BETTGER BIG-TOP

FLIGHT INFO --- so far ...

2011-07-12T18:00:00.004-07:00

Kathy: Thursday 7:40 am (Southwest Airlines)

Ken, Pam & Michael: Thursday 9:15 pm

Dan & Shelly: Thursday 8:10 am (Sun Country Airlines #281) ... renting car

Molly & Pat, Caitlin & Brittany: Thursday morning

Greg & Sarah: Arriving Friday morning 8:10 am (Sun Country Airlines #281)

Ric & Jeri Lu: Arriving Friday before rehearsal dinner

Kay Lynn & Damon: Arriving Friday before rehearsal dinner

Travel Plans for our big weekend in Seattle

2011-07-09T19:33:00.002-07:00

Hi folks! Please reply to this blog post with your travel plans - and possibly those of your family members if they aren't able to post. Basically: When will you get in to Seattle, and when will you be leaving? Then I'll consolidate all the responses and create a post summarizing arrivals.

If you're coming in Thursday night, please let me know if the idea of a casual family dinner sounds appealing, or if you'd prefer to do your own thing or go out and eat on the town. I know for the Ranks, we'll probably try to stick around the house so our kids can sleep.

Considering breakfast, let's try to have community food available to make breakfasts for Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday mornings. We'll figure it out on Thursday so we can have some food in house for Friday morning.

Regarding rooms, here's how the housing situation plays out:

We have three singles (Caitlin, Michael, and Brittany) and six married couples in the house ... Kay Lynn & Damon, Molly & Pat, Ric & Jeri Lu, Greg & Sarah Jane, Ken & Pam, and Dan & Shelly. Just in case you're wondering, Greg & Laura Nelson both live in Seattle.

UPSTAIRS: 3 bedrooms -

Up bedroom 1 (Master): Molly/Pat/Graham/Caleb and Kathy

Up bedroom 2: Greg/Sarah Jane/Callum/Corryn

Up bedroom 3: Dan/Shelly

MAIN Level: 2 bedrooms (one w/Queen and one w/2 Twins), media room w/ Queen Murphy bed, various couches and an inflatable queen mattress - Distribution between Ric & Jeri Lu, Ken & Pam, Kay Lynn & Damon, and Caitlin, Michael, and Brittany.

Can't wait!! Less than 2 weeks now!

- M (and Kathy too)

W hat I've been up to lately (part of it)

2011-03-11T18:35:00.002-07:00

http://gtrankandfamily.blogspot.com/

Slide Show of Tom

2009-06-04T09:16:00.001-07:00

2009-06-03T12:55:00.002-07:00

Hey family,

I was just wondering if you would mind taking some time to share stories/ memories about Dad? Even quick snippets would be appreciated (I know we're all short on time). I think it would help us all with keeping on keeping on ...

Stories of him ... or stories that other people have shared ...

I'll start ... since we've been home, I've heard comments from two neighbors that I don't talk to very often. Both said that they had talked with Dad before. They both seemed surprised and pleased, even blessed, by his interest in them. Like Uncle Dan said, Dad valued people. This is a good reminder to me to make time to value others, even when I don't have "time."

Anyone else have a story/memory? I have also posted this on nelbett.blogspot.com (aka "Keeping Family Together").

Update from Washington ...

2009-05-30T20:55:00.002-07:00

We got home here at about 8 pm. We were excited to be returning home (I was eager to see check on progress in the garden) but we both heaved a sigh of dread at returning to reality, with a different perspective. A friend of mine recently shared a comment that I liked. We make our return to reality and we start going again just like it's normal, but I feel like I should be able to wear a sign that says, My Dad Just Died. I know I will find my own personal way to wear a sign of sorts that allows me to honor his memory and keep him close to me.

After pulling up to the house and heaving that sigh of resignation for the return to reality, we walked into our house expecting a healthy dose of reality - the kind that comes when you walk into a house full of the madness that comes when you quickly left a week ago.

But to my surprise, our house is spotless. Everything is in order, stacks are in place, the diapers that were in the dryer are stacked in a laundry basket, even the kitchen faucet is shinier than it's been since we viewed the house with our realtor! And the fridge is stocked with milk & eggs (my staple requirements for a happy morning), and the counter has bananas & avocados. The stairs are vacuumed. And there are enchiladas in the fridge.

We are so blessed. 'Nuff said.

We miss you all. It was an incredible time of togetherness and mutual missing of my dad. I am thankful for your offers of togetherness and I am looking forward to our time in August in MSP. I will try to do better at keeping our lives updated here on this blog - please keep us updated about your lives as well!

Dad

2009-05-22T10:10:00.001-07:00

Recent Photos

2009-05-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

A walk in Central Park.

Some of my old college friends were our gracious hosts.They only had one set of sheets for two beds. Ainsley was demonstrating how to burrito yourself with one sheet.Whole Family in NYC with old family friend Terry Prendergast

A&A were going to a TWILIGHT themed birthday party. After much coaxing, Andrew allowed Ainsley to eyeliner him up.We're beeing attacked by Carlile & Esme!!!Seattle Rep play "Breakin' Hearts & Taking Names." Fantastic play -- reminded me of my dad and Garrison Keillor.Mariner's Opening DayMother's Day in Portland, Graham is being dedicated at Mosaic.Whole family to support Graham's dedication. Left to right. Great Great Uncle Walter, Grandma Rank, Molly, Andrew, Granddad Bettger, Grandmother Bettger, Pat, Grandpa Rank, Cousin Greg.

WAY TO GO PELLA!

2008-11-20T00:11:00.002-07:00

Hello all!

Here's a picture of Graham decked out in Pella Dutch gear!!

We had such a good time with all of you in Pella! Were plans discussed for the internment in Minnesota? It will be good to have the whole family together! We missed the absent parties!

Where is everyone?

