannot afford a premium.   How do they determine who is eligable for the waiver? I do not understand why people are thinking that this is going to be free. NOTHING is free. Premiums will be paid to for it and you might get a rude awakening when you find out how much your premium is going to be.
I am sick to death of told I am propagating misinformation. NO. I am simply concerned about my freedoms. I am bringing up points that have NOT been answered. Obama threatened people who oppose this reform in his speech last night and he scolded those who dare to call him out on his brazen abuse of power. Keep it up.  Surely you are winning them over with your teleprompter reading abilities and your use of fictional stories. I refuse to be quiet and be rolled over by a tyrannical government. I refuse to give up my freedoms and rights. I AM clinging to my BIBLE and GUNS. I am making a pest of myself in Kent Conrads email, Earl Pomeroy's email, and Byron Dorgan's email.  I believe that the United States of America is the BEST country in the world. The problem with President Obama is that his Presidency is based on the fact that it is the WORST country in the world and everything needs to be changed.

One Pudgy Puppy.....

2009-05-28T22:11:00.005-05:00

Our youngest dog Duke is no doubt a very special little guy. He is a little antagonist who always gets what he gives. He has the deepest bark of all of our dogs including our Chocolate lab/giraffe. When you tell him it is bedtime or that it is time to come in before he is ready, he flops onto his back and looks all cute as if to say "they won't be able to resist me now" .

Our "little" Duke is also the pudgiest of our puppies. We are hoping that he runs the extra weight off but for now, he is one pudgy puppy. He proved that point this evening. I heard noise in the kitchen and Dave went to check it out. When Dave said "Angel?" I had to look for myself.

This is what I saw!! Duke was trying to get into our dining room through the chair barricade and got stuck between two rungs on a chair!!! It took Dave a good 15 to get him out. It wouldn't have taken that long but he kept having to stop and laugh! I wish I would have had my camera ready when I first walked into the kitchen. Both Elvis and Little Kitty were looking at him like, "Man, you're in TROUBLE!"

Thank God for pets and their crazy antics!!!

RANT SESSION

2009-05-13T15:59:00.002-05:00

I have had it up to HERE with with people complaining about how Carrie Prejean, Miss California is a terrible person. The fact that she is against gay marriage and stated her opinion during the Miss USA pageant is admirable! Most everyone on that stage would have answered Perez Hilton with "I am all for it!" no matter what they really thought. Now even Keith Olberman of CNN had to put out his 2cents worth. It's called FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!! She had every right to say what she believed. Obviously there are ALOT of Californians who feel the same way she does or else Proposition 8 wouldn't have been voted down!

I believe the term marriage is reserved for a man and a woman. However, I am not God and can not tell people who they should or shouldn't fall in love with. I have quite a few gay and lesbian friends and wouldn't wish them a lifetime of struggle and financial and legal hardships

It makes me very sad to think of how our country has lost moral ground. Everyone thinks that being "progressive" is a step in the right direction. From where I stand, "progressiveness" looks alot like "do whatever you want to". Don't want that baby? Have an abortion! Want to sleep with your sheep? Go ahead--do whatever you want! Why? Because we're "progressive"! I do not believe that equality needs to go so far as to allow people to lead the most liberal of lives. Excessive liberalism will have a consequence. It's like when a kid is told not to eat too much candy by his mother. But he thinks he knows best and eats too much candy. What is his consquence? A sick tummy. I don't know what our nations' consequence will be, but I can guarantee it will be MUCH, MUCH worse than a tummyache.

.

Addicted to Uppercase Living!

2009-05-09T15:51:00.004-05:00

Just thought I would post some pics of my newly placed Uppercase Living!! I LOVE THIS STUFF!!

Taking off the Corn, North Dakota style!!!!

2009-05-08T22:49:00.004-05:00

Last fall brought us rain, rain, and yes, more rain! We were fortunate enough to take our corn crop off last December. It was very wet and we spent a small fortune drying it but it was off and we had peace of mind in knowing that. David's cousins, well I will let YOU decide!!!

These pictures were taken April 11, 2009 by Bill Hodous. These are 2 of his Brother-in-laws Doug and Paul Becker, David's first cousins. They farm northeast of Devils Lake, north of Crary. They had to put caterpiller tracks on the combine and grain cart but it got the job done and no one even got stuck! Look at how deep the water is!!!

New Brayden Pics!

2009-05-08T22:42:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to add a few new pics of our favorite little man!!! Enjoy!!

Spring or Fall?

2009-04-30T15:12:00.002-05:00

It's cold. Neighbors are combining corn. Fields look like they have been cultivated for the winter. So, my question is, is it spring or is it fall?

We are patiently waiting for the frost to come out of the ground and the melted snow and rain water to go away! David is anxious about getting out in the field to get the crops planted. So am I!! I can't wait to be able to mow the lawn and putter with my flowers and attempt--Gasp--to plant a vegetable garden. I have to admit the recent rain and cool weather has allowed me to get some much needed work done around the house.

A few big things are coming up! Mothers Day is a little over a week away so we will be having our annual Mothers Day dinner and the following week is Braydens Baptism-YAY- Sean and Amber have asked Dave and I to be Godparents, so look for more interesting blogs to come, until then, Happy Spring!!

Laundry Room Remodel!

2009-04-30T15:04:00.004-05:00

It wasn't really a remodel but paint, a mirror, some curtains, and a new countertop have made all the difference!! Now all we need is the new border!!

Welcome to the World, Brayden Lee Jerome!!

2009-04-04T22:59:00.005-05:00

March 29, 2009- I invited Mom and Dad, Sean and Amber and Jamie over to play our new Wii and to have supper. Amber was feeling and looking (no offense honey) miserable. She couldn't get comfortable, couldn't eat anything but tums, and constantly had to pee. She wasn't enjoying herself but she did play a couple games of bowling and tried the ski jump. When they left, I prayed that God would help ease some of the discomfort.

March 30,2009-4am- I woke up and could not for the life of me get back to sleep. I tossed and turned, waiting for the alarm clock to go off at 6:15. At 5:45 my cell phone was whistling at me. (I cannot help it if it thinks I am beautiful ;) I jumped up to see what was up! It was a text message from Amber saying to call her or Sean when I woke up! I immediately called them back to find out her water broke at 3:30am and that they were at the hospital! They also asked if I could drive to Fargo to their apartment and get their bags and the baby things before the storm hit. So Mom and I left for GF at 7am and grabbed their list and keys, jumped into the car drove to starbucks. I can't do ANYTHING without my morning cup of java. THEN to Fargo, The whole trip down and back took 4 hours due to the flooded interstate and the longest detour known to man! Especially when you follow a combine at 15mph for 5 miles! The rest of the day was a blur!! I went into the delivery room at about 20 minutes after 6 and Amber started pushing at 20 min. to 7. I had my camera at the ready and was able to stay from start to finish. Let me tell you something. I have had a few "happiest days" of my life. Graduations, Amber and Seans wedding, MY wedding, etc. but THIS experience was by far the most awe inspiring, happy moments I have ever had the pleasure of living! I am so thankful that Sean and Amber let me stay for it! To witness Braydens birth at 8:41 pm was surreal almost! I have known since October that the little guy was about to enter our family. I had felt him kick and seen him growing or more appropriately Ambers tummy was growing. But to actually see this baby I already loved as my nephew be born was truly amazing! It was very hard to see Amber in so much pain, but knowing that the payoff is a perfect, pink, baby made it a little easier and I bawled like a toddler when he made his appearance!! I had to take one last picture of just the two of them!! Meet Baby Brayden!

Meeting Grandma Hanssen for the first time!

Meeting Grandpa Hanssen for the first time! I think Grandpa is almost crying!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, Baby BRAYDEN!! God Bless You Little One!

School Spirit!

2009-03-19T11:20:00.004-05:00

In honor of the Dakota Prairie Knights boys basketball team playing in the state tournament, I thought I should do a blog about school spirit.

Alot of my facebook friends are able to attend the game tonight in Minot and I will be watching at home on tv. Never fear though, I am already wearing DP's school colors in an effort to show my support. Not that my dogs give a rawhide. They are the only ones here to witness my show of school pride! I am proud of those boys because this is the first time my school (for my Jr. and Sr. year) has ever been to the state tournament as a unified school! The DP Tolna girls went to state my Jr. year. But still, this is huge! I graduated from DP 14 yrs ago! Wow, does that make me sound old. I still have school spirit.

This entire last week I have been trying very hard to remember the words to the school song. I can still sing Unity's school song!

All hail Spartans hail, we are the sons of Unity!

Stand up and cheer Spartans cheer!

Shout out yours rahs from sea to shining sea! RAH RAH RAH.

Win Spartans win! We are a team that won't give in.

A victory for Unity!

All hail Spartans Hail!

But for some reason, I cannot recall a couple lines of the Dakota Prairie song.

Go Dakota Prairie Knights, Let's win this game tonight!

We'll let our spirit lead us on to victry show your power and might (Thanks Amber)

show our power and might

RAH RAH RAH

We are proud of what we've become!

Leading on to be #1

We have what others lack

Let's cheer for the Teal and Black!

If any of you remember please help me out!! Anyhoo, I have so much school spirit that I can now cheer for Lakota! My cousins attend school there and I cheer for them! At the girls state B tourney I cheered for Fordville Lankin Park River! They took 2nd! Now I am cheering for MY old school! Ah, the memories! Mr. Reinholz yelling at Mike McBain because he heard him swear in the hallway! Mr. Schock and his sense of humor! Gay Ray Smith, Mr. Eberhardt being kidnapped by Indians, and Mr. Stovers' coffee breath! (Thorsons' please don't repeat that! ;))

Who can forget Mr. Graupe bouncing on the folding chair onto the basketball court! Or Mr. Flem banging his cane on the desk while yelling "YOU'RE GIVING ME ULCERS!" I love to reminisce about those great years of my life, though I would NEVER go back and relive them! OH one more. Mr. Boese with gum on his pants in Kansas City, or nailing his pant leg to the frame of the garden shed we helped build! Funny stuff! One of the best memories was when we the class of 1995 had Sr. privileges. Senior Lounge to be exact. We kyped cable from across the alley so we could watch sports and music videos. The guys hid cases of soda in the rafters. Good times, Good times. *wipes tear*

School spirit lost is terrible thing. It is sad really that some can't identify because of bad experiences during their school yrs. I sit here wearing Teal, Black and White, waiting for 8:15 pm to roll around so that I can see my High School make a name for itself at the state class B boys basketball tournament, humming the school song, remembering old cheers, and filled with Dakota Prairie Pride!

