Grandchildren are Tiggeriffic~!

I don't know why I can't get my pictures in the right order.. But I have no time to change them.. Kelly was so good at getting Ben to go to bed at night.. His mom has puzzles downloaded on her phone and he is putting puzzles together.. He loves puzzles.. Kelly was so good with Ben and she played with him and kept him busy while we got the pies made ~ turkey cooked ~ and all the other thanksgiving food that is traditional for the day.

Jodie, my daughter was washing all the dishes and Ben was right in there helping dry the dishes. Jodie is like me,,I usually try to have all the dishes I used cooking a meal washed and put away before we eat the meal. Emily helped me make the pumpkin pie... She loves to cook and get her hands in the dough.. She is 9 years old. She is such a sweetheart..
Kelly gave Ben a bubble bath.. He loved it.. This tub has a dial you push and it jets out the water ~ first time Ben wasn't sure what was happening and he jumped out of the tub.. After he found out how much fun it was , he climbed back in and played and played. He loves his bath..

While we were cooking dinner, Kelly had Ben in the basement where all the Halloween costumes are and he came up with this hat on his head.. Our little jester... He was laughing and was dancing all over the kitchen.. Silly boy~!

Here is Emily and Sophia age 5.. Emily was showing off the pumpkin pie she helped me make... The girls actually mixed up the pumpkin and had it ready to put in the crust. We had a lot of fun getting the meal ready and on the table at 5..p.m. We used the electric roasting pan to cook the turkey.. It is so wonderful using this because it frees up the oven for baking the other things for the meal.

This evening which is Tuesday~ I picked up Ben at daycare. He was so happy to see me, he ran into my arms.. I love it when he does this... I drove him to his Mom's house ... We played Super Nintendo for awhile and then we had supper.. Tracie didn't have to go to school tonight. She has a sinus infection and had gone to the Dr. today.. He gave her some medicine ~ hopefully this will make her feel better. We had supper and she layed down for awhile. Ben and I played with his Thomas the Trains... I found some dinosaurs in one of his bins and I set them on the track.. We had fun running them over.. I love it when he belly laughs... Of course Gordon fell over when he hit one of the dinosaurs and Thomas had to come to the rescue and get Gordon back on the track.. We also traced around shapes on paper and cut them out with scissors. Then we pasted them onto construction paper. He loves using paste.. I bought some glue dots...Has anyone tried these ? He loves them and it sure skips all the mess from the glue stick.. We had a busy evening and at 8 p.m. he took his bath ,,I read him 3 books and off to bed he went.. Didn't take long and he was breathing hard.. I slipped Nibbles out of his arms and got a needle and thread and sewed up his neck.. I noticed earlier in the evening that Nibbles had a big tear on top of his neck.. Got that all done and slipped Nibbles back into his arms under the covers.. You have to make sure Nibbles is covered..Ben said he gets cold . Nightly Noodles my sweet boy...

Ta Ta For Now...time for GranAnnie to go to bed..

My son, Rich that lives in Barrington, Illinois made a Zip line in his back yard.. It is 15 feet in the air and starts at the tree house and zips across the whole back yard.... All the kids big and little went outside to take a ride.. When it was Ben's turn he climbed up the steps that lead up to the tree house.. No fear with this kid... He was ready~!

Here he is after his first ride and he was all smiles... He said "Go again GranAnnie".. I helped him get down and off he went up the ladder again... He had to learn to take his turn.. It was a beautiful day and not too cold outside..

Here he is taking off~! He was laughing and shouting ~! I told him to hang on,,get your hands on the ropes... Goodness to be he has no fear.. He has a boot on his broken leg and that doesn't seem to stop him from doing anything he wants to do..

Here is Emily (age 9) getting ready for her Dad to let go and Zip across the line. Ben was so excited.. I just love his face peeking around the tree.. Sophia on the right is waiting for her turn.. Sophia is Rich's fiance's daughter... She is 5 years old.. First time off for Sophia was really scary for her but after the first ride she was ready to go again and again.