2008-09-23T10:09:00.001-07:00

Hi family,
Just checking what everyone is up to..
No one has written in 2 months on this lovely blog, so i thought i'd start it up again.
Hope all is well.
My life is pretty busy right now- college studies, babysitting, TA-ing, working and volunteering at the ER... plus hanging with friends of course.
That's my update.
Love from MN,
Caitlin

shutterfly updated again

2008-07-21T14:22:00.001-07:00

I added even more pics earlier today - of Graham's delivery. Cyring baby on lap, got to go.

M

Shutterfly has been updated!

2008-07-19T21:38:00.001-07:00

Hey all, Shutterfly has been updated. There are some pretty good pics of our little family out there as part of Grandma & Grandpa Rank's visit.

I WILL share more thoughts later ... time is hard to find right now.

Looking forward to seeing the IA Bettgers and VA Lyons soon!

Molly

Really quick post, need to run and feed Graham ...

2008-07-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

Hey all, just wanted to let you know I have updated the pictures on our Shutterfly site, www.warankphotos.shutterfly.com. I am considering whether or not to create a blog for our updates, or to use a shutterfly site dedicated to Graham ...
For the time being, enjoy the pictures on this site! When you open the albums, I recommend hitting slide show, then full screen - the functionality is pretty good. To adjust speed or background color, hover your mouse over the upper right corner of the screen and click Options.

Love you all, sorry so short ... more later.

Love Molly, Pat & Graham ... and Lazslow too!

My Uncle will post for me

2008-06-20T10:19:00.002-07:00

Hey family,
I haven't met most of you yet and I'm sorry about that. I've been doing a lot of sleeping... but for now my Uncle Andrew will show you some photos of me doing my second favorite activity.

Mom won't let me post photos of me doing my number one favorite thing, and my third favorite thing... I need to get better at. Cause the way I'm doing it now, my dad can sleep through it. I'll get better at it though and keep him up as well.

-Graham.

"I like to be held." -Graham

2008-06-20T10:19:00.001-07:00

Overheard BabyTalk

2008-06-20T10:18:00.001-07:00

Regarding diapers:
"You just take the wet ones and lay them out on the patio, and they'll dry up real quick." -Grandpa

"Well, that's why we have that sprayer attachment on the hose." -Dad

"Sure, we can do that on the third go around." -Grandpa

Regarding breat-pumps, and baby monitors:
"I just wonder how in the world my mother managed to raise 4 kids without all these gadgets?!?" -Grandpa

OK - the full story

2008-05-27T12:30:00.002-07:00

Yes in certain circumstances, when presented with the appropriate incentives, expired tickets are accepted. The circumstances leading up to this surprisingly visible incident are obscure and probably will remain so. Needless to say this is the type of thing that you don't want to make a habit of. In fact it is not advisable to get into the position of having to try this even once, if you could do anything to avoid it. There are a few things that will deliver an immediate jolt to your system, accompanied by a feeling of sinking, a sudden flushing of the face and a hot flash that overcomes any level or variety of hormones - this is one of them. While painful in an immediate sense, it appears that the effects may last for a substantial period of time with potential downstream augmentations to boot. There must be subject matter more worthy of examination and discussion than this.

Not sure if anyone still looks at this blog ... but I thought I'd share a quick update - if you read, please let me know with a comment!

2008-04-18T17:41:00.004-07:00

We had a weekend at the coast with our friends Bruce & Nicole (and Rachel) planned for several months, and we were really pleased when that weekend turned out to be a weekend of 65-70 degree weather. It was amazing.

We left Friday morning around 10 am in two cars. Stopped at Camp 18 for breakfast (on 26 in Jewell or somewhere around there). Had a huge cinnamon roll that we had to split between all 5 of us. Then we hit Cannon Beach and found our vacation rental - on Taft St. - the street right across from Pig & Pancake. It was a pretty nice place - I think it's still wanting for some home improvements, but it met our needs very well. Easy access to the beach, and right in the middle of town - this is the same road as the EVOO cooking school.

We spent Friday in town and on the beach, then Pat & Bruce made dinner. After dinner Rachel went down for bed and we hung out a bit before the girls went to bed and the boys stayed up talking. Nicole is pregnant too (I don't know if I shared that with all of you yet - but it's great news!) Saturday was Wayfarer restaurant for breakfast, then the beach in the morning, then naptime (for all of us including Rachel), followed by each of us lunching on our own. Nicole & I went into town while the guys kept napping and hung out with Rachel and the dogs. We had dinner at the Gower Street Bistro - very good, worth the wait.

Sunday Pat & I left earlier than B&N, because Pat had to catch a plane Sunday afternoon for Vancouver, BC. When we got home, he mowed the yard AND cleaned the garage so we could park the Volvo inside (because the moon-roof shattered on our way to the coast, but that's a story for another post). All before a 4:30 pm flight. Now he's in Vancouver until tomorrow afternoon, at a conference for higher educational institutions. This is the same conference that last year took both of us to Salt Lake City. This time I didn't get invited ... and I can't say I would really want to get on a plane right now.

That's what's going on with us. My cheeks are pink and my chest is too - from wearing a Vneck on Saturday morning. I love looking in the mirror and seeing evidence that better weather is on its way!! Love you (pics to come later)

Update and a picture ...

2008-03-02T22:12:00.003-07:00

Hey all,

Here's a brief update and a photo taken just a few minutes ago. We're doing well. I am getting tired more quickly, and that's hard to get used to. I took the dog for a walk over to the school, and just barely made it home huffing and puffing. I'm learning to give myself some rest time to recover from activities, starting the next activity after I've had a breather.

Andy is coming down this weekend. He and another couple of our friends (Bruce & Nicole) are helping us paint the baby's room and the bathroom. I'm excited to have that done! We'll hit the other room and our bedroom another weekend. Lauren is coming too! It will be neat to spend time with her.

Well, I really need to get to bed. Love you all!
Molly

WHERE IS MY UNCLE KEN!?!?