LET"S GO KNIGHTS!!!!!!!!

Oh and if they lose right away--GO BOMBERS!!

2009-03-15T21:07:00.004-05:00

What do you see in this picture? The correct answer is snow. This was the view out of the living room window on Tues. March 10. We could see all of 75 feet! I say that because we could see just across our driveway and nothing beyond!

It was a north wind so we were pretty well protected right in our yard. This was the view when it first got started at about 11am. Not so nice.

Wednesday when we woke up, the storm had ended and left beauty in its wake! The snowcapped trees and the pillowy looking (not feeling) drifts! Gorgeous!

This is out of the living room looking south. The juniper bush/tree covered with snow is always beautiful!

We only had 2 inches of new snow but with the 45 mph winds, it certainly got nasty! Fargo received around 10 inches and a friend of mine had his car and minivan completely buried!

Glad it wasn't me!

Impromptu Baby Shower

2009-03-09T21:05:00.005-05:00

Sunday March 8th, I hosted an impromtu baby shower for Amber and Sean. Mom and I had both been buying items for baby Rauschendorfer forever so I decided it was time we give them their gifts.

They received some awesome things! Grandma Hanssen gave them a set of towels and washclothes and also some matching burp cloths.

Johnsons Baby Wash is always needed to make baby smell human again after , well.......you know!

Umm.......Sean? I think THAT one is for AMBER!

I think Sean was doing a happy dance! Not really sure. I know he was excited to get the bottle rack!

OOOOOO Bottles! This is the beginning of the "themed" gifts from Dave and I. This particular gift of Playtex bottles with drop in liners is the "IN" gift.

Here is the "OUT" gift--diapers and wipes. Do you think the ratio is about right? 72 diapers to 385 wipes? That sounds about right.........

This one is kind of a you-had-to-be-there moment. Sean is holding another little something I got them. It is 3 little toys that clip onto the handleof the carseat. One of them squeaks. Buddy heard the squeaker and wanted the toy so bad! He would even hold up his paw like he was saying "I'll shake you for it!"

We had a good day filled with food and family! We even got to eat on our new dining set!

You can see how tight of a squeeze it is between the top of the china hutch and the ceiling. About 4 inches!

These are the placemats we received from Sean and Amber as a wedding gift. That is what we are using as our inspiration for the room.

Thes are our paint chips in order of our preference. Soukous Red (far left) is the Winner!

I have already started to paint.

If anyone is really bored, I do have an extra brush and roller!

Real Grown Up Furniture!

2009-03-02T14:58:00.005-06:00

As you all know, David and I received China for our wedding. We started out thinking that we would have the best cardboard box china cabinet ever made! Then the reality set in of the possibility that the dogs would think the boxes were their territory to mark. The thought while funny (can you see the mini weiner dogs lifting a leg to pee on a box?) was sobering. We can't serve off china that has been peed on. Period. No matter how much it gets washed after. So Dave and I set out on an adventure in furniture shopping. It was the "Three Little Bears"! "This one is tooo small" "this one is tooo big" "this one is tooo light" "this one is tooo dark"! "This one is tooo expensive!" and on and on. Yesterday we went into Conlins in Grand Forks just thinking that I could show Dave a Broyhill set I had seen earlier last week. He hated it! It was very antique looking and made of real oak so it had worm holes and knot holes in it or foodcatchers as Dave called them. It was also VERY expensive. Then while walking through the store, we rounded a corner and I swear, we heard Angels sing! The Heavens opened up and a BEAUTIFUL light shone on a table and china cabinet on the backwall of the store! It wasn't too dark or too light, it wasn't too small--though a teensy bit big. It was perfect. Our breaths quickened as we hastily looked for the price. Not tooo expensive either! Could it be? Could this cherry finished table really be what we were looking for? We inquired about extra chairs. Still not bad. Our salesperson gave us a card along with the info that the set was being clearanced out by Broyhill and this china hutch was the VERY LAST one! Man oh man! I was getting shaky! David always calm and cool, said "We would like to check out a couple other places."

"WHAT!?" I thought in my head. "But its the LAST ONE!" I wanted to shout but refrained from doing so. I didn't want the other customers thinking I had touretz.

We left the store and checked out Zimmermans which is WAYYY overpriced. Oh and I am pretty sure that we were the first customers of the day there. The woman working seemed overly friendly and like she needed some human contact or she might just snap. I hear sofas aren't sparkling conversationalists. Anywhoo, we then went to Ashley where I had originally fallen in love with a beautiful dining set that was being discontinued. Dave thought the China Hutch to be too small. GREAT! Here we go again! We left the store en route to Menards (looking at lumber always helps ME make decisions). I was almost afraid Dave was so discouraged he was going to BUILD us a table, chairs, and china cabinet. He isn't too keen on wood working so that was a scary thought. Besides, he would first need to finish the meat tenderizer he wanted to make me 3 years ago. (Yep I married the pick of the litter! A homemade meat tenderizer!) He bought a little knob like thingy --yes I AM very technical ;)

Back in the car, Dave says, "Where to?" I just shrug my shoulders putting the ball in HIS court. "Should we go back to Conlins?" David asks. I calmly said "Sure". A quick check of the time put me in panic mode 4:28. They close at 5. Dave doesn't drive fast. UH OH!!!!! We got back there and Dave looked it over and said "We'll take it." I nearly fainted (but kept my composure) and gave David all of our Wedding money. This is the product of our afternoon.

When you visit, you won't have to eat off of the $15 rummage sale table! We have a real grown up table now with matching chairs and everything! P.S. The china will look like it belongs on THIS table!

Saturday Night Fever

2009-02-25T14:13:00.007-06:00

This past weekend marked the 5th Annual Frozen Balls Golf Tournament hosted by the Town Pump II. I didn't personally play in the tournament, I just enjoyed the aftermath at the bar ;) ! I was a little worried when I got pulled over before even getting to the bar by one of our County Mounties, Keith. He was just letting me know that I had a headlight out which I already knew--I had had it fixed 2 weeks ago but it is out again and since the WONDERFUL engineers at GM did a great job of planning, we have to dismantle the whole front end to replace a bulb. Not even joking. The whole grill assembly comes off. I did have a lot of fun and I got to see some old friends and make some new ones!

I got some great pics, enjoyed some good beer, good company, and a steak! This is the team that won the tourney. They are from Larimore, ND and I know the girl in the pic is my cousin Kylie (Behm) Nissen and the BIG dude kinda hiding is Andy Tveit.

The real fun came when my adorable little brother started dancing!

This is the first shot of him dancing. He was helping to cook and serve the steak supper. He was also my personal "bartender"! Beer me Jamie! PS. This was fairly early so please don't assume he was drunk. He dances to this song quite frequently while sober!

Ok. Here he might be feeling pretty good, he is even singing! Oh, and his friend is Matt O'Neil. Matts' dad is Marty our "Cattle Hauler"!

In case you are wondering the song is by the Scissor Sisters and called (ironically enough) "I Don't Feel Like Dancing". I will try to get it on my playlist so you can hear it and maybe dance yourself! It's kind of catchy--I mean like the flu! Once you hear it, it stays with you for.......well.....lets just say I had to have David sing "Copa Cabana" to get it out of my head! Thats just wrong!! Having to listen to Barry Manilow to get a song out of your head! ".......her name was Lola, she was a showgirl........"

This video speaks for itself. Nuff said.

In our own defense, this is what happens when we get creative with how we spend our winter. We play golf on a frozen slough using tennis balls. Then we eat steak and fries and drink beer. We spend time catching up with old friends and spend time making new ones! Then we video tape those who have had more beer than the rest of us in all of their dancing glory! You should come visit! Maybe you won't feel like dancing either........

Some Wedding Gifts

2009-02-11T20:00:00.007-06:00

I thought I would post some pics of our wedding gifts, I know some of my family didn't get to be there for it and would enjoy seeing what we got. First off, we got this 23rd Psalm Cross from our niece and nephew-in-law Jenn and Kirk Thorson and their kids, Will and Leah. It is a daily reminder of our faith and common goal!

This our gift from Gary and Debbie Behm from Uppercase Living. Vinyl words of inspiration. We got another set from Shannon & Tommy Gemmill that isn't put up yet but says"Always remember to kiss me goodnight".

This painting is very special because it is from Gerald and Chris Steffan. Chris painted it and it is beautiful! Gerald and Chris lived in our house before John and Brenda lived here.

The antler candle holder is from Daves' sister Carol and her husband Bill. It fits in well with the picture frames we recieved from their daughter Alisa and her family! Thats the frame with our picture in it!

Here we have 2 separate gifts from 2 separate people! The Love picture is from Daves sister Janice and her family. The beautiful Crucifix is from my cousin Charity her husband Birk and their kids--Adri, Tristan, Constence, Wyatt, and Lydia. These are hanging in our bedroom as a constant reminder of the ULTIMATE gift of love--God's gift --his son!

Dave's sister Judy and her husband Dave gave us 8 of these Mikasa wine glasses.

Barb and Tom gave us 4 of these Mikasa Orion double old fashioned glasses. We bought an extra 4 glasses to have 8. Barb and Tom also gave us a 17 piece set of Pyrex!

David and I bought 8 of each of these 2 types of glasses, so we wouldn't have to use our Budweiser glasses with our new china!

