Shopping Day

Haleigh, Sydney and Bella escorted me to Marshall's Clothing Store today so they could use their gift cards from Christmas. Here they are looking at the racks and racks of clothing. Sydney has tried on a sweater she ended up buying along with a pair of jeans. Bella bought a shirt and a sweater. Haleigh bought jeans and two tops. I bought three pairs of mittens for $3.00! It was quite an afternoon!

Now for the style show! Bella is showing off her new white shirt! It fits her very nicely and looks lovely!

Haleigh posing in her new jeans and shirt! They are very nice!

Here are all three girls showing off their new purchases. Haleigh and Sydney both bought new jeans. Bella's pink pants are not new.

Sydney is announcing Bella's new sort of a sweater/shirt. It's very nice.

All three again. Bella, Sydney, and Haleigh. Beautiful granddaughters.

Sydney and Haleigh showing off jeans and sweaters. Very lovely girls!

Lord, thank You for good times, for wise shopping purchases, for granddaughters.

Tea Party

We had a tea party today. Sydney and Haleigh are putting nail polish on here. The girls spent hours getting cleaned up, dressed up, and made up!

Oh yes, toe nail polish too!

Isabella, Sydney, and Haleigh all ready for the tea party! Don't they look nice?

The table is ready. Bone China cups and saucers. Huckleberry scones, petite egg salad sandwiches, cookies, huckleberry tea and sweet lullaby tea all made up a very nice tea party.

We invited Mrs Patricia Spitz to our tea party. She's a special friend and neighbor.

Thank You, Lord, for special friends, special granddaughters and special tea parties.

Sledding

Here is Bella zooming down the City Forest sledding hill! It was a lot of fun. It doesn't really look like a steep hill but it is.
Sydney and Haleigh going down together on a saucer. It wasn't real crowded today which surprised us. It was a good day for sledding.
Lord, thank You for fun days, for snow, for granddaughters.

Plaid

Plaid has been staying with us while Rob & Jessica, Tyler, & Haleigh have been having Christmas with Jessica's side of the family. He's such a sweet little dog. He was sleeping and I woke him up to take his picture. Lord, thank You for pets.

Christmas Day - Advent

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of man. The Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-5, 14

4th Sunday of Advent

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."
Luke 28-20

Watching TV

This picture is so intriguing to me. Christy, Gus and Mason are watching TV! Just look how Gus is sitting...his hind feet are in mid air, his front feet are bracing him up. He's sitting on the sofa beside Christy! I told you he's a sweet dog! I don't remember what show they were watching but it must have been interesting! I think I remember Lisa's Dalmatian, Duke, sitting like this.
Lord, thank You for pets, especially Gus.

3rd Sunday of Advent

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." Luke 1:26-33

Max, the driver!

Here is Max driving! He's fifteen years old and has his learner's permit. He's a good driver, serious about the responsibility. He got quite the workout today. First of all, the car didn't want to go into reverse! We were moving forward instead of backing up. He finally shut the motor off and started over. Then something clicked and it went into reverse. We backed out and were on our way. Driving to his basketball game was a challenge because he wasn't sure where it was at! We drove and drove. After making a couple of phone calls (no, he didn't talk while driving) asking directions we stopped and asked for help. The man even printed out directions for us! These directions took us on the expressway for a short ways, so he also got some expressway driving! He did good, he stayed calm even in his frustration. I am very proud of him and I'm so glad I agreed to let him drive with me.
Dear Lord, thank You for Max. Please be with him as he learns to drive and goes on to get his drivers license. It's such a responsibility and I'm very proud of him. Please keep him safe.

Gus

Meet Gus! He is Christy's family dog. He's a Rottweiler and is really a sweet dog. He has a vicious bark but he only barks when he hears something out side. He made friends with us right away. Jerry doesn't care for him too much but I love dogs, so I think he's neat. You can't really see how big he is in this picture because he came to close to me but he's like a horse! He's as tall as Maddie or taller! I'll try to get a picture of the two of them if I can.

Lord, thank You for Gus. He's such a good dog and definitely a good watch dog.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Christy! I remember how happy I was to have a second baby girl, that morning you were born! My, how time flies. Now you have two girls of your own, plus three boys, just the same as me. I hope you have a wonderful day. You deserve it! With a husband and five children you have little time for yourself, so take some time to pamper yourself. I love you and wish for you a very happy birthday.
Lord, thank You for Christy. She is a very busy wife and mother. Please keep Your Hand of protection on her as she drives here and there. Guide her as she raises her five children. Please draw her to Yourself and bless her with Your Presence. I love her and You love her even more.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Rob! The years keep flying by. You're my youngest child and I know, it's not always easy to be the youngest. I think you're a good husband and I know you're a great dad! It won't be long til you'll have two more kids. I'm looking forward, along with you, to Elmise and Armon coming home to live with you. I wish for you a very happy, happy birthday. I love you, Rob.
Dear Lord, thank You for Rob. He's a good son, husband, father, brother, friend. Please guide him, help him to find a job soon. There are so many folks out of work now but, Lord, he's got two more children coming soon. Please undertake for him. Oh, You know all about that. Thank You for leading and guiding Rob. I love him and You love him even more.

