Timeless Travelers

A Must Read Book!

2012-01-26T11:52:00.000-06:00

I just finished this book that I borrowed from our kids...it is a must read for everyone. This was a man who lived through the turbulent times of the 60's and how God used him in amazing ways. He was so willing to be obedient to God's call, truly a man of God. And the miracles of God during that time. Always so amazing to me that that was all going on in my life, and I had no idea. Very humbling, and probably still is in areas of our country. Such good history lessons in it as well.
Felt so good to "finish" the book, and have now finished another. I don't like not finishing books and this is the first time I have had so many books started.sigh Such a great feeling to check it off my list.

Life's Scars

2012-01-12T11:51:00.000-06:00

This song really ministers to me. I was listening to it this morning and it got me to thinking about something my Dad said when we saw him a little while ago. I don't think he means it to be negative,he just says how wrong he was in who he thought I would turn out to be. It's not the first time he has said it, and really I am thankful that there is such a drastic difference in who I was to who I am now. It's all by the grace of God that I am changed I am thankful every day for that. There is such peace in my life now, before I was always so agitated and angry at just about anything. Very selfish,me first,didn't really care how I go there just so I had my way. Would feel guilty and instead of apologizing or stopping the bad behavior I would cover it up with anger. That way it was safe too, those who truly care would persevere to see how I "really" was, Such an empty game. But thats where I "was". Once I came to Christ God showed me in His ever patient way the things in my life that I needed to give to Him and change. Oh how I am thankful that I have listened. I am always a work in progress and I am always thankful He has loved me through so many steps backward. But I know I can't "live" in the past with all those regrets!! This song is such a wonderful reminder!!

Also in the Love Joy challenge this is a picture of what was beside me this morning: Jedi our cat that we inherited from our daughter and son-in-law, she has been a loving companion! And the other picture is of what is below me that I am thankful for and that is my feet. :o) Thankful my feet are healthy and get me from place to place with ease.

2012-01-06T08:07:00.000-06:00

Here is a challenge I am very excited about for 2012...Love reading Ann Voskamp @ Holy Experience. Her writing challenges me and encourages me to live my life turning to God EVERY day,in every moment giving thanks! The 1 Habit Your New Year Can’t Do Without: {Giveaway}
www.aholyexperience.com

‎'Anail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.” ~ Erasmus It's only the 4th day of the New Year, when this woman cups my face in her hands

So I start my day this morning giving thanks for a good nights sleep.

2. My husband's faithfulness to me and our Lord

3.Our family how precious they ALL are

4. My health

Just a beginning will be adding to my list throughout the day I am sure. :)

Can it really be 2012?!

2012-01-04T14:51:00.000-06:00

I know I say this all the time but it is unbelievable another year has passed. What I came away with from last year of changes and time passing so quickly is that I need to be very intentional with relationships. God has called us to love our neighbor as myself. I pray this will be the year for that as well,to not miss those opportunities that He gives me!!
This blog change was a major ordeal...sigh...so much I still don't know,but I will learn. Another thing I want to work on this year is to not shy away from something new but to forge ahead and try to learn! Here is a few pics of Christmas season and the New Year with our son and family. Looking forward to April when we meet the two new grandchildren that are due then. Lots to be thankful for!

2011-02-04T20:21:00.007-06:00

When I was on the treadmill the other morning I was watching "Polly"; this movie has such a good message. It goes a long with a blog that I followhttp://www.aholyexperience.com/ On Monday's she has One Thousand Gifts, that's where you list the gifts that God has given in your life. Well Polly does the same thing with the "glad game". The sun was shining, albeit cold, but a beautiful day outside, and I thought I have so much to be thankful for myself. That weekend, truth be told was not a good one. I was a little under the weather, so to finally feel good enough to exercise, and to see things in a new light was so refreshing. Also, to never take health for granted.
   This movie brought back a memory of when our third daughter Nikki was home on spring break from college. She had a goal; and that goal was to find a wedding dress. She was getting married in August and wanted to get the dress ordered to be sure it was here in plenty of time. So off to the big City of Fargo/Moorhead we go. We are on a mission, she has wedding planner book in hand, and a list of places to go, and things we must get accomplished. She is very much the planner, and a stickler for details, so she doesn't want interruptions. So we are on our way to a bridal shop and my car is getting very hot. Nikki informs me that the car is filling with smoke. I tell her "oh it is probably exhaust from the cars". We are at a busy intersection at lunch time. She says, rather excitedly, "MOM, I can hardly see my hand!!" Little exaggeration here I am thinking, also a little denial. You see, I did notice the smoke, but I thought if we could just get through this light and get to a safe place to pull over we can evaluate the situation. sigh In the meantime, people are honking at us to pull over, Nikki is a little excited to say the least and I am trying to act like everything is under control. So light FINALLY turns green, we go and pull into an empty parking lot. We evaluate, yep the car is definitely on fire. So we are out of the car now and Nikki remembers her planner is still in there, so off she runs to the car to receive the planner. And in my mind I am picturing (like in the movies) the car exploding the minute she touches the handle, so I am thinking NOoooooooo, she opens the door and gets it. Just as a guy drives by and hollers "GET AWAY FROM THAT CAR!!" He was not happy, he had called into the fire department, we could hear the siren. They came, they put it out, fire in the console. Not drivable. We still have a list to conquer. Nikki NOT impressed. Me thankful it could be fixed, cuz with a wedding on the horizon I thought I can't afford a new car.
   So the only thing left to do was to go have coffee somewhere right?! So what does all this have to do with Polly?! I must have watched this movie shortly before this very eventful day, because as we are walking to the restaurant I start playing the "glad" game. So I share with Nikki that we can be glad that it was a beautiful day, because in this country in early spring it can be very cold. This was after I took her the wrong direction to the restaurant. Then I said we can be glad you have a cell phone so we can call her brother, who was 45 min away, to pick us up. You get the point of my game and that's when she told me that "she will be glad when I STOP playing the glad game". We had a good laugh over that. But she really was not happy she had lots to do. So our son finally got there and we rode home with him in his little Honda, 2 door, 2 seater CRX. It was an experience.
   This was just a fun memory to recall; but it does remind me though, that God is in control. And that situation could have been much, much worse.   He protected us, provided a ride home for us, and the car could be towed to a nearby mechanic to be fixed. And yes, we were able to go shopping later and found a beautiful dress for her. And we were GLAD. *smile*

New Year, New Hobby

2011-01-08T20:33:00.009-06:00

With the new year comes new things to try: so for us it was cross country skiing. We actually have done it before, years ago when I was 18, and probably 9 yrs ago in MT. Both of those times were in the mountains, this was the first in Northern MN. It was a blast!! The temp was only 6 degrees, but the sun was shining, not wind and it was beautiful. We did get hot and a little sweaty. Bob did much better than I. I had a challenge with going up hills, kept tripping myself. ugh!!! Then I couldn't get back up. Oh well, with practice hopefully I will get better at it. And there most definately WILL be a next time. So here is to new experiences *smile*

2010-09-20T11:01:00.004-05:00

Sometimes the "girl on the go" needs to rest. Today as I was looking outside at the cloudy, windy,leaves beginning to change fall day; this thought has been going through my mind. I was reading blogs of people that had taken a missions trip with Compassion, was so blessed and truth be told...convicted by their words. There is sooo much more to this world than making sure my home is finished, or bills paid, or when do I see my children and grandchildren again. But sometimes these thoughts so fill my mind that I forget to "rest" and be quiet to "hear" what God is trying to say to me. Where is it that He would have me be this day? I have a friend who recently lost twin grandchildren, they are grieving. Another friend who's mother is in the last stages of life. A friend who's a single mother, not at all what her "plan" of life would be. So many,many hurts in this world. So much bigger than the temporal "things" of this life. I think I needed this HUGE wake up call and turn my thoughts back to the Giver of All things in this life. Jesus Christ. I think of His hurts as I so often disappoint Him in my lack of obedience, and time spent with Him. But the biggest thing I take away is Grace. His all sufficient grace that even in my bumblings He forgives, and gently guides me back.

