End of the month!

This picture of the day was taken January 31, 2006....two years ago already. The girls always played princesses! Not sure what happened to Maddie's crown. Think it was bugging her. It is Thursday and the last day of January. What a long month! But it has been full of blessing....the biggest one is Ryan and his family being back home. It is such an answer to our prayers! And Papa and I got some things taken care of on our list of things to do. I am disappointed that I haven't lost any weight this whole month. No one's fault but my own. I will do better next month.
It rained really hard last night...the snow is all washed away now. Didn't make lunch yesterday....doing it today. She thought we should postpone it a day. Ryan and both kids came and spent the day while Ryan washed bedding. He also shoveled the driveway which Papa was thrilled about! Thanks, Ry! Lauren had thrown-up the night before and Andrew yesterday morning. Both were pail...which they always get when they're sick. I went to the store to get a few things, we colored, played on computer, watched tv, etc... It was a nice day....even though they weren't up to par. Then papa and I spent a nice, relaxing evening together. Today is lunch with mom....well, that's the plan. Enjoy your day and make the most of it!!!!

Our snow is melting! Yippee!

This picture taken of the boys last year on this day shows how much they've grown...especially Jared, of course. Such handsome boys!!!!

Wonderful and wacky day yesterday. Jordan ended up not having school and Dylan and Andrew were 2 hours late. Andrew loved that because they also had an assembly so his classes were only 15 minutes long each! Use to love those kind of days. Cleaned and did some laundry, walked on the treadmill and talked with Candice on the phone forever yesterday. We talked about everything and anything. Also talked to Lois for a bit! Ryan and Lauren came over and then he went and got Andrew! Her and I watched part of ice age, she tried to play video's, we played 2 games of Candy Land (she won both) and then papa played us Sorry (and she won). Ryan went back and brought Amanda over, too. Lanny and Ryan played Sega golf and Ryan was winning til the last shot...Lanny won $100,000 skins and beat him. Papa really enjoyed himself. It was fun having them over. Got lotion on my feet, watched some TV and we went to bed. Tired!

Today mom & I are going out to lunch! I am excited about that! Hope you have some "good" excitement and nice things happen in your day today!

snow stopped here

This picture of the day was taken in 1979 of the 3 kids.... Ryan, Heather & Tara. They looked so cute. See the resemblance of their kids and when they were little? I sure do! Just saw North Kitsap is 2 hours late today....Central is closed!!!! Side roads, I imagine. (LANNY JUST CALLED AT 5:20....HE SAID PAST HILLTOP IT IS SNOWING...ROADS ARE GETTING BAD! HE GOT THERE SAFE! SEE? THIS IS WHACKY! I CALLED AND WARNED KEVON & MEGHAN.) I have to clarify the snow conditions i talk about are here....at my house. I can't speak for others because it is all so strange. My mom hasn't seen as much snow over the winter as we have....we haven't seen as much as Karla. It is very hit and miss this year. Yesterday was really strange. Kevon said from the pier at Bangor looking across the canal to the left it was normal and towards us it was covered in white. Can you imagine living on the line that it changed? We got dumped on good...as did Kingston and Poulsbo. Bangor, Silverdale and Bremerton had next to nothing! Neither did Sequim. This morning it is sprinkling so maybe we're done with the snow.

Please pray for Lauren now. She caught a cold...had a fever Sunday night and yesterday that was quite high and didn't break until last night. Poor baby. Heather's family is finally getting better.....keep praying for Don and that no one else gets it!

Got lots done yesterday! I cleaned the den and brought the kids toys in there since they haul them out of the toy room all the time anyway. I moved a DVD player and Sega in there, too. Papa and I played some golf after I set it up....he won one and I kicked his butt the second time. I also played Sonic Hedgehog. Haven't played that in ages!!!! It was fun. I also cleaned the toy room (spare bedroom) and got the exercise bike and treadmill in there. Cleaned the livingroom good, too and the diningroom. Having said all this.... Papa flipped our mattress to see if it would help with our backs.....it is much harder now and I spent half the night wondering how my back was doing!?!?! We'll try it and see how it works. When I clean I have to rest my back alot. I hate back problems.... but something I live with. Young people....take care of your backs!!!! Today is the kitchen and cleaning off the counters. I have way too much stuff on them.... things that aren't necessary to be there! I am also making a stew tonight. Papa is off tonight! Yippee!! Keep praying for the family.... it seems to be that time of year! God bless!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARTER!

Today is our great nephew's birthday! He is 5 years old and we want to wish this guy a very happy birthday!!! He reminds us of our own Patrick! He is a doll baby! Thank you, God, for this sweet boy!

snow, snow and more snow this morning!

THIS IS WHAT WE WOKE UP TO!!!!! Can you believe this? We have almost 5 inches at 4:30 this morning! We were surprised to say the least! You can see how the north wind blew the snow onto the porch...even got our porch swing! Poor Toby got a big bone yesterday and now he can't find it!!! He is frantic. Well, at least Papa is staying home! Yippee! We both slept so bad last night. I fell asleep on the couch watching Rainman, woke up and he was in bed, I went to bed and had trouble falling asleep...when I woke up he was out in his chair. It was a rough night! Just saw North Kitsap schools are closed. There's a shock.... so is Lake Washington School District (my old district). Funny how I still look for that after all these years! Haven't seen Jordy's school yet.

