Christmas at the "Nadeau's"

Everyone was home to celebrate. Dan helping Natalie and John make punch, Elijah with a new toy (big sister looking on) and Grandpa with our newest grandson, Micah. Abby and Dan came early to help with set-up - you think you're ready and then there is always one more thing you want to finish - Heather and Blair joined us from Iowa, Danielle and Paul with their family, and Noelle and Aaron with their family - a busy day of food, gifts, Bingo, Golf, dominoes, and cards! We were busy! Merry Christmas everyone and Thank You!

Happy Birthday Aaron! (12/27)

Aaron is celebrating a birthday on the 27th - and it has been an exciting year for his family. Aaron is Noelle's husband and they welcomed into their family Micah in October. Aaron is a busy hubby, Dad, and a Pastor at St. Luke's. He is always in motion being running, baking bread, playing with kids, helping his mother-in-law with her computer and all the other "stuff" that goes into daily lives. We are blessed to have him as a part of our family.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Love, Jeff and Barb

MN History Museum

Today (12/9) Jeff and I met his brother Gregg and his wife Kitty at the History Museum. We thought since Kitty and I both graduated in "1968" it seemed like it would be a good idea to check this exhibit out! Along with "1968" we also visited the "Minnesota's Greatest Generation", "Weather Permitting", and "Grainland". Overall we liked the "1968 Exhibit" but "Minnesota's Greatest Generation" tugged at our hearts a little more - thinking of our parents since they were a part of that generation - it had special meaning - also just a reminder that we too are adding the years as well - but only in the number - certainly not in our day to day experiences - we don't feel what maybe the number might indicate. (52 & going backwards?) It was a fun day. Thanks - Gregg and Kitty!

Happy "3rd" Birthday Elijah!

Elijah turned three on Wednesday December 7th. Grandpa Jeff and I were able to help him celebrate on the day (bennies of retirement). Elijah continues to amaze us (of course this is his grandma writing) in his interest to detail - be how something is put together or putting together - he is so observant - not missing much - you just wonder what that little mind is processing :) He continues to love books, trains, cars, and bikes - although his new brother Micah is very special to him - wanting to know where he is - and his sister Lauren has become a playmate - fun to observe. Each day is a new adventure. We are blessed to have 5 grandchildren and to celebrate each one of them.

Have Birthday Elijah!
Love you!

"Cookie Baking Activity Creativity"

Natalie & John & their Mom and Dad joined us a little later so after they helped with cookies they played a new game with Grandpa and Uncle Dan. The sound affects were priceless - since when you scored it went in the potty chair and needed to be flushed. Who ever said kids need toys to play with - it was a hoot! (notice the apron) Also see the new cookies Danielle brought - mmmmm :)

"3rd Annual Cookie Bake"

On Saturday December 3rd the girls & grandkids & hubbies gathered to bake & bake & bake more cookies - we think it was our best yet! Some of us started a little earlier on Friday (Noelle,& (7 1/2 week Micah) Abby, & I) then Saturday morning we welcomed someone new to our little group - Sarah, Dan's wife (Dan is Jeff's nephew). We were not sure she really knew what she was in for but at the end of the day she agreed to come back next year :) Thanks Sarah for joining our craziness. Aaron & the Brockmeier kiddo's joined us in the early afternoon - but the weather turned wintery so they needed to leave early - and the Fischer's had a family commitment earlier in the day so they were unable to join us until late afternoon - so some are missing from our photo but we did not miss any cookies. It was also special to have Jeff's Mom Gayle helping as well. She will turn 90 in March so each year with her is an added gift to our blessings.

Happy Birthday Heather!

Heather, Blair's favorite girl, celebrated her birthday this past Monday on the 14th. Heather continues to work in the area of speech and language, working in a private clinic. She has a variety of interests. They have been living in West DesMoine for just over a year now. It is hard to not be able to see them as often as we would like. Earlier in the fall Jeff and I spent the weekend with them. A visit to farmers' market, winery, and Blair's current job site made for a full weekend. We are looking forward to seeing them over Thanksgiving and celebrating their wedding anniversary on the 27th of November.
Wishing you the best in the coming year!
Love,
Jeff and Barb

"5 Treats" on Halloween!

Here are our "5 Treats" - Jeff is holding John, who is 4, (Paul & Danielle's son); Elijah who is nearly 3, Lauren who is 4 1/2, & Micah who is 3 weeks (Noelle & Aaron's children) & Natalie who is 6 1/2 (Danielle & Paul's daughter). It was a special treat to see them all dressed up and ready to trick & treat! Grandma & Grandpa's crew is growing up and have added one more!