2nd Sunday of Advent

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:2 & 6

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Maddie! You are now three years old! What a pretty little girl you are! We'll see you soon and I can't wait! You are our youngest grandchild and we're missing seeing you grow up. But I know you're pretty and sweet! Grandpa and I were there when you were born! Just look at you now! Happy Birthday to you. I love you!

Lord, thank You for Maddie. She's a precious child of Yours. Please keep Your Hand upon her as she grows up. Keep her from any harm or danger. Help her to learn of You and to love You. I love her and You love her even more.

1st Sunday of Advent

Then Isaiah said, "Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:13, 14

Ponderings

I've had a lot going on in my head lately so I thought I'd write some of it down. I have so much to be thankful for.
1. Jesus Christ- my Lord and Saviour. My new freedom in Christ as written in My Growth Story.
2. Mother and Dad. Dad is gone now and I miss him so much I can't even tell you how much. Mother is doing so well it's incredible. At 95 1/2 years her mind is so good, she even recognizes my voice on the phone!
3. Jerry. My husband of 50 years! How he could live with me all these years is beyond me...
4. Pam, Ted, Tim, Christy, Rob. My wonderful children and their spouses.
5. Andrew, Matthew, Kaleb, Tyler, Annie, Max, Megan, Haleigh, Miller, Sydney, Isabella, Mason, Maddie, and soon to be Elmise and Armon and Katie! My wonderful, delightful grandchildren!
6. Richard, Lorraine, Bill. My interesting, loving siblings.
7. Extended family. Including: sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, anyone else who claims to be related!
8. Friends. Small group friends; friends & neighbors, old & new, elderly & young.
9. Health. My wonderful doctor.
10. My home. Our dream house we've lived in for 12 years already!
11. My church. My place of worshiping God with a body of believers.
12. My country. Where we have the freedom to worship as we believe according to the Word of God.

I love to decorate for Christmas but I'm not young any more! It's such a job to get everything out of our store room, bring it downstairs, take down the regular decorations, (international doll collection, precious knick-knacks that only mean something special to me), put them all away. My granddaughter's are a life saver! They worked so hard yesterday taking things down and putting Christmas (mainly Nativity sets, I have many.) things up. (I'm having to put the old things away today and tomorrow, oh to be young again.)
(I'm sitting here crying now! Jerry asked what I'm writing so I read what I've written so far and couldn't read it out loud with getting emotional! He said it's okay. What a guy!)
Lord, I do praise You. You are Sovereign, All Knowing, In Control, Love, Peace, Joy, Mercy, Grace, Creator and Saviour. Thank You for saving me. Having Jesus as my own personal Saviour is so undeserving and yet, so true to Your Word. Thank You for all Your blessings to me. I don't deserve them or You. But thank You. Please help me to live my life in such a way to show Jesus in my life. Help others to see Him in my every day living.

Granddaughter's

7:30 AM I woke up and decided to sneak downstairs for a cup of coffee before the girls woke up...wrong! Looking down from the loft, here is what I saw! Three sleepy girls on the sofa waiting for Grandma to wake up! They should have still been sleeping. Well, maybe not Isabella, she went to sleep early but Haleigh and Sydney were awake til a little past midnight!

Here is Bella, sound asleep. Haleigh and Sydney wanted me to take her picture.

Haleigh and Sydney posing for the camera! This is my chair in the loft, where I spend many night time hours.

Haleigh and Sydney watching the movie on Hallmark channel. Grandpa asked how come they took over Grandma's chair!
Dear Lord, thank You for Haleigh, Sydney, and Isabella. They are precious granddaughters. I love them and You love them even more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had nine at our Thanksgiving table this year. Here is Bella, Sydney, Ted, Jerry, and Me.
In this picture is Haleigh, Jessica, Tyler, and Rob. Next year Armon and Elmise will be here too! In fact, they may be here in a couple of months! We have so much to be thankful for. We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner like we always do: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, salad, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie or apple pie. A couple of items were missing this year, due to my neglect. Candied sweet potatoes and cranberries.
The sweet potatoes we'll have tomorrow, but skip the cranberries. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Both of our daughters called.
Lord, thank You for families, for our bountiful food, for good times.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Annie! Sweet sixteen! I can't believe it! The years are just zooming by! I'm very proud to be your grandma. You're very sweet and very pretty! I wish we could be closer to you. You're growing up in spite of the miles between us. Thank goodness with blogging and facebook we're able to keep in touch on an almost daily basis. Have a wonderful day today. I love you and wish for you a very happy birthday!

Lord, thank You for Annie. She's a delightful granddaughter. Please watch over her, protect her, and guide her. Please help her to allow You to fulfill the plan You have for her life. I love her and You love her even more.

Senior Luncheon

Today was our November Senior Luncheon at church. We had our biggest turnout ever! Two of us counted 59! So that's a pretty close count. It was just a plain old fashioned pot luck and boy, did we ever have lots of food! We even had some party crashers! Aren't they cute? Two of our pastor's and families stayed to eat with us today. These three children belong to Pastor Scott and Emma and Pastor Eric and Susie.


