House Hunt

For those of you who don't know, JP and I are on the house hunt again. We have been renting our current place for a year now, and our lease is up in December. We have loved living here; it is an amazing place. We are spoiled to the space we have here, and I personally have fallen in love with living in a two-story house. But at the same time, we really do not like renting. It's part of our nature to want to fix things up and improve things, but since we don't own this place, it's not worth our investment of time or money. It's very frustrating for a handyman!
One day when JP was listening to talk radio, he heard some real estate guys talking about a program through the USDA that helps people buy homes in rural areas. It sounded right up our alley, so JP called in and got some more information.
Long story short, we qualified for the program and have been approved for a loan. We are now on a USDA-appointed timeline to find a home and get an offer approved. We've been looking at houses for the past couple of weeks, and they are all starting to blur together in my head.
The only downside to this program is that they are fairly picky about the house you get. They come and inspect it themselves to make sure it is up to their standards. We would be happy getting a fixer-upper, but they don't really want us to do that for some reason.
Another downside is that because they only give us a certain amount of time to find a house, we have to exclude the short sales and foreclosures in our searches. The banks simply take too long to respond to offers. It could be months before they even look at your offer!
Anyhow, we'd appreciate your prayers as we move forward with this house hunt. We know God will lead us to the right house at the right time. It will definitely be good to own again!

Letters from Chip, Part 1

Muskogee, Oklahoma. February 14, 1941. 7:20 pm.

"Dear Folks,
Just a line to let you know I'm safe and sound and feeling great. The air down here is as clear as a bell, and believe me, we're getting plenty of it in our lungs.
...We had a great trip -- a private pullman coach all the way. We arrived last night at 1 a.m. -- or was that today? We climbed right into bed -- and a good bed, which we make-up ourselves every morning.
...We wear ordinary shoes -- the old pair I brought along and our wool socks. We have been given coveralls, a heavy sweater, and a leather sheepskin-lined jacket and cap. Our uniforms will be here in about a week. We were measured for them today.
...The food, believe it or not, is swell. Not near as good as mom's of course, but better than anything you could find in a restaurant. We are served cafeteria style and can have as many helpings per meal as we wish. I had a pint of milk for every meal and am going to stick to it.
There are about 150 men in our class and about 90 upperclassmen. Lower classmen are known as dodo birds. They estimate that 45% of our class, about 60 men, will 'wash out' during the first five weeks.
Must close now, as we have a meeting coming up in five minutes. Will write more, soon.
Love,
Chip

P.S. All flying cadets must write a letter home at least once a week or be forced to do 'gig.' (That's walking steady for one hour.)"

February 18, 1941.

"Dear Folks,
Am terribly sorry I didn't get a chance to write another letter sooner, but we've been 'on the hop' every minute here, and it just hasn't been possible. I'm working on the cadet publication here -- 'The Gosport" [Note from Audra: forgive me if this title is incorrect; the writing is unclear] and am also writing 'propaganda' articles for various newspapers -- the last duty by order of the commanding officer.
...At the last writing, there were some 240 men here. There are about 205 now. Every day, three or five men 'wash out,' not because of scholastic requirements, but because they just can't fly good enough. There are 60 men left in the upper class out of 137. And another 25 or 30 of these will 'wash out' within the next month before they get a chance to go to Randolph.
This is the heart of the dust bowl down here, and the land is dead dry and flat as a table top. When the wind blows, it lifts a fine cloud of dust about a mile in the air and it looks like a heavy fog for the rest of the day.
...In three days we've learned to snap to attention, salute, and execute every marching movement in the books. It's a great life, and tough. Believe me, they make you toe the mark. I wish you could see the way I can make up a bed and put a locker in order. I can't believe it myself.
...Must close now to get to my studies. Will write again the first chance I get. Don't worry about me -- I'm doing great.
Love,
Chip"

Letters from Chip, An Introduction

I'd like to start doing something new on this blog on occasion.
I've recently started reading a collection of letters that I am so in love with right now, I just have to share them. They were penned by a man named Carlos Bowar, or "Chip." Beginning in 1941 and ending in December 1945, they were written to friends and family back home as he trained to be, and served as, a bombardier pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He would eventually patrol the eastern coast of the U.S. and South America searching for enemy submarines, and earn various decorations for his fine work.
According to his wife's notes at the beginning of the collection,

The young 22 year old Chip was truly involved in high adventure with being admitted to the Flying Cadets. He was desperately anxious to not 'wash out.' Few people, perhaps 10 percent, had been in an aeroplane in 1941.
The great love and concern within the Bowar family is obvious. You will read of the daily inconveniences of food rationing, gasoline, clothing, housing shortages.
In Oct. 1941, the 76th Bombardment Quadron was formed at Gunter in Idaho. All personnel remained intact for two plus years. Life-time friendships were formed. They called themselves the 'bastard squadron' because in those fearful times they were on the move constantly.

And in an article in the Philgazette in December 1954:

It was not until after the war and removal of censorship restrictions, that the dangers of his missions were revealed.

What makes these letter all the more fascinating is that Chip is JP's grandfather. I never had the privilege of knowing him, but I feel like I am getting to know him through these letters. I even feel as though I have something in common with him, because he was also a journalist and talks about writing numerous articles for various papers during his time in the service.
The Bowar family as a whole were called a "champion war service family" in local papers, because all seven members of the family, including Chip's sister Maxine, served in the military in one way or another.
Chip's wife, Della Mae Bowar, or just "Grandma Dellas" to us, has given me permission to share pieces of this wonderful collection with you. Many of them have already been published in his hometown paper 60+ year ago. Chip didn't even know his sister was collecting and saving all of his letters over the years. Who knows what Chip would think if he knew his "chatty notes" were being shared on the internet more than half a century later. It was such a different time back then.