Rose Mary gave us 8 place settings of this Mikasa China and 8 place settings of Lenox flatware! That was a wonderful surprise!

Daves' sister Ann and her husband Pete gave us this 5 piece serving set. Their children gave us 8 fruit bowls, and an extra vegetable bowl.

I have a lot more pictures of things to post but better wait for another day!! I don't want to overload anyones dial up--MOM!

Be VEWWYY Quiet! We're hunting Wabbits!

2009-02-11T19:49:00.003-06:00

All winter long my dogs have been perplexed by the wildlife outside. They are always on the lookout for squirrels tunneling through the snow to find corn that was left in the field and the cottontail rabbits that run round and round the house. Winter has been hard on these little guys-well not winter as much as Buddy. We were down to one lone bunny but on Monday he met his demise. That one lone rabbit would sit right in front of the picture window and tease and torment these poor dogs. He seemed to laugh at them through the window, knowing he was safe as long as he could see them! I got a picture of him through the window so it isn't the best quality. But you can still see how cute he was!!

"Hey, What's up doc?"

Are you ready for some football?!?!

2009-02-05T15:47:00.005-06:00

First of all let me state that I am madder than a wet hen that the Steelers won the Super Bowl. That being said, since I was afflicted with the cough that magically appeared whenever cool air found my lungs, we stayed home and enjoyed the superbowl with my family. ( Sorry Sarah! We appreciated the invite though!) Well we enjoyed it until Dad started yelling obscenities at the tv.

Awwww, Amber and Baby Bump and Sean with his "Sympathy" Bump! Aren't they so cute? This one is of Amber trying out the taco dip, Eat it already !!!

They made the guys all sport their John Deere hats--Yes, Sean is wearing a plaid FLANNEL shirt AND a JOHN DEERE hat!!! Geez Dave, smile Y dontcha!

THere thats better! Even Buddy is smiling!!

Beautiful weather huh!! It was sunny up until Mom and Dad came.......hmmmmm.

Dad is happy! Mom is not.

Jamie was taking pictures of the tv screen and discovered that it looks like you were ACTUALLY there ! I tried to get him to take off his shirt and run past the tv so it would look like he was streaking but he wouldn't do it. Chicken. Neither would Ian. Bigger Chicken.

Here they are doing the wave.

You know how you can tell if it has been a successful Superbowl Party? When everyone has their hand down their pants. THE END!!!!!

Winter Wedding!

2009-01-20T09:35:00.003-06:00

It's OVER! FINALLY!! 8 years of engagement, 10.5 years of courtship have finally paid off in the form of a wedding!! January 17, 2009 will go down in history as my FAVORITE birthday! Well, January 17, 1998 wasn't bad either--that is when Dave and I met!

We only had a teeny bit of drama at the wedding but all is well and we are looking forward to starting a new life together!

I don't have many pics as of yet, though I know for a fact that my photographer shot over 500 snapshots and Dave has 7 yes seven shutterbug sisters!! My cousin Melissa shot some beautiful pics and so did my new sister-in-law, Chris! I can't wait to share them all with you!!

So for now, I am trying to get used to my new last name, being a Mrs. and enjoying the first few days of marriage! Of course it is business as usual--Dave is hauling grain, and I have been trying to get our house in order after a fun reception was held here! I also ran tuxedos back to the bridal shop sans Dave's tie (which is what I will be running back to GF today), and trying to get Christmas put away! So enjoy the few pics I have for now and look forward to many more!!

A Christmas to remember

2008-12-27T05:07:00.003-06:00

First of all, there are NO pictures to this blog. This is because of 2 reasons. I forgot my camera on Christmas Eve and really, no one wants to see any pictures of my Christmas Day. You see, I got the gift that keeps on giving--literally. It seems I got the stomach flu for Christmas. OH happy day. I in turn have GIVEN it to Dave. Oh happier day. So, who shall be next joyous reciever?

I was supposed to have Christmas dinner here and instead wound up calling Gma and Gpa, Mom and Dad and told them to plan on eating elsewhere. I was sure NO ONE would feel like eating if they heard me vomit. THAT was very nice of me I think. Jamie came and got the ham and turkey breast, stuffing, buns and green beans for casserole. They said everything turned out ok. Dave did go over in the afternoon and wound up bringing home some anti-nausea meds from Ambers Purse Pharmacy which worked wonders. Jello has never tasted so good. Today my tummy is great but my right eye is nearly swollen shut and keeps tearing up. My right nostril has turned into a spicket which can't/won't be turned off. So what shall it be for New Years? Strep throat or pneumonia? Maybe I can contract some tropical disease like Shmedricks disease where you get covered with funny green and chartreuse spots! (completely made up by the way, I saw that once in an episode of Full House--Yes the show with the cute little Olsen twins--what happened there?)

Oh well as long as I can see out of one eye to drive and don't run out of kleenex I suppose this too shall pass. Maybe I shoulda had a V8.

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any person(s) stomach flu or Shmedricks symptoms as it has been proven that germs do NOT travel over the internet. No one was injured during the writing of this blog and it is being written at 5:27am. Thus the silliness of said blog.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland!!

2008-12-14T18:31:00.005-06:00

Everyone knows the words to that famous song. The artist paints such a lovely picture of their "winter wonderland". After last night and today, WE are walking in a winter wonderland!! The first blizzard of the season hit us with full force! Wind gusts of up 43mph, about 10 inches of snow (thus far) and wind chills of -48 degrees. It was a bad one! Thank God Dave and John finished combining their corn on Friday! The storm leaves us with a beautifully landscaped wonderland of white snow ( or yellow depending on where the dogs have been;).

I love how the light seems to come through the snow to look like lava. Tonight when all the light had gone away, the lights took on the most beautiful glow!

A winter wonderland indeed!!

It's all in a days work.....

2008-12-01T22:24:00.005-06:00

I had a very busy December 1st. I went to my grandparents this morning after donning my Christmas Bibs and I put up their tree. They have a 4 foot tall artificial tree which they purchased last year. It is nice because they are able to enjoy their tree for whole month of December rather than the couple of weeks they normally would with a real tree. I gave them this little Nativity last year because she didn't have a regular sized one. She has the one her nephew Steve gave her years ago, and she has the one I made out of clay when I went to Vacation Bible School one year probably about 20 years ago. This one looks so cute under their tree with the little straw Angel ornament dangling at the top.

I then went to Mom and Dads for dinner with the 3 dogs and after we ate, Jamie, Mom and I put up THEIR tree!! Jamie quit after fluffing a few branches and left the real work to Mom, Dad and I . Dad and I strung the 700 colored lights, and we all decorated it. It turned out so pretty!! We tried something different and put a BIG bow on the top rather than the traditional Angel. I curled the tails with a roll from the center of wrapping paper. We hung all of the special ornaments together!

My Grandma Hanssen made this when we were babies. Amber , Jamie, and me. Styrofoam balls covered with sequins held down with pins. Our baby pics are on one side and the opposite side it is hollowed out a little and she glued a little something in the hollow. Mine has an Angel, and Ambers has a little deer I think and I don't remember what Jamie has.

Close up of me as a baby. Cute I know--but what happened?!?

Closeup of Amber as a baby. She always stayed cute!! I wonder if Pnut will look like her!!

Close up of Jamie. Who knew that that cute little boy would grow up to such a BIG pain in the backside! Just kidding! Wait am I? Did I ever tell you the story about when he was born? I wanted a baby girl so bad, we were going to name her April. She was going to play barbies with me. Honest to God. She was going to be the sister I didn't have. Sure I had Amber but Amber didn't have an imagination. I was being dumb when I pretended that the fuzzy pink slipper was my barbie car. She hated playing house. April was going to change ALL of that!! And then, April didn't come. December 7, 1981 I woke up to find my Grandparents there. I remember being at their house when dad called with the news. I got on the phone and dad said " You have a brother! His name is Jamison Cade and we will call him Jamie." Traitor. How could Dad sound so darn happy when we were supposed to have a GIRL! I sat under the ledge of the counter and cried. And cried some more. When we went to see him at the hospital the nurses tried to MAKE me put on a stupid, ugly, green gown thing so I could hold the boy. I didn't like the gowns. I didn't even like the baby! Finally a nurse found a sesame street gown that I reluctantly put on. Then I reluctantly held the baby. I guess he isn't sooooo bad! He is very funny, and very helpful. I guess I love him. SSHHHHHH don't tell him that!

Christmas time is here!!

2008-12-01T21:20:00.005-06:00

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year! With Bells jingle-belling and everyone yelling to be of good cheer--it's the MOST wonderful time of the year!!

YES IT IS!! Christmas is my most favorite time of the year. I love the hustle and bustle in the stores, I love the lights on everyones home, and I love how cozy our house always feels. But most of all I love hearing the Christmas Story and singing all of those Christmas songs!!

I wanted to share with you some of the coziness of this season with you!

This is the dining room. In a previous post I showed you all my beautiful pink tree. This is the room where that is located. This corner is my vintage Christmas corner!

This is the tree in our living room. This is the first year I have had colored lights since I moved out of my parents house. This is a pre-lit tree that I got at Kmart about 9 years ago. None of the clear lights work so I wrapped it with colored lights. I can't stop looking at it!!

Here is the fireplace in the living room. I have my carolers and the wooden snowmen decoration I got from my sister on the hearth. On the mantle, are my stocking holder that I got after Christmas last year on clearance for $4 at Target. I have stockings for Dave, myself, Buddy, and Elvis. Duke has yet to get one! My Nativity is the center of attention. It is the single most important Christmas decoration I posess. I have 6 nativities in different forms!!

A dead on look at the fireplace.

Here is the tree in the daylight! We have some ornaments from Davids childhood and some from mine. It makes our tree so much more special! For Dave's birthday this year I got him a John Deere ornament from Hallmark. I thought it would make an otherwise girlie tree a little bit more "manly". I guess maybe I need spent shotgun shells and beer cans or something. Maybe that's more appropriate for the man cave!!

