Summer Fun!

I'm continuing to check little "to do" items off the list, but for me summer (weather wise and mental state) finally arrived this past week with my first lunch and book on the deck.  I was inspired by other bloggers who made a bucket list for summer.   I haven't created an actual list, but I made a promise to do something fun every week of the summer.  Here's a look at the first three weeks!

1.  First week out of school and the day after the wedding, Karl, Kathy, and Kara  took me out for a belated birthday lunch to Paradise, one of my favorite lunch spots.  They have great salads, soups, sandwiches, and cookies - definitely a winning combination.

2.  The next week Kara and I were busy in my classroom.  After she helped me get ready for the open house, we spent the following week in room 104.  We took a day off from our Purging Party to run tons of errands, but managed to squeeze in lunch at Aqua Verde on Lake Union. How lucky I am to have a niece who not only shares the teaching profession with me, but is willing to help me weed and file!  We had a blast talking shop and sharing ideas!  

3.  Last week with the arrival of  gorgeous sunny weather, I indulged in my favorite summertime activity - lunch and a book on the deck.  In case you can't tell, the lunch consists of a pretzel roll from Alpenland with delicious dipping sauce, a cheese stick and blueberries.  The book was South of Superior, a very fun read!  I try to make sure that I read on the deck at least once a day during the summer!  

I'm also enjoying making time for walking.  We walked with the Ormes in Pioneer Park last week.  It's incredible that we have this lush green beauty right here on the Island.  We parked at the Ormes and a few hundred feet from their house, we hit the trail and walked in the woods for the next hour.      

Mother's Day Tribute

Karl shared this picture last year on Mother's Day of the four of us with mom in July 1985, (twenty-seven years ago)!  And none of us have aged a bit!  

I never tired of holding mom's hand.  Oh, how I would love to have it wrap around mine for a few hours tomorrow.  This poem was a work in progress for several years, but I finally settled on this version in 2009.

My Mother’s Hands

My mother’s hands were soft and firm,

Measuring, stitching, guiding, and holding,

Hands that labored long and hard.

Measuring fabric at Ben Franklin’s,

Patching to make clothes good as new,

Tucking cash into my hand after a visit home,

Showing love for her family.

Frosting countless birthday cakes,

Shaping the crusts of pies lovingly filled,

Stitching special dresses long into the night,

Showing love for her family.

Guiding my footsteps on the gospel path,

Leading always by her loving example,

Holding me through troubles, joys, and sorrows,

Showing love for her family.

My mother’s hands were soft and firm,

Providing years of loving labor for loved ones,

My mother’s hands, a design for love.

Ramona Behnke

Mother’s Day 2009

A couple of pics!

I loved Ramona and Sara's post on Memorial Day about Dad's World War II history. I meant to add this sooner, but it's been a busy week -- ending with our attendance at the Scifres Family Reunion -- on the wrong day. As I said on Facebook -- the reunion has ALWAYS been on Sunday. What, no one thought to tell Karl, specifically, that it had been moved to Saturday (apparently, several years ago)? Oh well, we joked about our great day of attending the "Non-Reunion".

Anyway, here's a couple of pictures that I thought I'd share on the Blog.

Dad's Military Service in WWII

Sara and Will came to visit for Memorial Day weekend and we started talking about Dad's military service.  We realized that it would be a good idea to record some of the important information we have about that time period.  After calling Kay and Velma, here's what we have to share.
Dad (Ellis Scifres) began in the National Guard on September 19, 1939 where he served for one year and seven months before enlisting in the army in April of 1941.  He was in the 687th Battalion.  He trained at Fort Sill, OK and left there on Oct. 6, 1943 for Fort Iron Mountain in southern CA where they were stationed in the desert training center.  Mother joined him in CA before Christmas that year.  She and Velma took the bus from OK to Colton, CA.  They spent Christmas Day with Bolivar Aaron in Redlands, CA. 
Dad left Boston on Feb. 11, 1944 on the USAT Henry Gibbens ship and landed in Glasgow, Scotland on Feb. 22, 1944.  Their battalion took the train to Enville, England where they were assigned to the 3rd US Army.  They left England on July 16, 1944 for France and arrived July 18, 1944 at Utah Beach.  They worked their way across France and were in the Battle of the Bulge.  Dad was captured Dec. 15 or 16 near Bastogne, France.  He was working at that time in radio communications.  Someone had been cutting their wires.  When dad and another man returned to their camp from checking the wires, their company had moved on and the Germans were there.  He was captured as a prisoner of war and held in the Stalag IV B close to Muhlberg, Germany and near the Elbe River. 
At the camp they had very little to eat and would dig up potatoes (often rotten) from behind their barracks to eat.  One of their guards was aware they did this, but did not turn them in.  He used to bring them news of the war and reported Roosevelt's death to them - "Your big man, he die."  When they were liberated on April 17, 1945, Dad said this guard dressed in civilian clothes and rode away on a bicycle. 
After being liberated, they were told to wait for the army to get to them.  Unwilling to wait, Dad and another man took off on foot.  He told me the French fed them and let them sleep in their barns. 
He departed May 1, 1945 on a ship for the US and arrived May 15, 1945 in New York Harbor.  Dad was sad that they were unable to see Lady Liberty because of fog in the harbor.  He arrived in McNally Flat May 19, 1945.  He was discharged in August of 1945 from Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.  Mom didn't get to join Dad for R&R in Hot Springs Arkansas because she had strep throat.  She was very ill, but recovered because the military provided penicillin (a relatively new drug at that time). 
This was a nice opportunity to think of the blessings provided for us by so many who served us during the war and to remember the details of Dad's military service.  Feel free to comment on this post with your memories. 
It would be fun to have some of the pictures we have of Dad in his military uniform posted to the blog. 