So this is his story, and mine, from January 1941 to December 1945. Another world, another time, but a wonderful life with Chip. Dellas

Chip and Dellas on their wedding day, February 14, 1942

Lefse

Last week I had the great honor of learning how to make homemade potato lefse with G & Bompa. It is a tradition they have been maintaining for years, and I'm only sorry it took me this long to join in on the fun!
These guys start at the crack of dawn -- I haven't been up and out of the house that early in a long, long time. I won't go into all the details of how lefse is made, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised at how simple and rewarding it is! The secret is mastering the art of using the lefse sticks, and according to Bompa (the reigning champion), I guess I didn't do all that bad!
This was the second year that they have held their lefse-making day without the loving help of Grandma Arlene, Bompa's mom. She was the master, and I'm so very happy to now be able to carry on the lefse tradition in our family. As soon as the girls are old enough to roll the ingredients into balls, we'll teach them, too.

G prepares the potato mixture.

Bompa demonstrates the proper flipping technique

My first piece of lefse!
View more photos here.

JP's First Kill

JP has taken up hunting this year. He and his old buddy Jamie have been going out quite a bit lately, but hadn't brought home anything until today.
He's proud of his duck, and I'm proud of him! The guys got it all cleaned up, and the meat is in our freezer. Duck is supposed to be pretty good, although I've never tried it. I do have a duck recipe, though, so I guess I'll be trying it out soon!

View more photos here

Rae Rae

I wanted to take a minute to brag on our sweet Rae Rae. Every day I am blown away by how smart, thoughtful, funny and helpful she is. Here are just a few things that have stuck out to me lately.

• At the age of two she completes a number various chores around the house. She can feed the dogs, clean the windows & mirrors, dust, clean up her toys, swiffer the kitchen floor, turn off lights, help with laundry, and help with Ruby, among other things.
• She can correctly identify the letters M, R, O, X , B and sometimes A. That may not seem like much, but I am impressed!
• She loves to pretend to be a mommy. She takes wonderful care of her dolls and tucks them in every night before she goes to bed. She also loves to dress up and "put on makeup" with me. Sometimes that backfires (see picture below).

• She is very polite (please, thank you, excuse me, etc.), kind and encouraging. The other day, after a looooong day, we were snuggling and she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm so glad you're always here at home with us." When JP's truck broke down, she told him, "Don't worry, Daddy. I can help you fix your truck. We can do it together!" Talk about making it all worth it!

I could go on and on about her and all the cute things she says and does. God fashioned her to fit perfectly into our hearts, and the place she holds there is far beyond precious. Thank you, Jesus, for our amazing, adorable first child!

Weekend in Voyager

This past weekend, we made a 2-hour hike to Danbury, WI and spent two nights at JP's grandparents home. They keep a summer home there, tucked into the beautiful woods in a community known as Voyager Village. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. It was autumn's paradise, the maples competing with the oaks for the most brilliant colors.
Quarters were tight. We went up with JP's parents, Ava and the twins. Four adults and five kids under the age of three were crammed into a one bedroom house. Our family stayed in the bedroom upstairs, and everybody else slept in a cement brick den area in the basement. But the memories and the scenery were well worth it! Ava & Rae enjoyed going for walks on the trail behind the house, playing at the park, and swimming in the indoor pool. We also made a trip to the pumpkin patch. I love autumn, and I'm thankful it returned at least for this one weekend so we could enjoy it!

View more photos here!

October 16, 2004

Five years ago today, I said, "Yes!"
And I'm so glad I did!

Revisiting the spot where he proposed on our honeymoon, Taylor's Falls.

Seasonal Dyslexia

We are experiencing a case of seasonal dyslexia here in Minnesota. We're supposed to be at the peak of fall, but instead the snow has come. Trees with green leaves in fields of white. It's very confusing.I almost cried when it first snowed. But today, after the second snowfall, I'm feeling more at peace with it. The flakes fell so softly and peacefully this morning, it was hard not to enjoy it. And with the promise of more fall-like weather ahead, I can accept this early taste of winter.

Nobody was more excited in our household than Rae. She is rediscovering a world of snowballs, snow angels, and snowmen. Here is our little snowman. She is so proud of him, and as he melts she continues to build him back up, packing snow here and packing snow there.

Ruby's 1-year Stats

Ruby finally had her 1-year checkup today. She was 22 pounds (70th percentile) and 30 3/4 inches (97th percentile). The funny thing is that she didn't grow in length at all from her 9 month appointment. Last time she was off the charts; this time she was 97th percentile. She is walking everywhere now, and is very happy about it.
Israel has a new favorite activity that she plays every day now. Every morning she "wakes up" her dolls and puts them in their "seats" in the "car." In reality, this consists of her taking them off the shelves and lining them up in rows next to each other on the steps. Every day she picks a new place to which they will journey. Popular destinations are Ava's house and Elijah's house. Sometimes it's the library, McDonalds, etc.
The dolls stay on the steps all day for us to trip over, then at bedtime Rae tucks them all in to their respective sleeping quarters. She's a good little mommy to all of them.