It has been a loooooog time!

I think I will try this again, maybe try for once weekly. Today was Boo's last day of 5th grade!!! Where has the time gone? He has gotten older, BIGGER, more handsome, smarter, and loved by more people! I have probably just gotten older. He is on the honor roll at school and still seems to enjoy it! His teachers all say he is fun to have in class, I don't want to know all that he tells them. His joy is still contagious and he is full of energy. God is good, Amen! Jim has retired!!! I can't believe it! We have both been enjoying him being home so much! I say that, but he really is gone alot!!!! He golfs, fishes and just does stuff. I'm not sure what that stuff is, but it keeps him busy. We are having lots of fun with a little more relaxed pace. He is very happy with No stress!!!!! Our kids moved to Willard!!!! That may have already happened before I posted last time, but I don't think so. It is wonderful having them so close!!! When we last talked we had "Little Bubba", and "Nugget". Now we also have the "Princes"!!! She is 2, and just beautiful! It is so fun to be Nana. God has trully blessed us with them!!!! She has huge hazel or greenish eyes and brown hair. She laughs and talks and loves her babies!! She likes to rock them, feed them and put them in their swing. She loves to dress up pretty and wear "neckwass". But..... she is also a pretty good iron man, or ninja or whatever the boys are playing, that is the way her mommy was too!! Lots of other things have happened, some funny, sad, happy, and all the other stuff that goes on in life. More on all of it later. God has really put on my heart this last year, that He wanted me to be doing something with my faith. Putting my faith into action. He has brought me the most wonderful opportunity in the world!!!! I have been blessed with to chance to teach a Christian class to some of the most wonderful women. They are living at a womens mission in town and gaining new perspectives on life. God is doing beautiful things with them!! That wasn't really what I thought God had in mind for me, I wanted to serve a meal once a week or so, but He had other plans!!! I just love it!!! God has been busy with me, taking me to new places and working more of Him in me.

Third Grade Project!

Psalm 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Joy, Peace, Hope three of the best things God gives us!!!! Amen.
Let me tell you about this 3rd grade project. First remember, I am old, tired of school projects already, and not very creative! Boo had to make a community in 3D with 3 examples of places to live, 3 examples of places to work, and 3 examples of places to play. It had to have a key, be labeled, creative, and it was a "family project". I have griped to everyone I know about doing this, but I let Boo think I was very excited. He had lots of fun ideas, he wanted to do a rural community, with a farm, a church, a school, he wanted a park with lots of toys, and he wanted a pond to swim & fish in. This was all well and good, but he really needed a different Mom to help. Oh, and it had to be about 12"x 24", that's lots of stuff to put in a little space. After a trip to several stores for supplies, and several days and nights of working on this, we turned it in today!!!!!!! Boo did about 1/2 the work and I did the rest, so it truly looks like a family project, part 3rd grader and part old mom. I heard the project for next year is worse!! It may be Dads year to do it! P.S. He named his town Joesville.

Really, Really, One of My Best Days Ever!!!

We had a great day today!!! Our 4th child was baptized!!! It is such a blessing for a parent to see. Really, nothing is better. Boo had been talking about "Asking Jesus into his heart" since June, we let it go for a while, to see if he really wanted to take this huge step! Each night and even sometimes with his dinner prayers, he would pray for Jesus to come into his heart. Well, Daddy & I finally got the message and we all 3 had a big talk. Boo knew what he was talking about and what he wanted to do!! Out preacher came over and they read scripture, he asked him several questions, and explained grace to him. Boo new all the answers even before Dakota explained them to him!! I just know Boo will become a preacher someday, and he will be great!!!! God has blessed our family so much with this precious little boy, he has brought so much into our lives. I can't imagine our life without him. We were blessed to have lots of family there to witness this big day. Boo said as I tucked him in, "I guess this was just about the best day ever for our family, now we will all be in heaven together" I cried and agreed with him. God is good isn't He!!! Can I hear an AMEN!!!

Sweet Girls Birthday!!!