These readings of the people that went to Guatemala really put into prospective the life we have here in the US. We are so blessed, so much to be thankful for and that we shouldn't take for granted. We were all born here for a reason at this time, so we must not waste it. We need to "bloom" where God has placed us, in the way that He made us to minister, right now however that may be. Even if it's quietly,behind the scenes in prayer or some other way. Just so each day we are living out what He has called us to do.

Delurk for Haiti

2010-01-17T23:07:00.003-06:00

I was reading different blogs tonite and came across this blog http://www.4littlemenandgirlytwins.com/; I was so touched to see what this family is doing for the people of Haiti. They are donating .10 for every comment that is made on her blog. So cool to see what God's people do to help one another. The devastation over there is more than I can comprehend...praying daily for these people and that God would be glorified!

HUMBLED....BLESSED....THANKFUL

2009-09-20T20:26:00.016-05:00

Quick trip out west before the big festivities began: Kim reading to older boys

middle man loves cucumbersThis was a busy month to be sure. It started out busy with trying to paint, in between rainstorms, and me not being home. Then Stacie and Ralph were able to come home for a few weeks for their vacation. My kids had asked me what I wanted to do for my b'day, yes it was the big 50 (:, and I said if they could all be together that is gift enough for me. I always enjoy seeing everyone together enjoying one anothers company and watching all the grandchildren. So that is what I thought we were doing and having family pics taken by a wonderful photographer, http://www.laurabellephotography.com/. She is a friend of Chad and Nikki's and she did an awesome job!! When you think we had 13 grandchildren there and the oldest is not quite seven!!! So there were quite a few babies to be held in photos and trying to keep everyones attention, can't say it enough she did a FANTASTIC job!! We were all very pleased.
Then at the end of the photo session our kids told me what was going to happen the rest of the weekend. I truly thought this was gift enough, but they hired five girls to stay with all the children,so on the next day we could go to Old Spaghetti Factory for supper and they were taking us to the Orpheum Theater to see Mary Poppins the Musical. We had such a wonderful time. It was a great play. Then the day after that we all went to the Como Zoo. So it was a full, but absolutely wonderful weekend!!! I felt so very BLESSED that they went to all this work to plan, and pull all of this together. I am sure it was a lot of work and I am sooooo THANKFUL!!

Stacie and Nugget at the State Fair Ralph and Nugget at the State Fair
Not so sure of the big animalsWaiting for pics to be taken.........Hanging out at the houseOld Spaghetti Factory.....At Como Zoo

Much Needed Weekend Getaway (with a little work thrown in)

2009-08-23T22:27:00.032-05:00

We have been trying all summer to get away for a vacation.....at first it was going to be for a week. Then we could tell that we really didn't have a week to use so then we thought a four day weekend would be nice......well,little did we know that would be hard as well to find time. Bob started this job a year ago Dec. so he is building a brand new territory and business is very different these days so you want to meet with dealers and customers when you can to keep what momentum is going to keep it going. So what we ended up doing he had to go to Biwabik,MN to touch bases with the dealer there building a house so we were able to tie in our weekend getaway with a "little" work. Well worth it and we had a wonderful time .

Our first day was the worst as far as weather goes. It was a rainy drizzly day. As we were driving to where the house was we noticed that the leaves are starting to change.

We had heard that this lodge was a very expensive place to stay;but we thought why not go in and see since we are here..so we did. And they had a great rate cuz of the bad weather so we stayed.

Lobby of Lodge Living Room

Its called Giants Ridge Resort. Its a ski resort in the winter, but has bike trails and such for the other times of year. Our room was gorgeous. Had a kitchen,living room,& bedroom

Since the weather was so rainy and we couldn't go for a bike ride we went for a drive, went through Embrass,MN. This town is known for one of the coldest spots in the winter so we wanted to see what is there.

Theseare statues in this little park Big Thermometer

There's even a bed&breakfast out of town a little ways. Looked very nice, didn't get a pic of the gazebo but that was there also. Very pretty yard.

After we left Giants Ridge we drove up to Grand Marais, Bob had a meeting with his dealer and customer. So after that we went to for a bike ride and to the Angry Trout for supper. This is the hill we had or fide up.....sad to say I didn't make it all the way, oh well was a good ride.

They catch fish daily, and that is the fish they serve . We had fish and chips it was delicious!

View of our hotel from the lake in Grand Marais Sailboat

This was a light house and of course Bob had to see if there was a way that he could get up in there, the door was pad locked shut.

From Grand Marais we hiked to Devils Kettle. These are the steps we went down, this is a pic of going up. You hike quite a ways up, then take the steps and ramps back down to the river. This is a river that has a hole that the water goes into and they haven't been able to figure out where the water comes out. Beautiful view.

Taking a rest Steps down

View of falls behind me

Devils Kettle

This is the back of Naniboujou Lodge.

We tried to stay here but it was full. We left our van here in the parking lot and hiked over to Devils Kettle. We came back here to eat lunch. It is a very unique place and wonderful food!!

Inside the dining room. It was painted in the designs of the Cree Indians. The fireplace is supposed to be one of the largest in MN.

Go to http://www.naniboujou.com/ to read more about this great get away.

From there we drove down to Beaver Bay and went on a 10 to 16 mi round trip bike ride to Split Rock Lighthouse.

These were some "chairs"along the trail to advertise this lodge so thought we should get a picture. This bike ride was a challenge for sure, quite hilly in some parts but well worth the ride. We can't wait to go back again.

From here we drove down to Duluth and stayed there for our last night. We walked down by the canal and ate at another unique resteraunt and looked around at some cute shops. For just a few days we found plenty to do and came home very refreshed!

June Happenings!!

2009-07-07T21:52:00.015-05:00

Our summer has been sloooooow in coming but lately we have had some beautiful weather!! Despite what the weather does I have so much to be thankful for. My mom was able to come and spend two weeks with us, we kept her quite busy going to see our other children and going to work with Bob and seeing country she hadn't seen before.

Beautiful background!