I'm Dreaming of a PINK Christmas!

2008-11-23T23:01:00.003-06:00

For all of you that know me well, you know that my FAVORITE color is PINK! And much to Dave's chagrin, lots of things at our house seem to turn PINK. Take for instance my potato peeler. The blade broke and could not be fixed and one Sunday while walking through Kohls, Dave and I walked through the kitchen section. They happened to have the PINK KitchenAid "Cook for the Cure" utensils and gadgets. Low and behold my PINK potato peeler! Then, this spring, after the crops were put in, spraying was in full swing. Now, Dave and John don't fool around with the spraying! They have a semi trailer designated to holding the chemical and water tanks and to fill that sprayer, you need a garden hose. So, Dave took my GREEN hose one day and replaced it with a PINK one. Needless to say, his nephews will NEVER ask to use my hose! This Summer we had 2 communities celebrating their 125th Anniversaries. Knowing what the bars charge for beer,soda and water, we thought we would stick it to 'em and bring our own beverages in a cooler. I had a blue one which was last used to hold beverages at my sisters wedding rehearsal and had water freeze in it. I honestly believed that it was ruined!! On a trip to Grand Forks, walking through Target, it hit me that we needed a new cooler. They had an awesome sale and such neat colors to choose from I first spied the turquoise, and DAVE pointed out the PINK one. Which ended up being the one he bought for me saying "don't put beer in it--it will turn into some sort of wine cooler!" So PINK is a common joke between us. When I asked him what colors for the wedding, all he stated was "NO PINK".

Here we are on November 23rd, preparing to give thanks for all of our blessings in the last year, and I just put up a Christmas tree. It doesn't really look Christmas like aside from the fact that it is in the shape of a tree and contains lights and ornaments. This tree is SPECIAL!!

Lights on and off!!

It is a WHITE tree, with white lights and decorated with PINK, LIME GREEN, TURQUOISE, ORANGE, PURPLE, & RED. I put a glittery BLUE thingy on the top, and added some PINK and LIME GREEN ribbon garland. It looks fantastic!! Today, Dave and I went on a grocery run to Grand Forks, and found that Menards had 16 function sets of 150 lights on sale. So he got some colored ones for outside and clear ones for our "living room tree". He also found PINK light sets. Now when we got home this evening, he swiched out each individual bulb for the PINK, so that I could have PINK lights on my "dining room tree"!!! Thats love I tell ya!!

Isn't it pretty !!

Wedding Stuff!

2008-11-17T20:58:00.005-06:00

I can honestly say that all of the family now knows about our wedding on Jan. 17!! We are READY!! We have the Church, the Pastor, the readings, the music, and now, the flowers. I had been contemplating using crystal bouquets rather than flowers but quickly changed my mind when I saw how much they cost. Then, last Tuesday, I went into Michaels craft store and as a fluke, I found the PERFECT flowers. I get an all cream rose bouquet and my maids, get to carry hydrangeas. Also at Gordmans, I found what will be on the alter. Silver vases with frost/snow covered branches that sparkle.

alter flowers

box of corsages and bouts

Close up of a corsage

Since my moms dress would only fit my thigh, I decides to use it a different way! I removed the cuffs which are satin covered with lace. They also have a couple of pearl buttons on them so, I wrapped my bouquet with the cuffs instead of ribbon. That is my something old!!! 33 yrs old to be exact.

This is the finished product. Its blurry I know, but you get the picture! I think it looks very victorian!! I can't wait!! 2 months to the day! WOOOOHHOOOOO!!

In times of sorrow and in times of joy.

2008-11-17T20:10:00.006-06:00

We have had a rough couple of weeks. Thursday Nov. 6, brought lots of rain, lots of ice, power outages and a death in our "extended" family. Our friend and coworker, Darrell passed away at 56 years young. He had recently moved back to Lakota after living in Kansas for the past few years. We all thank God that he had the opporunity to spend time with his 2 grandchildren Ethan, 1yr. and Keira 5 weeks. It was a very tramatic experience for Sarah and Trent because his death occurred in their basement while trying to fix the water leaking in from all of the rain, in a power outage. Sarah performed CPR on her father-in-law for nearly 20 minutes before help arrived. We are all saddened by Darrells passing but know that he is in good hands! This past Sunday, Keira was baptized along with her 2 cousins Laura and Levi. It was a happy day in the

midst of sorrow.

Picture #1 Sarah and Keira

Picture #2 Sarah and Trent with Keira, Father Aertz, Josh (Godfather), Nicole (Godmother) Alisa (Godmother)

Picture #3 John and Brenda with Levi and Laura, Nathan, Phillip, Roman, Jack, and Father Aertz giving the hug.

Picture #4 Laura Lee held by Grandma Steffan

Picture# 5 Levi John held by Aunt Judy.

This Picture was taken 11-1-08 at Daves' brother Gerald and his wife Chris's 30th wedding anniversary party.

This is their entire family from l to r Back row: Trent, Sarah, Josh

Front l to r: Chris holding Keira, Gerald, Breanne holding Ethan, and Sam (Josh's girlfriend)

It is so neat to think of all of the great examples of marriage God has given Dave and I !!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2008-09-09T19:57:00.005-05:00

Sixty years ago on this day, my dad was born. After 3 days of my poor Grandma being told to go home and vomiting wieners. Yuck. But I have to admit, its a story I will always remember.

So this morning I got up a little early and baked dad a scrumptious "funfetti" cake (is there another kind?) and frosted it with white whipped frosting and decorated it. In orange. And purple. I put tinfoil on it and took to Gma and Gpa's for coffee this morning. Mom had also brought a birthday cake. German chocolate with that fancy pecan and coconut frosting. So dad is extra loved i guess. 2 cakes in one day. I had to get a picture. Mom is even smiling, gee how did that happen? (Just Joking)

So Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for being my everything. I love you!

PS. HaHa I really didn't cut off the chocolate cake on purpose! Even though it may look like it;)

Welcome to the World, Laura Lee and Levi John!!!

2008-09-08T22:43:00.006-05:00

The Steffan Ranch is abuzz with excitement these days! Sure, it's harvest and the men are busy in the field but, last Thursday God blessed us some rain that provided a break. Brenda made use of this break and she --ok the BABIES decided they wanted to come out and play with their big brothers!! So, September 4th is now the birthday of Laura and Levi!! YES, They had a GIRL!! She also came first weighing 6lbs 7oz. and was followed by her brother Levi who weighed 7lbs 2 oz. Brenda was only 6 days short of her due date and was ecstatic when they were able to meet face to face! She was able to come home on Saturday the 6th and yesterday Dave and I went to meet the new babies!!

I am holding little Laura and David is holding Levi! Roman (5) took the pictures! A budding photographer I think! He didn't even cut anyones head off!

John is still trying to adapt to the sleep deprivation! Levi snoozing in his carseat!

The twins aren't the only new babies at the farm! Mama Cat (I know-original name) has 3 little kittens that I am smitten with!! Oreo, Midnight, and Jr. Mama Cat (not even joking-Roman named them) Speaking of Roman, that's him on the new little tractor! This is like the one Dave bought this fall except Dave's will have a cab. It will be our snow removing tractor! I'm excited to learn how to drive it!! Roman will have to teach me, looks like he has mastered it already!

See? He has mastered it. First the tractor, then the WORLD!!! MMMWWAAAHAAAAAA!! *evil laugh* The second pic is of Dave and Jack and the tiny shovel. I bought that to dig potatoes at the old house and Jack spied it when we were cleaning the garage. We decided to give it to him for his birthday in June. He LOVES that thing--its just his size--just like our chair! This pic also goes to show that you can take the man out of the sandbox, but you can't take the sandbox out of the man! Dave used to spend all summer out there as a child. Just helping to keep up the tradition!

Roman had to show me the forts they made this summer. Those kids were very busy little beavers!! They made different rooms and made stick walls! You can tell Roman is proud of all his hard work!

We had a wonderful day welcoming the babies! Look forward to my future blog on Baby Keira!!(She isn't born yet--we have a couple more weeks to wait)

Gateway to Comfort........and Coffee!

2008-08-22T10:58:00.005-05:00

What can be special about a door? Not much I suppose. You turn a knob and enter buildings. Some have windows, some are wood and some are metal. What makes this door special is that it is a gateway to comfort. For as long as I have been alive, the door to my grandparents house meant a sweet treat, a hug, a cup of coffee, a place to play, a place to be silly, and a safehaven for when things go terribly wrong.

THIS door is always open to friends and family! A hot cup of coffee or a cold can of beer usually wait for you inside! My Gpa and Gma welcome everyone who steps inside--unless you are a Jehovahs Witness. Then you will be met at the door with a Bible and the knowledge of a 90 year old faithful man who has an answer to anything you throw at him!

This summer Dad and Jamie replaced the "Gateway to comfort" with a new door with a bigger window and more capability to keep the elements outside and keep the Comfort in!!!

Lightening!

2008-07-29T20:52:00.003-05:00

Lightening last night as the storm came through.
You can see the cell phone tower lights and the headlights of a car on the highway 1and 1/4 miles to the south. This was at 10:00 and it was like midnight.
This is also lightening.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

2008-07-29T20:28:00.003-05:00

Sunday morning brought glorious sunshine and the Baptism of Leah Hope. Dave and I traveled to Larimore, at a very fast rate of speed due to 1) We left home at 10 and needed to be there by 10:30 and we live 30 miles away and 2) Bill brought an ionizer to put in my car to help get rid of the smoke smell and it was making us light headed and confused. Since Dave NEVER drives over the speed limit I choose to blame the latter;)

When we pulled into the parking lot at 10:25 John and Brenda, Zach and Katherine and the Kids, and Janice and RoseMary had all just gotten there and were getting out of their vehicles! We walked in and I immediately felt at home. What a nice church!