What fun - these are the days!

Love you all!

Happy Anniversary Danielle & Paul!

Danielle and Paul are celebrating their 8th wedding anniversary on the 11th of October. Their two children, Natalie and John keep them busy along with demanding jobs. Enjoy your day! Love, Mom and Dad

Welcome Micah Aaron Brockmeier!

Thursday we welcomed Micah to our growing family! He is a big little guy weighing in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. & 22 inches long. Grandpa & Grandma were able to be his first visitors and to watch the excitement of Elijah & Lauren seeing their little brother for the first time. It was a moment to remember. They showed such tenderness, awe, wonder, that their little brother was now here! Noelle & Aaron are doing well! What a beautiful family.
Micah is our fifth grandchild, we are very blessed.
Love you all, Mom and Dad

Happy "4th" Birthday John!

Our grandson John celebrated his "4th" birthday today!
John is a busy guy! He loves to do just about anything! His infectious smile along with super long eyelashes makes all the girls drool.

Happy Birthday John!
Love you,
Grandma & Grandpa

Happy "29th" Birthday Abby (9/13)

Our youngest daughter turned 29 today! Wow the years all blur together. As I looked for a picture - I tried to find one of her alone and realized that Abby is always "with someone" - so I picked one of her "favorites" Grandma Nadeau and Dan of course! She and Grandma are quite the fisher ladies - Jeff always says Abby takes the worst rod, a book, and drops the line in and well the rest is in the freezer or part of a tasty meal. Hope your day is special - like the sun shining and the full moon!

Love you, Mom and Dad

Happy "4th" Anniversary Abby and Dan!

Today (8/18) Abby and Dan are celebrating their 4th wedding anniversary! What a team they are! We are blessed that they are a part of our family! Enjoy your day!


Love - Mom and Dad

Happy Birthday Dan!

Today, July 14th, is Dan, (our favorite husband of Abby's) birthday. Dan is a special guy who usually has a bit of mischief in his smile! (& seems to love to tweak his mother-in-law) All teasing aside he is a special person and we are very happy to have him a part of our family.

Thanks for all you do Dan! Happy Birthday!

Love, Jeff and Barb

Happy 7th Anniversary, Aaron & Noelle!

Noelle and Aaron are celebrating their 7 year wedding anniversary on June 25. Their family continues to grow as they are expecting their third child, a little boy, in October. Lauren and Elijah continue to keep them busy as well. Wishing you both continued happiness! Enjoy every moment time goes too quickly!

Love you both!
Mom and Dad

Happy "4th" Birthday Lauren Gayle!

Lauren Gayle celebrated her "4th" birthday today, May 23rd. She is growing up so quickly! She loves to wear dresses, "jewels", and pretties in her hair. This past year she has tried gymnastics and dance (wearing her "tutu"). Lauren also loves to have books read to her and she will also read the pictures of a story book to her younger brother Elijah. Lauren and Elijah often talk about a new brother who is scheduled to arrive in early October. After first hearing about the baby - Lauren was very sure she was going to have a sister and name her Julian! --- new names are being considered!

Happy Birthday Lauren!
Love you,
Grandpa Jeff & Grandma Barb

Looking Back!

As I wish Jeff a happy birthday I realize that I need to spend time updating our blog. Since Jeff retired in January we have been just having fun. Updates to follow --- shortly??? :-)

Happy Birthday Jeffrey!

May 6, 1949 - this is the day that Lawrence John and Gayle welcomed their second son into their family! Today Jeff is out turkey hunting enjoying this beautiful sun shining day! Jeff retired in January! He has been a busy guy - as we frequently talk about this whole new world of "retirement" little things are what he is enjoying the most - like the season changing from winter to spring - the smells and sounds that he just wasn't able to notice nor enjoy! This is a photo from his ice fishing trip in February.

Happy Birthday my love!

Happy "30th" Birthday Blair (4/21)

Blair just kept growing and now he is half our age and nearly twice our size! Our little ones sometimes have called him "Bear" and I will say that a hug from him is a "bear hug!" Blair and his wife Heather have had a lot of challenges in the last year - job changes, moving, along with all the other stuff that happens in life but they have managed to keep a positive outlook.

Wishing you more walleye catches like this one and of course birthday wishes filled with our love.

Enjoy your day!
Mom and Dad

Happy Birthday Danielle!

