Current Hobby Progress

I have been working on a large nativity that I purchased while on vicarage and added significant numbers of pieces to last year. I thought the best place to begin after adding so many pieces was a manger. While constructing the manger, I ran into a few snags on getting the plaster moulds of rock to adhere to the wood. (since historically, Jesus more than likely would have been in a rock/field stone/brick type building) After months of pondering what to do, I changed my entire plan, which was to have plaster molds covering all of the wood, to this more simple design with carved in stone. After nearly completely wearing out a dremel bit with probably about 6 hours of carving individual rocks, here is the rough draft.














Here it is after primer. I added some plaster filler between some of the moulds after this picture was taken, because I felt it just looked like a bunch of pieces simply slapped onto wood.















And here you see it with the new plaster, and a couple layers of airbrushed paint.
















Next up will be getting the base color of the logs and adding more color to the rock. This will probably be done by Christmas 2025, but I will at least set out what I get done each year. ;-) It has been a great way to remain focused on the God/man behind all the preparations, and a great stress reliever as well.

3 months already!

Eden is now 3 months old! She is such a happy baby, smiling all the time and chattering away in competition with Mom and Dad. Not sleeping through the night yet, but I'm sure I'll miss that when it's over....well, maybe not! Enjoy the photos~

Eden's first 'tooth' at two months of age actually turned out to be a gingival cyst. The pediatric dentist that we took her to said she sees thousands of patients every year and only sees this about once every two years. We always knew Eden was special!

I went in to the nursery last Sunday morning to get Eden ready for church, and found her happily sucking her thumb and talking to her mobile, duck feet in the air.

She's weighing in at 9lbs, 8 oz and is 22" long!

Photo Shoot 101

The Strawn Family’s first photo shoot with a dog and a baby was on October 30, a sunny but breezy day in Nebraska at the Sprague's farm south of Wilcox. Jane is our personal photographer and her husband, Dale, the entertainer to keep Eden and Samson happy, occupied, and smiling.

Now, I don’t know about anybody else out there, but oh man, what a trip!

“Ok, on the count of three take her pacifier out and look at the camera. One, two, THREE!” (repeat)

“Alright, this time, keep her face under the blanket so she doesn’t swallow air. On three, throw the blanket as far as you can while looking at the camera and smiling. Keep still.” (repeat)


“Eden, look at Daddy, look at Daddy. Smile! No, no, smile. See. Like me, look over here. You’re not paying attention, Eden. Hey, YOU. Look over here. Smile! Ok, look at Mommy. She has a big smile, can you smile?” (insert more baby talk here and repeat sequence).
















“[whistle] Samson, SIT. No, no, over here, by Sarah and the baby. Yes, she's crying, but come here anyway. Come here. COME. Ok, SIT. Good. DOWN. Down, all the way, all the way. There ya go. Good boy. Look over there (pointing). Look at Dale. [more whistling and much hat waving] Samson, come back. Sit. Down. Good boy. No, no kisses. Stop that. I mean it. Look at Dale. Good boy." (give treat, snap photo, repeat)….


"Are we done yet?"

"Oh, this looks like fun. Let's take a picture with the goat for Grandma Great. She likes goats. Here goat. Come Here. Lay down. No, don't bite. (Eden screams) Hurry, snap the photo. Oh, that's gonna turn out great!"













After a few hours of this endless fun and Dale & Jane’s unending patience, not to mention an ornery goat, this is a sampling of what we came away with. Eden is now 10 weeks old and a strapping 8# 4 oz. Samson, on the other hand, is a year and a half and boisterous 86 pounds. Al and I will not disclose our weight or age. Happy guessing.

Reformation fun

A quick update to show my attempt at a creative pumpkin carving to light the way for Trick or Treaters. As you may know, David Letterman is Sarah's and my nightly ritual, (or was until our bundle of joy changed that consistency.)

Here was my attempt at his likeness using a template I found online.








I set him out in the nice dry Nebraska breeze this morning and found him shriveled by mid day. A little soak in the tub did him some good and he is almost as good as new.