Since Kirk is the Pastor and the father of little Leah, I wondered how they were going to pull that one off!! It was neat. The sponsors they chose live in Iowa and couldn't be there for the baptism so it was just Kirk, Jenn, Leah and William, the big brother, and Jon--Kirks' brother-shepherd of Will. Kirk was pretty emotional as he read from the Bible about Baptising the little children. The hymns we sang were perfect! The one was "When He Cometh, He Cometh" It likens the children to the jewels of Jesus crown. Anyway, it was interesting when my old high school principal was an usher!

Kirk and Jenn had prepared a dinner for all of the family. It was a special day for everyone!!

Leah Hope and William Espen!

Happy Birthday Michigan Part 2

2008-07-29T12:07:00.007-05:00

After the parade Jamie and I went to the dedication of the Veterans Memorial Park located where the old depot sat. Father John Aerts had a prayer and Steve and Sally Simonson sang a beautiful song about a woman making sure her son a fallen soldier

was remembered for more than being "Just a name on a wall". Then Governer Hoeven spoke about the war on terror and the freedom we have in America to gather and celebrate because of the Veterans past and present. It was pretty moving! Then Milo Elgin, a World War II Vet from Michigan spoke about his experiences at the Battle of the Bulge.

We ate outrageously expensive nachos and taco salad for lunch under a shade canopy which blew apart in a freak gust of wind. I say freak because it was a very light breeze and that single gust of wind, was the ONE and ONLY gust of wind ALL DAY.

Dave, Jamie and I met up with Aaron and Casey to tour the old school which is now a wiring harness factory. Dave was showing me all of his old classrooms and at 3:25 pm, the bell rang. Schools out!! It was kind of a sad reminder! We went to the bar had a couple of cold beverages and to get out of the sun for awhile, and then home to take a nap so we could go back to town for the streetdance. They had fireworks. Beautiful. Loud. Fireworks.

LOOK! A burnin' ring of fire!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHIGAN!!! Part 1

2008-07-29T10:07:00.012-05:00

Well, it has come and it has gone! Michigan's 125th celebration is now but a fond memory! *sigh*

We had SOO much fun! I spent Friday cleaning and preparing for company but in town, the coed softball tournament was in full swing. Jamie played on a team but they lost both games:( Then while the 800 registered alumni from Michigan high ate their $25 baked potatoes in the sweltering heat of the Tesoro station, David, Jamie, and I enjoyed our supper of grilled steaks, cole slaw, chips and dip, and the charcoal broquets formerly known as "Garlic Toast". We all rode into town together--knowing Jamie and I would be consuming a few alcoholic beverages and wanting to avoid the rumored checkpoints, David drove. He doesn't like to drink ever since the Prairie Fire incident in 1992. Anyway, the streetdance was fun, there were so many people to talk to! Dave and I quickly found our good friends Tom and Shannon, and found our "groove". I got to see some of my old classmates as well. Daves' brother John was there and later his sisters Barb and Katherine came in with their husbands Tom and Zach. Carol and Bill came in for awhile too!

Saturday morning started early at 6:30. I had to let the dogs out and decided that it was no use to go back to bed so I started breakfast for everyone! Soon after, we started to see the "Mapes to Michigan Fun Walk/Run people going by. They were on the road just south of our house. They could be dropped off at 3 different points, 6 miles, 4 miles, or 2 miles. Then it was off to town to get a spot for the parade!!!! Mom and Dad brought Grandma and Grandpa to watch and ended up with a great spot in the shade! Jamie and I however sat in the sun but had a great location to get pictures and CANDY!!!

HERE WE GO!!!The Color Guard! That's Joe Zharadka fixing his cap!

The Grand Marshall: Governer John Hoeven and his wife Mikey Hoeven.

. Beautiful Sarah my "unofficial niece" on the Nelson Cty. Pageant float. She was Miss Nelson County in 1999.

Daves' sister Janice riding in the manure spreader with Johns boys!

Smile pretty and wave John!!!

The Keystone Cops! He saw me taking the pic and posed!

Vasicheks Implement float.

Happy Birthday MICHIGAN!!!

Our friend Jo. She works with Amber and threw us LOTS of Tootsie Rolls!!! Thanks Jo!!!

The OLD Petersburg fire truck. JJ and Jeremy in the passenger seat with JJ's son Titus on top!

Kenny Shirek on the Buffalo mobile!! This is the farm that gave birth to White Cloud the albino buffalo now at Jamestown.

We were right in the intersection, the place where the Shriners and their sprint cars go crazy!!

The black car is Scott Vasicheks', a classmate of mine and the white car is Dave Blaseys', the husband of Ambers friend and coworker Kristen (Landeis) Blasey.

Snow Plow driven by Larry Landeis.

I liked their "glove" balloons!
CLASS OF '95 ROCKS!!!!!! My class float driven by Mary and Mandy!!

Aaron Mork with the Town Pump II float. Adults get beer in our neck of the woods. Casey came down and handed Jamie and I each a cup of beer. I gave mine to Gpa!!

Rainbow Lodge float. Again handing out beer!

What is a parade without a horse?! Our neighbors the Anderson family .

I have sooooo many more pics of the parade but it would take me HOURS to post them all. I am happy that we had such a beautiful weekend for the celebration!! Oh and I filled Dad's little cooler half full of candy. We knew nearly everyone in the parade so they would throw us candy. We had NO kids around us. It was just like being a little kid again, with the added bonus of being over 21!!! 280 floats and an hour and a half later, we were sad it was over!! Not bad for a town with the population of 350!!

Out of the mouths of babes!!

2008-07-23T23:48:00.002-05:00

Tonight David and I visited Amber at her "third home", her friend Sarahs'. Sarah has a 2 year old boy named Jordan who is cute as the dickens!! He LOVES anything JOHN DEERE! So of course he had to show Dave his trucks, lawn mower, etc. The cutest thing was that when we first got there, Jordan called David "guy". He wanted Dave to see his bedroom, watch him take a bath, and play hockey. Sarah kept telling him that "Guy's" name was Dave--like his uncle Dave. The funny thing is, he doesn't say Dave he says "Weev"!!! How cute!! The little guy took to "Weev" like a fish to water. I think he sensed the "farmer" in him! Must be the pocket tee and work boots!

Ethan!!

2008-07-17T18:16:00.004-05:00

The last couple of days I was fortunate to babysit Ethan. My "unofficial" great-nephew! He is such a joy to have around! I snapped a few pics of him yest. and last night with his Great Uncle David!!

The ONLY picture of Ethan not making a funny face!!

See, funny face!David and Ethan checkin' out the corn!".....one day you will farm with your dad and grow corn taller than this!"

Man that SUCKS!!!!!

2008-07-07T00:11:00.002-05:00

I got a new vacuum today er, yesterday the 6th. Isn't it pretty? I know it isn't pink but, after much debate and duct tape, we decided to break down and get the dyson. We figured we would probably spend that much in cheap vacuum cleaners in 5 years and dyson offers a 5 year warranty!! I can't believe how much it sucks!! It is the "absolute Animal" model, made especially for homes with pets--that would be us!! The stuff you see in the canister is just from half of the living room rug, and a chair and ottoman and sofa!! That doesn't seem bad, but I just vacuumed yesterday!!

Happy Birthday LAKOTA!

2008-07-06T23:02:00.009-05:00

This year marks 125 years of existance for some of our area communities. Devils Lake and Lakota both celebrated their Quasiquicentennial over the 4th of July. I was able to attend Lakota's celebration. Friday they had a street dance with the Roosters providing the music. It was AWESOME!! The bass players' neice is my cousin Kaylas best friend, so I got to meet the band! This isn't some garage band. This band has a song on the radio!! I met my brother and his friend at the beer garden and we had a blast. Especially when my uncle Randy found us! He is a one man party that man!

Saturday Morning brought the best of the weekend! The Parade!!

Waiting for it to start!

HERE THEY COME!! & The Shriners from Devils Lake.

Old Glory!!

Dave's brother John on the "H" that they restored with his wife and 4 sons in the manure spreader. I love the sign it says "Here's to the cows, the chores keep us fit. The chore we like least is shoveling...........MANURE!!"

Hardware Hank and the Johnsons hardware crew. That's my cousin Ian in the inflatable suit. He said the fan went out in it so it wasn't really inflated. He thought Elton (the parade announcer) would make a comment about liposuction!!

This is what we will all be driving if the gas prices get much higher!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYLAKOTA!!!!!

OOOOOOOOO Shiny Thing!!! This sign is cute!

This is the COOLEST flame job ever!!! & That is a HUGE trike!

OOPS!!! I think he has a flat tire!

These are just a few of the great parade entries!! My camera battery went dead half way through. I missed the horses which included the Budweiser Clydesdales, the Stump Lake Tractor Club, and SO much more!! The parade began at 10:30 and didn't end until just after noon!!

I was able to take McKayla to the "Bouncy games" on the lawn of the courthouse and out to supper at Dairy Queen. Then we had another street dance and the Fireworks!!! It was a very fun filled weekend. Now, we can prepare for Michigans' 125th the weekend of July 24-27. I hope that we have good weather and a great time their as well!! I assume that my house will be full--Dave's sisters will have to sleep somewhere!!

Father's Day 2008

2008-07-06T20:36:00.003-05:00

Yes I know I haven't posted anything recently, ok so I haven't posted in the last month! S0 I will be doing some "marathon posting" tonight! First up is Father's Day!

Father's Day is a happy and sad occasion for David and I. We are sad that his dad isn't here to celebrate with us but we know Pete is celebrating in heaven with his Heavenly Father!! We are also happy that we are able to celebrate with my Grandpa and my daddy! This year we also celebrated with my uncle Jeff, who is a Father and Papa Jeffy to his grandchildren!!

I gave my dad a hawaiian shirt, I was scared that he wouldn't wear it but to my knowledge has worn it twice!

Everyone came over here to eat a most delicious meal! Dad made a turkey in the turkey fryer (in the rain) that turned out beautifully! When the weather cleared up, Jeff, Dad, Gpa, Jamie and Sean went fishing on Lake Laretta. They did pretty good. They caught a good haul of Northern Pike!