Psalm 91:1,2 " He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress and my God, in whom I trust." The whole 91st Psalm is Sweet Girls favorite. I think Joshua 1:9 is my favorite for her. She was the most "strong and courageous" person I knew! Yesterday she would have been 36 years old!!! I can't believe I could have a child that old! It would have been easier to ignore her birthday, if she had not loved them so much. She loved being the center of attention. She would want everyone to be sure and do all they could to make "Her Day" special. We were usually with family over the Labor Day holiday so she would have lots of people celebrating with her. Her Uncle would always be sure to either "slime" her glasses several times or give her tons of "snuggies". No one else could get away with doing stuff like that. I would always make her favorite cake, or get her favorite ice cream cake, and make her favorite dinner. We would all put our rings on the candles of her cake, call out the lucky tooth pics that were put in the cake (Pa would always cheat and claim to have the lucky one!) and sing a great rendition of Happy Birthday!! There were lots of presents (she always wanted lots). Lots of teasing, laughing, hugging and kissing!!! Pretty much the perfect day. I miss her sooooo much!

60 IS THE NEW 40!!!!!

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken." Psalm 62:1,2. Amen!!!! I love that scripture and I believe it with my whole heart, so why do I let myself be shaken? I'm glad He loves me just the way I am, thank-you Lord for you grace!
After that great scripture, I am going to tell you that I told Boo a lie! I have asked forgiveness, but I'm sure I will do it again. You see I had a birthday recently. BTW (that is text talk for By the way) did I tell you that Jim's birthday and my birthday are on the same day!! Same year even, pretty neat huh! This last birthday was a rather big one, it was a year that ended with a 0, so you know it was big. Well, when Boo asked how old I was I just blurted out 39! He was happy with that so that's what I'm sticking with. I'm sure that someday he will hear Mookie say her age and he will realize I couldn't be 39, but I will deal with that then! I was trying not to celebrate this year, but Boo really reallllly wanted us to have a birthday cake, so I made an angel food cake with 7 minute frosting, sooooooooo good. I have had that very cake each of my 39 years, it makes me happy to eat it!! Go eat something that makes you happy!!

Boo Is Boxing!

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." Habakkuk 3:17,18. I am taking the idea of having a scripture at the beginning of each blog from a sweet friend who has blessed me with her pure devotion to God. Undergoing cancer treatments, bone marrow transplant, and all that goes with it, her faith is like a shining beacon for all to see. Thanks Becky! God Bless You! I will be praying that you are blessed by these.
Boo has started boxing!! I know it sounds crazy to put an active little boy into boxing, but it is supposed to be good for him. It is sponsored by the police department here in town. Today is Boos second practice. He is anxious to show everyone his "new moves". They haven't taught any moves yet so we told him to keep the new ones to himself. Oh, I hope he does. All they have done so far is exercises, not Boos favorite thing to do, I hope he will just listen and do what he is told instead of trying to teach the class.

Why Did We Get A New Car?

We purchased a "new" car. It is not really new, but it is new to us. We traded in the little cute Vibe that I drove. I'm not really sure why we did this, but we did. In the Vibe, Boo in the back seat, could not see the speedometer....in this car he can. Not so good!!! I constantly hear "Approaching 40,... approaching 45,... now 50... Oh, now its back to 45." I'm not really loving having him telling me my speed all the time. Sometimes, you see, I am going too fast and I know it, but don't want him to. I'm wondering if this is Gods way of slowing me down. Whatever, it has worked, I don't want him saying "Mama, your over the speed limit!" I might trade cars back with Jim, and I'll drive the Suburban, it won't fit in our garage, but maybe Boo can't see my speed, I'll have to check that out. He is loving school and seems to be doing real well. His teacher called one afternoon and I almost cried! She was just calling all the parents and telling us how much she enjoyed having them in class, I was very relieved, I thought she was going to tell me something really bad! She seems nice and sweet AND she likes Boo! She said he is so polite, and very compassionate, a joy to have in class!!! I didn't question her I just agreed, but maybe she didn't have the right parent....I'm just kidding, he is all that and more, I'm glad she sees it too. From now on I am going to start each blog with a scripture that God puts on my heart, I pray they will bless you!

A Funny "Little Bubba " Story.

Today my oldest grandchild started preschool. Last year he just went 2 mornings a week, this year its 3 mornings, he is so big. He was very excited because he already has an invitation to a birthday party!! He has lots of new friends, and had a really great time. He thinks he already knows everything that they will try to teach him so...there you go!! Since he already knows everything, I guess his parents are just sending him to develop his social skills. The other night they were watching a baseball game on t.v. and a fast food place was advertising a sandwich. When it came on "Little Bubba" said "I love this commercial!! Maid-French Maid, Toast-French Toast, and Kiss--French Kiss" (this was all said with a funny accent). He laughed and told his mom that "French Kissing was when you tackle someone and kiss them, how funny." Mom & Dad agreed and said no french kissing in their house!! I think his social skills are up to snuff. I hope Mookie and favorite son-in-law are ready for him, he is going to keep us all busy!! He will win everyone with his bright blue eyes and super smile!! (or he will talk your leg off). I love him soooo much!