Yesterday was a tough day. Went to KidStuf which turned out good. Dylan and Maddie sure laughed! Just came home and did nothing. My life is boring. Sorry to the people who called me (Sharon, Heather, Jennifer, Karla)..... I probably brought them all down with my mood.

Can't complain too much about our snow....Heather is really getting dumped on!!! And then Don worked 14 hours yesterday sick!! Keep that family in your prayers! They were my favorite picture of the day today! It was taken 4 years ago today and I love it because they all are smiling great smiles!!! It is one of my favorites of them!

Today I'm cleaning. Papa may go into garage and clean. Hope you all have a wonderful day today!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOB!!!!!

This picture of the day was taken January 27, 2005 of Lauren. I love this picture because her personality shines through...a bit mischievous and a bit of sweetness and a lot of funny!!! Well, didn't do anything I planned to do yesterday. If fact, I never left the house. Will probably hold off on the haircut til we can better afford it. Not crucial. I did get some house work done. That was about it. Very boring day. No snow yet. That is a good thing. Didn't go to rehearsal but they had a crisis when the major character didn't show. So Ty is scrapping the regular skit and going with teaching them to pray today. Should be interesting. Today is my fav cousins birthday! He is such a great guy and I love him! Happy birthday, Bob!!!! Also it is Rick and Kathy's anniversary! So Happy Anniversary to them! Hope everyone has a great day!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KEVIN & LIBBY!

I want to wish Kevin & Libby a happy anniversary and congrats on 23 years as man and wife!!! Love you both very much!!!!

Yippeee...saturday!

Picture of the day was Maddie & Dylan after spending the night at my house in 2006. Thanks for praying for me.... I think what I had is pretty much gone. My shinus's (as this family calls them) are still bothering me....but thankfully the dizziness isn't there. Sure didn't sleep well last night! Probably because we napped.....at least until my ex called and woke me up. Maybe that was a good thing. Got our eyes tested yesterday. Our vision hadn't changed that much. One eye went down a bit which he said would explain the night blindness getting worse...and papa's vision improved in one eye. Thief. We went across the street and had breakfast at the bowling alley. Yuk!!!! It was nasty. I thought it would be so much cheaper than Shari's...it is not. And the food just isn't good. Service was but food was nasty. Never again. Ran the rest of our errands and came home. Stopped by mom's (who is always home) and she was gone! The cat didn't come out of hiding so Lanny didn't get to see her.
Did you know I average about 28 hits a day on my site? That amazes me. Also what amazes me is with all the visitors I get no one stops to say hello to me. What's up with that?
Got a post card in the mail that asked us if we wanted to sell our house in Kingston. Called Kevon and told him we were considering it. haha! He laughed, too.
Might get my haircut today. I am sick of this mess.
We're setting up a movie date if anyone is interested. There is a new movie coming out on February 8th....we're going Saturday the 9th! It is called "Fools Gold" with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. Who wants to do lunch and a movie with us? Let me know. It's enough time to plan for a sitter. PLEASE SNOW....STAY AWAY!!! Here is Kiro TV's forcast....they are almost always right: Weather Summary: We get one more beautiful, sunny winter day across Western Washington... then big change for the weekend. Cold air from Canada collides with rain from California Saturday. Expect light snow and rain as this sytems arrives, with a greater chance of snow in the higher suburbs, and Saturday night. Sunday more cold air mixes in, boosting the chance of snow showers through Monday morning. Again, areas likely to see a couple inches of accumulation would be in the more elevated neighborhoods. This weekend's weather will certainly be a work in progress. With so much variation as to the quanitity and type of precipitation, stay tuned to KIRO 7 and our website for the latest.
Well....enough of this and that.....have a great day!!!

what a day!

The picture of the day was taken in 2005 of Andrew and Dylan on the rope swing. Papa and Ryan had put that up and the grandkids loved it...especially these two who would play on it every day after school. Wish we still had one. Karla brought Maddie over yesterday. Her new haircut is so cute! It looks really good on her too....and you can see she loves it. Here is a picture.Yesterday turned out to be a strange day for me!!! Not bad strange, just weird. I woke up really light headed and dizzy and it didn't go away all day. I couldn't stand up without feeling dizzy! I thought I was going to pass out a few times and had to sit back down. It was an awful feeling. I also had a headache and I had trouble with my vision and focusing at times. My blood pressure was a little high but nothing outrageous. I have never had vertigo but I have an idea as to what it feels like now! I didn't feel sick, just really dizzy mostly. I was going to go to WalMart and to Dylan's concert but didn't dare drive anywhere. I didn't even dare go to the mail box. This morning is better....not gone away totally...but a bit better. I just feel bad I didn't get to see his concert. Karla said she would video some of it and take pictures. Plus his grandpa was going..... that's all he needs. lol! I did have a nice surprise of Ryan, Amanda and the kids coming over last night so it wasn't a totally lonely night. Andrew had to do laundry for his homework at school. He did really good...got Lauren's stain out! Plus we watched a movie....or at least the end of it. It looked good.

Today is going to be busy. At least I am not driving. We both have eye appointments this morning in Silverdale.....and then we have other errands to run. Papa says if I am not feeling better I have to go to the doctor... so pray I feel better!!! And keep Heather and the boys in your prayers, please! Hope you all have a good day today and a wonderful weekend!

Already Thursday!

