Sealed with the Cross of Christ Forever

On August 22nd, Master Carter Allen was baptized at Norway Lutheran Church on one of the hottest days of summer. No matter, he was sealed with the Cross of Christ forever, one of my most favorite, if not my favorite, excerpts from the Lutheran Book of Worship (green book). It is powerful and satisfying for me and for my grandson.


I was unable to get the exact shot of the marking of the cross on his forehead, so the water will have to do. Please remember this shot was secured with a big lens and cropping on my computer. I would hate for anyone to think that Grandma had her camera, hovering like a big fly, inches away from this special moment,

Stepping back a few moments, the late afternoon family service was held at the venerable Norway Lutheran Church, now closed publicly but opens its doors for special services, weddings, funerals and new beginnings - a baptism. The church sit atop the Mouse River Valley where it has since 1907. Among the church's charter members where Erik Espeseth and Martin Bredahl, the great great great grandparents of young Carter. Did they ever wonder when they came to this valley in 1883, after leaving Norway, if their family would still claim this area as home?





Anyone who has ever sat in the ornate oak pews of this beloved church knows the sound of the church bell. It would peal before Sunday services, on very special occasions and on Christmas Eve. Sadly as well, there is another bell on the other side, the funeral bell.



Stanley Markusen, who is godparent to Erik - Carter's dad, is instructing Collin (Carter's older brother) how to ring the bell. It is not a random act, protocol is involved, and so is procedure. I am sure Stan instructed Erik, Tad and Bill as well. Their father, Myles, was also a veteran of the bell. He would ring it on Christmas Eve at 6:00 pm usually with an entourage of kids. Grandma's house was just down the road. Those of us left behind would go outside with a waft of lutefisk trailing behind us and listen as the clear bell ring echoed down the valley.


Nostalgia aside, Carter wore the baptismal gown worn by his grandfather Myles and great grandfather Myron. My own sons did not wear it, why I don't remember. Probably because is was a girl thing. Dresses? I am past that now. I did have Carsten's picture wearing it when he was 14 months old. Later having it framed with Myles and Myron wearing the same gown.





If Carter could talk this picture looks like he would say, "Oh no, please, not a slip, and a dress!! This gets out, I'm ruined."






Carter looks just like his Dad when he was little.



Pastor Mary Miska welcoming Carter into the church of God. A very good place to be!


Erik, Nicki, Carter,and Collin, Pastor Miska, Sara and Dylan Anderson - Carter's godparents. I am godmother to Sara, and she is Erik's cousin. Sara wore the same baptismal gown at this very church thirty years before. Dylan is Nicki's stepbrother. The infamous North Dakota relative web.


On a side note: All of my boys are very mechanical and are ever so enthralled with how things work. In this picture Carter is watching the ceiling fans. He would often gaze up and look with consternation as they whirled away.


God bless you Carter Allen. You have a long life ahead of you but you will walk tall and wisely with Christ at your side. Love, Grandma.

Rapid City

One thing nice about this retired life is the ability to up and go without working like a dog (at work) to clear your desk before leaving and then working like a dog when you come back, just to catch up. So without all the planning that goes into time off a rather quick, spontaneous trip emerged to the Black Hills, to meet up with my brother Tom and his family.

The plan was to drive down spend two nights and a day and come home. Ron said the only way he's going is if we fly. I hate to fly. A thousand things go through my mind: What if the weather turns bad and we can't get home - ever!; what if you (Ron) have a heart attack and I have to land the plane (I would spend my entire time saying "What?" to the tower, only after I figured out the frequency, because they talk too fast); what if we run out of gas in the air?; what if, what if... an endless bevy of reasons. I would rather drive 7.5 hours than fly. But I did it. My mantra was, "if Evie can fly coast to coast in a Cessna, so can I."