Swatting the bugs at the State Park Stace and her daughter @ the airport

Our oldest daughter was able to come home with her little girl so she could meet both sets of her great-grandparents for the first time. We hadn't seen our granddaughter for a couple of months either (and they change so quickly) so was a treat for us as well. My mom had an "appreciation day" celebration while she was here; we invited all the extenended family to celebrate her and Fathers Day.

Mom with her b'day cake Stacie and Nugget talking to Nugget's daddy on the computer along with Big and M "C"
Cousins, a wonderful gift
Had a little picnic Great Grandma, Grandma, Mom & Nugget
Great Grandma, Grandma, Mom and the 3 "C's "
The whole fam with Great Grandma
The W girls with Great Grandma, Grandma, and Dad

The whole W fam with Great Grandma
Great Grandpa W with the W girls
Great Grandma W with Nugget
Playing in the sprinkler mat
At the lake

Tree fort at the farm
Great Grandma, Grandma, Mom and the 5 "E" children Great Grandma with the 5 "E" children
The whole "E" fam with Great Grandma

June went by in a blur.....but am sooo thankful for every moment we have with family. Never want to take it for granted!

Business Trip = Fun and Relaxing

2009-05-05T20:16:00.009-05:00

This was a work trip, for Bob anyway, but since there was so much travel involved before the actual meeting, we had some fun along the way. We left our house on a pretty cool morning, but the sun was shining and we were ready for a nice drive. We went to an area that I had never been to before. Bob had been there years ago with his grandparents camping. Was fun for him to relive those days and try to figure out exactly where he had been. We had no problem crossing the border into Canada and finding our hotel.
Customs:

Kakabeka Falls they are called the Niagra of the North:

.We left Thunder Bay for the extremely nice drive to International Falls the next day. Even though all the leaves aren't out yet it was still very pretty. We saw a lot of deer and some beautiful scenery. Some of the lakes up there still had ice on them, there were patchy areas of snow as well. For lunch we stopped in a small town and asked a very nice lady at a gas station where she recommends we eat lunch. She suggested this restaurant in the local hotel there. She said to try the perogies. They were delicious!! They were made with mashed potatoes,cheese and bacon bits in them. I have had them with cubed potatoes, I liked this better. It was in the Atikokan Hotel. The restaurant was decorated with antiques. Very peaceful place to eat. This hotel was right next to the railroad track. This is where the railroad people would stay when they were building the railroad. Atikokan Hotel

Little Falls, Atikokan :

We had a nice time and Bob had a really good meeting that we hope turns into a lot of business! Now to head home for a great weekend with most of our kids to celebrate Mothers Day, b'days and see our grandson be dedicated on Sunday.

Still Winter

2009-03-12T11:11:00.009-05:00

View out the patio door,one quarter of the way up the door! Yesterday was a first for me...we got a major snow storm, and our driveway was almost impossible to drive on, it needed to be blown out. There in lied the dilemma...my husband had been gone working shows;and would be getting home late and leaving again early the next morning; and our son has been putting in very, very long hours, and our daughter in law is pregnant...that left a soon to be 50 yr old, very able person to blow it out. That would be me! Problem, didn't know how to use the snow blower, solution, have husband walk me through it over the phone. Success on the instructions, got it out of the garage and running! This really is a tribute to all of those people who blow snow every winter, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It is NOT an easy task. My kind husband in my defense says that because of all the ice build up we have on our driveway is why it was so hard to blow, but I do believe I am Not in that great of shape. He doesn't hurt when he blows the snow like I did when I came in. But anyway, thankful for the snowblower, even though it was a chore, it is finished. Hopefully for the last time this winter!!!!!!!

Here are some pics of what we have been doing since the last post, busy with wonderful grandbabies!!!!!!

Willow

2008-11-19T19:45:00.004-06:00

Today was the day for Willow's first grooming. Her fur was getting out of control so I took her in to be groomed. She looks so much better. Here are a few pics of her.
This is Willow when we first got her, she was 10 weeks old.

This is Willow before she went in, she is 6 months old now.
Willow after. Her fur is shorter than originally planned because it was pretty matted.Not exactly a winter cut, but at least those matts are gone.

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-11-17T18:40:00.007-06:00

Birthday girl, and her sister, (brushing her teeth) (:Birthday girl with her parent's and sisters.

Our niece.....Mom and birthday girl making her cupcakes...........Getting ready to blow out her number 3 candle...............One of her gifts was dress up clothes.............
Getting some more "dress up" clothes on.............Dad waiting for the festivities to begin........Grandpa with the birthday girl and her sister..............It was a special day even if she wasn't totally feeling 100% yet.

We have been trying to keep busy while we wait the arrival of three very special "little" people. One of the things we did was have our last meal with my sister-in-laws family and us to say good-bye for the winter to very "special" big people (: my in-laws!! Was a fun evening as we waited the arrival of Deb and her new husband. They had been on their honeymoon for ten days so their kids were excited to see them and so was everyone else! Here are a few pictures from that evening.....................

Hear "Dat" ?

2008-10-08T21:28:00.004-05:00

I wish I had a picture of our oldest grandaughter saying this...she will put her hand up by her ear and say "hear dat?" It is so precious. Lately I have been reading about grace and I picture that for my own life the Lord saying to me.... hear dat? We get so busy in life that we forget to listen to that sweet voice of our loving heavenly Father, as been the case these last few weeks. Reading about Gods grace has been such a good reminder of His love for us and how we need to show and extend love to others. We don't know what is in store for us in the future but God does and I am so thankful for that. His timing is always perfect just as I needed to read this this week. -2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NASB
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with results, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
So when life gets too busy or confusing I just need to remember to "hear dat?" Because I know who holds my future.
Here are few pictures of some of the blessings in my life........................................................................

Excited to have new baby brother home.

Newest grandson.

Taking a break from shopping (:

Newest grandaughter.

Gonna drive lawn tractor like Daddy (:

Hard to believe our first grandson just turned 6!!!!!!!!

Enjoying a good book.

Lets do a puzzle, while younger brother enjoys an ear of corn (:

Thought they looked so cute in their matching pj's

Playing Hooky

2008-10-01T23:11:00.009-05:00

This last Sunday we took a last minute day trip,this is a self potrait (: , we went on a bike ride. We wanted to get out and enjoy the fall colors while we could, it was a perfect day to go riding. The colors weren't at their peak yet but they were gorgeous!!

But.....waiting for me at home are these unfinished jobs...............................

The railing on the deck is waiting to be painted and we started another project;

laying block for our patio.But alas, I know these projects WILL wait, in the mean time we enjoyed our day. We went at the right time, because on the way home we ran into rain, and the temp dropped quite a bit.

The people on the deck are our nephews and future brother-in-law. This summer we had our first family reunion. We had such a great time. This was a b'day party the night before the reunion had started. We even had family here from my mother-in-laws side of the family.

Us with our grandchildren, we have a new grandson since this picture.

Cousins getting to know each other.

We had a very special Sunday morning service down by the lake, my brother-in-law had a challenging message for us all.

My father-in-law lead us as a family in communion...