The picture of the boys taken 3 years ago... they sure looked happy! Patrick must have gotten a new book... and they all looked healthy. Keep praying for the 2 younger boys and Heather now too...as she is sick! Yikes! When there is a holiday thrown in the week is fast. Yesterday I was very pleased with myself. I went through paperwork....tossed some and filed some and got organized. Felt good to get that done!!!! Even cleaned off my desks! I did laundry too and got caught up on a few shows I had recorded. Ryan came over and got his heater in the truck fixed! He's been driving without heat! Brrrrrr! I'm glad he got that taken care of. This little truck is giving him a project to work on. Dylan's concert is tonight. Not sure if I will go to it or take care of Maddie so the parents can go to it without her playing jungle gym across everyones laps. She gets bored. Not much going on today. Karla is coming by and that is about it! Can't wait to see Maddie's haircut! Looks cute in the pictures. Have a great day today! stay warm....

Wednesday and still freezing!

This pic of the day was taken in 2003 of Andrew being an Aussie. At his old school every year they dressed up as someone from another country. One year he was from Mexico, one year from France..... it was always fun!

I can't believe how cold it has been! Just freezing! I know people in other areas think the 20's are nothing...but I am cold. Had such a good time with the grandkids! Lauren was the first one up yesterday at 6:30...then Dylan, Andrew and Maddie didn't get up until 7:30. Took them to Karla's by 9 and got to Bremerton by 9:45. Talked with Janet and got stuff to take home and fill out. Papa doesn't think this job is profitable for us. It is only 2 nights a week and 4 hours each night.....at 8.25 an hour. He said at 60 miles round trip that half would be gas! He doesn' t think it would be worth it. She would like me to work possibly 4 hours on the weekend too....not sure when but looking like Sunday. I've been praying about this since I left.
Not sure what to do.
After I went to see Janet, I stopped at WalMart and then went to Karla's for lunch and played with the kids. Me, Karla, Dylan and Andrew played Monopoly for well over an hour. It was so fun!!! We laughed so much I thought Andrew was going to cry from laughing...and Dylan fell under the table from laughing. It was great. Dylan wiped us out! And all he owned was the 2 utilities and the St. Charles set of properties with hotels. We had to quit when there were no more $500 or $100 bills. Well, hope you all have a wonderful day full of rich surprises! Please don't forget to pray for Joshua and Jared's colds!!! Poor babies....Josh has eye infections, too. Keep their mama in your prayers, too. You know how it is to have sick kids.

Baby, it's cold outside!!!

In this picture of the day Riley was only 2 months old...taken in 2003. They are both smiling...tho Jordan's may be a little forced...but that's how kids smile at 5 years old, right?

Wow, it is pretty cold out! Had a great over-nighter! Posting a few pictures! Papa made an awesome breakfast and we made cupcakes and the kids played all day together. They had fun. Papa made his famous pasgetti before he left for his evening job and that was nummy! Lauren watched the Amanda show again and Maddie watched fairytopia. (Lauren told me to type that...she is sitting on my lap helping me.) The kids slept really good. Maddie and Lauren slept in the double bed in the toy room. They watched tv before falling to sleep. Maddie only got up 2 times...once because the cat was bugging her...the other time to bug me. Papa was awake getting ready for work so he tucked her back in. Dylan and Andrew watched TV and slept on the couches in the den. They both slept really good. This morning I take them to Karla's and I go to that retirement center to take to Janet again. She apparently has created a position there for me...I think. I guess I will see! That's it for my day! Here are some fun pictures we took yesterday on this slideshow! http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mamshouse/photo%20album%202/?action=view&current=466d6a53.pbw

Holiday today!

Picture of the day taken in 1990...18 years ago of Lanny & his dog Nicky. He was Karla's dog...but Lanny was famous at stealing the affections of the kids dogs so they became his! Wasn't hard.

The kids are home from school and papa is home from work! How fun! Dylan & Maddie spent the night. We played games (Dylan is very smart and good at the Millionaire Game!) and Papa and Dylan watched batman while Maddie and i went to bed. By three this morning i was ready to drive her home. She would not go to sleep! She kept waking me up all night long. I tried coming out into the living room with her but that didn't work either. They are suppose to stay again tonight with Andrew & Lauren....we'll see if she makes it. She'd probably do great the second night. Plus I have a sleeping plan!

Went to church yesterday. KidStuf went good as was church. Had a long phone conversation with Pastor Ty in the afternoon. Hopefully we can work some things out that are bothering me in our ministry. He's a good guy. Papa and I are just hanging out with kids today! We are so excited! Hope you have a wonderful day!

something to think about....

I came across this powerful story and wanted to share it with you.

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted them to learn to not judge things too quickly, so he sent them each on a quest to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. He sent his first son in the winter, his second in the spring, his third in summer and his youngest in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no - it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

After hearing all his son's responses, the wise father replied, "Sons, you are all right -- because you have each seen only one season in the tree's life. But you cannot judge a tree, or a person, or anything else by only one season. Most things can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons have come to pass".

I think each of us has judged someone or something prematurely, and we have also probably experienced the pain of being judged that way. Lord, forgive us! We need to give each other the benefit of the doubt! We need to look closely enough and long enough to see the big picture before we rule things out. God does that for us all the time.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Sunday...I am cold and hurting!