Happy Anniversary!!

I think I was in a bad mood when I blogged last. In the least I was mad at Boo. Things are nicer at our house now. Nothing has changed much regarding the dinner situation, but I believe I will be able to work on it a little at a time, and ignore the rest. Tomorrow is our 39th anniversary!!!! Time really has gone by fast. While at dinner this evening we were talking about what we were doing 39 years ago. We were just kids!!! Too young to be nervous. We thought life would always be "hugs & kisses". It has been, lots and lots of them, but also some not so good times. I am stubborn, selfish, spoiled, opinionated, and always want my way. Jim is too! Well, maybe not as bad as me. God has blessed us with a love for Him and each other that has weathered life's worst trials. Tomorrow we are taking Boo to Mookies house to be with her family, and we are just going to be us. Not Mom & Dad or even Nana & Pappy, just us. We get to spend the whole day and night just doing what WE want!! I can't wait!! I ran across this scripture today, I know I have put it in here before, but I am led to put it in again! Psalm 94:18-19 "If I say,"My foot is slipping," your loyal love O Lord, supports me. When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your soothing touch makes me Happy." I"ll pray that tomorrow is great for everyone!!!!

Its All My Fault!

I am a short order cook!! I never intended to be, but I have slowly let myself become one. Boo is the pickiest eater ever!! He won't eat crust, that means, pop tart crust, toaster strudel crust, Garlic bread crust (the best part in my opinion) any bread crust, bun crust etc. He even only wants to eat the middle of meat! I cut a circle in the center of a piece of meat then he will eat it. He wants only chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, spag.O's, fast food hamburgers, eggs, grilled cheese, or breakfast food. I try fixing him our stuff, and he won't eat enough to keep him full, then he wants something else to eat. Well, I have let him talk me into fixing him something different than we are eating so many times, that now, it is the norm. Let it be known!! I am putting my foot down!! Starting today, no more Mrs. Nice Guy. Boo eats what we eat or he goes hungry. No more snacks or extra meals, no more Short Order Cook!!! I may have to work into this gently, that's a lot of No's. Maybe I'll still cut the crust off. It's tough being the Mom.

The Start of 3rd Grade

Boo only has one more day of no school. I can't believe it, summer has gone by sooooo fast! I never feel like I get to do all the fun things I want to do before school starts. I want more road trips, lazy mornings, swim time, family time at the lake, family time at home, snuggling with Boo, just about anything but school. The other morning Boo and I were having our lazy morning snuggle and I said "Would you like to stay home from school and have Mom be your teacher?" I thought he would surly be so happy and say a huge YES!! Instead he said, "No Mama, you have forgotten everything you learned." I guess he is right, I would be a terrible home school teacher, we would play too much and learn too little. We have been to meet the teacher night and his teacher seems real nice. She is cute, bubbly, friendly and a Christian!! All the right stuff for being the 3rd grade teacher for Boo. Last year he had a huge crush on his teacher. He kept "finding" notes on the ground to give her. He said they were about how beautiful she was. She was so tickled at him, he is just so sweet! I have had a great day today. Church was great, got to take a nap, and play with Boo. Jim is working on a deck for our house so he is sawing, nailing and sweating. Its almost time for our great Sunday dinner of popcorn so better go!! God is Good!

Busy Summer

Well, school starts for Boo in less than a week. Neither one of us are ready, but we don't have a choice. He will be in 3rd grade, I can't believe it! We have had a busy summer and it went by too fast. We had 2 vacations, lots of trips to the lake, baseball, lemonade stands, fun times with Mookie and her family, Jim is building a deck, and lots of play-time with Boo. This all has kept us busy coming and going. Mookis is pregnant so she has spent lots of days "tossing up her cookies" but she has started feeling better. We won't find out until the end of Sept. if they are having a girl or a boy. We are still really hoping for a girl. I know it is too late to change anything, God already has determined the girl or boy thing, but we are trying anyway. One of the great exciting things I did this summer is I made pickles!!! I canned 15 pints! They are bread & butter pickles, and Jim says they are great!!! I hadn't ever canned before so it was lots of fun and very exciting. I made a huge mess though, maybe next time I will be a little neater, after all I am the kitchen maid too, not just the pickle caner. I have also let lots of pretty flowers die in our front yard, read lots of books, watched lots of cowboy movies and been knitting. That just about catches everyone up on my summer! Hope your was great as well!