Our niece was baptized, and our son-in-law was honored to assist the pastor from her church in the baptisim. So many special memories from this weekend. I am so blessed to be a part of this family. We never want to forget the heritage that has been passed on to us. I pray that I remain faithful, and thankful that I have a loving heavenly Father who made this all possible.

A Wonderful Gift from my Husband!!

2008-07-22T20:38:00.005-05:00

This last weekend I ended up with a surprise addition to our home. We went to the Water Carnival, stopped at a pet shop, and these adorable puppies were there. I thought wouldn't that be fun if we could get one, next thing you know we are buying one. She is adorable, 10 wk old Peek-a-poo, we named her Willow. So far so good, she sleeps well in her kennel, we are working on the house training part, but she is getting there. She is very playful, pretty fun!! Bob doesn't really want a pet; yet he is laid back enough to put up with one for my sake. Just one of his very special traits, that I love very, very much!!!!The weekend before Nikki had a surprise 30th b'day for Chad. His b'day is later this week, she had it early to throw him off. It worked. The wind was the only uninvited guest that day!! Ralph and Stacie surprised everyone as well and came home for it.

Ralph and Stacie took us to one of our favorite resteraunt's in town for our anniversary, we had a great time!!

Tribute to the Women in My Life

2008-05-31T22:09:00.005-05:00

Since May is the month to celebrate Mothers Day I was thinking of the women in my life that God has blessed me with. The first is my mom. As a child I know I didn't appreciate who she was as a woman, she was "mom". I never thought of her as a person with feelings, a person who had a life before her children or outside her children for that matter. But as I matured in the Lord and had a family myself did I understand all that she had done for me and my siblings. Hers was not an easy life, not at all the way she would have liked it to go. Things happened beyond her control but she dealt with it in the best way that she knew how. It wasn't easy, especially with a daughter like me who sure put her through a lot. But, I am so thankful for her and all that she has taught me about persevering and not giving up. Then my mother in law, she has taught me a lot as well. When we moved here I was a very young mom and she showed me nothing but unconditional love. I am sure she saw things in me that probably disturbed her, but she just loved me through those things and did not criticize. She taught me unconditional love. My aunt in law, loved me as well with an unconditional love. My sister in law who as well has been through so very much in her life. She taught me how to focus on the Lord, do not dwell in the past, persevere and trust where God is leading. I have two more sister in law's who as well have touched my life,and have been a blessing to me. There are many more women, friends, and sisters that I am so very thankful for. Its amazing when I look at my life and see the people God has brought into my life, and I am the richer for it. Then their are my girls. All are expecting babies in these pictures, all at different stages of pregnancy. ( Our daughter in law has now delivered a beautiful baby girl, 1 week ago) They have all taught me how to be a better woman in the Lord. Our oldest daughter in her patience as she waited for God to bless them with this pregnancy. She waited and trusted, even when at times I am sure it seemed like it may never happen. I admire her unselfishness with her time. She is always taking a meal to someone or ministring to their neighbors, or entertaining, & working full time. Our second daughter in losing her son...such a trying time but her faith in the Lord never waive rd.We have seen God do amazing things in their family.She as well has been so very active in their Child Evangelism ministry, working with the youth and MOPS, allowing God to use her time,with a busy home life as well with their children. Our third daughter in dealing with health issues, her faith never wavered as well. She was able to care for her family despite terrible pain, trusting all the while that God would and does sustain her.She as well working with the youth as her husband is the Youth Pastor, and now is the director of Childrens ministry in their church. They all amaze me at how they are very willing to be vessels for the Lord with their time.Our daughter in law, starting out married life not at all the way I am sure she had planned, but how she has allowed God to work in her life, and the maturity He has grown in her, her faith has never wavered.She as well has been very willing to jump in wherever she is needed despite the busyness of her home life with three children so close in age. All these women as I watch have blessed me in ways that they don't even know. I am amazed that God has placed them in my life. These women are all terrific mom's, each dealing with their own challenges and joys and such unique individuals. I am thankful, and never take them for granted, happy to share in their lives. So this post is dedicated to them and to thank them for their diligence in being Godly women!!!!!

EFCA Districts Provided a Great Weekend with Grandsons!!!

2008-05-04T21:48:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful time with the boys. Bob was working a show so he was gone half the time, so we had to share him. I got sick on Sat. which slowed me down some, but they are so easy to watch so it all worked out. The weather didn't cooperate very much, that was the last of major snow that weekend.
Big C is getting a haircut.

Boys are wrestling, they love to do that.

Little C keeping an "eye" on my camera (:

Basketball time with Grandpa.

From Chaos to Finished Project

2008-04-18T20:42:00.004-05:00

Another painting job done.It took me three times to finally find the color that I like!! So third time must be the charm! This is the before......
After................................

On a side note,spring is here. Saw my first robin this morning here. I saw one in ND but hadn't seen one here yet, and the weather was BEAUTIFUL today!!!

Hanging Out With The Girls

2008-04-17T08:52:00.004-05:00

We spent last weekend watching Bobby and Tiff's girls so they could have a weekend away to celebrate Tiff's b'day.

We went for a walk, the snow was melting quickly.

Having a little Grandpa time.

It was a nice relaxing weekend. Grandpa had lots of work to do but still took time out to hang out with us girls!Spring looks like it is finally here. Yesterday we had a nice light shower, pretty much took the rest of our snow. Looking forward to being outdoors (:

Babysitting the Boys!!

2008-04-13T10:08:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful time watching the boys!! They are very easy to watch, and super fun of course! The weather was pretty nice there as we were able to be outside some as well. They could really use some moisture though. Which is crazy to come home and; the second night here we got 8" of snow. While we were gone we had gotten 23" of snow. Winter is having a hard time letting go (:

We celebrated Tiff's b'day a day late but had fun anyway.
This picture was funny with all the smoke from blowing out the candles.

THANKFUL !!!

2008-03-28T22:33:00.021-05:00

We had a fun time coloring eggs with grandchildren and nieces and nephews!! Some great looking eggs too. Then Easter Sunday we had everyone for dinner, so thankful that everyone could come and for a loving Saviour!!!
Aunt Avis reading to our granddaughter while waiting to eat dinner!!
Very sweet moment:Todd with his boys.

UncleLloyd waiting to eat as well, we were happy he was able to join us.
Few pics of some of the grandchildren finding their baskets:

Fun moments......................

Notice Big C touching his nose with his tongue.
Kim gave everyone whistle blowing lessons, was quite comical.

We had a wonderful time with everyone and as always went waaay too fast!!

The Painting is Done ( in the living room anyway.....)

2008-03-17T10:14:00.006-05:00

Before

After.......

Before........

After..............

Such a good feeling to be done. The spring cleaning has begun!!! It was a very cold winter,so to start on these kind of projects feels good to freshen things up. I restained the woodwork as well but that is hard to show, this is hard enough to see the difference. Looking forward to Easter and having the house full again!!!

Our trip to Mexico

2008-03-03T21:26:00.019-06:00

We just got back from a buisness trip to Mexico. My husbands company took all the outside salesreps and their dealers that qualified to the Riviera Maya Resort. It was wonderful, I will let the pictures tell about our trip.....