2008-02-26T14:52:00.002-07:00

I'm pretty sure my dad called out his brother... and he has still failed to offer an account of this Chicago debacle.

Please elaborate.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-16T07:59:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!

What did everyone do for Valentine’s Day? Any creative spouses/friends out there??

We started a crazy tradition last year with our adult bible fellowship group. Carl was out of town and I had nothing to do/nobody to do anything for, so I cooked dinner for the couples in our group. Well, they all decided they wanted to repeat it this year - even wanted the same menu. Last year we had 4 couples. This year…….10 couples (20 people)!! So I made a very fancy 3 course meal for everyone. We served it in 3 separate rooms at a friend’s house, each room intimately decorated and each with their own server. We had a special meal (copy cat recipe) from Macaroni Grille, fancy salad, and 2 choices for dessert. Everyone had a great time. And they went home holding their overstuffed tummies!

Of course, the children here at home would not let me forget the tradition we have as a family, which is chocolate fondue on Valentine’s Day. They did let me delay it for 24 hours, so Friday evening we had our chocolate fondue and stayed up until 1:00 watching movies!

I was exhausted already Friday morning, so this morning (Saturday) I slept in. Sure did feel good. We have a 3-day weekend thanks to the Federal Holiday, so we are planning to take it easy and spend some good time as a family. The “cherry on top” is that I don’t even have to work this weekend!

We really would love to hear from more of the family members on this blog. We had thought it would be a good way to connect but it seems to have too few visitors! Molly and Caitlin, I need your email addresses!

Hope you all have a nice President’s Day!

Auntie

We Spent a Weekend in Santa Fe!

2008-02-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings family,
We delayed part of our Christmas this year. Jan 18-21, the five of us went somewhere we'd never been.

WHY SANTA FE, NM?
The cultural section of the family heard that NM has high emphasis on art, artist's work, artists in residence etc. - besides that, the town is architecturally, "Pueblo," sits at an elevation of more than 7000' and has few mowable lawns.

Here's a Cathedral in Santa Fe

WHAT DID WE DO THERE?
Arriving Friday evening and during our fifty mile drive from Albuquerque, we talked some and basically got settled in our house for the weekend and went to bed. Saturday am, we made breakfast and went out to explore Santa Fe. We visited only a few of the many galleries there. Several told us that next to New York, Santa Fe is the largest market center for Art in America. We saw paintings, sculptures, castings, statues. jewelry, antiquities, strings of peppers, Pueblo architecture, stucco style fences. Some other fences were made of cedar poles w/each pole wired one next to the other and about every 6 or 8 feet, a pole was sunken into the ground.
Unfortunately, the Georgia O’Keefe museum was unavailable as the collection was being changed while we were there. We learned how she become associated with Santa Fe.
Then, having made prior contact with Al and Wendy Aman, they joined us in Santa Fe on Sunday afternoon.

We watched Packers get beat!

HOW WERE THE ACCOMMODATIONS?
In Santa Fe, we rented a 3 bedroom house. The house had not been built for cool weather so when the outdoor temp. was in the 20’s there was plenty of fresh air coming in and the furnace ran frequently. Two bedrooms were in the house; the third bedroom was in an adjoining house – that might have once been a garage. Molly and Pat took the sunken bedroom. Kathy and I took the smaller one. Andy took the outside apartment. The house was comfortable but had rather uneven central heat.

WHERE DID WE EAT? We could have cooked all our meals in the house but with all the restaurants available, we decided to skip the cooking and to try some of the restaurants. Tapas are part of the southwest culture.The car was equipped with a navigation device – which was nice. I’d never seen one so I was the least familiar with that unit. It took me awhile but I felt like I was comfortable with it by the time we left.

A great time was had by all.TomTom

ChicagoTheaters Accept Expired Tickets??

2008-02-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Ken,
Greetings from Boise! I re-read that message about your attendance at Cirque Dreams in Chicago a month or so ago. Could you give us just a little detail as to how tickets for your family for a performance that were dated 48 hour past were able to be used in a theater situation?

I was intrigued by your daughters partial description -- and thought it would be best to ask for details direct from "the horse's mouth" on how that could be accomplished -- just in case any of us ever run into a situation like that.

Thanks!

It's official! We have seen the evidence!!

2008-01-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We are pleased to announce to you that we have seen the gender of our sweet elusive baby! First, before telling you the fun and anticipated news, we should tell you that the ultrasound technician said everything looks as it should be. We watched the 4 chambers of the heart move, we saw the brain, we saw the intact spine, the stomache, the kidneys, everything. It was incredible. The best part was seeing the baby in motion - a bundle of legs, arms, knees, elbows, fingers, and mouth - esp. the fingers in the mouth!! We really had a great time watching.

And now for the much awaited answer ... you will have to scroll through the pix below (of course we couldn't give it away too quickly now, could we? We want to make sure you see how cute the baby is!!).

Here we go!

IT's A BOY!! ... And quite the active little boy - almost like Fred Astaire ... his little feet were kicking all over the place - quite pleased to be seen and perform "on stage."

So are you excited? We totally are. Looking at the pictures again makes me fall in love all over again! Let us know what you're thinking!! We'd love to hear from you ... initial reactions, thoughts, etc.

Love you all,Pat & Molly ... and baby BOY Rank ... aka little "he-rank; or "little p-rank"

Just thought i'd add a pic too- Chicago New Years

2008-01-20T00:20:00.001-07:00

ps... ask Ken about the little ticket situation for Cirque Dreams... How did we get in to the theater on saturday, when our tickets were for the past thurs??? Way to go Dad- he always has his ways.

Hi from freeeeezing MN!