Love the picture of the day taken in 2004... Dylan is getting so mad at Maddie because she is trying to pull Lauren's hair and he is telling her to stop. She didn't pull it, by the way. TODAY: I hate waking up in pain. It is a daily thing so I should be used to it...but I'm not. It's hard to get much done around here. Well, anyway....I didn't get anything done I had planned. Ryan came over to detail and clean the cars but put in the thermostat first and it didn't work. That wasn't good. Amanda and the kids came, too. Andrew played on the computer and we had popcorn and watched tv and visited and stuff. Didn't get to church. Got one of my headaches in the evening again. That's it for me. Kind of boring.

I love Saturdays!

Picture of the day: Taken January 19, 2005 Lauren, Dylan and Maddie playing monster trucks...the girls were only 1 and Dylan was 7!I love Saturdays where I am on the computer and Papa is watching westerns and we are just together! That is happiness. Not doing much today. I am going to a concert at the church tonight. Scott Wesley Brown. I used to really like his songs. We listened to them when the kids were younger. Suppose to have a meeting with Pastor Ty, too, and KidStuf rehearsal. Probably my last rehearsal. Speaking of KidStuf! It is Heidi Best's birthday today!!! She plays our character "Sam". She is such a nice person with a great talent in acting and singing! Happy birthday, Heidi! I woke up at 3 this morning...came out on the couch and slept til 6:30. Had weird dreams! Yesterday was ok. I was out of sorts. Not sure why... just not in the best mood all day. Karla didn't come over. I stopped and got Andrew and Amanda, we picked up Lauren and went to meet Ryan at WalMart. Talked to Papa for a bit. Lauren didn't want to leave him. Then we went to KFC and Six Star and DQ. The girl at WalMart said DQ burned down. It didn't. It was the Bellingham one or somewhere else. That was my day. Did watch the movie "Catch and Release" with Jennifer Garner. It was pretty good. Well....best post this. Have a great day and continue to pray for Karla's friends. Not much change.

It is Friday!!

Here is the picture of day posted....from 1-18-83! I put it here because the comments make no sense without the picture! It was taken in one of those little booths up in the space needle. We were so young! Today it Donny's birthday....he is my nephew (Lois & Don's boy). Can you believe he is 38? Happy birthday, Donny! Meghan was having a great birthday when they called yesterday. They left early and by the time he called early afternoon they had already skied / snowboarded and it was her best birthday! I am glad. I went to WalMart and got a few things then ran over to Karla's and painted with the girls and had lunch with them. Came home and the phone's came. I got so mad at Toby!!! The Fed-Ex driver was walking away and he looked like he was going to bite her butt! He didn't growl or anything.... just his he jumped up a bit with his mouth heading towards her butt. I yelled at him all the way into the bedroom. I know... all he heard was "wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa." I've never seen him do anything like that before. Papa tried to say "Maybe a Fed Ex person teased him before." Bull. First of all.... the driver was in a van...not truck... and I doubt Toby can read the side of it. I will get rid of Toby if he bites someone. I won't have a dog I can't trust. Period. Do you hear that Papa? Then I got Andrew and we went to let Meghan's dogs out to go potty. Harley did fine but Abby didn't seem to like Andrew. She smelled us but wouldn't go out and barked at Andrew at one point. Not good. So we left. Her sister, Lauren, will handle it. Then we went to BK and visited before going to his house. I tried to help him with his math (not my strong suit)... it was angles and stuff. I totally forgot about bible study. It was 8:30....Papa was eating taco's and mentioned it. I didn't even remember it was Thursday!!!! I am slipping, I tell you! Sad news about little Madeline Lester. Please be praying for friends of Karla's that is also posted above. Today I am cleaning some clutter and I think Karla is coming over. We'll see. Have a good day!

Happy Birthday, Meghan!

Picture of the day: 1-17-04 of Brad and the girls in the space needle. Today is Meghan's birthday! Her and Kevon are going snowboarding to celebrate their birthday's! That should be fun for them! I wish her a wonderful birthday with many happy and healthy ones ahead. I am so glad she is part of this family! What a great addition! She is definitely one of my blessings (wrote about it in my blessings column)! And I know God sure blessed Kevon with her!

Yesterday was a blah day. Went for my interview....which was like all the others. Walked on the treadmill. Eliminated some TV shows. Had a head ached half the day into night. Paid bills. Got organized a bit in the bathroom and bedroom. That was it. Going to the store today and that's all. Hope you all have a great day today. Remember to pray. It is a good start to your day!!!!

Welcome baby Brady Todd!

Picture of day taken 1-16-05 of Maddie and Dylan. I love this picture of them! Kristi and Todd had their baby yesterday morning at around 1-ish! Their first baby and Bill and Judie's first grandchild!!! How exciting is that? I love new babies! Last night we took Andrew, Lauren and Ryan to WalMart for school supplies for Andrew and to DQ for dinner while Amanda went to visit the baby. When we got home the phone rang and it was Lanny's best man and the kids uncle....Jeff Lince. We haven't heard from him in years except by email....so him and Lanny talked for a long time. Lanny misses him alot. He's a great guy. I was suppose to go to a KidStuf meeting last night but Lanny has decided our only two nights off a week are reserved for us....no meetings. He's not very demanding so when he does push something I listen. He values our time together. So do I. I went to Karla's in the afternoon and she had Lauren over there while Amanda worked a bit. Visited and then Amanda and Andrew showed up. He had such a good day at school. He sat with his friend Nick on the bus. He had a friend in almost every single class and sat with several at lunch. All that worry for nothing. He liked it! Plus he likes the fact that he can buy ice cream after lunch and they have Nintendo ds' in the library you can play with!!! Does it get any better???? Lauren is anxious to start school now. Well....not sure what today will bring. I know it will bring laundry and an interview with Fred Hill! Hope you have a great day! Please pray for Parker and Patrick...they are sick. Also for little Emma....she cut her foot the other day...ouchie ...pray for quick healing, patience, and no pain. Thanks....and don't forget little Madeline Lester.

snow again????