At Chad and Nikki's ready to leave for the airport.....yea!!!!!Our room at the resort.View from our room.
One of the many fountains at the resort.There were 4 buffets we could eat from and at each was a carving in watermelon welcoming the company to Mexico.We walked by this banana tree every day.

Swimming in the ocean.Riding a "paddle tractor" (-:Common site there, I learned the iguana is my friend.....At Playa del Carmen one night we went there for a shopping trip, very nice.Last morning , we got a picture of the sun riseBefore boarding the bus to the airport in front of the shopping plaza at the resort.A wonderful surprise at the airport, our son-in-law, daughter and their two boys waiting for us!! Couldn't have asked for a better homecoming!!!!

May I Alway's Remain "Timeless"

2008-02-18T14:18:00.008-06:00

I was thinking this past week about being timeless, like my blog name. It was meant to be clever at first ( whether it is or not is in the eye of the beholder I suppose (: ). On Valentines Day I recieved these beautiful roses from my very thoughtful husband, and I was very thankful. But earlier that day I was having one of those pivitol moments of do I see God today?; or do I choose to be in a emotional day for whatever reason? Let me explain....Bob had been gone for 3 days by this point. On Valentines morning I woke up , worked out, had my devotions,nothing out of the ordinary, but just felt out of sorts. Could be hormones but I don't like to give in to those.A little later in the morning I got a phone call from our grandson. It was so very sweet, he asked me what I was doing and if anyone was here, no one was here and I hadn't recieved my valentine yet. He was distrubed by that and he told me I should call Uncle Bobby and Autie Tiffany or Auntie Debbie to come over. Then he told me I will buy you a Christmas present and it will be a big one but I have to ask my mom and dad first. But I thought how sweet of our loving heavenly Father to send me that special phone call because my emotions were trying to drag me down. But what made me think that day as well as many others in my life is of Joshua 24:15 ....choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.....but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. My prayer was of thankfulness for such a sweet and thoughtful grandson and may I ALWAYS be teachable and timeless in my learning and yearning for what God has to teach me. That day I could choose to be in a frump or allow myself to see the beauty that God has for me in each day.

These are some pictures I thought would be fun to share:

This black squirrel is beautiful, but we are not on good terms, he is destroying my bird feeder! Since I have taken his picture he has not been back, he must've known I am not happy with him. (:
Bob helped with our niece's derby car for AWANA, her sister did the design of the body of the car, and another sister did the spider design on the roof of the car.

The other siblings had a tae-kwon-do tournament and came home with beautifu trophies...just wanted to show them off!!!! (:

So much to be thankful for!!!

Flexible Excellence!!!!!

2008-02-06T20:06:00.000-06:00

A comment was made today that got me to thinking. It was made by a lady that is looking quite seriously at buying our car, she said " I am not flexible, but I am working on it." It made me think that if we are so rigid in our plans how many times would we miss out on those " God appointments " ? Not that I had anything real special happen today; but it just made me think that there has been times when if I had not gone to that special meeting I would have missed out on a huge blessing from the message. That has happened more than once for me. Because by nature I am a huge homebody,not good, but I am. So sometimes I don't want to be obedient and go when I know that I should, I am so thankful that God does not give up on me and gently, and not so gently sometimes (: keeps pursuing till I obey. He loves us that much even in these little nonessentials in our lives. But that statement came from these last two days of being flexible in our plans:

It started yesterday afternoon when we got a phone call from Kim that they had to have their dog put down because she bit two different men, the garbage man and the UPS man. Tigger had a problem with men, just random men, never knew when she would react. So far hadn't bitten anyone till now. So they didn't feel they could keep a dog like that because you never know. Even though she had been a wonderful pet for their family and an excellent hunting dog for Todd. So it was a SAD day at their house. But they wanted to get another lab, this time a yellow lab. So they started looking and found one close to us. So that is where the phone call came in. They asked us to take a look at this 10 wk old puppy and buy him if we thought he looked good. So off Tiff, the girls and I go to puppy shop (: The "shopping" was a success!! Here he is, with our granddaughter and Tiff. The little girls loved him and he loved them as well. So we had a house guest and he did very well. I wasn't going to go with Bob originally on this trip because he said it was going to be a very quick trip, lots of meetings. That was the first change of plans. But a blessing for Todd and Kim(and us so we could see them) because Bob was already coming this way and now he could bring the puppy!

We are also selling our car and the couple interested in it live in a town that we would be going through anyway so Bob offered to take the car to them, let them keep it overnight, get it checked out, and we would pick it up on our way back if they didn't want it. Or we would pick up a check and give them the title. But on our way there the fan belt broke. The night before Bob had done some work on the car and sprayed lubricant. Well it got on the fan belt and that is what made it break. It happened close to a friend of ours service station. So we took it there asked him to check it out and put the fan belt on, we would pick it up and pay him the next day on our way home. So we had to call the people tell them what happened. She was sooo dissapointed, really wanted to see the car. So long story short she was the one that isn't very flexible. We had to keep going because Bob had an appt ( I was following him in the van by the way (: ) In the end they drove over and got the car, they have it now so we will see what happens. Second change of plans, leaving the car,the potential buyers having to drive to get it.

But those events could have thrown us, but is it worth it? I don't think so. I got to come along, got to see T&K and the boys. Spend a little bit of time with them, they got their puppy. And hopefully we have a SALE! Forgot to get pics of the boys seeing the puppy for the first tme. Oh well. Here are a few freebies when I babsat the girls the other day while Tiff went to the dr. :

Dancing with cousin Heide!!!!!

Pines in the Prairie Weekend

2008-01-29T20:04:00.000-06:00

This past week we traveled our way out to our daughter and son-in-laws farm. Bob was working so it took us a few days to get there so he could make calls on the way. Todd and Kim had a CEF Directors retreat so we had the privilidge of babysitting!!! We got there Thurs evening. Bob left Fri morning to go call on some more customers, and I stayed at the house. Friday morning I went out on a limb and went to work out with Kim and a friend of hers. At first I wasn't going to go, truth be told I didn't think I would be able to keep up with these young girls. Kim talked me into going and I am glad I did. Kris is a very nice, fun person. Made working out not so much a chore!! It was a challenge don't get me wrong, but I survived!! Kris designed a circuit type workout, one minute stations. That helped a lot, you can do anything for one minute....right?!?! It helped me when I wanted to quit, smile. So that is how I started my day there.

Todd and Kim left then Bob came home and our weekend was on its way. We had a wonderful time with the boys. They played a lot of b'ball in the dining room, wrestled with grandpa, kicked pine cones outside, checked out their fort and just had a good time relaxing. The boys had a good time drinking hot chocolate with grandpa. The weather was gorgeous on Sat and Sun. Hard to believe cuz now it is 14 below and dropping!!!!! The wind chill is 40 something below, pretty crazy!!! This week we are off to SD, no grandchildren there, sigh, just work. I am just so very thankful that I can go along and we can have this time together!!!