2008-01-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hey all! i thought i would write on this little blog because it seems noone has in a little while.
Well, just FYI, it is freezing in minnesota right now- it was -2 for a high today i think! Tonight ryan and i and other people played broomball outside for a while. It is sooo fun! i actually am on two different club teams for bethel, so thats what my Mon-Thurs nights have been consisting of during J-term so far. I am taking Creativity in the Fine Arts (a required class) from 1-3:45 every day, with class events in the night time. We have to go to different theater, art and music events through out the class. So we saw the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Peer Gynt at the Guthrie Theater and we visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art. All 3 were very interesting!
Second semester starts Feb 4, so then starts the tougher classes (organic chemistry and biology classes...). I like being busy, so that will be fun! I also nanny for a family up here on tuesdays. It always is fun to see them!
Its so nice to hear from you all- from different parts of the US! way to go, uncle tom, for setting this up! Keep in touch! and stay warm and cozy where ever you are!
Love, Caitlin
ps... people should write more often, i love hearing from you and im sure everyone else does too!

Hello from Vancouver!!

2008-01-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well hello there! I hope your weekend has been good so far. We enjoyed relaxing some, and getting some things done too. We had a date night last night with our friends Bruce & Nicole, without their 2 year old daughter Rachel, which was really fun. We saw the Great Debaters and ate at Claim Jumper in Clackamas. If you haven't seen Great Debaters, I highly recommend it. A good inspiring movie.

I am back at work now after having been off for 2 weeks now ... it's hard going back! But I feel good having a larger repertoire of maternity clothes! Mom, thanks again for shopping with me! I got a lot of things done around the house and for life in general. You might be interested in knowing that I updated our Shutterfly site so that it is up to date to Christmas! That means I added 5 new albums. Enjoy if you're interested. (http://www.warankphotos.shutterfly.com/)

I am attaching a picture of us in front of our Christmas tree. It was neat to use the classic-style red & white lights. We took the picture right before taking the tree down the next day. Next week's the matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. It will be a telling game! Go Packers! Andy, I think we have to win. It would be so great to have a Superbowl engagement in Favre's "last" year.

PELLA

2007-12-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

Tom and I were puttering around here Saturday morning, trying to not awaken P&M asleep in the basement. NPR was on, droning on and on about the Iowa caucuses. Suddenly I heard Pella, then, believe it or not, they were interviewing someone at the Pella, Iowa Pizza Ranch. I guess there was a political meeting of some sort there and they were mocking the goodness of something called corral bread or some such menu item. We suddenly listened more closely. We know you are in the thick of the presidential shenanigans there now. We will pay more careful attention now. I miss you all. Happy New Year. I'll post more later. Right now I am working on my final grades for the semester that ended in Dec. Love, AK-Mom

Christmas

2007-12-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Christmas, at least the secular equivalent, is over here. The gifts, which numbered more than I think I can count, are strewn in various places throughout the family room, making walking a navigational challenge. Not that I didn't provide a huge plastic box for each child in which to keep "all" their presents. Perhaps it was the definition of "in" which needed further clarification. Carl has spent the entire day in his room "relaxing". The good news is he hasn't begged yet for food. As of 3:20pm we are still about an hour out from Christmas Dinner......dinner will consist of only 3 things - ham, potatoes and peas. I'm exhausted. No use cooking a feast for those who would rather play anyway.

Jakob and Brita slept near the tree with the hope of spotting Santa. Alas, Santa snuck in unnoticed. Brita was quite pleased to have Daddy show her that Norad (FAA) tracks Santa's sleigh all around the world, so by early morning our time he was already over the Philippines. That's proof, is it not, that Santa is real???

Thanks to all who shared gifts with us. The choices for each were simply top notch! Each child is quite pleased with aunties and uncles and cousins today.

I think Grandma's phone was off the hook this morning. I tried to call several times and it was always busy. I had the staff check it, then by the time I tried again, it was lunch time, now nap time. We hope to catch her here soon. Her roommate passed away on Saturday. Let's pray she gets someone else that's easy to get along with.

The boys have not argued at all today. Laser tag was a hit, so is Transformers Chess. So all in all, it's a very good day.

Hope all is well with the other Bettgers. We sure would love to read some others' posts!

Hugs from the East!

Not Exactly Billy Joel but Dixon Smith Middle School

2007-12-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Greetings from my phone to your computer! Isn't technology cool?? Tonight was Joshua's Winter Band Concert. We thought we would share part of it with you. The improvement of this fine group from last Spring is a miracle to behold! Pretty good sound, don't you think? Sorry for the skewed video - not quite sure how to fix that. Don't even try to pick Joshua out - he's directly in the middle of the group. (Click in the middle of the screen to activate the control to play the video)

The Culmination Point!

2007-12-14T13:28:00.001-07:00

The three month point was not too bad. There wasn’t so much at risk after doing this emerging community for such a short time. I didn’t want to leave Bend… but it was pretty likely that I would at least be around for another 3 months. This is different. After being here for six months, seeing some amazing things happening, relationships being build, connections made, movement… this is part of me now. Whether I am supported by First Presbyterian or not, I keep going forward. I have to! I will find another way, albeit much more difficult.

So I see this time right now as such a culmination of things. Have I emphasized enough how related this ministry is to the rest of what is going on in Bend and at First Pres? Has the communication been enough? Do enough people know what we are about and where we are going? Do they need me? Do they need this ministry? And if yes, do they feel the need strong enough to contribute the funding?

The last few weeks have been almost magical with how things have fallen into place. Monday night’s gathering at Silver Moon for $2 pints, free fooseball and pool. 20 some new connections, laughs, introductions, spiritual conversations. Connections with members of Session (the decision making board), hearing their thoughts on ministry and their passion for our church. People contacting me after just google searching “house church,” “emerging church,” “Bend,” etc. Dreams of non-profit coffee shops, pub conversations, spiritual formation. Recent support from the New Church Development team. Parker and “The Shepherd and the Knucklehead” (Bend’s “Bard and the Bumbler?”).

The Goose has landed. He flies where he wills and will not be predicted. He is not tame, he cannot be boxed in or caged up. He is wild and free. But he moves, he gives LIFE and fills with passion and excitement. We must be ready!