I Want To Blog Again!

Ok, I am going to try and start blogging again, I really enjoy it. I causes me put some of my thoughts down, then, I can think through them better. I have been in a "funk" most of the summer. Lots of questions in my head. Mostly about Sweet Girls going to heaven. Why, Why Why!!?? I have had to work out with God , why we pray, and lots of other stuff. He has kept me in His Word and has continued to walk with me to show me His ways. He is all knowing and all loving so His direction is always right, I know that, I just don't always like it. I felt it was just a platitude when people would say Sweet Girl is better off, she is happy, she is in no pain. You see, I knew that, but I didn't care, I was (and still am) in a lot of pain, so I want her back!! My precious Mookie said it, and God finally got it into my head. She wrote a "Life Moment" for her church and it was so precious!!! Just seeing her words made me see Gods wisdom in a new way. Sweet Girl really is happy, in no pain, and peaceful. One day when a friend of ours was talking to Sweet Girl, Mandy asked her what her pain was like each day on a scale on 1 to 10. Sweet Girl answered 7. I couldn't believe it!! Each day a 7! Now she has NO pain!!! I can finally praise God for that. She was "strong and courageous" just as Joshua 1:9 says. I know she is waiting for me and I will be with her and Bubba again, so maybe a little more healing has taken place and I can continue to move on one step at a time! I"ll talk of happy things tomorrow!!

Im Baaaack!

We had a great reunion!!! I want to thank my 2 wonderful nieces who planned it! It was perfect! The food was wonderful and the accommodations were great!! All the food Dave helped with was delicious!!! He is an awesome cook. I also would like to thank Aunt Kim for all the work she did. It seems like we can't do anything without her working her tail off! She is such a blessing to our family! I know I have said this before, but we have the best family EVER! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. We are one crazy bunch. We (not me) did hikes, white water rafting (me), go cart racing(not me), Aquarium looking(me), laser tag playing(Boo), swimming, shopping, golfing(the men), relaxing, story telling, children playing and of coarse lots of eating. One of the best parts was we had 2 BIG announcements!!! First my niece Megan got engaged!!!! We are glad to have Pete in our family, he is a great guy! He proposed the day we all arrived, it was a total surprise to her and all of us, except her parents. The second announcement is Mookie and son-in-law are HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!! I get to be a Nana again!!! I couldn't tell about this until last night, because Mookie had some people she wanted to tell first, I have the all clear on it now so I will be talking about it all the time!! We missed Sweet Girl and Bubba, but told lots of stories about both so they weren't left out. Tomorrow I'll tell you about my grandsons birthdays!!

"V A C A TION We're gonna have a ball"

Remember that song, you probably have to be my age to remember it. I don't know who sings it, but its been in my head for a couple of days, because, WE ARE GOING ON VACATION!! I can't wait! My nieces organized the first annual Holaday (and others) Reunion!!!! It is going to be tons of fun. There will be laughter, hugging, lots of talking and story telling, games and great food! We are all (about 25 of us) going to stay in one BIG house! Sounds fun doesn't it! I do think that I have the best family ever. God has blessed us with a great love for Him and each other. The joy we have in being together is so from Him! Sweet Girl and Bubba would love to be there and I know I will miss them so much. Please pray that I don't come home all sad. Times like this it is hard not to miss them. God has already given me a great joy in my heart, so He has gone before me to encourage me!! I better go pack!!!

Baseball game

Last night was Willard night at the ball park! What a fun time we had! Our team lost, big time, but it was fun anyway. Mookie and family were there along with Unk, Aunt and Pod. Pod is my niece, she is so fun to be around. She is smiley and ALWAYS makes me laugh. She can't help it, she is just funny. Most of the time she isn't even trying, she just is. She is only 15 and has a 15 year old brain, but looks older, not because she wears make-up, she doesn't, she is so pretty too! I think her goodness just shines through. I took the 3 boys, Boo, Little Bubba and Nugget to the play area for kids. There was this one game where you put on these huge padded suits and try to knock the other guys head off, it is a part of the suit not their real head. Boo got to play that, but the other 2 were too little. They wouldn't even be able to stand up with the suit on, its so heavy. Nugget wanted to do it so bad he was begging to to it. I told him he was too little, but he kept begging. I tried to explain how heavy the suit was, but he still didn't give up. Finally he said, just as serious as he could, with his sweetest voice, and cutest eyes, that he promised he would be big! I lost, it I just laughed and hugged him. If I could have, I would have let him try! I have a great family!!

