Grandpa & Grandma's Visit!

It was so good to see Rich and Carol the 3rd -12th of June here.  They made it just in time for Titus' 1st birthday party and spoiled him rotten the rest of the time too!  Tom had to work a couple of days while they were here, so one day Grandpa & Grandma took Titus and I out for breakfast at one of mommy's favorite places, Paul's Pancake Parlor!  We actually all got pancakes, usually I do not!  I tried their strawberry Swedish crepes, Carol tried their German pancake and Rich got some other pancake that looked more normal than ours but I forget the flavor!  Titus' liked my Swedish ones!  Tom and Rich went fishing a few days that they were here, the first two tries though they got a little wet from the rain but the last day on Saturday that they went, they got to go on a boat with a friend of ours up to Browns Lake near Seeley and they brought home 3 trout to eat!  Mmmm so yummy!  Meanwhile during the boy's fishing Grandma got to play a lot with Titus and she had also brought some of her art supplies with her and she made a beautiful watercolor picture while she was here of a nature scene!  I wished she had grabbed a local Independent paper to see what all was happening around town on those days that the boys were gone.  Grandma, Titus and I could have got out a little and enjoyed some stuff around Missoula!  Next time I will remember!  We did make a trip to Costco hoping to get Grandma some chips but that was unsuccessful, she needs the real salty ones for when she gets low on sodium.  On Saturday before the boys left for fishing we did all go to the market which was fun.  I had wanted to show a couple of neat vendors to Carol while there but we didn't find them!  But we got some fresh rhubarb and I made a pie that night for us to enjoy after the boys finally returned around 10pm!

This was just the neatest little "garden" I thought, this vendor uses mortar in the bottom to hold the rocks together and then she plants plants in them.  This one she called a "fairy garden" with the little fence and there is a clothes line!  So cute, she said she would be there all summer, but she wasn't when we took Rich & Carol!  And she had really reasonable prices!

I thought this coffee table was super cool!  Did not see this vendor there again but I had not asked them if they would be there all summer!

I loved these lamps, but this vendor was from WA and just passing through the weekend we saw him at the market!

We did take Grandpa & Grandma to some our favorite places to eat, like Vietnam Noodle & Fiesta En Jalisco for some good Mexican on Sunday before they pulled out of town to head home! Thanks Rich and Carol for coming to visit! Titus really loved playing with grandma and it was so enjoyable to watch!

P.S. They stayed out at those Jellystone Cabins which were really nice for anyone that may have family coming to visit sometime but the bed was not comfortable for them so they used our air mattress with the mattress on the bed and that worked well for them. 

A Tribute to My Grandpa

My Grandpa passed away this last Thursday, January 6th, surrounded by his loving family. I am glad we were just back there to visit and Titus and I and my dad went to visit him at the Senior Care facility where he was residing. He really enjoyed Titus and thought he was a "solid little guy" and enjoyed holding him. I have a lot of memories of my Grandpa working hard on his farm and always going to church, he was a faithful Catholic. In some of his last hours my mom was alone with him and she had text me that he was struggling with breathing. His kidneys were shutting down and he had a blood infection and I was wondering if he was feeling fearful in those moments of unknown. The Lord led me to tell my mom to ask the hospital staff for a Bible to read to him and He gave me some chapters in Psalms to tell her to read to him, Psalm 23 and 46. She got to read them to him and she told me that he liked Psalm 23. They said that when the time came he did go nice and peacefully. The following is an excerpt from his obituary that I think shows that dedication he had to his work and his family.

Harry A. Berning

Harry was born on the Henry Berning family farm in rural Galena, on Dec. 5, 1923, the son of Henry and Helena (Kaiser) Berning. He married Joan Peacock on Sept. 4, 1950 at St. Mary's Church and the couple recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
He attended Vinegar Hill School, St. Mary's Catholic School and graduated from Galena High School in 1941. As a lifetime member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, he was an altar server until the age of 26, a member of the St. Mary's Choir for 50 years, the Holy Name Society and parish council. Proving himself to be an innovative farmer, Harry implemented a computerized feeding system for his dairy herd, the first such system in the area in 1972. Always a good steward of farmland, Harry practiced conservation techniques ahead of his time. Harry shared his passion for farming with others through his involvement as president of Jo Daviess Service Company and passed on his love of farming to his children, six sons and one daughter. Harry Berning was a "Ford" tractor man! Having tended to outdoor farm animals all those years on the farm, he more recently enjoyed his special housecat "Sweetie". Harry enjoyed many years of Thursday night bowling league. He and Joan were members of a couple's euchre club for 50 years. In retirement years they spent winters in Zephyr Hills, Fla., where they made new friendships in a variety of activities. Harry loved his family, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As a balance of work and family, he spent many Sunday outings together with his loved ones.
Harry's farewell to his visitors was always "keep a song in your heart and a smile on your face".