We Got Elfed!

2007-12-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Elfin Greetings from the East!

Click on the link and enjoy our children's silliness!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1324497484

Snow

2007-12-04T19:22:00.001-07:00

No Billy Joel here. Just Joshua on the saxophone. Getting better every month!

The forecast says snow tomorrow. A 40% chance of a dusting. They will probably close the schools once the clouds hit the radar. When the dusting layer melts, they will say "well, at least the children were safe." I'm not so optimistic that the flakes will fall. My friend gave me a 4" Christmas tree. I decorated it with only snowflakes. At least we will have some type of "white Christmas." Brita wants to move back to Chicago. Wants to take our house, her friends, her school and our church along back. The only thing she misses there is the snow. I bought her boots for Christmas so she can enjoy any dustings we may get before Spring. I miss the snow, too. But I don't need boots.

We have all been down with different viruses. Me being the most recent victim. I sure am thankful for NyQuil!

What plans do y'all have for Christmas? We'll be here. I don't have to work! We will accompany Carl on a business trip to sunny Pennsylvania the week of New Years. We enjoy being in the hotel, watching TV (since we don't have one) and swimming. Even better, I'll have my own TV in our 2-bedroom suite so won't have to watch cartoons all day!

Most of all we are looking forward to sleeping in. I have a door hanger I use during vacations. It reads, "Do not wake Mom unless you enjoy cleaning toilets!" Hopefully they won't catch on that at the hotel the housekeeper does that job. Sssshhhhh!

Hugs,
Cheryl, aka Auntie Cheryl

Thanksgiving in Boise

2007-11-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

The Bettger/Rank family enjoyed Thanksgiving in Boise. This year, we were happy to have Uncle Walter Aman here with us. He, his granddaughters and grandsons will be joining Al and Wendy in New Mexico for Christmas.

We all visited the Canon family while Uncle Walter was here. Eloise Canon is my cousin. Her father Albert was Esther and Walters brother. Anyway, the Canons live here and we see them once in awhile.

Thanksgiving Dinner here was held at the Nelsons -- minus KayLynn and Damon -- who had gone to be with Damon's family in Escondido, CA.

Molly and Pat left for home on Saturday. Andy went to Seattle on Monday morning. He arrives in time to put in almost a full day at work.

TomTom

2007-11-29T19:12:00.001-07:00

Hey all -

We're doing well. We came back Saturday from Boise to see Billy Joel in concert here in Portland. It was nice to have Sunday here to recover from the driving and nights away. We did miss having Sunday in Boise, though!

Billy Joel was amazing on Saturday night. I just downloaded his 2006 live CD called 12 Gardens Live. He sang all of our favorites. There were only maybe 2 songs we weren't familiar with; but even those were AWESOME. We did notice that he had transposed most of the songs down a few tones (not quite as young as he used to be) - but man, he still has a fantastic voice, and stage presence. What a performer.

Tonight we're hosting two couples from the church board. We are a relatively new Board, so I suggested to the group that we do some get togethers outside of the "upper room" setting where we normally meet; and bring spouses so that we can get to know each other better and even get to know spouses. I put together a matrix (yes, analytical in too many ways, I know!) and planned out who is getting together with whom in which months, so that everyone gets a chance to have dinner with each of the other couples at least once.

My norm when entertaining is to start dinner with more than enough time to spare, then frantically try to pull it all together after everyone has arrived and is hovering around the kitchen island. Well this time, with my knowledge that this time of the day (5:30 ish) is when I feel the ickiest, we prepared in advance! We made the chili on Sunday afternoon, and froze it Sunday night. I took it out and put it in the fridge last night; and put it on the stove when I got home from work around 5:45. People aren't coming until 7 (and they're bringing the salad & cornbread), which gives me a good chance to ensure dinner will be ready shortly after they arrive - and I have time to post on the blog and read my book (I made dessert last night too)! I'll let you know tomorrow how it really all plays out ...

K, signing off now ... Love you all - M

Weekend Recovery

2007-11-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Aunt Shelly posting here for the first time. It is quiet as Tim is still sleeping. I worked on call Thursday thru Sunday nights. It was fairly quiet until 5 AM today when I had calls about every 15-30 minutes until 8 AM (including 2 deaths). Tim's friend Maddie was up and getting ready to go back to Purdue so I got her some breakfast before she left at 6 AM.

I have been catching up all of the postings. Britt read some of them to me as I was working in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. Cheryl, I know the feeling of just wanting to prepare all of the traditional foods. This year the kids asked for "plain bread stuffing, none of the cranberries, nuts, rice or cornbread extras." (I have tried new recipes the past few years). I chuckled as I read your question of whether our turkeys were thawing....since mine was NOT! I figured that I must have been a little distracted or stressed this week. I let Tim take my car and drive himself to the clinic for his blood tests while I did my grocery shopping. I was in the checkout line when I remembered that I had put the turkey in the sink and turned the water on fill it up--90 minutes earlier--and I didn't remember turning the water off. When we got home the cold water was still running and the turkey floating in the sink downstairs. Fortunately, the water overflowed into the other side of the sink and not all over the floor!! I think that's a first for me--with the water, I mean. I am frequently distracted and often forgetful! Heeheehee...

Today, I am off work and will focus on cleaning the house and getting some Christmas decorations up. We got out a few this weekend. When all the kids left home, Dan and I realized that we didn't want to continue our past tradition of cutting our tree on Thanksgiving weekend when it was just 2 of us, so we purchased an artificial one. Now I am trying to get the prestrung lights to work properly. More on that subject later.

Thanks to each of you for posting....have a great week.