Here is Father and Son with their big fish!!
The dogs felt a little left out so I figured I should get a picture of them with the fish too!! In the evening we went to Gma and Gpas for supper! I bet you can't guess what we ate!!! U got it! FISH--beer battered fish, and some other breaded fish. It was an awesome day and we are all very thankful for one more Father's Day spent with our Fathers....and uncles!

LOOK @ WHAT I JUST FOUND lmao!!!!

2008-06-08T21:37:00.002-05:00

David thinks he is in color wheel hell stuck on PINK!! I was researching vacuums just now and found this beautiful specimen of femininity!

A Pink Vacuum Too?

2008-06-08T20:56:00.004-05:00

Today was the day I was finally going to vacuum the sand from last Sunday out of my carpet. I started in the hallway and was working my way around "the wall." My vacuum has been my favorite toy since Dave gave it to me for Christmas in 2006. I usually get excited to use it~~it is pretty and it has a power paw for the furniture! So, near the bathroom door, I smell smoke. I have smelled it before while vacuuming so I paid it no attention. Soon near the railing to the basement I SAW smoke. LOTS OF SMOKE! I picked it up and took it outside yanking the cord from the outlet. I laid it down and saw the flames coming from the side where the belt is. I was so panicky I couldn't think of what I should use to put out the fire. I decided on my coffee maker. I doused the flames and grabbed my camera. I was nervous about what Dave would say about this one for sure. Fire has been the ongoing theme this last week. He had been in town at church so, thankfully he was feeling mellow. He didn't say much. Except he did say that he didn't know if they make PINK vacuum cleaner. OH and word from the wise~~if you are shopping for a vacuum cleaner DO NOT buy a Eureka Altima

Random thought for today.

2008-06-07T10:50:00.003-05:00

So there are 3 weddings of people I personally know today. I wondered whats the deal?
What is so special about this weekend? JUNE 7, 2008

THEN IT HIT ME!

June (6) 7, 08 6,7,8

One of the weddings is at 3:45pm. So their wedding begins at 3:45 on 6-7-08 ! How cool is that!

Sorry like I said random thought!

Pizza Cutter go BYE BYE!

2008-06-07T10:21:00.004-05:00

Remember my last blog about the almost perfect day! Well, I realized on Thursday night that my pizza cutter was missing when I went to cut the most delicious homemade taco pizza ever! So I had to think hard "when was the last time you used it, Angela?"

Almost instantly, I remembered the gooey pizzas from Hotstuff in Lakota on Sunday. I used it to re-cut the pizzas so surely it had to have been washed and put away. I hunted high and low but could not find it. "Well I laid it the box lid when I was done......." THAT my friends is when I had what I call "a moment of clarity". I left the pizza cutter in the pizza box, someone ate the pizza, and didn't remove the cutter. I was about to get another dose of clarity. I BURNED those pizza boxes. In the burn barrel. THIS burn barrel to be exact!

Can you find what's left of the pizza cutter amidst the ash?

Here it is! I felt so foolish when I told David!! He kind of chuckled and told me that he thought it was all a part of my evil plan to get a pink handled Kitchen Aid Pizza cutter, which simply isn't true! There was no evil plan, but since we need a pizza cutter, I might as well get the pink one!!

The (ALMOST) Perfect Day!

2008-06-02T12:21:00.009-05:00

Yesterday brought warm weather, a beautiful blue sky, and my family over for dinner! It was very last minute and I had an agenda, Dave and I needed Dad's, Jamie's, and Sean's muscles to help move some furniture to the "man cave" a.k.a my thunderstorm haven! We grilled burgers and deer sausage, and ate on the deck. You can see everyone assembled and ready to pray!

We had a yummy watermelon for dessert. Everyone looks so excited:) ok... so maybe dad looks a little grumpy ;)

After we ate, Jamie and Sean found my tennis ball slingshot and had fun shooting the balls at each other. They even tried a golf ball to see how far it would go! Dad and David enjoyed watching in the shade from our adirondack chairs.

We also went fishing at Lake Laretta just north of my house about a mile away! Jamie caught the first northern, Amber caught the next 3 and Dad caught one. Sean had a couple get away as did Amber, Dad and Jamie. As for me, well.... let me just say that if we are lost in the wilderness and it is up to me catch food, we will all starve!! I never even had a nibble.

We had Hotstuff pizza for supper, and then ended the day with a bonfire at Mom and Dads.

The Equinox

2008-05-24T19:58:00.003-05:00

You know how when you go shopping for something in particular, and you find it so you grab it and take it to the cashier expecting to pay full price only to discover the item is on sale--like REALLY on sale? That is kind of what happened to Dave and I. It all began a week ago yesterday when I went to Grand Forks to buy flowers. The oxygen sensor went out in my car and it was taken to the dealership. While it was being fixed, I was given the keys to a 2005 Chevy Equinox to drive as a loaner. I had it all weekend until Monday and I took it back and picked up my car. I was joking when I told my friend at the dealership to check out the numbers for me. Turns out it was a wise decision and a good deal. It is front wheel drive with intelligent All Wheel Drive so that should be handy on the slippery, snowy, ND winter roads! I am now able to get to ALL of the fields to take David meals, or just to jockey around equipment. I also love the color! Salsa Red Metallic--sounds........spicey!

Doesn't Buddy look excited?

What in the world!

2008-05-22T23:31:00.003-05:00

So, does anyone know what kind of bird this is? He stopped to eat at my new feeder this morning and I was so surprised when I walked out of the laundry room and spotted this little fellow!! He is the most perfect shade of blue! Later on, he was sharing the feeder with couple of male gold finches. I wish my camera would have been handy for that!

Planting Season - Soybeans

2008-05-18T11:44:00.004-05:00

It is that time of year again, when farmers are up at dawn and home again at midnight. When wives (or fiances in my case) pack lunches and give rides. The time of year when it ends up being a hurry up and wait game. Planting! Right now Dave is planting soybeans. I had the opportunity to take some pics yesterday while riding with him. He got a new seed tender this winter in the hopes of an easier time filling his planter. So far so good!! Here he is filling the planter.
You can see the bin filled with the innoculated soybean seed! This is a picture of the service truck and the planter filled with seed.
All done filling!! He is closing the covers. This is the side of Davids' John Deere 8320. Gotta love a John Deere!

John and David are getting close to being done!! Dave planted the corn and is now working on the soybeans and has navy beans, sunflowers left. John has planted the wheat, canola, and flax. It helped that Harold --Brendas' dad was here to help for a few weeks this spring, picking rocks. They also have the help of Sarahs husband Trent, who helped spray some pre emerge round up. Another invaluable help is their "hired hand" Chris. He has worked hard to prep the land ahead of John and Dave, doing the cultivating, harrowing, rolling, etc. They have a lot of acres to cover so every little bit helps!!

North Dakota Nature.......and Easter!!

2008-05-18T11:05:00.005-05:00

I have been missing leaves in the worst way! The pic below shows one of the few trees in my yard that has started to leaf out. It is kind of a neat pic the way you can see the leaves and and then the contrast of a naked ash tree behind it. WELCOME SPRING!!

I took these two pics in my yard. The tulips were chewed up this morning by some animal probably a wiener dog:(

These are the Gold Finches at Grandma and Grandpa's!! They were so bright against the gray roof and trees!!

Ok so first of all, in my own defense, my camera broke right after we moved. I had sent it to be fixed and forgotten to take the memory card out of it. I got the camera and am just now getting around to putting these pics of Easter up. It's not much but you can see the eggs we dyed at Grandmas house and her juneberry pie, which by the way is the ONLY pie I like! The yellow and green dyes were especially popular with Dad and Grandma. Jamie and I made the really bold colored eggs. Jamie also made the football egg! We tried to get it brown but it didn't work that well.

The Mouthwatering juneberry pie!

Scenes from the Farm

2008-05-18T09:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the day Dad and Jamie moved the heifers up to Dahlen. They had to move the squeeze chute in right in front of the barn in order to give them shots first.

Yet MORE House Pics!

2008-05-15T21:33:00.004-05:00

I finall hung a few things--the walls were looking pretty bare!

Pic #1 South Wall of the Dining room

Pic #2 East wall south side in the living room-Birthday present from Amber and Sean

Pic #3 Immediately when you enter the house from the South entrance.

May Snow?

2008-05-10T11:48:00.004-05:00

Whats wrong with this picture? Yep you guessed it!! Here it is May 10, and we woke up to 2inches of snow. It seemed more like November! The dogs looked up at me when I was going to let them out to potty like I was crazy-- You expect me to poop in this weather? That was a pretty quick potty trip--usually they make the rounds checking to make sure every thing is still here.

You wouldn't even know that this was the same yard on the same day! Almost all of the snow except for the snow in the rows of the newly planted corn field has melted away already and its noon!!

Usually its Fargo that gets all the snow! Oh well, looks like tomorrow will a beautiful day for Mothers' everywhere, or at least here. One other thought, I keep hearing about how environmentalists are so worried about Global Warming. Yep U bet!! The fact that we still don't have leaves on trees and we are getting snow on May 10 PROVES that Global Warming must be a HUGE issue!

Coyotes, Confirmation, Mother's Day.

2008-05-06T16:37:00.001-05:00

Does anyone have coyotes howling everywhere at all hours of the night? I woke up the other night to my dogs whining. I figured they needed to go potty. When I opened the door, I could hear what was causing my dogs to fret. COYOTES and LOTS of them!! At 4 in the morning when it is completely silent aside from the mournful cries of the coyotes, it is CREEPY. It is even worse without having a yard light that consistently stays on! My dogs would howl to answer them, and it sounded as if the elusive animals were right at the end of my driveway!! The definitely weren't far away!