GranAnnie didn't go but Rich and fiance ~ Lisa went on the Zip line.. Such fun they had all afternoon.

When I was a little girl my Dad built our family a Zipline.. from the top of our barn across the pasture.. We had so much fun and have lots of memories...

Had a great Thanksgiving in Illinois.. We didn't have Thanksgiving until Saturday. Friday we baked the pies, made chilli . Saturday got the turkey into the roasting pan, made the dinner rolls, pies and all the fixing 's that goes with Thanksgiving.. Everything tasted good and another Thanksgiving in the memory book..I love Thanksgiving... Dave, Tracie (our daughter). Ben and

I got the car packed on Sunday morning...We left at 10 a.m. We stopped at Savannah, Illinois to eat pizza at Pizza Hut and then visited a historical train. Ben had a great time climbing on with Nibbles his favorite stuffed rabbit.. When we got to the car and drove for 5 miles I noticed that Nibbles was not in the car.. Dave turned around and we went back.. Ben was pretty worried. When we drove into the parking lot he saw him,,,he undid his seat belt and climbed over me and ran to get his precious bunny.. When he got back in the car and buckled up ~ he put his blanket over Nibbles and talked to him,,kissing and hugging him.. He talked to Nibbles for quite awhile telling him how sorry he was for leaving him behind.. This bunny is so part of Ben's life, we can't go anywhere without him. So glad I noticed that he was not in the car. It's 2 hours to our home from Savannah. We got to our house at 4...unpacked and then I drove Tracie and Ben to their home.. Ben put Nibbles in the big comfy chair in the living room and we had supper.. It was quite a day~! Ben and I played Thomas the Train board game after supper and Hi Ho cherry-O~! He loves games... Bathtime and then I read him some stories and off to bed he went... Yeah~! Nothing sweeter than a sleeping chiild.... Tracie was studying for her massage class tomorrow night. (Monday)... I came home and got everything put away from our trip and took a hot bath... WOW~! that felt good... It's good to be home... Ta Ta for Now~!

Happy Thanksgiving

No pictures this morning. Just a heartfelt hug to all to say "Happy Thanksgiving".
We are going to my son's house in Barrington, Illinois today. Tracie our daughter, Ben age 4 and Dave and I... My Equinox is going to look like the mitten in the storybook.. It's going to be so full. Hope the doors stay shut..lol. We won't be celebrating until Saturday. Jodie our daughter who lives in Michigan is bringing lots of ingredients to make the annual sweet potato casserole, the dinner rolls, from Thanksgiving past dinners.. Have to keep the memories flowing from generation to generation.
Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all the blessings God has given us, time to eat and give hugs to our loved ones.. Also a time to do something nice for the neighbors. I make walk around pie and give some to the neighbors every year. I only have 3 neighbors.. Walk around pie is : pie crust rolled out and put in the bottom of a cookie sheet ~ put your pie ingredients on top of the pie crust ~ put pie crust on top and fold over the edges. give top of pie crust ~ a little coating of water and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degree oven. Cut into large pieces and put into a container..I should of taken a picture before I took them to the neighbors. I love making this for pot-lucks for church.. One can actually pick it up and carry it around and eat. It's just like having pie only you don't need to eat it with a fork...
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving~! ta ta for now...from Iowa 23 degrees and finally showing the signs of winter. Be Careful and Stay Warm....:)

Highlight of my week-end~!

This is picture of the breakfast that I ordered on Monday morning at Egg Harbor in Barrington, Illinois.. The kids went off to school and Rich, Lisa, Dave and I went out for breakfast. My favorite meal to go out to eat.. I love going to Egg Harbor , the food is always so good. Dave and I left at 11 a.m. and started back home... We left this area and it was almost 70 degrees.. When we got home it was in the low 40's.. A deffinent difference.. This morning it's 22 degrees.. But it's sunny... We had a great week-end and it's good to be back home..

Had a great time geocaching in Dwight, Illinois while Dave attended the board meeting of the U.S.A. plowing organization. He is the president. I found 6 caches and couldn't fine 1...I have found a total of 543 caches. It was a beautiful day ~ sunny and 52 degrees. Now I have the bug again and ready to go find some caches in my area here in Iowa.