Drivin down the road

2008-01-29T19:40:00.000-06:00

As we were driving I had a CD playing and it was Chris Rice. He is one of my favorite song writer/singers. I can totally relate to his thought process, but He has the gift of writing and putting it to music. But the song that was playing was :

So Much For My Sad Song; the chorus is: So much for my sad song, So much for my sorry attitude, Let's make this a love song instead,`Cause I'm so in love with you, C'mon let's go out and play, Save the sad song for another day, No time for tears, I'm wearin' a smile, So much for my sad song.

He was trying to write a more meloncholy song but he just couldn't do it when he gets to thinking about the Lord, and all that he has done for us. The tune of the song is very upbeat and you just can't help but smile when you hear it. It's from his CD What a Heart Beats For. Very good!!!!

"Kidsitting"

2008-01-19T21:05:00.000-06:00

I thought this would be an appropriate title for this post...Our 4 yr old grandson was praying and he was thanking God that grandpa and grandma could "kidsit" for them. We thought that was pretty special. But as I was looking for pictures to put on here I had forgotten I had taken this picture of our nieces and nephews when we "kidsat" for them one day. Their mom and other sisters went shopping out of town, for bridesmaids dresses. So we had the honor of spending the day with them. They wanted to play out in the snow, but didn't have their own snow pants with them so we loaned them ours. Of course they were way toooo big so had to take a pic, I thought they looked pretty cute!!! They thought it was pretty funny as well. Here they are:Then we were off to our daughter and son-in-laws to watch their kids so they could go to a couples retreat. They had a wonderful time and we had a GREAT time with the kids!!!!! On the last day we took them for a treat since it was too cold to play outside we took them to the next best thing?! Mickey D's !!

Down Time

2008-01-09T23:56:00.000-06:00

I guess thats what you could say I have been doing this week. I feel like I am being lazy...but when you get the flu it is the best to be still. So these last few days I have been spending a lot of time getting caught up in my Bible studies. They really have been sweet days of reflection, and meditating on Gods word. But this weekend I will be meeting up with my husband as he has been out of town. Really, really looking forward to that, and we will have a special time with two of our grandchildren while their parents are at a couples retreat.
And thankfully I think I am on the mend, achy still......but could that be AGE?! I think not; sigh.

The Unveiling

2008-01-03T20:58:00.000-06:00

Before.......... After........

The bandages are off! If you don't remember my husband Bob, cut off the ends of his fingertips on his middle and index fingers on his left hand. He was using the jointer in his shop, making Christmas presents. The healing process has been going well. This is a new concern not having the protection from his bandages, because they are still very tender, but they look really good!! He has been doing really well, not that much pain. We are convinced he has been doing so well from everyone praying, so a big thank you!!!!!!

Pre Thirtieth B'day!!

2008-01-03T20:38:00.001-06:00

The last day of the year holds a special meaning for us, it's our daughter Stacie's b'day!!! She loves to be home for her birthday so we get to celebrate with her!! It is tradition in our family to choose your meal as well as your cake and ice cream. This year she had an italian roast with potatoes and carrots, tomatoes, celery mmmm very good. We had pumpkin-rum bundt cake with brown sugar icing, she had cinnamon ice cream. Rich but good!!! We played games the rest of the night, watched the ball drop on TV from New York City, watched their home movies of the Christmas that we had just celebrated; a great way to end 2007!!!!
On a side note it is sooo hard to believe that she just turned 29!!! She was the last baby born in 1978 in Ft. Collins that year, and that was at 3:28 pm. Very unusual the nurses told me at the time. Usually they have a lot of babies at the end of the year, not that year. The first babies, twins, were born at 12:30 am, they were my roommates in the hospital. People don't have roommates so much anymore when having babies. Times have changed for sure.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-03T19:27:00.000-06:00

Everyone was able to be home for Christmas!!!! I am sooo thankful that ALL of our children work things out to be able to be home at the same time!! We appreciate that so very much!! It was a lot of fun watching the commotion of everyone opening their gifts. There was a hum of conversation, the occasional yell from one of the grandchildren,& lots of laughter. These are times you can't put a price tag on!! We also had a special friend here for the weekend, Mike. Uncle Mike as Todd and Kim's kids call him. He is a great guy attending Forest Springs in WI training in camp ministry. He had already had Christmas with his family, and had some time, so he came here so he could see Todd and Kim. We had the pleasure of spending time with him as well.

We begin Christmas Eve by going to the candlelight service at church. That is always a special time. Then we head up to my sister-in-laws house for some Oyster Stew!! Yumm, just kidding not my favorite but I always have some, it's tradition!! (-: My husband loves it as do some of the other family members. We have a good time of visiting then head back to our house. This year everyone happened to be home on Christmas Eve, so we opened gifts that night. Normally we would wait till Christmas Day for our Christmas Eve. So Bob read the Christmas story from Luke before we open the gifts. We don't want it to be all about the presents, we are truly thankful for the birth of Gods only Son,Jesus!! When we look at this wonderful group of people gathered in our living room that is a precious gift!

We also had an unwelcome guest, the flu!!! Poor Kim was NOT feeling well most of the time. But she was a trouper and tried to keep up with all the activities. Nikki and Chad's oldest son got the flu as well, same with our oldest granddaughter.

They are all on the mend now. Three of the families are together in ND,all except our son and daughter-in-law, at Todd and Kim's place. I am sure having a GREAT time!!!