WI Bettger thanksgiving

2007-11-24T09:14:00.005-07:00

We kept it pretty low key here. It was Mom, Dad, Tim, me, and Will, my boyfriend. We just relaxed in the morning and then had a yummy traditional meal. Mom was on call in the evening so we made sure to eat a little earlier. The guys played some Settlers and then Will headed back to the Cities for work on Friday. On Friday, Tim's friend Maddie drove up from Indianapolis and is here for the weekend. We had a lot of laughs as we were entertained by Tim at the dinner table last night. He is sure a blessing to us, no matter how much he can drive me up the wall at times.

I am driving back to the Cities in a an hour or so. It's been a good time away from crazy teaching, and awesome to remember all of God's blessings and miracles in our lives.

Leaving Boise tomorrow

2007-11-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

We leave Boise tomorrow at 11:45. We are going to the airport to pick up Kay Lynn and her husband Damon, with Laura, Andy, and Greg. We will have a quick breakfast with the group and then hit the road. It will be good to have at least a very few minutes with KK & Damon.

We're getting back to Portland so quickly to see Billy Joel in concert in Portland! He's an old standard, and we're looking forward to our time with him ... and an arena full of other concert goers. I didn't know about Billy Joel before I met Pat ... I think it was from Billy Joel that I first learned how the piano could also play a percussive role in songs - he has an amazing ability to put chords together and rhythmically astonish the listener.

We've had a really nice time here. Mom and I went shopping for maternity clothes and I bought two pairs of jeans. Glad to have them. I feel much more comfortable! We'll try to post the babe's heartbeat on the blog shortly. We're trying to figure out what to call him/her right now - before he/she comes out! Suggestions have been, Little "P" (short for parasite), Pipsqueak, Whoozit, Peanut, Bean ... any other suggestions?

We're glad to have your prayers & support and anticipation! We'll use the blog to share info and stats about the little one as the info comes in.

Love you all,

Molly

Thanksgiving Day in Boise

2007-11-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

All our family spent the day at the home of Ric and JeriLu Nelson and their family -- not far from our house. All our families were here except for KayLynn and her husband Damon. Uncle Walt is with us this year too.

Anyway, we finished our dinner. All the family except 4 of us are in the middle of watching Dr. Zhivago in the downstairs media center. Before that's done we have another appointment!

We've been invited by Eloise and Lanny Canon to come and visit them. They live about 10 minutes from here -- to the west. Eloise is my cousin. She and I have been visiting each other since we were both kids. Now we live in the same town and we hardly ever see each other. Anyway, their family is with them today so since Uncle Walt is here, we'll all get reacquainted. Eloise is the daughter of Uncle Albert and Aunt Bertha Zimmerman. Eloise's sister is Jerry, the musician. They have a brother. I think his name is Jim. Jim lives in SD.

SUMMARIZING OUR DAY
We got up early. The men from our church typically got together at 6:30 for breakfast at one of the larger motel restaurants here in Boise. There were about 30 of us this morning. Pat, Uncle Walter and I went to the men's breakfast. After that, Uncle Walt and I picked up Andy at the airport.

Pat and Molly will be good parents by the time their child arrives. Their dog Laszlow is one of the better trained dogs (Viszla) I've seen in awhile. He is a hunting type dog. He is here at the Nelsons with us and the two dogs have quite a time getting to know each other here.

Greetings to all of you who have responded to the blog. I'll be getting some pictures on the blog here when I get back to my home computer.

From Grandma

2007-11-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

I talked to Grandma today. She says to tell everyone to have a blessed Thanksgiving. She loves all of you and misses you all. She said to keep serving the Lord and following Him.

P.S. She does not know Molly and Pat's news yet.

Happy Thanksgiving From The East!

2007-11-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Joshua, Jakob and Brita want to wish the Bettger Family a very special Thanksgiving!

It's 66 degrees here. Joshua, Jakob and Carl ran in the Turkey Trot this morning - boys one mile and Carl three miles.

Dinner is at 4:00 pm. Come on over! I'll have enough of Grandma's dressing for everyone!

A full report on what's happening in Bend

2007-11-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt from something I wrote up for church recently about what's happening here in Bend with the ministry that I am a part of. Probably the most expansive description I can give at this point. The whole thing is at this link. I figured this would be a good way to fill you in on what's happening.

Increasingly, almost exponentially, connections are being made. As people find my blog and word gets out through various members of our community, conversations strike up and relationships begin to be built. With each new person comes a whole new set of connections and relationships. It is only within the last month that we have really begun to clarify what our vision for this community is to look like. It takes even longer for those who are not in leadership to “get it.” Along with this clarification of vision has come an understanding of how we might be in relationship with the church as a whole and as leadership. There has also been a clarification of who we might connect with and what our various roles in these relationships might be. Things are just beginning!!

The Burning Man crowd… a group of absolutely beautiful people totally unreached by any churches here in Bend. Other groups of young, and not-so-young adults, from the recreation world to the business world. Things are starting in these areas. Connections with authors and leaders from the emerging church and Presbymergent (on the national level). Relationships with local churches and organizations in Bend (Oasis, The River, Cascade Covenant, The Mission Church, Sundeos, The Nazerene church, Fellowship Bible Church, New Hope, various house churches, the Goodness Collective, Lupwa Homes, coffee shops, Young Life, Apologetics Guild, First Pres youth group, COCC, substitute teaching)… the list goes on. It is all only just beginning. All these connections and relationships built as a representation of First Presbyterian Church of Bend… all part of the process of growing the kingdom of God in Bend.
There are a number of exciting things going on now to encourage spiritual formation and community and a number of things being planned for 2008... (the rest)

Greetings from uncle Walt

2007-11-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today I came to visit Tom and Kathy because they were so generous and invited me to spend Thanksgiving here. I am happy that I was able to come this year as my family is not in Portland anymore. Alan and Wendy now live in Albuquerque, NM, so the grandkids and I will go there for Christmas. It's warmer there.