Picture of the day taken in 2000....Andrew and Boogie! I've had boogie since 10th grade when my friend, Shuree, made it for me. Andrew adopted him and still has it! This was taken when he was 4. Had a great day yesterday! We took Andrew in and he was registered for school. He starts this morning! While Amanda finished up with the counselor Andrew, Lauren, and I went on a tour. Some tour! This boy took us past the gym, outside and way around the school and back in the 6th grade hall. We froze and wondered what we saw!?!? It was pathetic. Amanda saw one of Andrew's friends in the library and was trying to get his attention. Andrew turned red and was so embarrassed and I laughed so much! It was great! We came home, did laundry, went to Karla's and grabbed her, went down and got them Sushi, went to Vietnamese place and Andrew got Egg Rolls, and me and Lauren got Burger King....took it all to Karla's for lunch. Then I took the kids and we picked up Maddie from school. She was so happy!!!! All they could do was laugh in the van...after splashing in big puddles. Then went up and signed Dylan out early....he was happier! His face was priceless when he saw Andrew's in the window of the office. They got to play for awhile before we came back to get the rest of their clothes. Maddie cried and Amanda consoled her and tried to explain that Lauren was sticking around here. It is hard for her to understand. I took Amanda & the kids home & stayed for dinner we played games. Lauren is a yahtzee champ! She is so lucky! Ryan got home with a cute little commuter truck and it had snowed!!!! Freaky! When I got home we were without power. I had to come in and fumble around in the dark and if you know how I hate the dark....that was a huge ordeal for me. Papa got home about 1/2 hour later....power came back on about 15 minutes after that. So glad it didn't last all night!!! Pray for Andrew this morning. He was nervous. Gonna clean house and stuff this morning. Hope you all have a great day today. Stay dry!

Another Monday starting off....

I love the picture above taken of Parker and Joshua 3 years ago. I love Parkers eyes in this picture. Gorgeous....and Joshua's sweet smile!!!! wow! I sure have cute grandkids! Yesterday was a good day. Picked up Dylan and Maddie for KidStuf. The whole morning went great. Everyone was in great moods and it was just a blast! God is good! Maddie and Dylan came home with us and we watched Shrek 3 because I had never seen it. It was pretty good! Joel & Karla went to a movie and picked them up afterwords. We had a good time with the kids. Maddie helped Papa wash vehicles....when she wasn't worried about what the cat was doing out there (she ALWAYS worries about that cat.) and Dylan and I cleaned up really fast. Talked to Kevon a couple times yesterday. He had a great birthday....just the way he wanted it.....him and Meghan bought Yahtzee and played it (she rolled a yahtzee her first roll....and she's never even played it before!) and they bbq'd steaks. I'm glad.
Today I am picking up Amanda and the kids and she is enrolling Andrew in school and I'm not sure what other errands we'll be running today. It will be fun though. Looks like my only plan for the day. Except to walk on the treadmill this morning!!! Well, best get done here. Have a great day.....and start blogging!!!! You know who you are! And check out mom and Lois....they updated!!! Yippee!

My baby turns 30!!!!!

So hard to believe we have no kids in their 20's anymore! The last one turned 30! Happy birthday Kevon! I remember the morning he was born.... I started getting some labor twinges at Tim & Diane Todd's house about 8:30 or so and decided Karla and I better go home. We got home to our duplex in Port Gamble and they increased (Dave was working swing shift about 1/2 mile away from our house). I put Karla to bed and took a bath. He was due middle of January (Dr. Auerbach didn't put a specific date.....just the middle so we assumed around the 15th) so I figured this was it. I called dad to bring Davo over to stay with Karla. Both Dad and David were nervous when they got here. Dave got off after midnight and we were waiting for him. We went into the hospital and laid around telling jokes with the doctor and Dave and I played connect-the-dots game. I wanted drugs but the doctor said that the anesthesiologist went home and lives in Gig Harbor and wouldn't get back in time. (Took me years to figure out he tricked me into going natural because I am sure there was more than one anesthesiologist in that hosptial...even in 1978!) Well, I did get through natural birth and it was a good move. Dave didn't go with me and I really bonded with my nurse. She told me she got off at 7:00 and I better have this baby by then! So he was born at 7:00 a.m. ...a beautiful happy and healthy baby boy. I loved him from the beginning and will love him forever. And I thank God for this precious gift he gave me to raise for Him. Happy Birthday, Kevon!

Tough day yesterday....

Yesterday was hard. The memorial service was very hard. Suicide is tough to deal with anyway. Denis' slideshow made me cry, his kids' grief made me cry, and I was a bit sad that there were no prayers said or God even mentioned, either. I sat with Julie, Jewel, Deedee and Bob. Talked with people I haven't seen in awhile. Went to rehearsal for a little bit but I was so wiped out I left. Met papa at walmart and Ryan, Amanda, Andrew and Lauren were there! That Lauren came running and flying at me. She was so excited to see me I had to brace myself so she didn't send us both on the ground! Sure makes a person feel good to be so loved. And Andrew can still reach his arms around me. I missed those kids so much! And it was awesome to see them all! Today is KidStuf and chilling out. Have a great day! Writing a separate thingy for Kev's bday!