Unplanned Events

2007-12-16T10:59:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Dec 15, held quite the surprise for my husband, especially, and myself. We found ourselves sitting in the emergency room for four and a half hours before he was moved up to a room. He wasn't admitted just waiting for surgery. The day started out quite pleasant, we woke, had our coffee and breakfast. We always have it back in our bedroom, we have two chairs back there, that way we can have our devotions before we start the day as well. We ended up taking a longer breakfast than he wanted cuz he wanted to be out in the shop by 8:00 AM. But the days before this Sat he had been gone all week in Iowa as this was the first week of his new job.... so needless to say he just wanted to relax a little bit because that was a heavy week of training and taking in A LOT of info. So as he was leaving our bedroom he said, well I am only an hour late getting out to the shop, being sarcastic. Not five minutes later I hear him hollering for me to come RIGHT NOW, HE NEEDS TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL!!!!! So I come running and he has his left hand cradled in his right hand with a lot of pressure on it and holding it up. Can't be good I am thinking because those arent' words I hear from him is that he needs to see any doctor, not to offend doctors just not his favorite place to go. The thought that is running through my mind is of my grandfather, who was a woodworker as well, and when I was a little girl he had cut off his index finger at the knuckle and they had sewed it back on. That finger was never right and always got in the way. So you guessed it it happened again, and this time he thought there is no way they are sewing it back on. So he told them he didn't know where it was, my grandma found it in his back pocket of his pants when she was doing laundry. If you could've known my grandpa that wasn't so surprising!!!! So these thoughts are going through my mind... in our van on the way to the hospital I finally ask him what happened, he said two of his fingers the ends are gone. He said you don't want to see it. We get him to the hospital in record time I might add..... We have to wait what seems like forever to see a nurse to get him back to a room. It really wasn't that long, they get him back there to wait again before he gets anything for the pain. That is where this is all leading, that when you are watching a loved one suffer it is soooo terribly hard and time stands literally still. As I was praying for all of this, I was thinking of our Heavenly Father and how much He loves us and watches us daily, make choices, that are very harmful to us, to our testimony, how it must sadden Him. But how lovingly He brings us back, sometimes waits and pursues a long time for us to repent. But yet there is GRACE, always GRACE!!! So thankful for that and knowing in this situation could've been far worse, and even in this He is there with us.
That was a very busy day for them in the emergency room which is why we did a lot of waiting. They had a lot of life threatening emergencies that they were dealing with. So as we are hearing the hustle and bustle around us we were so thankful that this was all we were dealing with. He still has these two fingers, they will be very functional, he is right handed this happened to his left, he started a new job that looks like will be a huge blessing for him. How could we be upset about the change of how things will function in the near future? We have so much to be thankful for!!! All of our children and grandchildren will be home for Christmas so we have these wonderful days to look forward to being together. These times are priceless. The things that won't happen are the Christmas gifts that won't be made now. He has recovery time, I might be driving him around for a while, but even that is not bad, cuz I would've been with him anyway. With his job, this won't affect his ability to work either so we have that to be thankful for as well.
To get back to his hand the doctor was able to use the skin on his fingers to put over the fingertips so he didn't have to do a skin graft. Surgery went well and we were home at 7:00PM. Some people that were there that day didn't have such a happy outcome. Our prayers go out to them that they know and love the same Lord Jesus that we do, and that this season that we are in right now is to remember and celebrate the most wonderful gift that we have been given with a love that is soo huge and undeserved, and all we have to do is accept it, Gods only son Jesus!!!!

I have been tagged.....here I go

2007-11-17T22:13:00.000-06:00

I haven't written in a while so maybe this will get me going again.
10 Years Ago
My husband and I were looking forward to Stacie coming home from her first semester of college. Still adjusting to having "one" out of the nest!! Huge adjustment for me. Hoping she liked being at home again, how do I behave as a mom of an "adult"?! I know I think waaaay too much!!! We were also into the girls high school basketball season. Our second daughter Kim played. We enjoyed those years of sports very much. We also had a daughter, Nikki, who ran track, and our son played basketball, and played football. So lots of events to go to. We also were very involved with AWANA. We were working with a club we helped start in a small church. Full of challenges, but also lots of blessings. I was also still grieving the loss of my brother and brother-in-law. We were also walking with my sister-in-law with the terminal illness of her young son, Mark.
5 Years Ago
We now have 3 children out of the home. One daughter married, for two years, Kim. So we have a new "son", so blessed to have him, Todd, in our family!!! And also they blessed us with our first grandson, born in October!!!! He has been such a joy!! We also have our third daughter Nikki married this year in August to a wonderful guy Chad!!! They were high school sweet hearts. So now at this point we have 3 "sons" and 3 girls (-: Stacie has graduated from college and his an RN still living 1000 miles away )-: She has met a guy at this point and I think we had met him right after they met. We were so thrilled for her!! Our son is a senior in high school doing post secondary at the Tech school. He had his own lawn service that he had been doing for 6 years by this time!!
1 Year Ago
We are now into full swing and loving every single moment of it.....as grandparents. No GREATER joy, except of course being a mom. I did love my mom job,every aspect of it, even looking back at all my mistakes I am sooo thankful for a loving heavenly Father who gives me soooo much grace!!! All of our children are married now. God has given us such wonderful mates for our children!! Truly matches made in heaven (-: We now have 8 grandchildren, one in heaven. Our precious Micah, Todd and Kims son is home with the Lord now since 2004. Since 2003 when our daughter Nikki was having serious health problems after the birth of her son, we learned how to really,really leave our children in Gods hands. Thought I had done that so many times before, but to be in this totally helpless place and watch as your child suffers, and her husband,is a lesson in Gods love and provision. We saw so many blessings in the midst of this huge trial. Their son has been such a blessing, and a good baby, abnormally so so that she could care for him. He has insight now that I think God has given him from living with a mom in sooo much pain. Then to watch our daughter Kim and her husband Todd walk through the loss of a child, which I have never done, was also something that I would've never dreamed would be in our lives. But, we have so much to be thankful for. Even before his accident we had a beautiful week together at Ralph and Stacies wedding!!! It was great all of us together to get to know this bundle of love, in all of his four months!!! As a mom I felt like at times if I could just sheild everyone from this pain, take it all away, but you can't we have to walk through these days and rest in Gods provision and care. Which he did in everyones lives. They have all grown into such mighty men and women of God.
Yesterday
I went grocery shopping to get ready for Thanksgiving. This is our first year to host it as my husbands aunt and uncle have passed the baton to us and his cousin ( their son). So this year it is our turn. We will probaly have 20 people, we are looking forward to it!! We aslo went to see our grandaughters, always a treat!! Any excuse we can think of to go and see them we do, yesterday it was to deliver their mail. (-: Then we came home and did laundry!
5 Snacks I enjoy
My all time favorite now is vanilla yogurt with bananas, blueberries, strawberries, and granola on top.
Apples with peanut butter to dip
Low sugar ice cream sanwiches
Trail Mix mmmmm ( making me hungry!)
Cold cereal, you can never have too much of that
5 Things I would do if I had $100 Million
Pay off all debt
Give to as many ministries as I could
Support our parents
Invest
Help our children
5 Places I would run away to
Spend time with our children
Lake cabin
Mountain cabin
Hawaii
Germany
5 Favorite TV shows
Deal or No Deal
Any HGTV show
Cosby
MASH
Hogans Heroes
5 Things I hate doing
Speaking in front of a group
Traveling alone ( I would be lost, I am directionaly challenged (-: )
People smacking when they eat
My husband putting wet hands on my back )-:
Rude comments by people
5 Biggest joys of the moment
Bob
Children and grandchildren
Extended family
Friendships
Health

OK, there it is!! Made me do some thinking. Fun to do though, thanks Stacie

Labor of love

2007-10-11T22:20:00.000-05:00

OK its time to brag on my husband. My mom turned 70 this year and my sisters and I wanted to do something special for her b'day... so first we had a big party for her at my sister Diana's house. All her children were able to be there, and all but three of her grandchildren, and two of her great grands were there. It was a beautiful day, fun weekend!!! That was in June. So for a gift we all decided to give her a murphy bed. Thats where the labor of love comes in. My husband graciously said that he would build the bed, and install it for her. At the time we didn't know that he would have an extremely busy schedule. Also some surprises as far as IF he still has a job....that has been temporarily resolved so the pressure is off for a while. He has some things going that will carry us through. We are so thankful for a loving heavenly Father who cares for us in all things! So we know it will all work out. But in the midst of all this he diligently worked on the bed, and loved it!! I am so thankful for him. He truly has to be the most patient, loving husband, father, and my best friend!!! So this is a tribute to him for loving me and my family so much!!!! A HUGE thank you to God for giving us 29 1/2 years together!!! And Lord willing many, many, many more years. :-)

Celebrating Being Five!

