Our youngest daughter Jen is a bit older today. She was born a number of years ago!
She gives her all to everything she does. She loves whole heartedly and it shows in the people she surrounds herself with.
She is an especially good Great Aunt. The children adore her.
Jen took care of Ree this summer so that Maddie could return to work before Ree was old enough to go to daycare.
Happy Birthday Jen! May your day be extra special just like you!
Far Side
Happy Birthday Jen! How old are you this year...she has been going backwards for about 7 years so she must be 33 now....ha!
Jen and Sadie enjoying the water last July.
Hope you have a really good birthday!
Love you lots!
Mom
Yesterday we had lunch at Jen's favorite place...my second Margarita this year! The food was awesome as usual...we sat out on the patio...where we could see Baxter in the car.
It was a beautiful Minnesota day...a bit breezy but we spent most of the day outside. Jen said she was having a good birthday!
I worked on quality control of the Christmas Ornaments...I have 50 ready to paint.
Baxter was good company for me after Jen and Andy left and Far Guy went in for a nap. Baxter went home in the late afternoon...I think he was sad to leave as he flushed out a rabbit in the wildgardens.
I am working on getting my craft projects all set to go for a craft retreat soon. Far Guy encouraged me to go....so I am!
I probably won't take this project...I put it out of reach...as Baxter thinks balls of yarn are lots of fun! This has been my in the car project and my late night TV watching project.
Far Side
Today is Jen's birthday. She was born a long time ago in the first hour of the day so she has a long birth day.
Jen and Far Guy September 4 2020 by the new old car.
Jen is our can do kid... once she sets her sights on something she follows through even if the going gets tough. Giving up is not an option for her. She is a strong woman. We are very proud of her.
Here is her birth story.
She was born at 12:58 AM on a Thursday. I didn’t labor a long time, I went into labor about 3:30 PM on the 17th after a Doctor’s appointment when my water broke at Auntie Kathy and Uncle Arthur’s house. I picked Trica up there and went home, started supper and did some laundry. About 6 ish I called my baby brother to come over to stay with Trica. (Trica was three years and five months old.) Then I called Far Guy at work and told him maybe he should come and take me to the hospital. Uncomfortable labor that makes you cranky didn’t start until after the 10 PM news. Some time after that a Nurse came in and asked Far Guy if he was going to be in the delivery room…I said “No, he is a chicken.” He said “Where is the gown?” It seemed like we waited forever for Dr. Kolars to show up…don’t push until the Doctor gets here…yeah right…finally the Doc got there and she was born!
Far Guy was mesmerized by his new daughter…although she was a tiny thing she was almost perfect. 5 Pounds 5 ounces and 19 inches long…she had some in utero problems that caused her to lose weight…mostly because I was 18 days overdue and a “horrible incubator” ( My Doctors exact words, he was happy she was here and alive…and in his opinion I should not have anymore children.) Out of the womb she thrived…sucked down four ounces of formula and hollered for more, slept all night long when she was just a week old…the easiest baby to take care of ever!
Happy Birthday Jen! Love you always and forever!
Mom
Our youngest daughter started going backards with her birthdays …today she is 37 by her count and somewhat older by mine.
She was 18 days overdue. Her husband asked me “ Why didn’t you wait a few more days and you could share a birthday?” I replied “She was 18 days overdue.” Far Guy said “ Good thing she was born when she was because someone was pretty cranky.”
The Doctor barely made it for her birth, she was born at 12:59 AM on a Thursday. Of course I was there…Far Guy, the Doctor and a Nurse. Big Sister Trica was at our home with my baby brother…he was in college back then.
Aww look at those little feet! The Doctor was thankful to have her here and okay because I had been having some problems. She was a tad overdone and had lost weight…she weighed 5 Ibs and 5 Ounces and was 19 inches long. Her skin was all wrinkly…and she was born hungry!
Here she is…almost 37…by her count!