On Saturday after the meeting we went to see my son, Rich . He lives in Barrington, Illinois.. It was so good to see John, Kelly and Emily. Kelly told me at church the next day she was going to be baptized.. Oh, I was so excited for her. They go to Willow Creek Community Church.. It's a really big church and I always enjoy going to church here.. I forgot my good camera at home so I used my cell phone camera. Can't see her picture very well on the big screen.. But you can see her in the big pool of water on the stage.. She is on the right.. I had tears of Joy running down my face I was so happy. There were 100 people that took turns that morning to get baptized.. There was quite a lot of clapping, shouting and crying for loved ones being baptized. Families and friends were invited to go on stage to give our loved ones hugs and kisses... We all went and it was fantastic~! I gave Kelly the biggest hug and kiss.. Her Dad was in tears he was so overwhelmed.. It was a proud moment~!..

We went to Portillo's for dinner after church and then went home.. Rich and I went shopping. He had quite a few places he needed to stop and get things that he needed or his family needed..

Rich and Lisa went out to dinner with Richard's Men's prayer group and I stayed home with the kids.. They watched the movie "The Christmas Story".. very funny movie.. I got all the laundry together and washed all the clothes.. There was quite a few loads that needed to be done.~!

Monday evening I took care of Ben while Tracie went to school... When I picked him up at daycare ~ He came running and yelled "GranAnnie".. He was so excited to see me. I took him to his house and we had supper and then we played Thomas the Train ,, read lots of books, played on the super Nintendo and gave him a bath.. He went right to bed with Nibbles and his chocolate milk .. He was asleep in 10 minutes. When Tracie came home she massaged my back.. WOW that felt really good.. I'm so glad she is going to massage school... This is great.~!

It's now Tuesday evening and I'm ready for bed.. ta ta for now from Iowa.. It's 19 degrees right now... That is so cold... yes, I know it's suppose to be cold.. We have had a fantastic fall... No complaints from me. I'm ready for the next season.. Let it Snow-Let it Snow-Let it Snow...

It's Thursday ~ one more week and Thanksgiving~!

There is color in fall that gives the landscape a perk...I don't know what these pretty red berries are called but they are nice and the birds I'm sure will like them. My sister knows what they are and when she sees this blog I'm sure she will tell me.. She is in South Carolina where it's nice a warm... Everything is so green here and today was just a really nice day... It's 29 now and goodness to be it's 5 p.m. and it's dark outside.. I would hate to have to go to work now ~ leave in the dark come home in the dark...

Going to Dwight, Illinois tomorrow for a National Plowing Board meeting. Dave is the President of the U.S.A. Plowing Organization and every year we have to go to Illinois for this meeting. We will be there in the afternoon on Friday and he will be there for the meeting at 9 a.m. on Saturday...

I looked up www.geocaching.com and found lots of caches to be found in Dwight. So it should keep me busy most of the day. This evening I will get my hand held Garmin GPS loaded with all the coordinates and be ready to go hunting.. I can hardly wait.. Wished I new someone in Dwight, Illinois that geocached and we could go together. It's fun to go with someone.. But that's O.K. I can do this myself and still have a great time.. The weather is suppose to be nice and sunny.. Probably will be in the 40's and will be a great day to go geocaching..

Saturday afternoon after the meeting is over, Dave and I are going to drive to Barrington, Illinois where my son, Rich lives and the 3 grandchildren. Stay with him until Monday morning and then come back home. It's going to be a great week-end... Fun in the sun and have fun with my son....

Today I went to the library to find the book Pocketful of Names written by Joe Coomer. I went to Marion library, not there and then I went to Springville Library and no find but the librarian was at Barnes and Noble buying books and this gal working at the library called Mary and told her to buy the book for the library...She said she would call me and let me know when it was available.. How about that? I also tried to find Off to Plymouth Rock.. no find for that one either.