2007-09-30T20:25:00.000-05:00

We had a great fall weekend!! The weather was perfect, the leaves have all changed, the air "smelled" like fall! Two of our daughters and their families came home to celebrate our oldest grandsons b'day. Our son and daughter in law and their girls were here also. We always ask the kids what they want to eat and what kind of cake for their b'day. He chose "thanksgiving food" and a baseball cake. So we had thanksgiving food; thank you to all who brought food, it was delicious!! Then Tiff made the cubs jersey cake!! It turned out Great!! Very fitting for the weekend Todd informed us cuz the Cubs were playing and doing very well. We had 25 people including children. Our grandson had sooo much fun playing with all of his cousins, weather was perfect for being outside, so that is what they did.
Then on Sat we went to a pumpkin patch. The kids played in a "corn box" instead of sand, they rode a train, hay ride,and went down a "hay slide". They had a ball!! So did we. They also did some chunkin pumpkin sling shot. We went through a corn maze as well. We had a special friend come along also. Todd's sister and her two children spent the day with us. Was so fun to spend some time with them.
Then on Sat night I got this strange stomach ache, not that stomach aches are EVER normal, but anyway......yep you guessed it, the stomach flu!! That lasted pretty much all day. I couldn't go to church with everyone, but I was able to be up for a little while to try and enjoy the last day of Todd and Kim being home. As they say.... all good things must come to an end; but this wasn't the ending I was planning on. LOL

Time.....mmmmm

2007-09-20T16:02:00.000-05:00

When I sat down to finaly write this again I was thinking of what we had been doing lately, which has been quite a bit, and realizing how quickly time goes. The older I get the reality of that can overwhelm me if I ponder it too long. Just makes me thankful for each day that I am given and to be a good steward of the day, and make it count!! When you lose those that you love you appreciate so much the family and friendships that God has blessed you with. Because of that I try to always remain flexible and don't let "things" get in the way. When given the opportunity I try to take advantage of that and stop to see friends, and our wonderful family. Well....enough of the ramblings.... On our walk, stopping to take a picture
All but me...someone had to take the picture (:
August flew by to be sure, so we took a day and had a picnic with my in-laws and our daughter and her family, our son and his family. It was a beautiful day. We went for walks and of course had to eat some good food. Didn't do enough picning this summer, went waaay to fast.

We were at our daughters house and got to watch out grandson leave for preschool. That was fun to see ,he was so excited to go. He has a good friend that was going to be in his class, he was looking forward to seeing him. Off to preschool!!!

Then a week ago we spent some time with my brother in law and sister in law. For Billie Jean and I it truly was a vacation. The guys had to work, but we just shopped and visited. Was very relaxing. At night the four of us would go out to eat and then play cards. We used to do this every winter around New Years, when our kids were all still at home. So it was fun to reminisce with them.

Then this last week I stopped in to see a very dear friend!!! We tried to cover years in just a few short hours. This is one of those friendships that no matter how much time has gone by it seems like we just saw each other. Its so comfortable to be together. We walk through these seasons of life and it is such a blessing for me to see and hear how God has been working in her families life as well. Just so fun to catch up.

Now to come home to a fairly quiet week, and enjoy looking outside and seeing Gods hadiwork with the leaves on the trees., stunning.

Our "youngest" B"day

2007-08-29T19:49:00.000-05:00

Bobby blowing out candles on his Swiss Rolls cake
Bobby and his wife Tiffany

Auntie and a few of the cousins

Birthday boy and his family

Seems so strange to say youngest when he just turned 23!!! Hard to believe, and also that he is a dad and looking for a youth pastor position. Time flies soooo quickly. That is one thing that the 40 something phase of life does and that is to reflect. Some things you would love to change others you would never want to go back and relive. That is when I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father because its those not reliving ones that I know He has forgotten, they are as far from His memory as the east is to the west. Gives me a clean slate to start each new day that he has gifted me with to use for His glory!!!

But back to our son, we had a nice day celebrating with his grandparents, Aunt and her family, his precious girls, and lovely wife. We had a fun day, ate too much of course but fun. Had to play Five Crown to top off the day. Then he was off to work.

Time with the boys!!

2007-08-29T09:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a fun time to watch the boys, while their parents were at their first annual golf tournament to raise funds for CEF. They had a great time at the tournament, good turn out, and we were so thankful to see how God used his people to raise the money for this wonderful ministry!!! The weather was perfect and everyone said they would love to come back next year, so we have much to praise God for.
While they were all golfing I got to stay with the boys. We went bike riding, played a little baseball, and NE was having fun with the sand and water table and their new kitty decided she needed a drink!!! I also baked buns for Sun so we could have them with pulled pork sandwiches,mmmmmm they were very good!!! Good food by all that brought stuff. We ate ouside, such a beautiful day. It was EE dedication to the Lord. Very nice service the whole E clan went up front, so wonderful to see this family loving and serving God. Then we headed home and jumped into the week.
Tried to upload photos but there is a problem with the system.

Weekend at the lake

2007-08-21T08:53:00.000-05:00

Well, the grandchildren have left ( all but two, the girls and their parents are living with us temporarily while their dad looks for a youth pastor position ) So our house seems very quiet, we really did enjoy the time with them.
But we were able to go to the lake to watch our two grandsons while their parents were at our son-in-laws 10 yr high school reunion. We stayed at a friend of theirs lake cabin. We had lived on the lake for 17 and a half years before we sold three years ago. We realized how much we miss just looking out at the lake. It is soooo peaceful!! We didn't hear any loons, thats another thing that I miss not being on the lake. It was too cold and rainy to get out and enjoy the lake but at least we could enjoy the view.
We were also able to visit our old church that was fun to see some friends we hadn't seen in a while, its always a blessing to hear Pastor Jims messages.
It's hard to believe our son-in-law has been out of high school that long already!! They had a good time, our daughter knows quite a few of his classmates so she had a good time as well. Fun to see where people are and what they are doing after they graduate.

My First Entry

2007-08-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

Well, my daughter talked me into trying blogging so here I go.... Our oldest daughter was doing this a couple of years ago and I wasn't real sure what it was all about so I wasn't good about reading it. Now I have heard so much more about it that I thought it could be kind of fun.

We just finished our first annual G&G camp with our 6 grandchildren (the youngest isn't old enough to come ). We had such a great time. They are at very busy ages and we couldn't have done it wihtout our "camp counselors" (our son and daughter in law) They were a GREAT help. We even had a craft day and decorated t-shirts to remember the day. These are such times to cherish cuz this too will pass as time travels on and they get involved, or move, or whatever, or wherever God leads each family. So I'm thankful that I have the freedom to be able to spend as much time with them as I can. My husband travels for work so it gives us a lot of freedom that we never take for granted. God has blessed us with a very full life.

Greeting the grandkids as they came (:

The rest of the cousins have arrived!!!

Fun train ride

Making the t-shirts