Ryan and his godson

Beau

Beau with his godfather... our son, Ryan!

Easter brought us an extra blessing. Our youngest son became the godfather to little Beau, the son of our dear friends.

It is so much fun to see the two of them together. I know they're going to be very close!

It's the next big thing - Family Reunion 2010

The Peterson - Cavallin - Larson Family Reunion

2009

     It's that time of the year... and actually I am running behind schedule, but planning for the 2010 family reunion is underway. The building has been rented (last year) and the dates are known to all... July 16 and 17th.

     My favorite part of the reunion is the "Tree Hugger" event. Everyone (well almost everyone) has emailed their latest updates: births, weddings and loved ones who have passed on. I will have recorded all of these events and then run off the family tree. We lay the family tree out on tables that have been lined up so that family members can review it and even at that point make additions and corrections.

     This is a labor of love for sure. It is my husband's Swedish family. This year we are trying to add a few "extras" to the reunion... perhaps a cooking demonstration of a couple of Swedish recipes. I would love to see some of the children act out the story of the family coming to America.

     Are you involved in your family reunion? What activities do you have?

A Peak at the Ranch

Minas Hill has been the site for our Easter Sunrise Service at our

deer lease... which we always refer to as "the ranch". On top of this hill a view of the land around is incredible.

The entrance to the area where we stay is always a welcome sight for us as we immediately begin to relax and prepare for enjoyable times. After we stay at the ranch, we all feel ready to accept the challenges of the week ahead and blessed with the comaraderi of our ranch family.

An aloe vera bloom is always lovely sight.

                                        Cactus blossoms are so beautiful as they open in full sun.

A field of thistles.  I opened the window of the truck to take this picture and could not believe the sweet aroma these thistles gave off. Don't touch; just smell!

I only wish I could tell you the name of this wildflower. They are everywhere at the ranch. It's so delicate and yet strong enough to survive the hot south Texas sun.

Let's finish our cascarones or "confetti eggs"!

Our finished confetti eggs - cascarones!

After coloring your empty shells and allowing them to dry,

fill them with colored confetti.

Cut colored tissue paper in circles that will fit over the opening of the egg shells. Carefully glue the edges of the openings and then press the tissue circles onto the glued area. The top pictures shows you the end product.

Now you have a "cascarone"!!

Our tradition when the boys were young was to use these confetti eggs in place of hard boiled eggs or even the plastic eggs. After all the eggs were collected during a "hunt", my husband would give the signal that the fun would begin. The boys chased after each other cracking the eggs on each other's head. We were not excluded from this either.

I do not consider myself a prankster, but for some reason I could not resist filling one egg with either a little glitter or flour. Tee-heeee!!

P.S.  Lori E. wanted to know who cleans up this confetti. Our hunts are done in a field usually... sometimes in our backyard. The confetti usually dissolves after a few rains. And if we see a stray piece of confetti, then we it just brings back the memory of a fun time!

Our close family friend has passed away

Neal

Tonight's CaringBridge posting by Neal's wife:

     My Boyfriend, my rock, my protector, my best friend, my love, died at 6:25 this evening.

     Neal was very peaceful, there wasn't a furrow on his brow or a wrinkle on his face. His breathing slowed down and gradually stopped. We could not have asked for a more peaceful passing.

     Those who were with me held hands in a circle around us and we repeated the Lord's Prayer after Neal left us.

     Bill and David and I had agreed that if we lost Neal this week, we would wait to hold the services until the Saturday after Easter. Details have not been worked out, but we would like to have afternoon services, possibly at 2:00, to allow family from out of town to arrive. As a tribute to Neal, we would like people who attend services to wear camouflage.

     Thank you to all the friends and family who have supported Neal, Bill, David, and all our families through out this terrible ordeal.

     My Boyfriend is at peace wrapped in the arms of Jesus.

It is amazing what my husband and I experienced today, seeing our dear friend slip away and thankfully, very peacefully. He had been in a coma for nearly 11 weeks after suffering a heart attack. 

I will probably be away from my blog tomorrow. I'm sure you will understand.

Karen

Here are some of your favorite songs, Neal.

 

Cascarones, confetti eggs, for Easter!

It's time to make cascarones!

It's Holy Week and while there are many activities planned around this special time of the year, a little time needs to be set aside for tradition. Here on the border with Mexico cascarones are very much a part of the Easter tradition. While the eggs above are still white, they are about to be taken through a transition. To do it properly it will take two days.

In years past, our three sons, my husband and I would gather around the dinner table to decorate Easter eggs. Yes.. even my husband got involved. It was so much fun. I'm wondering if my husband might even take the urge to participate this evening. Our youngest son will be by and maybe even he will want to get involved.

Ok... here we go.

I've made the marks on the "pointy" end of the egg just to show you where to

remove the top with a several taps of a dinner knife. Just tap around it gently to crack the shell and then carefully remove it. Pour the contents into a bowl and rinse out the egg shell very gently with cool water. Place empty side down on a wire cookie rack so that air will circulate through.

The opening should be about the size of a 50 cent piece.

Looks like a great night for quiche!

Let the egg shells dry for a bit before the decorating begins.

Check back later as I proceed through this process.

Wish me luck!