Please be praying for my Grandma, I can't imagine how it would feel to loose Tom after just almost 18 months of marriage, let alone 60+ years. Your life companion is gone and you expected to spend the rest of YOUR LIFE with them, hoping you would go before them. It makes me sad for her to think about that.

As for me, I am doing pretty good with it, he lived a very long good life of 87 years. I trust God as a loving and just God. I am just sad for my dad and my aunt Mary in particular out of all the kids. They are whom I'm closest too and I know that I never want my parents to die myself but "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die....A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"- Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 & 4

Our Trip to Illinois

A complete family picture of Mommies immediate family, from L to R, Pappa, Gammie, Alicia with Bella, Jeremy (Alicia's husband), Gracie, Becky, Daddy & Mommy with Titus.

We had a very good trip to Illinois this past week. We flew into Cedar Rapids, IA on the 13th from Missoula with only one stop in Denver, CO. Titus did very well flying and I don't think the air pressure bothered his ears too much that I could tell. They say to have them nurse or suck on a pacifier during the take off and landing to help their ears but he only nursed half the time and seemed fine the other times he wasn't. My dad picked us up from the airport and we headed to Galena, IL where both of my sisters and parents live, amongst many others on my dads side of the family. My mom was busy making a big dinner for all of our family to come over and enjoy. We had many good meals while we were there and we had three family Christmas'! My parents just moved back to Galena after living in WI for about the majority of 17 years now. Galena is where they grew up and met and I did also until 8th grade year. The Lord provided them a beautiful place just about 3.5 miles outside of Galena with 10 acres. The house is the nicest house they have have ever had and has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. So they are very close to both of my sisters and the two grand kids that are there, which makes everyone very happy.

On Wednesday my dad and Tom went and cut down a huge beautiful tree for us to decorate that night before we would have our family Christmas.

Friday Tom got to enjoy ice fishing all day with Jeremy. They both love ice fishing so that is a great blessing for them to connect in that way. I think they caught 12 fish between the two of them. I got to get my trimmed by Alicia, she does hair in Galena amongst other services there.

Saturday was my dads side of the family Christmas at Great Grandmas house. I took my pumpkin dump cake and it was a hit! My cousin had her first baby this year too so Titus got to enjoy little Nolan, he is 4 months old.

Sunday was my moms side family Christmas out at the Apple Canyon Golf Pro Shop! Now my moms side does Christmas a little different than most of you would. We have what you would probably call a 'talent show.' You don't have to participate but some people write a poem to share with the family (yours was beautiful aunt Sandy) and some people sing some of their favorite songs like karaoke but there is no screen with words! Gracie was very brave and got up there and sang a Taylor Swift song! She brought tears to my eyes because she is growing up too fast for her auntie and she knew every word! She went 2nd and when she was done I asked if anyone could top that, cuz I didn't think so! Ha! Then she tried a couple other ones that she didn't know so well but very cute. I think Tom and Jeremy thought this was a very different way to do Christmas but it is fun for the family and very funny at times.

Monday was our travel day again :( We were sad to be leaving and both of my sisters got teary eyed to see us go. Both my parents and Becky took us back to the airport and Tom and I hadn't gotten the same flight home but I went on standby and got on his flight out to Denver with him but once we got there I was stuck there for a couple hours cuz his flight to Missoula was overbooked. So he got into Missoula around 9 pm and Titus and I got in around 12 am! I was so exhausted and had a terrible headache but Titus just slept the whole time. When we got in thou it was just at the time of the lunar eclipse which was cool! It felt nice to be in our own bed but I am still missing them all.


Mommy got to meet her niece, Bella Jean, for the first time. She just turned 1 year November 11! She loves any kind of food, dancing and her big sister.


Four Generations: Great Grandpa & Grandma Berning, Pappa, Mommy & Titus @ Galena Stauss Senior Care where Great Gramps now resides.


Goofy picture of Gracie and us, we had just finished watching the first Narnia movie with her and she was spending the night at Gammie and Pappa's with us. We had lots of fun with her and we hope she comes to Montana to spend a month with us next Summer!


Tom and I got to enjoy a date one night after Titus went to bed! We went into town to enjoy what they call the 'Old Fashioned Christmas in Galena' with the 'Night of Luminaria'. They have around 5,000 luminaries lit along Main Street, hills and stairs throughout the town! We got some chocolate at the old Candy Kitchen store before we climbed the old Galena High School Stairs (around 180 steps), enjoyed the view with some chocolate and came back down.