In August of 1979 I wrote this…Jennifer is becoming quite independant. I told her “No cookies” She said “Know what? I am mad at you.”
The same year I wrote… Counts to 20, says her ABC’s reads to herself, she looks at the pictures and makes up stories.
Happy Birthday Jen! We are proud to be your parents!
Today is our youngest daughter’s birthday. She has decided that she will be going backwards instead of forward….so she will be 39.
Jen is a gifted photographer. Usually the person with the camera is never in the photographs…except if the photographer’s Mother has a camera.
See… she runs to get photos.
Looking for something in the water…always on the lookout for the next great photograph.
Dear Jen, I can hardly believe you are as old as you are! I remember when you were little and you said “Mommy I am going to live with you and Daddy forever.” Well…I am thankful that you left the nest and found your wings and soared! You are talented in so many ways, I am very proud of you! I am glad I was chosen to be your Mom. Happy Birthday! Love, Mom
She was born at 12:58 AM on a Thursday. I didn’t labor a long time, I went into labor about 3 :30 PM on the 17th after a Doctor’s appointment when my water broke at Auntie Kathy and Uncle Arthur’s house. I picked Trica up there and went home, started supper and did some laundry. About 6 ish I called my baby brother to come over to stay with Trica. (Trica was three years and five months old.) Then I called Far Guy at work and told him maybe he should come and take me to the hospital. Uncomfortable labor that makes you cranky didn’t start until after the 10 PM news. Some time after that a Nurse came in and asked Far Guy if he was going to be in the delivery room…I said “No, he is a chicken.” He said “Where is the gown?” It seemed like we waited forever for Dr. Kolars to show up…don’t push until the Doctor gets here…yeah right…finally the Doc got there and she was born!
Far Guy was mesmerized by his new daughter…although she was a tiny thing she was almost perfect. 5 Pounds 5 ounces and 19 inches long…she had some in utero problems that caused her to lose weight…mostly because I was 18 days overdue and a “horrible incubator” ( My Doctors exact words, he was happy she was here and alive…and in his opinion I should not have anymore children.) Out of the womb she thrived…sucked down four ounces of formula and hollered for more, slept all night long when she was just a week old…the easiest baby to take care of ever!
Today our youngest daughter is the big 40, she told me “Mom I am okay with that number, I am happy where I am at in this stage of my life.”
Our baby is 40 how can that be? When did that happen? It seems like we blinked just once or twice.
Thirty years ago In 1985 she was ten…and she had a Unicorn cake.
Here we are with the birthday girl.
The other day I took a photo of Jen and her Dad and I put it on her birthday card.
Happy 40th Birthday Jen! Your Father and I will love you always and forever.
There are three of us with September birthdays. Years ago there were just two of us…then along came Adam to join us. His birthday is at the beginning of the month and I have not blogged about him because I wanted a new photo!
This is what we used to call “Cake Week” and it seems to be coming up faster every year.
Here is a cake and a child almost 33 years ago. It is not her birthday quite yet a few more days…not mine yet either.
Jennifer and I in 1982 when she was 7 and I was 31…goodness was I ever that young? It looks like a cake with clowns and balloons and seven candles. Isn’t Jen cute? Her haircut suits her…we were lucky enough to find one fellow in all of Moorhead Minnesota who could give her a decent haircut and he cut her hair for years. I cannot remember his name but I can see him plain as day…silvery hair and quite handsome and he owned his own hair salon. (Dwayne’s House of Beauty maybe?)
Jennifer would have been in First Grade at George Washington School, I should remember her teachers name…but it has escaped me….no face to go with a name either. ( All that info is in Jennifer’s School Days Scrapbook at her house. See if you make a scrapbook it is okay to forget a few things. ) I cheated and looked it up in her baby book…I still have that.