So I picked up a couple of fun books for Ben . HE loves me to read to him. We are going to my son's house in Illinois for Thanksgiving so I will take them with me to read to him in the car. Since Ben and Tracie will be riding with us..

Well, you all have a great day tomorrow.. It's the start of a great week-end for some of you that still have to work. Ta Ta For Now...from Iowa...29 degrees at 5:23...

Ben is my big helper~!

Picked up Ben yesterday from daycare. We went right to his Mommie's house.. The night before Rocco the dog spilled Ben's hot chocolate all over the floor.I cleaned up as much as I could. I brought my mop with me today and Ben & I scrubbed the kitchen floor.. Good thing there are two brooms and I had two mops. He was right in there helping me. He loved it.. He loves to take the dust broom and dust pan and gather up what was swept into a pile.. At my house he likes using the dust buster..gets those Asian potato bugs.. they look like lady bugs but are not...

Here's Mr. Cool ~! He found his MaMa's sunglasses and said "GranAnnie take my picture..".

I love these cardboard blocks.. Tracie had a friend over last night to practice what she has learned at massage school. Kim had her little boy with her and Ben and Jacob had a great time building with these blocks..

Here are the boys saying goodbye to each other . They had a great time playing.. the clock says 9 p.m. time for these little ones to go to bed..

Today Dave went to help his friend fix his John Deere Tractor.. Yeah ~ I rearranged the furniture in my living room and got my house cleaned . I love to move furniture around and put things in differect spots or just get rid of it.. My living room looks so much better.

In my bible devotion this morning it talks about people comparing ourselves with others. 2 Cor. 10:12 says When they measure themselves by themselves they are not wise.

Some of us are given five talents, some two, and some one. Our talents, not your wishes determine your potential. One talent people who make the most of what they've been given receive the same "well done' as five-talent people. The person who gets into trouble is the one who's afraid to take the risk; the biggest mistake is their unwillingness to make a mistake. Successful people do what's expected of them-plus a little bit more. So, the word for you today is---strive for progress not perfection.~! I like that whether it's in our marriages or our daily lives... have a great day...ta ta for now from Iowa where it's 36 degrees and it's going to be a really nice day again.. Yeah~!~!~!

Kool-Whip is not just for eating~!

Picked up Ben at 2:15 today at daycare.. He was sound asleep and Kaylee his teacher had to wake him up.. She said he went to sleep at 12:30.. All the little kids were sleeping. Ben had to go to the Doctor's office to have a physical and get his yearly shots.. He was great all through the different things like, weighing, how tall he is now, looking at his ears and listening to his heart.. He wanted the Dr. to check Nibbles heart to make sure it was O.K. I thought that was so cute. Nibbles passed with flying colors. Dr. said Nibbles is good.. Ben told her "That is good".. He loves his Nibbles..(a stuffed rabbit). Then the alarms went off when he heard the Dr. tell me he needed some shots.. He told me "Lets get out of here"... I talked with him and tried to console him.. Two nurses came into the room armed with 4 different needles.. His eyes got really big.. One nurse put his legs over the table and leaned on them and I had the arms,head and upper body.. 2 shots in each leg and Ben crying "Save me GranAnnie" "Save Me... I held him tight crying myself and telling him that I was sorry it hurt so bad. poor guy.. The girls quickly left us after putting four shiny bright silver bandaids on his legs.. He looked at me and said "That's not nice.. that hurts"... I said yes you are right... He said 'Can we go to McDonalds and get a toy?..." I said sure...So I quickly got him dressed and got his boot back on his leg and we left.. I had put some candy in my pocket for him , Starbursts, he loves them..So when we got to the car he ate his starbursts.. and then drove to McDonalds.. He got a useful toy this time.. Most of the time McDonalds toys I think are not that great.. We got home and played Thomas the Train.. and did some puzzles.