The OKIE's Christmas . . .

We had a great Christmas! Started the holiday with a one night getaway for Kathy and I to a bed and breakfast in Norman on Monday and Tuesday before Christmas. We really enjoyed the chance to getaway and do a little Christmas shopping. The above picture on the left was taken in the lobby of the Montford Inn, where we stayed.

Kara got home on Sunday night before we left for Norman and stayed with us until Thursday before New Year's. When she went back to Ardmore, she took her Mom with her to help her get ready to return to work. I think they just wanted a little girls-only time and was glad they were able to do it!

On Sunday night before Christmas, we enjoyed our annual Christmas on the Mountain at Mountain Home Baptist Church where Kathy's Mom attends. James and Shawnee surprised their Grandma and came down for the evening. Kara and James sang What Child Is This and I joined them to sing I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

James and Shawnee came down on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and stayed with us until Monday morning at 5:30 AM. James had to get back to Stillwater to a class that he was taking. It was a 2-week class that met for the week before Christmas and the week after Christmas.

On Christmas Day, we had the pleasure of having Kathy's brother Wayne and his wife Debbie join us for Christmas dinner. They also brought Kathy's Mom down to have dinner with us. Kathy had never gotten to cook a meal for them, so it was a really special day to her. The above picture on the right is Kathy, her brother, and her Mom. Wayne says he only poses for pictures when he's holding a fish -- so I think he and Kathy just caught a whopper.

After Christmas, Kara, Kathy and I took a quick little trip to Dallas on Tuesday and Wednesday. As I said on Facebook, they shopped until "I" dropped. But I was reading a couple of good books, so I got some good reading time in while they shopped. Kathy and I enjoyed a quiet New Year's Eve -- just the two of us and celebrated the New Year with New York City and went to bed.

As I said, it was a wonderful holiday! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if all of you could have been here, too. We love you and really enjoy treasuring our heritage and memories that we have enjoyed together over the years. Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed New Years!

Last Blog Entry for 2010

It's a quiet New Year's Eve at the Behnke household.  No kids here this year.  Lance just got back this afternoon from a quick trip to KS for Jean Wyrill's funeral (Uncle Johnny's wife).   Uncle Johnny was Dorothy's brother.  He's still trying to get over a cold and exhausted from a plane trip on Wednesday, the funeral on Thursday, and a flight home today.
We had a great Christmas season.  Everyone arrived home on Saturday, Dec. 18.  Since I had school until Friday, Dec. 17th, the first thing Sara and Will did was help me decorate the house and put up the tree.  Then we could say, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  On Sunday we enjoyed our spectacular ward Christmas program and the chance to "munch and mingle" with ward members following Sacrament meeting.
On Tuesday evening we had a game night with the Larkins, our current mission president and his family,  (Allie, in 5th grade and Levi, in 8th grade).  Lance met us at the Picasso exhibit at the SAM (Seattle Art Museum) on Wednesday.  Sara had friends stop by for cookies and hot chocolate on Christmas Eve morning.  We enjoyed a lovely meal on Christmas Eve. 
On Christmas Day we had brunch with the Ormes and the missionaries.  Then we scurried off to an afternoon movie, one of our favorite Christmas traditions.  We saw The King's Speech and thoroughly enjoyed learning a bit more about this historical time period. 
The 27th arrived much too soon and it was time for Sara and Will to head back to Provo.  We enjoyed having Blake home for a few more days.  He and I did some Christmas returns.  I joined a friend from school to see the new Harry Potter movie and Lance, Blake, and I saw True Grit.  Blake got the great job of helping the family clean the church on Tuesday night.  Wednesday night Blake's friends Jon, Meghan and baby Emory stopped by for a visit and we ordered Thai food.  Blake and I watched Where the Wild Things Are before he left last night (Thursday) on the red eye back to D.C.  It was easier saying goodbye because I'll see him in February on my quick midwinter break trip to D.C.
On Sunday after Christmas the Behnke Boys (or should I say men? . . .  I like boys because of the alliteration with Behnke), grilled hamburgers for dinner and had baked beans and assorted side dishes.  I'm attaching a great photo of the three of them attired in kitchen aprons - a delightful sight!
I'm off to bed, having officially greeted the New Year on D.C. time when I received a text from Blake shortly after nine!
Happy New Year to all of you!  I hope to see you more often on the blog in 2011!
Love,

Behnke Boys and Burgers

Ramona and family

Fun Holiday Pictures!

Check out our pictures from our camping trip in October, Halloween, Thanksgiving at Uncle Karl's house, and pictures with Santa! Here is the URL that you can copy and paste into your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=189606&id=1160254415&l=e3b47ca2f7