David and I had a very busy weekend. Saturday we helped his nephew Nathan celebrate his First Communion and Confirmation. He and about 69 other kids from the Devils Lake Region had a special Mass in their honor at St. Josephs in Devils Lake. Then the Family gathered at John and Brenda's for dinner and an afternoon of catching up!!

I want to be the first to wish everyone an early Happy Mother's Day!! We celebrated this past Sunday here at the house with Grandma and Grandpa Hanssen, Grandma Johnson, Aunt Shirley, Connie and Mandy & Mckayla, Mom, Dad, Jamie, and Amber and Sean. It was a fun afternoon of visiting. The food was great (EXCELLENT job with the steak Dave!) Dad, Amber, and Sean went fishing on Lake Laretta (about a mile North of my house) and Sean caught the lone fish!! He caught a 3lb 20in Northern, not bad for his first fish!! This weekend we will be able to celebrate Mother's Day with Rose Mary. Davids sisters Ann and Janice from Zimmerman, MN and St. Croix Falls, WI will be here as well as Rose Marys' sister, Sister Phillip.
It should be a great weekend!

House Pics!!!

2008-05-01T20:23:00.003-05:00

This the Northeast wall of the dining room and the "East Wing".
The view into the kitchen from the Dining room.
The South wall of the dining room undergoing its "transformation"!!

Ok. So I added this one so you can see it with pictures and accessories. Complete with drowsy dogs--who sort of look stuffed!! Weird. Anyway we like it, well love it actually. That is David's new tv, which we got to replace the possessed RCA. It would just click on and off without picture or sound over and over again like someone was standing there with the remote! This one is much MUCH better.

Here is the bathroom. I know everyone was curious to see where I poop!! It has a spa like feel to it, and is very relaxing.
Yes it is green. It is in between the green of the living room and bathroom. I LOVE IT!!

I just wanted to share these photos with you all!! Dave and I are proud of all the work that his brother Gerald put into building the new part of the house and happy to paint and add some more character to it! We wouldn't have it any other way!

All Moved and Getting Settled!

2008-04-14T13:57:00.006-05:00

Finally, we are moved to the "new" house! We have been here a week already and have painted 4 rooms!! The living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and the entryway!! It has been fun personalizing it! With white walls it was like a fresh canvas--just for us to create something special for ourselves! We haven't unpacked anything that doesn't have to do with the kitchen or the bathrooms yet. Dave was able to get the satellite dish working and temporarily connected to our living room television. Until today of course with the 36mph southerly winds! Signal was getting choppy this morning and finally went out completely when the pole that the dish was mounted on tipped backward!! Dave did however get it back in working order by pounding the pole into the ground alot deeper (now possible due to the frost coming out of the ground). We are enjoying 60 degree weather today, despite the wind!! Our neighbor is even out cultivating--signs of times to come, I guess. Well, Happy Monday to you!

Still not moved!!

2008-03-29T17:18:00.003-05:00

Just updating everyone on our move! So, we are still in the "little" house, waiting. Good thing I am patient!! I just feel bad for John and Brenda--their stress level has to be through the roof!! They had been expecting to be moved in BEFORE Easter!! They took on a huge remodel project in the basement at Rose Marys'. They took out the wood paneling from the bedrooms and put up drywall, they installed a new shower/tub surround and put in ceramic tile in the bath. The hold up now lies with the carpet! They were expecting the carpet to go in last Tues. & Wed. When the installer showed up, they found out that they needed to order new carpet. SO, they are hoping to have their carpet installed this week. In the meantime, Dave and I are actively checking out paint colors and and Carpet for his "Man Cave", also known as the family room. The basement under the new part of the house is unfinished so we would like to make it usable living space. Dave is hoping to place a pool table down there along with the entertainment center for his Xbox and Xbox 360. He is very excited about being over there!! I have never seen a man excited about picking out a dishwasher! We are very excited about a much bigger house, a beautiful yard and last but not least, to be AWAY from the highway!! No more hitch-hikers, and dogs getting hit. No more traffic noise. No more trash dumped off at the end of the driveway! It will seem like heaven. I hope to have pictures of the house before and after we paint and the exterior of the house. Until then, you will all have to live in suspense!

A Sad Day at the Hanssen Ranch:,(

2008-03-25T20:05:00.002-05:00

It is a very sad day at the Hanssen ranch. For the last 15 years, our family has loved and cared for the prettiest German Shepherd/Husky cross named Taz. She was just a puppy when Mom and Jamie brought her home in 1993. Jamie was particularily fond of our beautiful dog and had a very special bond with her. Friday, she disappeared and today, Dad and Jamie found her stumbling around in circles across the highway from their house. Dad had to put her down and they brought her home to be buried in the "family plot" with our cat Baby. She was very senile and had cateracts. Most of the time she didn't know if she was inside or out and would "potty" on the kitchen rug. She was also deaf and had arthritis, we know because of her whimper every time she laid down. I wish I had more pictures of our dog with the beauty mark!! We all loved her and will miss her very much!!

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-21T22:59:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter Everyone!! I hope this week of meditation and celebration has been a great blessing to you! I saw something interesting on the news today.... a group of teens from St. Andrew Lutheran in Fargo carried a HUGE wooden cross 2 miles across town today-Good Friday-in rememberance of what Jesus endured on that very first Good Friday so long ago. It was a great reminder of God's sacrifice for us. Anyway, I am spending my Easter weekend helping to move John and Brendas' things to RoseMarys' house and OUR things into Johns' house! I have been packing, cleaning, stacking, packing, cleaning and stacking some more. Yesterday, Dave came in at lunch time to find that I had loaded everything I had packed into the south part of the living room. It was piled nearly to the cieling! He took 2 pickup loads over to the house this afternoon though and made a huge dent in what needs to go over! Dave has some family home for Easter. His sister Ann and her husband Pete and their children Fonda(getting married in August and graduating from Veternarian school next May), Katie, Fred and Hannah. His sister Barb her husband Tom and their 2 little girls Rachel and Stephie. Both sisters live in the suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Judy and her husband Dave and children Liz(who graduates from Chiropractic College at Christmas) Dan, Lisa, & Matt live near Fargo and are here for Easter also. Elaine and her husband Larry live near Portland, ND and will be here tomorrow for our EASTER DINNER. Also driving up for the day are Carol and Bill from Fosston, MN and we are hoping for Gerald and Chris to make it up from Fargo as well. It is always an interesting time for the family to get together. Usually SOMEONE ends up with the stomach flu or a cold and spreads it to everyone else! I could tell you stories involving an ice cream scoop and bucket that would make your stomach turn!! Needless to say, I try not to eat ice cream there anymore! It is nice however that they all make an effort to come home for the holiday. In other news, Spring Sprung back into winter!! Winter was almost a memory until this morning! the snow was flying and winter reared its head once more. So, now we will have to hope for even warmer temps to melt the snow!!

BABIES BABIES EVERYWHERE BABIES!!!!

2008-03-14T18:45:00.003-05:00

When I was a little girl, I read this book about 3 girls who babysat like 8 babies that ended up on an island. I dunno the rest I just remember thinking that having all those babies around would be soooo fun!! Well I think I am about to witness my own version of that story! I have recently discovered that there are going to be 4 yes f-o-u-r new babies added to the Steffan side! Dave's niece Jennifer is expecting a sister for little Will, and is ecstatic about the news! Jennifers' husband Kirk Thorson is the Minister at the Association Free Lutheran Church in Larimore. Dave's brother John and his wife Brenda recently shared with us the news that they are expecting too! TWINS!! I wonder if one or both will be girls?! I am sure they would be satisfied just to have a couple of healthy babies no matter the sex!! Hmmm.... if they did have a girl, she would have to be one tough little cookie with 4 older brothers! It would be fun just to buy them PINK things for a change!! Last but not least, Dave's niece Sarah and her husband Trent are due in October! It is an exciting time for the Steffan family! It just keeps growing and growing and growing. All because two people fell in love! Pete and Rose Mary have 10 children who are married or engaged. There are 31-soon to be 33 grandchildren and 3 -soon to be 5 great grandchildren!!
On my side of the family, there is also some excitement. My cousin Charity (the lutheran hen) is expecting baby chick #5 in September! That makes 5 grandchildren for my Grandparents and 6 great grand children! Our family is considerably smaller than David's.
As for news about myself, we will be moving the week after Easter. I am making a dent in the packing that needs to be done, I work on something every day! As for the house we live in now, it will become the Steffan hotel!

Fighting Sioux Nickname--GET RID OF IT

2008-03-09T11:22:00.003-05:00

I had taken the stance that as alumni, we needed to keep the the Fighting Sioux nickname. Recently I have changed my way of thinking.

After hearing certain Sioux dignitary's speak on the issue, I began to feel sad. After all, the University is paying "bribes" to the Sioux to attend their college. If by the word "bribes" he meant scholarships as I suspect, I would like to know how many of the Sioux families are turning down the money? UND has a vast array of Indian programs designated to help Native Americans overcome the stigma that has plagued their nations for years. InMed, Indians in Medicine is a wonderful opportunity for Native Americans to become Doctors! What do you think would happen if the nickname changed and all of the alumni support disappears? Budget cuts will become necessary. Hmmm.... Which programs should go first? If the University is just "bribing" them with funding to attend an institution of higher learning, why should that University continue to support the Indian Studies programs?! Another concern of mine is why are we working so hard to defend their culture and heritage? Someone at some point obviously thought that the Sioux tribe was worth honoring! Why? I grew up near a reservation and while not all Native Americans are bad it seems that the bad is all I remember. When I was a Freshman in high school, I had a teacher kidnapped by 3 Sioux tribe members over A QUART OF OIL!! Growing up we lived near a major highway and we constantly had them in our yard asking "have you gotta rim and tire we can have?" or "if you could give us gas to get home, you can have this watch" which by the way was on clearance for $2 at walmart, I had seen it that very same day. Just recently a woman stopped by our neighbors at 1am and asked to use the phone. He let her and turned his back to afford her some privacy. He heard keys jingle and the door close. Then he heard his pickup drive off. Why not follow her? He was wearing a robe in the "crisp" ND winter air. They finally threw down road spikes to stop her west of Devils Lake. These are reasons for NOT keeping the nickname. What kind of honor is there in a nation of people who aren't interested in preserving their OWN honor? We do everything else for them why not keep their heritage alive too?