After supper I got out the Kool Whip I had brought with me and I colored it red , turned out pink.. I put a huge glob on the while board that we have and we practiced making letters.. B for Ben and D for David his middle name and V for his last name . We had lots of fun making circles, squares, retangles and then he put his whole hand onto the board and then put it on his face... He said "I'm a clown".. Yes you are a clown, one sticky clown. He licked the sticky Kool Whip off his hands and said "Hmmmm that tastes good".. I washed him up and gave him some chocolate pudding with lots of Kool Whip on top.. He said "that was fun".. Lets do it again.." I told him we would do it the next time I came to take care of him. He said "Alright".. I love it when he says that.

After his bath we played super nintendo,,Mario and Luigi racing in cars.. that was fun. read 3 books and then off to bed.. It took him awhile to settle down and then finally he gave up and went to sleep.. There is nothing sweeter than looking at a child sleeping, so peaceful. What a boy.. love him dearly..

After awhile Tracie came home and I came home.. Tracie is going to school to be a Massage Therapist.. She had lots of studying to do and get ready for work for the next day..

Weather today is sunny and 43 degrees.. Really nice day~! Dave left this morning to help a guy he knows work on his John Deere B Tractor.. So I decided this would be a good time to rearrange the living room furniture and do some deep cleaning.. Can't seem to get that done when he is here. So Ta Ta For Now...from Iowa..

Happy Birthday Ben ~ Week-End To Remember~!

Happy Birthday to Ben ~! He is 4 years old and oh how I miss not being at his house on his special day.We went to weekend to remember seminar.. I called him and he told me all the things he got and Thanks GranAnnie for the Jessi toy story doll and the puzzle and game that we had gotten him... What a boy. He is talking much better each time I'm around him.. At least he is now talking to me on the phone.. He loves Toy Story 3 Movie, and all the charactors.

Dave and I went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and attented Family life weekend to remember.. Yikes there were 800 people (400 couples) there. The talks were centered around unlocking the mystery of marriage. How to have oneness with each other, helping each other, marriage after dark and you mate is NOT your enemy.. I think the most important thing I will remember is Strive for progress not perfection and Success means nothing if you don't have someone to share it with. I can't imagine going through life without Dave. even thou we don't always see eye to eye on somethings we still deeply love each other even after 50 years. I want to leave a legacy ~ what kind of legacy will we leave to our children , family and friends after we are gone.. Hopefully a good one.

I met this wonderful couple, I just have a picture of Deb.. they live in Guttenberg, Iowa.. I loved her hair and she had a loving spirit. We had a great time visiting with them. She has 3 children and has been married 27 years... We had a great time talking and sharing stories of our children and our lives..

Here we are~! Hello everyone... hubbyDave, Nikki and Don Simmons, waiting for our week-end to remember seminar. We had a good time... If you have one of these seminars in your area ~ take the time to go.. It was worthwhile.
At the end ~ Dave and I even joined in with all the other couples in repeating our wedding vows..

It was a good feeling.. After all these years we have loved each other through ~ the good ~ the bad~ the ugly and we are still in love and together... That should say something about us..

Ta Ta For Now...it's 34 degrees cloudy and just a chilly day..~~!

Week-end to remember

Dave and I went last night , Friday to Family Life~ Weekend to remember. It was held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 800 couples were there last night.. They had the youngest marriage (6days) to the oldest marriage stand up.. Of course we won that one.. We will be married 50 years in Feb. 11 2011.. We got a overwhelming applause and lots of WOW's ~ and they gave us a book called Staying Close wrtten by Dennis & Barbara Rainey.. It was very good last night and wished we would of went to a conference like this 50 years ago.. Lots of information and of course a book to follow, read and suggestions given.. We are getting ready to go back this morning. starts at 8:30 and ends at 5:30 this evening... 2 hour lunch break.. So I guess I best get ready to go.. You all have a great day. Raining here and of course when it rains it always feels chilly. 47 degrees this morning. We have had such wonderful sun shiny weather for such a long time it's hard to feel the cold and the rain. Last night the rain was so heavy it looked like it could be snowing at any minute.. But winter is here and I'm so glad we had such a wonderful fall.. Kind of spoils me.