Getting Old Is No Fun!!!

I know that getting old is part of life, and we should do it with grace and dignity, but I am dragging my feet all the way!!! First of all to all of you who are thinking that perhaps if she were in better shape it wouldn't be so bad, well I'm not in good shape so there! Its the stuff like my eye sight that is making me crazy. I have gotten rid of my glasses and opted for contacts, and I love them, but---I have an astigmatism, I guess this makes it hard to have perfect vision with them. I have chosen to be able to read w/o glasses, but now I can't see (clearly) as far as I used to. Yes, this is because of old age!! I want to have squirt gun fights with Boo in the back yard, but I always loose!! Yes, this is because of old age!!! I want to stay up late and have lots of fun after Boo goes to bed, but I am tired about the same time he is!!! Yes, this is because of old age!!! I want to hike a huge mountain, no wait I never have wanted to hike a huge mountain that is a lie. I want to race my grandsons, but my legs won't run!! Yes, this is because of old age!! OK, I really don't want to race my grandsons either. I can't think of anything else I can't do that doesn't have to do with my being out of shape. Well, I still don't like being old!!!

Drama Camp Program!

The big night had arrived!! The conclusion to Drama Camp is the program Friday night. It went very well. Boo was so happy, yes he was happy it was over, but he was also happy to be on stage!! He did have lots of fun, but he was ready for a much needed slower pace to his life--summer style!! He did a wonderful job doing his parts never missing a beat. Well, maybe a few steps during the dance routines. He was always looking at the older kids around him to help him remember his steps. The best part (for him) was the time everyone came back on stage! He was on the front row and waved and blew kisses and bowed over and over, like he was the star!!!(more like the ham). I guess in his mind he was the star, and in ours too, but the blowing kisses was a little over the top for me. I began to get a little embarrassed! Mookie and family were there, and the 2 little boys would answer any questions or make comments to the narrators as the show was going on. They were so cute, so involved with the story! So, I guess you could say our family made a great showing Friday night, my son-in-law always says that whatever we do, we could make a movie out of it because it becomes a circus. I think it would be a pretty good one!

"Little Bubba"

I want to tell you all some cute things "little Bubba" has done and said lately. First of all little bubba is my oldest grandson, he is almost 5 and full of goodness and joy. I mean that too, he has one of the most giving personalities I have ever seen. He always wants others to be happy and usually will do whatever is required to make that happen. He is a very good big brother, always watching out for "Nugget". I was talking on the phone with his Mama today, and he said he was going to go outside and watch his cucumber grow. Watch it grow!!! That would take patience! He didn't last too long. He is very proud of his cucumber plant, and has promised me a bite when it grows. When he plays soccer he is all smiles. He runs up & down the field along with everyone else and grins the whole time. After being potty trained when he was old enough to take care of himself, he would come out of the bathroom, turn his back to you and bend over asking you to check him. You should have seen Pappy's face the first time he was asked to be the checker! He is smart, thoughtful, caring, cute, loves God, and is funny!!!! He also says the best prayers. What more could a Nana want!

"Sissy's Song"

Mookie called me yesterday and told me she heard a great new song by Alan Jackson. She posted it on her facebook page, so I could go listen. Well for those who don't know, Alan Jackson was a huge favorite of Sweet Girls. She had been to his concerts 3 different times and loved each one. When she was sick and in the hospital for 8 weeks Unk Mike bought her a life size standing picture of him for her room!! She loved him!! This new song, by him, is about a young woman who passes away too early in life. It sound so much like Sweet Girl that it is great!!(except it says she was a wife & mom) When I listened to it I bawled my eyes out, but I loved it!! Then, I thought I have to write him and tell him how great this is!!! I couldn't find any address to e-mail too, so I joined My Space to write him there!! Pretty smart right? I hope he will get the thank-you letter, so he can know how it brightened my day. Just one day of listening to praise music and looking for His face in everything and He blessed me with that!! He is so good! Life is better today! Boo has his program tonight for the conclusion of Drama Camp. Can't wait, it should be fun to watch!! Then next week, he will be around all day, I am so excited!! I will probably need to be reminded I said this later this summer, but for now I can't wait!