Deer

We went into the sunroom to eat breakfast this morning at just the right moment! Deer were at the back of our back yard! We counted eight! There may have been more. Our spirits went from low to high in a matter of seconds! Thank you, Lord, for the wonder of Your Creation!

He Got Us!

I'm so mad! Okay, I'm angry. He got us! The raccoon sneaked back last night. He actually unhooked the bungee cord, not the hook that goes through the hole Jerry drilled but the other hook. It was fastened to a nail that held a seed cake holder underneath the bird feeder, now they are just hanging there pitifully. The roof of the feeder is on the ground several feet from the pole. He must have thrown it! Well, Jerry hadn't gotten around to filling the bird feeder yesterday so at least he didn't get much! Lord, what do we do now? I know this is minor in comparison to the problems concerning the whole world but...

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Cookie! Have you noticed the years going by more quickly now? Boy, I have. I wish we lived closer so we could get together more, we have too many miles between us. I appreciate your friendship and our relationship as sisters-in-law. I hope you have a wonderful day as I wish for you a happy, happy birthday! Thank you, Heavenly Father, for family. Bless Cookie, especially today, on her birthday.

Hornets and Sky Lights

This morning we thought we had our day all planned out...I was going to clean house, Jerry was going to paint inside the pole barn. But before we got started Jerry decided to knock down some hornet nests. Well, there were more than we thought and it became a major job! He had to get the extension ladder out and go clear up to the peak on the east side of the house. I didn't get pictures because I couldn't leave him alone so high up and hornets flying all around! He has good hornet spray, thank goodness. Then we went to the back of the house and again set up the extension ladder. He knocked down atleast ten hornet nests and only ended up with two stings on his stomach. I made a baking soda paste to put on them. Then he suggested I get out the Windex since he was so close to the sky lights. I didn't hesitate! The sky lights don't get washed very often so I wasn't about to protest. #1 is our bedroom skylight, #2 & 3 are the sunroom skylights. Only the very highest one over the loft he didn't do. Thank you, Lord, for keeping Your protective Hand upon Jerry. I love You, Lord.

Fun At The Park!

This evening we had a fun time at the park, the whole church was invited and there was a pretty good turnout. Barb brought her delicious rice krispie treat. # 2 shows Erick, Michelle, and Emily with Mary enjoying a conversation. Jerry took Penn and Barb both for a ride in his MG! Picture #5 is my very good friend, Jessica. #6 is Tom with his dog who had just taken Tom for a walk!

This is only part of the group that met at the park for a fun time.

Where there is a puddle of water you will find kids! Here are a few of our kids having a great time!

Good friends: Dale and Lois. They just celebrated their 50th anniversary!

Pastor Shane and Hannah, with Mary in the back ground.

Terry, Elizabeth, Emily, and Amelia: these four girls were part of the Club 56 kids I had before I retired. They are all part of the teens now! Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful day of worshipping you and fellowshipping with friends.

Baptismal Service

Joe, about to be baptized, giving a brief testimony. Dale & Dave, father & son will do the baptizing.

Leah, about to be baptized. Joe and Leah were both in Club 56 when I was the teacher so I'm very pleased to see the spiritual growth of both of them.

This is sweet Missy, a new person, both inside and out! Leah is standing behind Missy showing support as a good friend.

Today we actually went to both worship services: 9:30 & 11:00! The first service was to be a baptism service. It was wonderful. Joe and Leah, brother & sister, teenagers now, were both rather outstanding kids in Club 56 so I'm not surprised at this latest step in their spiritual growth. There were two others also, but the pictures of them are too dark to post. It was a wonderful service. We stayed for the second service because Jerod and Missy were going to give another testimony and we wanted to hear them. Well, another friend, home from China briefly, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. We all gathered around her for prayer as she was anointed with oil for healing! Wow! What a morning! Pastor Dave only gave a very shortened version of his sermon in both services. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the presence we felt of the Holy Spirit in both services.

Stormy Weather!

The last day of senior camp during our Hawaiian dinner we were told of a tornado that had been spotted near by. The safest place to go was to the basement of a log church near the dining hall. So that's where most of us headed. First photo I recognize Myrna visiting with friends. In the second picture I see Marilyn, Judy, Bob, & Joan. You can see everyone didn't dress Hawaiian!