Took a shower last night with the Infusions dog shampoo.. Oh my goodness~! I can feel a big difference in my skin. Maybe this winter I won't get those big cracks that happen on my fingers near my fingernails.. those hurt so bad. And maybe my feet won't get the big cracks in them because of dry skin. WHen they get to that point I put vasaline on my feet and hands and put socks over my feet and wear gloves.. That helps for a little while.. Infusions dog shampoo ~ who would of thought a dog product would help ones skin in keeping it soft... Thanks Hartz...

Ta Ta For Now...from Iowa...

Don't laugh this works~!~!

Brother Dave called me last night while I was at the neighbor's house. He said when you go shopping tomorrow you have to buy this stuff.. It's Hartz Infusions Conditioning Herbal Shampoo... I said "Isn't that for dogs?" I don't have a dog.. No, he said it's for you to take a shower with or a bath... I was thinking ~ O.K. he has lost one of his rockers... He said "Remember how my skin gets when it's winter time? I said Yes,, it's very dry and really a itchy problem.. He said this works wonders for my dry skin.. He was telling me how soft his skin is now and the itchy flakiness is gone.He said not to use it to wash your hair, makes it really greasy. So today while I was at the grocery store I went down the dog/cat aisle and sure enough there it was.. SO I bought it and came home and washed my hands and my lower arms.. m-m-well it smells good,, it has little blue flakes in the soap, and YES, it made my hands and arms feel very soft.. Can hardly wait to take a shower to get the over all body effect. If this helps my dry skin problem that I have I will be so happy. My back itches so bad ~ I have one of those chinese back scratches's and I use it a lot because my back is a constant itch all the time. So I'm recommending this product right away because I can feel the difference just using it on my hands. It was $5.28 and if it works I will retire my Dove bath wash that I use that costs just about this much. If any of you are brave enough to use this let me know how well you liked it.. I'm going to take it over to Ben's house and see how it does with him. He has very dry skin and I think this well be the key to helping his dry skin. It would probably be good to use on Rocco,,the Italian Greyhound Dog,,,he really has itchy skin...Good for dogs and People... LOL

Well, here is my neighbor , Sharon. I told her I needed a picture of her and her sewing room... Look at that quilt she has all cut out ready to sew. It's going to be beautiful. There were only 3 girls there last night and they all had different projects. I took my locker hooking project that I'm making and I worked on that the whole evening. I'm working on a 30x36 rug that I'm making for my kitchen.. It's going to take me awhile to get done but it's going to be a real nice addition to my kitchen. We all show up at Sharon's at 7:30 and I left at 10:00 p.m. Had a great time visiting with the girls and it was very relaxing. She makes tea and last night she had chocolate chip bars.. Oh my goodness they were so good. I had a small piece..with my tea..

My daily devotion was really good this morning. "Everyone who has will be given more"Matt:25:29. Every accomplishment starts with a decision. Choice, not chance, determines your destiny. Jesus gave us the parable of a businessman who gave one employee ten talents to invest and he doubled them.. 2nd employee received 5 talents and he doubled them too. 3rd employee received 1 talent and he buried it. The master was mad, it's criminal to live cautiously like that.. Matt:25:26 Jesus ended His parable saying,"Everyone who has will be given more...WHoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." Our goal should be to maximize the investment on everything we do. Ken Blanchard calls this getting the highest return on life.. It means putting all your eggs in God's basket (don't worry, He won't drop them~!) to get more , you must use what God's already given you. When we step out in faith, God moves, and extraordinary things happen. John Mason says: "Not what we have but what we use, not what we see but what we choose--these are the things that mar or bless human happiness." When we limit what we will do, we limit what we can do.. Think: If you don't act now, what will it ultimately cost you? Good point...have a great day~! ta ta for now from Iowa...

it's a cloudy rainy day... 43degrees.. No sunrise showing this morning ~ just clouds... I always say if you don't like today wait until tomorrow...

Today is 11-11-2010 Yeah~! Happy Veterans Day~!~!

