Winerva Joanne

Yesterday was my very Mom's birthday. Hmmm. I actually can't remember the last time I celebrated my Mom's birthday with her in person. That said, it's my distinct honor and pleasure to celebrate her. Much of what I love and appreciate in life was nurtured by my Mom. She lived an adventurous life prior to getting married and having four girls in six years!!

She models wonderful hospitality, deep loyalty to family and friends, and a sincere commitment to becoming more and more like Christ, among other things. She gives more credit to Dad for taking care of grandkids, but they're still a joy in her life. (She's pictured walking with great grandson Nate and spending time reading to her granddaughters.) She's also a consistent voice of practical wisdom which I apply to my circumstances and then often freely dispense to others. That and many other things are worth celebrating. Mostly I celebrate the gift of her life.
Happy Birthday dear Mom!!

In other news, my sister Carmen "rebuked" me for not having enough pictures of my "actual" nieces, hinting at neglect, if I read between the lines correctly. So I'll offer this photo of Katrina and Georgia skating a few weeks ago.

Which leads me to a few reflections about these precious girls. Yesterday Kate was trying to understand the job I interviewed for. After explaining it as best I could, she resolved that the job must be like the lady at her school who answers the phone and allocates medication.

Georgia and I had an entertaining conversation about the weather. They both were longing for snow so that they could build a proper person out of snow. Although, it's not only the snow to be concerned with, as sometimes Fargo is sooo very cold that they can't spend many moments outside.

Our conversation went like this:
"So, Georgia, did you get a lot of snow last night?"
"Yes, it's been snowing all day Auntie Diana!"
"Is it very cold?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask my Dad. He's not here right now."
"Did you go outside for church?"
"No, we have church inside" (Duh!!! Auntie Diana! silly question!)
"Right, but didn't you have to walk from the car into church?"
"No, we took the van."

Ah. 'Twas precious. I'm still enjoying it.