Mrs. Fridgen was her teacher and I wrote: Jenny is very interested in Math.** She can tell time, count money, write numbers to 200. She can read quite well but doesn’t like to read. She can spell some words~ she spells them like they sound. Mrs. Fridgen said “Jenny really enjoys life.” Jenny likes school but it is hard for her to get up in the morning. Jenny took an after school dramatics class and enjoys art, coloring and drawing.
Jennifer and her Grandmothers. My Mom(age 53) on the left and Far Guy’s Mom ( age 68) on the right. Jen must have wanted to see the photo and her Grandfather H. obliged…he loved that Polaroid Camera. (Those bigger than a boat spectacles must have been in fashion!)
The photo was taken at Far Guy’s Parents home in Park Rapids. They are standing in the dining room, through the doorway I see the strawberry wallpaper in the kitchen and yellow curtains above the sink.
**Jennifer hates Math and loves to read! She has changed a little in 33 years!
Our youngest daughter celebrated her third birthday in 1978.
What a great smile! She had a circus train on her cake that year. We celebrated at my parents home on the lake. Far Guy was gone on deployment.
Far Guy’s Dad with the great lookin plaid pants is taking movies.
Marvin (Far Guy’s Dad), Trica (our oldest daughter), Jennifer and me
Here is the scene in the kitchen a few minutes later.
Evelyn (Far Guy’s Mom) Jennifer, Madeline (My Mother), Trica and the gal with the dark hair must be my sister Julie.
When the girls had birthdays we always tried to have a dinner, cake and ice cream and invite their grandparents to attend. Dinner was the birthday persons favorite food and the cake their favorite flavor. They usually had a neighborhood/friend party one day after school, until they entered those teen years then they usually had a slumber party with a friend or two.
The years go by so fast…it seems like only yesterday that she was just a little girl. Now she is all grown up and a Mother herself..of teenagers!
Happy Birthday Jen!
How many of you gals have been pregnant in the summer? Miserable. You feel...fat… it is hot..it seems like you wait all summer for the baby to arrive. Your feet swell…you are cranky.
During the summer of 1975, I was 23 years old. Pregnant with our second child who we were sure was going to be a boy who we would name Travis but we would call him Duke. ( cause Trica (big sister) liked that name.) Trica and I and our Scottie Terrier/Mix dog named “Snuffer” lived in a cottage at the lake, with no hot water and no indoor bathroom. We had an outhouse. My parents bought a resort, my Dad was still working in the cities and my Mom was still farming ..so I ran the resort for them for the summer.
Me, Trica (3years old) and my sister Julie (9 years old) at the resort.
Far Guy would commute and come and see us on an occasional night and weekends. It was a long summer. My due date (September 1) came and went. My Doctor scratched his head. Finally he came to his senses and scheduled me to be induced, I went home and went into labor…eight hours later we had our second little girl!
Me and Jennifer Joy 5 pounds 5 ounces…tiny..tiny perfect baby.
She was hungry! Her last few days in the womb were not the best for her, she lost weight and her skin was all wrinkled. We were lucky she survived, the Doctor strongly suggested that perhaps I was not such a good incubator anymore. So with two daughters our family was complete.
She would forgo birthday cakes and take a liking to Hornbacher’s decorated chocolate chip cookies for her birthday treat.
She grew up, went to school for 19 or 20 years and now she goes to school everyday. She teaches English in a Community College.
One of her favorite hobbies is taking photographs. We have the same camera except her camera strap has a fancy smancy lace cover decorated with buttons. She collects buttons..because she can and she is always looking for places to use them.
I think she could have been an Interior Decorator. She has a good eye for color and form. She has decorated and redesigned just about every room in their 1910 four - square home directing handy Andy to build cabinets and trim that are true to the era their home was built in.
I won’t tell you how old she is, but you can do the math. Math was never her strong subject but I am certain she remembers exactly how old she is! Happy Birthday Jen! :)
Books..she loves books and going to the library.
This is our youngest daughter Jen/Jennifer/Jenny. The caption in this newspaper article says “Jenny can’t read yet, but she likes coming to the bookmobile to choose material for her sister to read to her.” This was in the September 26, 1982 issue of the Fargo Forum.