Today is Veterans Day and I want to thank all the military people for serving for our country.. Without them we could not experience the freedom that we have here in the USA. At Applebe's in our area they are giving free meals to all who have served in the Military..
I love going to Hy-Vee grocery store and shake hands with the old and young people who have served in the military.. I really like to shake the old men's hands and thank them.. Yesterday I talked with a old man who had flown for the Air Force in World War 2... I love to hear the stories.. HE started crying when he mentioned all the friends that had died while in the war. Then I met a man who was captured at the Battle of the Bulge and how he had to walk for miles into Germany to go to the concentration camp.. What a sad story that was , I don't know how he lived through all the suffering he went through being in the prison camp. He was so old and frail.. I really enjoy talking with these old men.. They are priceless and I love to sit and listen and they love to just have someone to sit and listen to them...

This morning, I was cleaning out my kitchen cupboard and went through all my cups that I have .. Do we need all of these..? I should of taken a picture of all the cups I have in that cupboard.. All my cups are pretty much ones that people have given me. There is the Goodwill find~ Granny Annie , the one that John my grandson made for me, my tigger cup, Goodness to be, it just goes on and on. But I found this one in the back... So I brought it out this morning and decided to put the Granny Annie cup in the back for awhile. I love birds and just up my alley to drinking out of a feel good cup . It's a Lang and Wise collector's cup and has a number underneath.. That doesn't really matter to me ~ it's just a beautiful cup.. It holds a good amount of coffee or tea... that is all that matters.

I love the little hummingbird that is on the inside of the cup.. and since I'm right handed I get to see my little friend every time I take a sip..sweet.

This evening is the gathering of women at Sharon's house. She lives behind me 1/4 mile ( all my neighbors are about 1/4 mile from me in all directions ) and we gather there for fellowship of talking , laughing sharing and sewing on our different projects that we are working on right now. I think this is a good thing. I'm working on my Locker Hooking rug 30x36. It's going to be awhile before I get this one done.. But it's a great project and portable to be able to take to Sharon's on Thurs. nights. . I'll have to take a picture of Sharon and her sewing room.. It's a room to die for..well not really die but it's one that I droll over when I am at her house. It's a spacious room with LOTS of windows to look out over her backyard . She has a horse and a cow, chickens, with the crowing roosters. It's always fun to watch them outside before it gets dark.

Yesterday as I was fixing supper I looked out over the field and saw the horse and the cow running through our field.. I called Sharon right away and she said "I'll send my son, Henry over".. It's like that horse and cow knew I was calling their owner~ they started running towards her property. Within 5 minutes she was calling me and said they ran back to her pasture and stood at the back gate (if they could talk ~ they were saying "Let me in~!" Let me in ~! They were waiting for someone to open it up and let them back in to their area.. We were both laughing. Henry was just getting his boots on and was heading for his truck when he saw them at the gate. Wish all animals were this easy to get back where they belong..

Well, this mornings sunrise was as spectacular as yesterdays.. Look at all the streaks across the sky this morning. It was so beautiful and I just stood there in awe as I watched the morning come alive. Birds were singing,, people going down the road going to work (yeah I'm retired),

Yesterday turned out to be wonderful. I read on Facebook that my neighbor, Lori was having problems with water backing up into her basement and the Roto Rooter Co. was coming out to fix the problem.. I had just made a pot of tea and thought I would take it and go to her house for a visit and to bring her laundry home to be washed.. She has 4 children which means they are needing clean clothes. She was so happy when I showed up at her front door and I was so happy because she let me have all her laundry. I think I would of said "No it's O.K.".. pride gets in the way sometimes in our lives.. I'm like Ben, I can do it meself... (Ben is my grandson and is 4). She told me she had a bloodclot in her leg and the Dr. told her to sit with her leg up above her waist.. There we were with our tea, Lori sitting on the couch with her leg proped up and her computer close by and her bible and devotions. While I was there a gal that goes to Lori's church stopped by , it looked like she had something good to eat in the basket that she was carrying.. I visited for awhile and left to go get Lori's laundry done and get it back to her in the afternoon. When I went back to her house to bring back her clean clothes she said her leg was not swollen anymore and she was feeling so much better. She said "How can I not feel better ~ God is taking care of me">>>God is in control ~ we just have to learn to let go.. So this goes along with what I was saying yesterday in my blog...It is more blessed to give than to receive.. I'm good at giving but have a hard time receiving.. I have to work on that one.