Three hours from Pietsch's front yard airstrip (the summer haunts for the plane, then it moves into Minot for the winter) to Rapid City, with a headwind! It went just fine, except Lacy threw up four times and we landed with a fierce side wind, again while Lacy was barfing. I was cool, sort of.

So the first thing Ron does, after I mentally kissed terra firma, is rent a car. A 2010 Camaro. With daily fees and insurance it got rather pricey, but the Ronson had a brush with his teen years or some stupid thing. It was the absolute dumbest car ever. He even agreed, after rubbing his head on the low roof, and climbing in and out of the low seats too many times. The only fun came when we were in the hills exceeding the speed limit. Goes to show at 62 you still can act 16.





My brother lives in Chicago with his wife, Nancy and their three children. David-10Elizabeth-5 and Will-4. Close friends know that I started my family way too soon, and my brother started his family way too late. But we are all happy and that is what counts. We wouldn't have it any other way!!!

We stayed at the Rushmore Plaza in Rapid City as Elizabeth had a dire request for a pool to swim in. Those very words were chanted by her Aunt Mary Liz so many years ago, when the Snyders would embark on a road trip. In my day most motels were "motor inns" with outdoor pools a tad bigger than a hot tub. Only big city stays had indoor accommodations. Anyway it was a short visit but fun.


David


Elizabeth after some beloved pool time.


Will - the tail that wags the dogs.

As expected Lacy was a smashing hit with the kids; a rock star in their world.









The last time we were together was when Mom died in January of '09, so we were overdue for time together. They had a full week planned in the Black Hills, including their four days on the road. We, as a group, did Reptile Gardens and Mount Rushmore. It was hot and plenty of foot work for us. The evening cocktails went down way too fast!










The following picture is where,nine years ago, Lacy also threw up. She was four and it was our first road trip as a family. We went to Laramie, Wyo. for Billy's graduation. En route we took in the Black Hills and down to Estes Park. Lacy only remembers throwing up at Mount Mushmore as she called it, way back when.



Well we made it passed the check-in window without any mishap this time. I just has to point out the spot as we drove through.












Fun is fun, but we all have our limits.

Less than 48 hours later we loaded back in the plane and headed home. Not without another headwind (worse) and skirting around rain showers - just what nervous Nellie needed 5000 ft above the ground. Lacy had Dramamine onboard so her coffee can sat idle while she slept.

While we were gone Velva had a thunderstorm with hail. One tomato got wopped in my garden and Ron's pickup did have some hail damage sitting at Pietsch's but unbeknown to us. It took facebook (pictures of hail) to learn about the storm night before.

Ballard

On Sunday, (way back in July, finally finished this post) after Robert returned from Singapore, we loaded up and trekked over to the Ballard Locks, more formally known as Hiram Chittenden Locks. Very interesting!

These locks are located in Salmon Bay, a waterway that was created to make this system possible for trade and transport. The waterway separates Magnolia/Inter Bay from Ballard, once again these are neighborhoods in the Seattle proper. The lock are where boats (big and small) can go from the salt water of Puget Sound into fresh water of Lake Union and Lake Washington, and vice verse. Until this visit to the locks I never thought much about the two type of water and intermingling, tech term - saltwater intrusion.



On the left is Inter Bay, and Ballard on the right. These locks are located in the center, before the rail bridge that opens and closes as many times as it needs to, to allow for big boats.




The busy rail bridge.



You can see the low water on the left and the high water on the right.





These locks were built/founded in 1906 and formally opened in 1917, July 4th.






Waiting to go into Salmon Bay, Lake Union (Sleepless in Seattle house is on/in?? Lake Union) and farther out into Lake Washington.


Boats ready to go out into the the Sound.

In addition to seeing boats of all design it is also a ladder for the spawning Salmon. Ahhhh, Salmon Bay.





After walking over the Locks we were then in Ballard, which just happened to be having their Seafood Fest. It was a nice outing. Should an extended visit to Seattle ever be on your map, the Ballard Locks are very much worth the visit. Cost: FREE!