Here are Penn & Jerry waiting out the storm. It's a good time shoot the breeze and to catch up on the latest news! I guess those were as bright a shirt as either one owns!
The room was full and most of the folks I don't even recognize. I think these people were campers who were told to leave their campsites and go to the shelter.

Some folks were still eating their supper when the alert came so they just picked up their plates and resumed eating in the shelter! This is Keith & Elaine. I wanted to meet them because I had met Keith's sister in Saskatchewan and had nice visits with her at the camp there. I told her I had gotten to know her better than I knew Keith even though he is in the same conference I'm in! Anyway, Keith and Elaine and I had a nice visit in the dining hall and then continued it in the shelter waiting out the storm! Richard is sitting next to Keith. Jerry happened to remember that Richard & Marilyn and Bob & Emmy were outside their trailers when we went by and probably didn't know about the coming storm so Joan called on her cell phone, thankfully Richard answered his. So they joined us in the shelter. Actually the camp staff is good about going to campers and warning them of bad weather so they would have been told but not as soon as a phone call on a cell! What would we do without our cell phones?! How did we ever get along without them?!

This disguised person is actually Carol who had been wearing a grass skirt at the Hawaiian dinner! She didn't want to wear it in the shelter...I don't know where she came up with this outfit! She has a great sense of humor!

Well, we were all safe. There was a tornado that hit down near Covenant Hills, a little south of us. A lot of damage was done in some places so we were fortunate. I don't think anyone was injured or killed.

After the storm and the excitement Jerry and I drove home and didn't experience any more bad weather.
Thank You, Lord. I praise You because You are Power and Peace. Thank You for keeping us safe in the storm, giving us a good week of Christian fellowship, and a safe trip home.

Good friends

We had good times at the senior camp. Here are good friends, Lois & Jim. Jim led the hikers, which I was a part of, but only the first day because of an insect bite on his foot. He's sitting here in the auditorium with his foot up on the chair in front of him. His foot was so swollen and he could hardly walk so Lois took him to the doctor. By the time camp was over he was feeling much better and the swelling was down. He has no idea what kind of insect it was. We're glad he's better.
Good friends, Penn & Joan. The last evening of camp we enjoyed a Hawaiian dinner and were supposed to dress Hawaiian.
Jr. and Carol kind of went all the way with the 'dress Hawaiian' suggestion!

Carol accompanied Reg & Gretchen with their music. We really appreciated her playing. Thank you, Lord, for good friends, for fun times, and for your healing touch.

Senior Camp

David Clardie with his wife and grandson, Robby.
Reg and Gretchen Dunneman were our singers and they are outstanding!

We just spent five days at a senior camp, yes, we're that age now! The speaker was David Clardie and he is worth listening to! The singers were Reg and Gretchen Dunneman. They were so good! We loved them! If you ever get the chance to hear them sing, GO! Reg is a gospel singer and Gretchen is a classical singer. They blend and compliment each other. For my Canadian readers, Reg is a Canadian from Ontario.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Bill! Boy, these seem to come around quickly! This is your last birthday in California! Celebrate it well! Try to take time out from all your packing to spend some fun time with Vel, Woody and Patti. Life is too short. So take some time and go to the mountains...or to the desert...or to the ocean...I'd like to do that myself! Have yourself a happy, happy birthday! Dear Lord, be with Bill and Vel as they get ready to move. It's such a big job. Bless them with Your Presence, especially on this day, Bill's birthday!

Autumn Already?!

I can't believe autumn is already here! This is the middle of August, usually the hottest month of the summer! But look at these leaves changing colors! We were at Covenant Hills Camp when I took these pictures this week. I did a lot of walking through the woods, saw lots of different kinds of birds and deer tracks. I praise You, Lord. You are the Creator.

Sorry!

When our granddaughters were here visiting with us we played lots of games. Among the favorites were Chinese Checkers and Sorry. Being a good sport doesn't come naturally, it has to be learned. And it's a great lesson when it is learned! Now, with most games a grandmother can let the child win. However, with Sorry, there's no way of faking a loss. The whole game is pure luck and whoever wins, wins. Back to my story. The first game of Sorry that Sydney and I played, I won. Oh boy, that was bad. I found out that Sydney was a very poor sport. I told her "I'm sorry but we can't play Sorry any more because you're not a good sport." Well, that made her feel even worse and she shed lots of tears. But just before going to bed she asked if we could play Sorry again and promised to be a good sport if she lost. She begged and promised. I finally gave in and we played a game...I won! She looked at me and smiled and asked if we could play again! Second game...I won. Third game...I won. Fourth game...I won! She put out her little hand to shake mine and gave me a little smile, "I'll beat you tomorrow, Grandma!" And she did! Lord, thank you for these little lessons of sportsmanship that we can all learn together. Thank you for Sydney and her sweet spirit.