Danielle is celebrating her birthday on Sunday April 17th. She is our oldest and married to Paul and they have two beautiful children Natalie and John. Here is Danielle with John at a recent family gathering. As a parent, when your child celebrates a birthday - particularly your oldest, (since this is your first experience as a parent) one reflects on the years, the ups and downs of parenting. But after all the reflecting - it gets to the simplest of wishes "Happy Birthday"! We love you and are very proud of the adult you have become!

Mom and Dad

Happy "6th" Birthday (3/4) Miss Natalie

Our Miss Natalie celebrated her sixth birthday on Friday, March 4th. Grandpa and I went to school and had lunch with her. The parochial school serves lunch in the church basement. This is as much fun for us as it is (we hope) for Natalie. She looked like a princess - they were having a "qu" party at school. Natalie loves school and reading books. She is our special princess.

Happy Birthday Natalie! Love you, Grandpa and Grandma

South Caribbean Cruise

Shortly before Christmas Jeff and I decided that we were sort of overwhelmed with all the decisions that we were making that thinking of a gift for each other was just not happening - so Jeff said on Christmas he wanted us to have a trip planned that would be our gift to each other and be able to share our plans with our family. (For our 25th anniversary we cruised the Hawaiian Islands and so enjoyed being able to unpack and then explore all the islands we decided that another cruise would be our best choice.) Well with the patience of our special travel agent friend Karen - we were able to plan this cruise to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten. When we came back to San Juan we took a tour of "Old San Juan." We could have spent a day just there. We did schedule an excursion on each island stop. Here are some of the highlights. I realized that each time I posted a picture there are two others that I could have added but since it is only a highlight we will share the others with all of you when we visit. We cruised with the Carnival Cruise Line on their ship the Victory. Our table mates were couples from Allentown, PA and southern Michigan. A great time - we will cruise again!

A church by the sea in St. Kitt's. We toured Harrison's cave in Barbado's and this is St. Martin of Tours Church in St. Maartin's.

Found this pic of some tourists - who took that one???

Sugar Train tour in St. Lucia, Blackbeard's Castle in St. Thomas, Rain Forest Aerial Tram in St. Lucia - some photos from our excursions.

Catamaran that Jeff was able to navigate in St. Maarten's, Magen's Bay St. Thomas, and the beach on St. Maarten's.

Happpy Birthday Paul!

Paul is celebrating his birthday on Feb.5th! Paul is our oldest daughter Danielle's husband and the Dad of two very special children, Natalie and John! He is a busy guy. This is him with John during our cookie baking day. Special Daddy that brings the cut out cookies and helps all the kids decorate:)

Wishing you a great year filled with all kinds of adventures!

Celebrating 39 1/2 years at Fabcon!

On Friday January 14th Jeff and I gathered with our "Fabcon Family". Jeff was presented with a variety of gifts. We shared many stories, fun experiences, and did a lot of reflecting of what had been. Along with current fellow employees the person who originally asked Jeff to join the sales team April of 1976 also attended. Jeff started at Fabcon in August of 1971. He worked in different phases of Fabcon before becoming a sales engineer. Through the years Jeff has sold underground homes, (ironically someone who was later to become a dear friend of mine, continues to live there), warehouses, apartment buildings, churches, schools, & hockey arenas. There are more but I just can't remember them all:) Some that he has taken special pride in is the Mills Fleet Farms, Cabelas, 47th Battalion Brigade Headquarters located at Fort Carson, CO; not only the buildings but the relationships he established along the way. These are some photos of the MN salesman that he has worked with the longest; Dick, Dave, Jeff, and Don.

This is a picture of Sharon and Jeff. The other is all of the girls - Sharon, Maggie, Joyce, Wendy, and Diane. We were quit the crew! And this is Gary and Jeff.

Happpy Birthday Noelle!

January 3rd is Noelle's birthday. Since she was due at Christmas her name goes with the season. Lauren and Elijah keep her busy along with the activities that go with being a Pastor's wife ---- there is not a lot of down time for her! Recently she added selling Discovery Toys - such energy!

Happy Birthday Noelle!
Love you, Mom and Dad

It's Official - December 31, 2010

Friday, December 31st was Jeff's last day at Fabcon - he was on vacation :) and the plant was closed! After 39 years and 5 months - it was time for retirement. This morning his cousin Joe asked him to go out for coffee at MacDonalds and three hours later Jeff returned home!! I am sure there is more of this to come.

This is a photo of Jeff and Aaron - Jeff is going to be cleaning his office out and passing a whole lot of "stuff" to whoever can use it!