Long day coming up.....

Well...I was awake with an aching back before 4. This is going to be a long day. I found a treadmill so I am excited about that. I am discouraged I haven't lost any more weight yet. I need to kick it up a notch this week. Apparently, I'm not doing enough. Denis' memorial service is today. Going to be tough. I always go to this things by myself and I hate it. It is hard. Scott Wesley Brown is giving a concert at our church tonight at 6:00. That will be cool. And we have rehearsal, too. Susan isn't going so I guess I am expected to be there. Driving at night for me is such an issue now! My night-blindness has gotten worse. And I get an excruciating headache. Can't wait til it stays lighter longer! Well...here are a few pics from yesterday. We had fun! We went to the Family Pancake House....which I wasn't that impressed with. My hash browns and toast were both cold. But mom had a good time. Meghan didn't get out of her meeting until 10:30 so she didn't make it. Tara didn't want her picture taken....but she was there! We went to WalMart next and shopped around. That is where I found a cheap treadmill! It has many of the things of the more expensive ones (same horsepower etc) just doesn't have electric incline and some other frills with it. I just need something to hang on to when I walk because of my back. Problems happened when I had to load it. It left no room for Karla in the van. So we had to find a place....what a bad mom I am. Got some laughs out of the situation though, right Karla? Took some pictures of mom's fat cat I am posting on her blog. She is really sweet. Owns the house now. And my mom! Best go for now and try to put that treadmill together. Have a wonderful day...and stay safe and drive careful!

Mom and Dad's 61st anniversary!

Well, today is mom and dad's 61st anniversary. Some would say "til death do you part" but to my mother, who still wears her wedding ring, it isn't that way. He is still and always will be her husband. So Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Their marriage wasn't perfect.....but they stuck to it and in the last 10 years or so of their time together they were so in love and happy together. Their secret? She said it is keep a sense of humor and pick your battles....they aren't all worth fighting. Amen!

This morning I am going to go get her, Karla and Maddie and go to Bremerton for breakfast....and we're going to meet Tara there! Meghan has a meeting....but maybe she will come after her meeting? That will be a nice time for us and mom.

Also want to say happy birthday to Mark Davison! He is pushing 30....not sure if he is there yet, but I know he is around Kevon and Ryan's age. I love Mark. He makes me laugh every time I see him. He has become good friends with Ryan and Amanda, too. As sweet as he is....he's not joining us for breakfast, tho. Girls only.

Lanny is going to the doctor this morning. He thinks he may have a sinus infection. Wasn't feeling all that well last night. He doesn't get those very often. He's got other things on his honey-do list too. Tara is buying her dad an airline ticket to go to Oklahoma with her and Heather. They are going spring break and renting a car in Dallas. I think it is so good that they are doing this. And very touching.

Yesterday was quite a day. I got a call from Fred Hill's.... I go for an interview next Wednesday. I went to Albertson's in Kingston yesterday. I always run into someone I know there...but rarely see anyone I know in WalMart.....how weird is that? I ran into Diane (used to be Stark) and stood in front of the deli and talked with her for about 45 minutes. She is my friends sister (Denis Stark who committed suicide on December 22). She was getting food for the service. We talked about Denis. What a sad situation. What is hard is that Denis was like my dad.....so giving that he would give you his last dollar! But suicide is such a selfish act and he wasn't selfish....so it doesn't make sense that he did this. She told me Denis also had a disease (started with an r but can't remember the name) that caused him so much pain he couldn't stand it. I go to his service tomorrow. While leaving the store I ran into Kevin George. His cousin, Marlin, died Tuesday of a heart attack or stroke. Quite a shock. Talked with him awhile about that. All these deaths lately. Unbelievable.

I am doing good on my portion control and water intake. Next I am working on the exercising....starting tomorrow. I wish I had a treadmill. Well, I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

I told you it was going to snow!

I love that video I got from YouTube yesterday. I saw it on the news and they couldn't stop laughing at it. They showed it several times. What a dummy. Talk about someone's most embarrassing moment. He basically beat himself up.

Well, Tara, I told you it was going to snow. Our ground is covered white again this morning! Very pretty. Tara said she would believe it when she see's it. Well, there ya go! Doubt it will stick around. Heard from the retirement center yesterday. She is rearranging things and working on making me a job. That would be cool. But we shall see what happens. I try not to get excited or my hopes up about things I have no control over.

Lanny called last night and was excused from jury duty....it was totally cancelled so he doesn't have to worry about it any more. He was thanking the Lord last night! He stresses so much about it. Now....why didn't they call me? I have no life or purpose in life right now....I would have been more than happy to go!!!! Oh, well. They don't even want me.

I switched the recipe site back to the old one yesterday and added some nummy recipe's. It is posted on my site if you want to check it out. Can't cook most of them without altering them....but that is do-able.

Tomorrow is my mom & dad's anniversary. I need to do something with her. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day today! May God bless and protect you all!