Sounds in the night!

Last night was a very noisy night! Besides the raccoon I was hearing, I heard an owl hooting and I heard coyotes yelping, yawling, and screaming! So it was a very busy night in the out-of-doors. Living in the country and in the woods makes life very interesting and very aware of nature. Thank you, Lord, for the beauty and creativity of Your Creation.

The Battle With The Raccoon!

I wrote about the war going on between Jerry and a big mean raccoon. Jerry won!!! It's been tough. He's tried different strategies and the raccoon always outwits him...until last night!!! Yesterday Jerry drilled a hole for the bungee cord to go through and then hooked it. It goes up over the roof of the bird feeder and hooks at the bottom of the feeder on the other side. The raccoon came as usual in the night. He loves the sunflower seeds we put out for the birds. I heard him struggling and struggling. He's awfully noisy. He could not get the bungee cord loose. He got so mad he was growling loudly! I would never want to meet up with him! He actually finally gave up and left! I wonder if he'll come back tonight?! Thank you, Lord, for helping us to finally find a way to feed the birds without losing the seeds to a raccoon!

Bella

Cheery little Bella! Thank you again, Lord, for our granddaughters. Please watch over them as they grow up. Help them to always love and serve You.

Playing Dress-Up!

Playing dress-up is so fun! Bella loves to pose!

Sydney and Bella as fashion models!
Sydney showing off a beautiful evening gown!

Sydney mixing and matching with a boys dutch cap!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Tim & Shauna! Twenty-one years, Wow! I remember so well the trip our whole family took up to Sask. Canada for your wedding! It was a very happy time. Now, here we are, 21 years later. Still happy! Now, with all your kids returning it might be kind of hard for just the two of you to get away to celebrate. I'm sure they would all like to celebrate with you! Congratulations on twenty-one years and may you have twenty-one more happy years together!

Another Day At The Fair!

This horse is so beautiful and just won 1st prize! He's very gentle and let the girls pet him.

He was very interesting to us because he has blue eyes! It's hard to see in this picture but his rider is holding blue ribbons in her hand!

We watched a safari show of macaw parrots. This boy, from the audience, is holding all three birds on his arms and head and he's standing on one foot! Each parrot has a name and Sydney and I are trying to remember them. The red one, on the right, is Killer! We just can't remember the other two...but it was a good show!

Today we went through all the barns and merchandise buildings. Fun & Interesting! Here is Sydney talking to a lamb.

Bella loves all the animals.

Bella and Sydney are petting a little rabbit. It was as soft as silk!

This is an interesting duck Bella is petting. He put his head down just as I snapped the picture! The girl holding him is his owner.

Another day is done. Sydney and I are about to go to bed. Bella is sound asleep. Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thank you for all the different kinds of animals and birds we saw today. We praise You because You are the Creator.

Fun at the Fair!

Oh, what exhausting fun! You can see the wrist band on Bella, they each had one so they could ride as many rides and as often as they wanted to wait in line. Some rides they got off when they stopped and got right back in line to go again! It was so fun! Because I had three granddaughters with me sometimes one had to sit alone or with someone they didn't know. But Bella makes friends very easily and on one ride she sat beside a little brown girl. They are both going into kindergarten in a few weeks and they just really hit it off. They were like best friends! They walked hand in hand to the next ride and the next and the next! It was really cute to watch them. They laughed and giggled together. I took their picture but when I asked Alona's aunt if I could put it on my blog she wasn't sure about that so I'll honor her and not put it on. Just take my word, it's a really cute picture! The most daring ride Haleigh and Sydney went on was the ferris wheel and only once! Bella wasn't quite tall enough so she couldn't go unless I went too, so I went to buy a ticket...four dollars! I said no thanks and Bella was a little disappointed but I couldn't see paying that much for a little short ride. Thank you, Lord, for granddaughters and for fun days at the fair.