Dear Lord, thank You for our wonderful friends. Thank You for for wonderful food and fellowship we had today.

Bell Choir

This year's bell choir! They do so well! It's just a real treat to have them play for us! It's hard to see them in this picture and I wish you could hear them. Their bells are colored and their director, Emma, holds cards with the colored bells on them so when they see their color they really ring their bell or bells. The older kids hold two bells. It's really sweet. They'll be playing two or three more times before Christmas.
Heavenly Father, how I praise You for the sound of ringing bells! Thank You for these precious children as they make a joyful sound for You.

Last Day

This is our last day with Plaid. He's very much at home in our home. Here he's sitting on the back of our sofa so he can watch out the living room window. Yesterday he was in the sun room sitting on the ottoman looking out and growling and barking at something. I looked out and couldn't see anything out there. He kept it up but I never did see what he was seeing. Anyway, he was being a good watch dog! When he wants or needs to go outside he comes to me and puts his paw on my arm, if I'm sitting, or wines at me if I busy doing something. So we go for lots of walks, and that's good for me. It's great living in the country and in the middle of a woods because I don't have to get dressed early. I just go out in my house coat and only Plaid and I know! Well, now you know too!
Lord, thank You for Plaid. Thank You for letting us take care of him while Rob & Jessica are in Haiti. Please give them a safe trip back home today and tonight.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Ted! You're a great son and a great father to your girls. You are so creative with your metal works projects. I love my candle holders and my latest---advent candle holder wreathe. I'll be using it soon. We love it when you come to visit for weekends. Sydney and Bella are growing so quickly, which reminds me---that's also how quickly you grew. I wish for you a very happy birthday. I love you and wish we could be with you today.
Lord, bless Ted especially today, his birthday. Life is hard sometimes but Ted loves You and trusts You to guide him. Bless him as a father, as a son, as a friend, as a worker, as a man. I love him so much and You love him even more.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Pam and Gene. But I did it again. I blew it again. I forgot your anniversary! I've been planning on using this picture from our trip to Malaysia to put on as your anniversary picture because I love it and...I missed the day. It was last Friday. October 30. What was I doing that I forgot it? I don't know. Please forgive me. I love you and I'm so sorry.

Lord, bless Pam and Gene in their marriage. They have done well. They've raised their family. They love You and that's the most important of all. Please continue to bless them.

Small Group

Our small group ate supper together yesterday before our discussion time. It was so fun and such good food! Everyone brought something so it wasn't a lot of work for me. It's the first time we eaten supper together before our discussion time.
Here is Larry, myself, Jerry, and John.

Laura, Diane, & Donna are laughing...that's something we do a lot of!

Vera, Linda & Rose. We're a good mix of folks. Three married couples, 1 widow, 1 married-her husband may join us at a later time, & two divorcees. Another couple is hoping to join us. It's almost time to split and that's going to be hard.

We are a very good small group and are bonding together in a meaningful way. After we ate supper we had an interesting discussion of Pastor Dave's sermons from last Sunday and this Sunday. His main text for both sermons was Ezekial 2:7. We're growing spiritually through being open and honest with each other. We take time for prayer requests and then have a prayer time.

Lord, how can I thank You for this small group and what it has come to mean to each one of us?

Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday?

This gang of family and friends came through the woods in the dark to sing...We Wish You A Merry Christmas... It was fun anyway! Tom, Angel, Kelby, Rob, & Jessica! What fun!!!

Thanks, Lord, for fun times with family and friends!

SURPRISE!

This is not a new picture of Sydney but it's one of my favorite pictures of her. She's very special.

I took this picture of Bella yesterday. Isn't she sweet?

Ted, Sydney, and Bella surprised me by coming for my birthday! Jerry had taken me out for supper to Applebee's, one of our favorite restaurants. We were home in time for trick/treaters, and were just relaxing...waiting. Ted, Bella, and Sydney had all talked to me on the phone in the morning to wish me a happy birthday. Sydney made it very clear that they were NOT coming to our house. They were going trick or treating with their dad! ...well, finally, someone came up on the porch, but instead of knocking, she just came right in! I was very surprised, but not as surprised as I was when I saw that it was Sydney! Ted had even parked the car over by our pole barn so I wouldn't see it! What a wonderful surprise! They drove three hours on Saturday to get here and then had to drive three hours on Sunday to go back home...all just to surprise me!

Lord, thank You for birthdays, surprises, and granddaughters!

Happy Birthday & Happy Halloween!

This beautiful flower arrangement with candles is for my upcoming birthday...from: you guessed it...Lorraine! She has good taste! I'm undeserving but it sure is nice of her!
The UPS man brought this jack-o-lantern full of candy to our door Wednesday evening! Earlier Jerry had asked me if I bought any tootsie rolls today! No...but there are tootsie rolls in here! So he's already eaten one and I ate a caramel kiss! Now who would send something like this? Only one person...a sister!
Thank you, Lorraine. Even though I need all that candy like I need a hole in my head! There's just about every kind of candy in here you can think of! (Click on the picture to see it up close.)
Lord, thank You for sisters and birthdays. Thank You for Lorraine.