Friends!

Happy Birthday, Sammy!

Sammy, hope you have a great birthday today!

1940--Dillard

Here is L. Poor, Allie, Ray and Dillard. Living outside Omaha, Boone County, AR 1940. Dillard is 12 years old.

Bouquet

Sigrid picked these and arranged them for my Easter table. I think she did a fine job.

Looking For Eggs

No eggs in this pipe but a lot of them were hid today at our house. Each found a few. Ingrid was baptized today. We had a nice meal together and it was a great day. I am looking forward to having some dinners here after I retire! I kept thinking next year I will do this knowing I can just lay around the next day if I want to. Happy Easter to all my family! I sure have a great family for which I am thankful!

Astrid is 12!

April 7--Our girl turned 12. She is growing up too quickly.

Erin's Gift

Feb. 19, 1945, 75,000 Americans began their 36 day assault against Japanese forces on a impregnable flyspeck in the Pacific Ocean. On this tiny strip of volcanic ash, in one of the most terrible of all battles since the Civl War, 25,852 Americans became casualities, 6,821 were killed in action. Of the Japanese (21,000 of them) only a 1000 were taken prisoner--the rest died in hand to hand fighting, by incineration or hara-kiri. During the 5 years of the war, 353 Congressional Medals of Honer were awarded--27 of these went to the men of Iwo Jima.

Erin bought me a book about this battle, written in 1985. This is part of what is written on the dust flap.

Marriages

Aunt Fleta's Birthday

According to her mother!

Can't Blame It on Grandma!

Dogwood Legend

Siggie and I talked about the legend of the Dogwood Tree. I guess it is just a legend, but such a good one.

An old and beautiful legend has it that, at the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the timber for the cross, but to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Jesus in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it: "Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross -- two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints -- brown with rust and stained with red -- and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

Grandpa was an April Fool, born in 1883. That would make him 129 today. I would not know it was his big day.....if Fleta did not have that calendar showing.