Mission Accomplished

I can walk into my walk-in closet again. I had boxes and stuff in there so I couldn't even get to the back. Amanda cleaned my closet last summer while Papa was at the hospital and she would be very ashamed of me. But I am getting it back to the way it should look again! I still have the shelf to do. The cat had jumped up there and knocked things down, etc....But I threw stuff away and packed stuff away etc... I need to post the recipe's I have and get those out of the way. We took down the outside lights after Papa got home yesterday. He had quite a bit to do. Tonight he needs to put up our smoke detector and carbon monoxide detectors. The smoke alarms we have are electric....which isn't always good because most the time the power goes out during a fire so it wouldn't work. So we got a battery one. And I have never had a c.m detector since we installed our fireplace. In fact, I never had one at the old house either and kept talking about getting one. I should mention that to Kevon. I wish they made them more designer friendly. They aren't attractive. Lanny has jury duty tomorrow. He is less than thrilled. Today is my niece's birthday (Doug & Betty's daughter)!!! Happy birthday, Ashley! May God watch and protect you for many more years to come!!!

Wow...it is snowing!!!!

Huge flakes! It is 5:50 in the morning here and we have huge flakes and it has covered the road and ground. So pretty...but Papa has to go to work....that worries me.
Yesterday I took care of Maddie. We went to Walmart and walked around. She wants to plant flowers this year. Mama should give her a little area at home so she can plant some seeds! She would love that. I took Maddie to school, stopped at Karla's, and came home. I had to get my head back into KidStuf after my break so I worked on that all afternoon. Nice to be back. Today is just a cleaning day for me. Have you checked out our support group? We are a group trying to get healthier this year!!! If you want to join us....let me know. We come from 3 different states and all different cities already! The web site is: http://ournewbeginningsgroup.blogspot.com/ I know I can use the accountability and help! Thanks to you all that signed up! Happy Birthday to Lanny's step-dad, Jack McCann!!! Hope he has many wonderful, happy, and healthy years ahead of him!!! And I hope you all are careful today and have a great day! Don't forget to count your many blessings today and thank the Lord!

Happy bday Kelly!

Well, is it going to snow or not? They keep calling for it but I've yet to see it. I think we've had enough. I'm going over to watch Maddie this morning while Karla goes for her interview. And I'm working on that bedroom more. I have to clean the bedroom so I can clean the closet so I can go through and clean my clothes out. I got started yesterday and then distracted. That happens easily to me. Today is my friend, Kelly's birthday! Happy birthday Kelly...and many more happy and healthy ones to come! God bless!

so much sadness....

Not much going on today. I do want to wish happy birthdays to Betty Lou Langager (Doug's wife) and to Susan (Lanny's sister), and sweet little Caitlin (our cousin...Dave & Marcey Brazeau's grand daughter)!!!! May God bless and protect you for many years to come!!!!

Me and my big mouth....I spoke too soon. I was curled up in the recliner with a blanket and coffee reading a book in the den at 7:30 yesterday morning and the power went out! Yikes! Stayed out half the day! We left and went to Bremerton to get oil filters for the Kia's and their parts department is closed on Saturday. How weird is that? We cleaned out our trailer when we got home but didn't take the lights down. Papa wasn't feeling all that well yesterday. He was kind of achy. But he was fine last night.

I got some really sad news this morning by email from a friend....Jim Settle. His 19 year old son went off the road and was killed in North Carolina. He was in the Air Force. So sad for Jim and Brook. Another friend from high school, Tris Ellis Nausid, lost her son to a car accident last week in Alaska! He hit a snowplow head-on. Please keep these families in your prayers. And my former sister in law Rita Langager....she lost her mom recently and is having a hard time coping with it. I can relate to her pain. Continue to pray for Lanny's mom, Waverly. She isn't doing very well. Confirmed to me that she will never make the trip up here and that made me so sad. Somewhere deep inside me ...I held on to the hope that she may get strong enough to come meet her grandchildren and see her family again. But the reality is ....it isn't going to happen. She needs your prayers as does Rita (Lanny's sister who is helping Grandma Wave). Rita's back is just killing her. So much pain and sadness going around. Makes my heart break.

To lighten up things....could you believe those Hawks yesterday? I really thought that win was going to slip from our hands!!! Go Hawks....beat Packers!!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Kept the power!

Good morning! First, thanks for the encouragement, Karen! Yesterday was good. I am done with Christmas. Takes days but I am finished and it is put away. Took Karla and kids to WalMart. Karla's contacts bothered her the whole time and she was miserable. Might be the new solution she bought. Tried to hurry through. Highlight of my day was my friend, Sherri, calling from her home in Montana. We talked for over an hour! She was one of my best friends in junior high and part of high school. We've been through so much together. Funny when you have a friend like that you can pick up after years of being apart and have that comfortable, warm friendship again. Our friendship is one of those. I love her. And luckily the power stayed on last night! It got pretty windy. Lanny is off today...we are taking outside lights down, cleaning up trailer, and going to mom's. After he sleeps in for awhile. It is only 4:40 right now. Don't think I will wake him yet. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

HAPPY BDAY'S TO CONNIE & HOLLY!