Thirty years ago. When she was seven.
When she learned to read she would make up words. If something started with a w, any w word that she could think of would do. She just wanted to read quickly and did not have time to sound out the words.
One night a week usually on Tuesday or Wednesday we would pack up our bag of books right after supper and spend the evening in the library picking out new books for the coming week. One night it was very cold out..way below zero, so cold that our back window shattered in the cold while we were inside the library.
Reading was encouraged. Jen spent hours reading to me…mostly in the late afternoon as I cooked supper..she would be perched on a stool in the kitchen at the breakfast bar. I had to pay close attention for words that didn’t make sense. I would encourage her to sound them out..when that failed I would have her spell the word to me, so I could help her.
Jen learned to read and became a really good reader…she stopped making up words. In High School she began to write poetry. I am not sure when she decided that she wanted to become an English Teacher…but she has a Master of Fine Arts Degree in English and teaches at a Community College.
She still loves books. One day last July she came by the museum to change the foyer display cabinet. It became a display of books..large and small..I smile every time I walk past or dust the top of the case..all this from the little girl who struggled to read.
Today she is 37. Happy Birthday Jen:)
Someone is 36 today.
She has always loved the water. I used to worry about her and water, especially when she was little. She wore a life jacket as part of her summer uniform when she was a little girl. One time I let her and her sister near a pool in Havre Montana without life jackets on. It was hot, they went swimming, the pool was fairly deep..there they were in the center of the pool..one would bob up and the other would bob down. Eventually they would have drown each other..but their Mother showed much bravery and jumped in fully clothed and saved them from each other.
I taught her to float..and to dog paddle. I spent hours at the kiddie pool. She took every swimming class she could take. She became a Life Guard and then a Swimming Instructor. She always had some part time Guard or Instructors job during High School and College.
She loves “her” time on the water. It helps to renew her watery spirit. Happy Birthday Jen:)
This is the birthday card I made for Jen, this past summer was all about the water and her years growing up at a resort on the lake. Those years were revisited for her this summer when she and her husband purchased a pontoon boat.
Thirty-five years ago, Far Guy got his wish for two little girls when our second and last daughter was born. She was an early birthday gift for me ..along with a Electric Avocado Green Can Opener. That can opener is upstairs in a box with a note on it that says..this must be Jen’s as I got it when she was born.
We began celebrating her birthday last night at 12:01. Throughout the summer I have been collecting gifts for her at garage sales and Antique Shops..thirty- five of them..one for every year. Next door neighbor Jo has been helping me find “stuff”. The first gift I gave her was a brass bell with a Carousel Horse on it..she gets a gift every time she rings the bell. What kinds of things did I wrap up? An apron just like her Grandmother H used to wear, a hankie that I got one year tucked into my birthday card when I was much younger, potholders ( she really needed them), candy necklaces that she used to enjoy as a child, a paper weight from the Val Chatel sale and a little yellow wooden bunny from Finland… are just a few of the treasures I found to irritate her with. Some of the gifts are met with tears ( the apron) some are met with smiles ( the candy necklace) some are just practical..like some new dish towels. It is an adventure of gifts..on one of those mile stone birthdays..smack dab in the middle..not a young thirty and not an old forty.
I was tempted to have Far Guy get the ladder out and find the box with the can opener in it..maybe next year..it is well on it’s way to being an Antique.
Trica is here with a mountain of photos. She is sitting across from me.
The scrapbook retreat is going well. I am making headway. The last of the gals to arrive was my oldest daughter, Trica..she is my roommate. She serenaded me all night long, early this morning I woke up because she was not snoring. Kinda like when she was little and slept in a bassinet and I would listen to her breathe all night long..I knew every little sigh she made and when she became restless and was about to wake up..well times have not changed very much. I am sure she gets her snoring from her father:)