Here is another thing, while attending class I was approached by my Prof. and asked to remove my UND Fighting Sioux sweatshirt because it was offending someone in the class. Well, now that is a problem! Someone CHOSE to attend UND knowing full well what the mascot was and has been since ????? Maybe somebody should have done a little research? It wasn't as if this student chose UND, and 2 days later they changed the nickname and mascot. I bought that shirt on campus and I was going to wear it on campus.

I say change the name to something that really means honor for something! I mean since UND is so technologically savvy, why not be the University of North Dakota Techies! or the UND Northern Lights! How about the UND Liberals!! UND Bobcats--the list goes on and on.

Our new furniture!!!!!!

2008-03-06T17:53:00.000-06:00

"You know, we live like we are just out of college!" He said looking around the room. "We have my grandmas old couch, my parents' old loveseat, Randy and Connies' pink rocker and table, the $1 thrift store chair and a rummage sale dining table!!

He was so right. Dave graduated from NDSU in 1992 with a degree in Business Management and a Minor in Economics. I graduated from the tech in 1998 with a diploma in Chiropractic Technology. And here we are, 16 and 10 years later, harboring moldy couch cushions and a few dead bugs we are certain lived during the Nixon scandal! Not that we aren't thankful that everyone helped us out, but right now, moving to a nice house, we decided to buy some new furniture!

So I broke out the internet and with a few clicks, had found some great pieces at Ashley Furniture. When David and I went to the store a couple of weeks ago, we agreed immediately on which set of furniture we both wanted!! When all was said and done, we had our living room completely put together!

This is our sofa and loveseat!! It is made of microfiber--looks like velvet almost! It is so soft and the cushions are something like 42" deep. In addition to them we got the chair and ottoman as well:

We didn't like the occasional tables so we chose this one. The top lifts up to raise your workspace.

The square tables are the end tables we chose. Entertainment Wall.

Our lamps that David picked out!! (Good eye Dave!)

The Table and chairs that will go in the living room as well!This is the bed I have ALWAYS wanted!! IT IS PERFECT!

I do not have a picture of the rug--it is coming from Menards. It is going to be so much fun to see how our grown up home turns out! Eventually, when we get the "formal dining room" finished this is the trestle table and china cabinet we would like to purchase.

Love is in the air........

2008-02-28T16:05:00.000-06:00

Ah, yes! Fruity drinks, exotic cuisine, salty ocean air, all things Amber and Sean enjoyed on their honeymoon to the Mayan Riviera. They shared their experience with all of us last weekend while they were home. Both of them burned so bad that they were still peeling 2 weeks after their return home!! They brought mom beach sand from one of the top 10 beaches in the world, Dad and Jamie each got tshirts and I got a hollowed out painted guord with the nativity inside. I am glad she is a jetsetter!! I don't think you could pay me to get on an airplane!! They had pics of parrots and monkeys, Sean doing some odd things with props, and a very funny video of Sean doing his best Mexican yell! Oooo and my personal favorite a slightly tipsy Amber trying to figure out the hammock!! They were able to see some ancient Mayan ruins and ride a ferry to Cancun from their resort. (Amber and Sean were literally green at the end of the ride and wanted to ride a dolphin back to the resort!!) All in all they had a really great time. She sent me some pics to put on the blog.

Gone to the Dogs!!

2008-02-27T20:03:00.000-06:00

I love my dogs! They each have such a neat personality. Buddy Holly is the eldest of the three and although he may be a big dog (he is a chocolate lab possibly crossed with a giraffe), he is the most gentle! He plays with the other two and is so careful not to bite too hard. Sometimes he does elicit a squeak from the little one, but otherwise he is sweet. Speaking of sweet he has a TERRIBLE sweet tooth. When I first got him I decided to make banana bread. I made two loaves of the stuff and put it in the microwave to cool. Little did I know that my Buddy knew how to open the microwave door! He ate half of both loaves. Elvis comes next in my menagerie! He is a very sweet and spunky Mini Dachshund. He is larger than life. He really is the King of the house! The thing about Elvis is that we know he is a little dog but HE doesn't! He eats large, poops large, barks like a big dog, and chases cows like a blue heeler. I feel I should tell you that since Buddy (BIG DOG) sees Elvis (LITTLE DOG) on peoples laps, he fancies HIMSELF a chiahuahua! Ever had a 90lb dog jump up into your lap while sitting in a recliner?
Last but not least, is the baby of the bunch, Duke. He is a total sweetheart. He is very shy and I think he suffers from low self esteem. He heard too many people say how ugly he is. But he isn't ugly at all. He is a dappled little fella who fits right here. Elvis has taken over the position as trainer. He was trying to teach Duke how to use the footstool to get on and off the bed. Of course Duke knows the jump is too much for him so he whines until I get him up or down

Happy belated valentines day to me!!!!

2008-02-21T19:21:00.000-06:00

Ok so I just know I everyone knows that David gave me a choice last thursday. Either a coffee maker or a new little doxy puppy. I DID choose the coffeemaker. Then, unbeknownst to me today, Dave surprised me with that same little puppy!! He is absolutely adorable!! Here he is!! We still don't have a name for him, but since we have Buddy Holly and Elvis, we are looking for another quirky name this little guy. I thought Ringo was a good name but so is Big Bopper or Fonzie. We are going to wait it out, see what his little personality is like. If any of you have any suggestions feel free to let me know!!

Valentine's Day 2008

2008-02-19T20:55:00.000-06:00

So I have been asked by a few of you what I did for Valentine's Day. Well, David and his brother John had a meeting in Grand Forks about John Deere GPS systems. So, since Dave and John had ridden down to GF with Bernie from the Michigan Implement, I drove down and met them in the afternoon and picked David up. We went to fun places like Bearings and Drives, Home of Economy, Office Max, the mall for a potty stop, and Wal-mart for exciting things like toilet paper, doggie treats and an air filter for my car. Then we came home! No flowers--they just die! No chocolates--they just make my butt big! I did have a choice of a Valentine gift though. It was either another mini daschund or a new coffee maker. The puppy was too cute! But I need my coffee so I decided to get the coffee maker. It has some red on it!!

For those of you who haven't heard some changes are taking place at the Steffan Ranch!! David's brother John and his wife Brenda and their 4 boys are staying with Rose Mary during the week and going home on the weekend when another Steffan sibling arrives to relieve them of their duties. BUT John has begun some remodeling projects. SOOOOO David and I will be moving to the house John lives in--the one David lived in when I lived in Vi's house. We CAN'T WAIT!! A nice BIG bathroom downstairs with a place to store towels!! 2 bedrooms upstairs with their OWN bathroom!! A big kitchen ! A Huge laundry room! A GINORMOUS living room with lots of windows, hardwood floors and a HUGE fireplace!!! OH and Dave's favorite part---a man cave!!!! We do not have a move in date as of yet, but we hope to by Easter!!

My Dads Pickup

2008-02-02T11:17:00.000-06:00

As long as I have lived on this earth, my dad has been fond of the color red for vehicles. He did have a green '72 ford pickup and and green '77 ford ltd car. Then began the string of red vehicles. He got a '86 Ford pickup with 4wheel drive and a topper. He was driving in style!! Oh, and our first van was a dark red Plymouth Voyager. How we loved the room we had in that!!! Soon it was time to upgrade again and He decided on a light blue Dodge Caravan with TWO backseats!! It was great until I rolled it--then it became a Bright blue with silver stripes. I still see it around Devils Lake. Then when I was a junior we had a another Red Dodge Grand Caravan I remember it was a brand new 1994!!! Dad upgraded his '86 Ford in 1999 to a 1995 RED and silver Dodge Ram. We loved that pickup! With the unique Dodge front-no one else had one around Niagara. Then in 2001, they traded the van on a '99 Chrysler Concorde. It had leather seats and a sunroof!! Unfortunately it didn't hold any value and they traded for my 2002 Toyota Camry which is what mom still drives. On January 4th, Dad got a new pickup which is RED. It is a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Reg. cab. WOW is it nice!! It only had 24,000 miles on it and was a good deal! I think he needs flames on the front but grandma disagrees.

"He's not a teenager!" she says.

Christmas 2007

2008-02-01T14:48:00.000-06:00

Christmas is my most favorite time of year! Red and Green are my favorite colors--and pink but that is another post!!! I thought I would post some pics of Christmas this year. I know you all had your own special Christmas but now you can feel like you were here too!! My turkey was so golden brown, Good Housekeeping or Taste of Home should have featured it!!!!

Buddy and Elvis were so excited about Christmas--They even had their own stockings!!

My pretty tree and the lights in my south window.

Don't you wish you were here? PS Thanks for the Thomas Kincade puzzle!! It was very fun and challenging!!!

I am back and I'm better than ever!!

2008-02-01T13:29:00.001-06:00

As most of you know, I have been without the internet for over a year. All of that changed yesterday when Dave and I got broadband service with Verizon wireless. So, I am back. I want to keep family and friends abreast of life in rural North Dakota.

So news from January:
Dad got a 2005 Dodge Ram pickup.
David got a 2004 Ford F150 pickup. Dave's pickup & Elvis's butt on bottom.
Sean and Amber moved to Fargo. That is their living room on top.
Davids mom was diagnosed with early alzheimers.

These are all things everyone knows already but thought I would share them with you anyways!!

So now it is February and today Amber and Sean left for their honeymoon at Playa del Carmen on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. Bet it is alot warmer there!!! I mean don't get me wrong--the pleasant (crisp) -54 degree wind chills are a blast but a sunny beach, a fruity drink with an umbrella in it sounds so much more, what's the word I am looking for........ah, yes, TROPICAL!!