Well...it is Friday...which really means nothing to me if Lanny has to work for Keyport tomorrow. Find out today. Boy, it rained yesterday! Ryan didn't get to work because of it. He stopped by last night for a visit. Good to see him again. Got the den and living room cleaned and rearranged yesterday. I have to go buy more bins for the Christmas stuff I have left on my dining room table to put away. It is funny how bare your house can look but it kind of looks clean at the same time. Less clutter. I am ok with putting Christmas away now. I had a phone interview with Fred Hill yesterday...the job is weighing and keeping a record of trucks going in and out at the Shine pit. At least people are noticing me now. I lit all my candles last night .... wasn't sure if that power was going to go out. It got a bit breezy! Is suppose to tonight, too. I don't like that.
I am meeting Karla at WalMart this morning. I have a few things to get and she has to buy an outfit for her job interview on Monday. That will be fun seeing the kids. Dylan is off until Monday!
Happy birthday to my sister-in-law, Connie! And to cousin Holly!!! I don't think either one reads my journal...but happy birthday to them anyways!
Well....best get into the shower. Hope you have a great day and a safe day!!!

Rain, rain, rain!

Suppose to rain all day today. Not sure if I will go to dinner to celebrate Anita's birthday tonight. I don't drive well at night.....and it is even worse in the rain! Lanny & I both slept good last night. What a miracle! I only woke up once at 1:30 but went back to sleep.
Yesterday Karla brought Dylan & Maddie over to help me take down my decorations. That helped so much!!! Once I made them understand not to hop all over the place starting new projects we did really well! I got them to focus .... except when the cat came in and we lost Maddie's focus. She loves that cat. We got almost all the decorations down! Tara called and asked if I wanted to see "Enchanted" with them. That was incentive for us to hurry! We grabbed McNuggets at the drive-thru, got candy at Red Apple, and made it in time for the movie! Tara and the girls were waiting in the lobby. I loved the movie. I love those kind of movies though! Sweet. Thanks Tara! Today I am just going to finish cleaning up and getting organized. My house is not looking good right now. Have to take boxes to the garage from the back porch and get things looking normal again. Hope you have a wonderful day today! May God's love and peace reign in your heart!

Happy Birthday Amy & Anita!

Today is Amy's birthday!!! She is my cousin's daughter so i call her cousin Amy. She is a sweetheart. A very encouraging and kind person and I love her! Happy birthday Amy! May God bless you with many more happy & healthy ones to come! Also happy birthday to my Bible Study pal, Anita! We are celebrating her birthday tomorrow night! Last night was rough. Fell asleep on the couch at sevenish, but after I went to bed I watched Biggest Loser and then couldn't get into full sleep until after 1:00! I hate that! And I was so tired, too. Today my plan is to take down some decorations. I hate to... things seem so dark after I do. I know alot of people are anxious to take theirs down. I don't understand that....but I know most of you reading this are like that. hmmmm. Yesterday was a great way to bring in the first day of 2008! Joel & Karla and the kids, Brad & Tara and the kids, and Lanny & I had a bbq! We ate alot and played games! First me, Karla and Tara played Apples to Apples with Dylan & Jordan. That was fun....then we drug Brad, Joel and Papa into the game. Last game we played Taboo. Joel & Karla vs. me and Dylan vs. Jordan & Tara. Dylan & I won! He reminds me of Kevon. Cocky and conceited. Too funny! Well....I should really get busy. Hope you all have a good day getting back to normal...whatever that is. Stick with the changes you want to accomplish! You can do it!!!!! Please pray for Lois and her family. They all caught terrible colds!!! Also don't forget to look at my calendar if you want to know who else we are praying for and are thankful for today!!!

It's a new year....yippeeeee!

I feel good about this year to come! I am praying it is a wonderful year for all of you that read this site, too! We had a wonderful party! There was tons of food and fun and games and laughing as you can see on my slideshow! First game was Jake and Brian both challenging me to cribbage. I won... not only won but skunked Jake!!! Oh, that felt good. We played at the end of the night too...I lost bad but don't want to think about that. Some people played Rage, some played Apples to Apples. Lindsey and Brian brought their kids who sure loved the toy room. They were good kids. I put the singing tree in the bathroom and that caused a lot of laughs each time someone went to the bathroom. Most people left just before midnight...but some of us held in there.....us, Jake and Patty, Brian and Lindsey, and Francie and Andy. It was so icy last night. I hope everyone got home safe.

Today Karla and family, Tara and family, and Kevon & Meghan are coming to bbq burgers and play games today. We used to always bbq on New Years day when dad was alive but kind of gave it up. But it just sounded like a good thing to start up again. It is time. Well....hope you are all ready with your resolutions! Take care and I'll be praying you can stick with it! Have a great day and great year! One final thought.....

So what is it you have resolved to do differently in the new year? We all have something we hope to do different or better or not at all. Even if we don't make official "resolutions" we still find our mind contemplating that fresh page of a new year.

Whatever area of life you hope to see change in, whether it is dropping a few pounds or more, improving the exercise component in your schedule, taking more time for loved ones, doing better with your finances, being kinder, being more patient, or any other self-improvement, it will primarily involve one thing: self-control!

Self-control is not easy to muster up. Some have more of it than others, but we all need a good dose of it when we take the challenge to change something in our lives.

There is a place you can get self-control. It is listed as one of the fruit of the Spirit that God can cultivate in your heart when you seek Him to provide it.

Whatever change you are hoping to accomplish in this New Year, ask God to give you His Spirit to help you. As you take the challenge of that area of your life to Him, He will empower you, by His Spirit, to have self-control.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control" (Galatians 5:22).

Right now tell God what area of your life you need His help in changing. Ask Him to give you the strength to be disciplined as you make this choice to change. Ask Him to nudge your heart when you are tempted to slip back into old patterns. Ask Him to fill you fresh, every day, with His Holy Spirit so that your life will show the fruit that comes from Him...fruit that includes self-control.