I have read all the Bettger notes and found them all very interesting. Molly has some very new and exciting news! Hope all will go well with the blessed event. Good news also about Tim's healing. Also glad to hear that Nate has moved to the West

Being here for Thanksgiving without my own family reminds me of another Thanksgiving without family present, but it was a time when there was much to be thankful for. The year was 1945 and the whole world was thankful for the end of World War II. I was in Calcutta, India and very happy that I would soon be going home.

HappyThanksgiving to all of you, your uncle Walt

pre Thanksgiving

2007-11-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

I still have one more trip to the store. I am thinking about going tonight, because I expect Molly to be here tomorrow afternoon when I am out of school. I don't have a turkey thawing because we are going to Ric and Jeri Lu's for dinner. Hooray! We alternate years for both Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Molly and Pat are on the road, about 4 1/2 hours away. I don't know much about how the roads are, but hope they will stop if the conditions are not good. We had snow here in the valley this morning, but it was gone by noon. They visited the midwife or doctor or someone and heard the baby's heartbeat today.

I just finished the dishes. I made baked potatoes, chicken, beans and salad for dinner for Uncle Walt and Tom. That was after quartet practice. Tom is singing with a group of men that are all Rotarians from different local clubs. They sang last week for an Idaho Power dinner and they sounded good. I was pleased, because last year I heard them and they are much improved by now. UT enjoys it.

Andy flies in from Seattle on Thanksgiving morning, so we will have everyone home. I am pretty excited.

That's all for now.

Brittany, are you enjoying the Spanish speaking part of your dealings with the children? I know the first year of teaching is exhausting. You just are working all the time.

Love, AK-Mom

2007-11-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the store for the "last time" before Thanksgiving. Got everything that I needed....until I got home and realized I forgot at least 2 things. Unfortunately they are not something I can just "borrow" from the neighbors. Guess I'll have to make another "last" trip.

Do all of you have your turkeys out to thaw??? Don't forget or there will be a sorry platter on the table come Thursday.

For Thanksgiving we are going to be at home by ourselves. That is nice. Less pressure that way. I'll make 2 turkey breasts (we don't like dark meat), mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole made the "southern" way, Mom's famous rice dressing (with lots of giblets), cornbread dressing (trying a new recipe), peas, cranberry gelatin salad; Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake for dessert (Paula Dean's Southern special) and some type of chocolate pie. The children will eat the turkey, potatoes and gravy, the peas and the chocolate. Why do I make the rest??? Traditions are hard to break. I really like traditions. Seems like Mom is starting to forget some of them. That makes me sad.

Is anyone else besides us getting their Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving? Our children count on that tradition, too. They do all the decorating now. The whole house and the whole tree. I sit back and drink cider and smile. We put Christmas music on. The best part is this year I don't have any Fall decorations to take down - because I never put any up! Hee hee!

We still have over half the leaves on the trees here. It's been so warm they have not decided to give up yet. Won't green and red look out of place in the foreground of the Fall leaves? Silly!

I am thankful for family, and hugs (long ones with full arms around my shoulders), Christian contemporary radio, wonderfully forgiving friends, and my 5 hours of peace in the middle of my school days. Oh, and Thai food. And the 2 Fridays each month when I get to turn the pager off for 3 days.

My childen told me last night they are very thankful I am not dead. We have watched the movie "Christmas Shoes" twice in the last 2 days. It's a very touching movie - made me sob each time (and I don't do that easily). I would recommend seeing it this season. It is the story made around the song by the same name. OK, it may be a class B, but still worth renting.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Molly, I'm praying for twins! It's a wonderful experience, not to be missed!

Cheryl, the mom of the Lyons' Den

2007-11-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hello to the Bettgers! I am sitting here eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Just got done with a morning of watercolor painting with the kids. It went well; just got the turkeys they painted hung up in the hall for the parents to see. Two more days of conferences and an observation by my AP (asst. principal) to get through before fairing the snow for Wausau on Wednesday morning. Feeling a lot better after a doctor's visit for pinkeye and sinus infection on Sat. What can I say? I am grateful for the days I am well. It was good to see Mom, Dad and Tim this past weekend--their first visit to the cities since Germany!

Bye and love to all! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We sure have a lot to be thankful for!

KB

2007-11-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

We are on board. I will demonstrate the mechanics to the "communications division" (Pam), and we'll be off and running - so to speak.

We're expecting our two college students (Ryan & Caitlin) this week, for Thanksgiving. We will be consuming the turkey with some friends, as we have for a few years now.

More later

Feeling the winter spirit

2007-11-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

For a little extra fun and personal update, here is my last post from my personal blog (www.natebettger.com)

I've been listening to Christmas music all day. I must say that Sufjan Steven's Christmas albums are so beautiful. I bought my ticket to fly back to MN. I have tried on my vintage snow pants, my ski boots (thank you Michael), and found the object of my ski jacket affection. Powderhorn Night Hawk Down... Gosh... I haven't seen anything this vintage-ly beautiful in a long time. Way out of my price range, though, and thankfully I have already gotten my new ski jacket and have yet to use it to the purpose it was intended. Thank God that I live close to the mountains.

2007-11-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how to post a blog. Am I doing it right???? Can anyone see this???? Mothers of twins do not learn things very easily...their brains are always going in at least 2 different directions. Blogs are for young people, not for oldies like me. Tom, you were going to send me some instructions!

No time to write tonight - worked 12 hours today and my pager is still going off. Gotta get some winks while I can so I can repeat it all over tomorrow.

Someone let me know how I'm doing!!

Well hello there!

2007-11-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I will take the initiative to be the 2nd person to post on Bettger Big-Top! It looks like Aunt Shelly is out on the list of participants, and I hope the list grows to include others!

Our big news is that we're now in our 10th week of pregnancy! We're 9 weeks pregnant and quickly approaching 10!

I'm counting the days til Tuesday - that's the day we get to hear the babe's heart beat for the first time. The chances of miscarrying are significantly less after you hear the baby's heart beat, so I am excited to pass this milestone.

