Dingman Family Photo Album


Click on the photos for an enlargement.

granddaughters in December.

It's a little past December, but this is such a cute picture that I wanted to display it, anyway. The granddaughters enjoy our stairway landing and the stuffed animals I keep there for them.

st nick with family.

St. Nicholas (our dear friend Fr. Methodius Clausing) visited our Church on his special day. It was fun getting a family picture with him. Last year Mary wouldn't even willingly sit on his lap for a moment.

Mary with toys.

Mary gathered her "friends" for a tea party.

Sophia with her cake.

Sophia with the birthday cake Mama made for her.

Mary's tea party.

Mary had a lttle "tea party" with her stuffed friends during Sophia's party.

 Girls with birthday balloon.

Mary with Sophia and her special balloon for her "Princess Birthday Party."

Yevette and Maria.

Taken Jan. 26th - Both the of the sweet daughters-in-law are expecting this April and everyone is very excited.

Girls with their bunkbed.

The girls enjoy their new bunkbeds.

 Monastery with snow covering

Maria and Nancy visited Seraphima and the Sisters at the Monastery in early February. The snow was beautiful!

 Maria feeding the Monastery cats.

Maria grew fond of the Monastery cats and was sure they needed some of the salmon she had saved from her dinner.

Nancy at Monastery.

Maria was sure that I needed to be in a picture, too.

Monastery with snow.

Another view of the Monastery, the driveway here (and in above photo) is just off Hi. 97.

Monastery and Seraphima with snow.

I "grabbed" a quick shot of bundled-up Seraphima coming to join me in the snow.

Monastery with snow.

The Monastery taken from the Chapel side, with one of the Sisters out for a walk.

Store windows.

Seraphima tried her hand at decorating their gift shop windows this year.

Store windows.

Last year Father Luke helped her paint them, but he couldn't make the trip this year.

PahPoo reads to the girls.

A cozy trio nestled on our window seat.

Aaron tries to cut an oak limb.

This huge, diseased oak limb was hanging over their driveway, so Aaron decided it needed to come down. The Chain saw was fritzey so he labored with a hand saw.

Mary covers her ears.

Mary doesn't like the loud chain saw, but she made sure that we knew she wasn't actually afraid, "Just mine ears are."

Aaron works with the chain saw.

The chain saw works, for awhile, to cut up the huge limb that now block the driveway.

Store windows.

Sophia spotted a fast-moving worm, but PahPoo told her it was the smallest salamander there is - and she wanted to hold it!

Store windows.

This reminds us of how excited Sarah would get when Daddy found a lizard, snake or salamander, she liked to hold them, too. Mary is interested, but still protecting her ears from chain saw.

Sophia's birthday present.

One of Sophia's special birthday presents.

Mary reads her book.

Mary loves to look at pop-up books."



October of 2000 Sarah became a Novice, she was "clothed" in dark blue at St. Anthony's Monastery in Florence, Arizona and is now called Seraphima (after her patron saint, Seraphim of Sarov). She is a member of St. John the Forerunner Monastery in Goldendale, Washington. We miss her sorely from our family circle, but it is a blessing, and we are welcome, to visit whenever we can get up there.

PS. Update (8/25/02): After the initial year in navy blue, Novices then dress in black. There is no regular "schedule" for a novice to become a tonsured (permanent) Nun, it depends on each individual and it is usually many years so there is no question or doubt.


Update (11/25/03): Seraphima continues to give God the glory as part of the family of St. John's Monastery. She takes her turn as main cook every fifth week but her main job is as an Iconographer - the Lord has blessed her with a wonderful artistic gift.
photo of mary with snake

Fr. Luke (Rolland) painted this view of St. John the Forerunner Monastery in early 2001. Some of the Sister's "cells", the kitchen, dining & living room, are in the long section behind the upper covered walkway. Some "cells" are in the two story section, some in other sections. Seraphima's is ground level, just before the roof overhangs.

photo of family

This is another of his paintings, showing the blue roof of the guest quarters from across the beaver pond.



To contact any of us via e-mail click here.

To view Rolland Luke's paintings and Icons check out Monastery Series, and Iconography Gallery or go back to Home Page.

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