I'm still staying active. I biked to work about 5 more times after finding out we were pregnant (had been biking 2-3 days a week since August), but with the time change that makes it get dark earlier, it makes it a little freaky to bike home at the end of the day. Still going to the gym - went this morning; had pilates yesterday, and will have pilates tomorrow; plan to do cardio and weights again on Friday.

Sleeping has been hard. The first 1/2 of the night is good, until I have to get up to pee, then when I get back in bed, my back decides to ache, and my stomach ligaments hurt. This usually occurs at 12 or 1 am, so I have 4-5 more hours left to try to ignore the pain and sleep. I hope that I will have a period of respite between the 1st and 3rd trimesters, when I can actually sleep the whole way through. I think it's possible.But when I wake up, I do feel fresh, and seem to pretty much forget the fact that I didn't have a 100% comfortable night.

This last weekend Pat and I were at Whidbey Island Friday - Sunday (came back just in time for the dinner; had already cleaned the house). We had a really good time, got some hunting in, and spent a lot of good time being together. We love it on Whidbey - very pretty; artistic, rural, and just all around nice. Lazslow likes it there too. ;)

Then we had Thanksgiving dinner this past Sunday with our intimate group of friends, the Olmsteds (baby Madelyn), Hintzes (twins & baby Owen), and Hagertys (Rachel). We enjoyed our time together, and while Pat and Nicole weren't 100% sure the turkey was fully cooked, we have had no indications of food poisoning or salmonella. Always a good thing. We looked at old pictures of our group of friends on our TV, and just in general had a good time of thankfulness and togetherness.

I made cookies last night for a Bake Sale today to benefit the United Way. Mom's recipe, with milk chocolate and butterscotch chips. Mmm-mm-mmm! Tomorrow I have Book Club.

Man, after Tuesday, the reality will set in, and we will have to hit the ground full speed ahead to get some of the pesky things done that we've been meaning to do for so long ... like moving from a double bed to a queen bed, getting projects done, clearing out rooms, etc. We'll be kicking it into high gear for certain.

So good to hear that Tim's cast is off and that he's feeling good about this milestone, and we're still praying for healing in the arm and continued healing in the foot and hand. Pat's parents and family are also praying - Pat's brother Doug was in a serious motorcycling accident 2.5 years ago, so they know all the ups and downs that come as a part of the ongoing healing.

Are Cheryl & Carl & co, and Pam & Ken & co going to join up too? What about Aunt Toni?

Molly

TIME FOR A FAMILY BLOG

2007-11-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Consider this the beginning of the BETTGER BIG TOP!

Get the whole family signed up!
Tell us all what you are doing.
Ask for an answer to your questions.
Think about loading something on the Blog before Thanksgiving!

Turkey hunting season is more popular each year in Idaho. If it weren't for North Dakota, Idaho would have very few wild turkeys. As it is, Fish and Game here in Idaho has made a deal with the state of ND to import wild turkey and they do well in the foothills of the mountains. One fellow I work with goes hunting every year.

WE ALMOST HAD WILD TURKEY ONE THANKSGIVING IN STANTON!
The way I remember it, the day before thanksgiving one year, I was outside in the yard about dusk when a large bird flew into one of the trees on the east side of our yard in Stanton, not far from the basketball hoop. I couldn't figure out what a bird of that size might have been doing at that hour of the night -- so I crept a little closer to the tree. Just about the time I thought I might be able to see what type of bird that was, the thing fell out of the tree and landed at my feet. I saw then that it was actually a wild turkey.

Before long Ken and probably Dan and our Dad found out what had happened and we stood around looking at each other then back down at the bird. By that time, we could see little tiny x's forming up on his eyeballs as we got down a little closer. About the same time the wheels began to turn in Ken's mind -- thinking that Thanksgiving was -- like the next day so since we had a wild turkey here, why not cook it for Thanksgiving!! Fat chance of that with the chef that typically managed our kitchen.

Regardless of what we knew would be certainly forbidden, Ken had the courage to announce that we were suddenly owners of a wild turkey -- which by that time we had verified had actually been mortally wounded by hunters -- had had enough stamina to make it from the woods up to the tree in our yard -- and since Thanksgiving was the next day -- we should clean the turkey and have it for Thanksgiving dinner. That was not the best idea. It met with considerable resistance from our kitchen staff.

Eventually, we found it best to just use one of the hunting knives we had in the garage to butcher the turkey rather than to spend our time talking -- even though full authorization for incorporating this special addition to the menu had not been received -- and prospects did not look good.

Once the bird had been cleaned, we could see nothing unhealthy about it. It wasn't like it had been dead for a day or two. Ken primarily felt that it deserved to be cooked and added to the menu. Full refusal from the kitchen staff seemed to prevail but eventually, probably by doing most of the work without sanction were were able to sneak a wild turkey into an oven-- but we could not find a way to use one of moms sacrosanct roasting pans for such a questionable bird.

That Thanksgiving, we were able to enjoy wild turkey along with our regular Thanksgiving meal Even though there had been a lot of discussion about the wisdom of incorporating something that arrived in the dark, fell out of the tree, we all enoyed the wild turkey!

UNCLE WALTER WILL JOIN US THIS YEAR IN BOISE
A half hour ago, I got off the phone with Uncle Walter. He called to tell me that he plans to come to Boise to join us for Thanksgiving. He'll come Nov. 20 and leave Nov 24.

In a telephone conversation last week, I had detected how alone he'd be feeling this year for Thanksgiving with no nuclear family in the northwest. He told me that his whole family will be together in NM for Christmas. I just invited him to come to Boise for Thanksgiving and tonight he called to accept the invitation. Andy, Molly, Pat, Greg, Laura will be with us here. Dinner for us will be at the Nelsons this year. Damon and Kay Lynn will be in CA. When they return Sat after Thanksgiving, there will be a few leftovers no doubt.

TomTom