In my devotions this morning it talks about changing and growing. On the top of Mount Everest is a marker which reads, "He died Climbing". Growth is a uphill climb. If you want to keep growing you must never stop climbing. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. "Proverbs 4:18. Effective teaching only comes through a changed person. When we stop changing we stop leading. So today I ask God to pinpoint the areas in which I need to change and grow.. (oh that is scary)... You all have a great day today and may God's blessing come to you in a great wave....Ta Ta For Now from Iowa it's 47 and sunny.

OH what a beautiful morning~!

This morning I woke up at 6:30 and my bedroom was aglow...I looked out the window and saw the sunrise coming up.. I quickly got out of bed came downstairs put on my jacket and shoes and my camera. I didn't want to miss the moment. Went to the corn field south of the house and got these pictures this morning. Oh my goodness ~ it was so gorgeous. God is good~all the time....
I'm so glad I saw the morning sky because the sun is up, shining brightly and the glow is gone. ...

Daily Devotion this morning talks about Blessed in Giving~! Giving is the true measure of our love for God, and He always blesses us when we do it. SO, "Don't give reluctantly or in response to pressre " do it with a willing heart.. 2Co. 9:7 Take a meal to a family , go get your friends children because she needs a break, when you see someone working in their yard ~ stop and help them out. No matter what the situation, when God calls us to give....we come out blessed. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.

Yesterday I got the lawn chairs back to the shed , my grill broke so I took it out there. I'm ready for the snow ~ my wonderful snow shovel is leaning in the garage ready for the first snow fall. It's amazing November is here and Thanksgiving is only 15 days away... Where did January 2010 go. WHen I was a child the days went ever so slow.. Now that I'm 1/2 to 132 the days go so fast.. So I'm enjoying everyday God gives me and I try to live each day at it's peak.. Even when I'm taking my daily 20 minutes power nap.

Birds are so busy at the feeders this morning. I can hardly keep up with the finch feeders. I fill them up every morning. I love birds..

Have a blessed morning/day.. God has something planned for us, keep your eyes opened ~ you never know what is around the bend of the road. It's like a present ~ Surprise~!
Ta Ta For Now from Iowa ~ it's 46 degrees right now with promises of getting warmer.

I love my grandogs~!

There was a special on Public Television this evening about dogs. They know what we need because they watch our faces.. Our faces have the expressions that they feed off of and know when we are sad, happy, angry ect. It said that people with dogs will have a less chance of having a heart attack.. Dogs look at the left side of our faces first , I thought that was very interesting. They sense when danger is present.
This is Rich's dog and John,Kelly,Emily my grandchildren's dog. Izzy is a English Springer Spaniel.. She is a very loved dog who is at your side always.. Course she has a ball in her mouth and wants you to throw it to her. We are at Jodie's house in Michigan on Lake Muskegon. What a beautiful place to live. Izzy loves it here because she is a water dog.. The kids threw the ball all afternoon and Izzy jumped in and got the ball. After awhile she would just drop the ball in the water and go after it. She would repeat this over and over. Needless to say she took a long nap that evening after it got dark.. I love Izzy and love it when she comes to the farm to stay on her mini-vacation. The three kids take turns coming to the farm one week at a time. And Izzy has a turn also, after all she is our grandog.

Now this dog is Rocco...he is an Italian Greyhound.. HE is a fast runner and he loves coming to the farm too. He belongs to Tracie and Ben... All summer he tried to get the ground squirrels that have homes all over the place in our yard.. HE never caught one... Rocco loves to sleep under covers regardless if it's cold or hot in the room. He loves to sit on your lap like Izzy and be loved... Ben loves his dog and pets him a lot.

Dogs make me happy and they have a way of making me laugh.. Laughter has an immediate effect on our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, muscle and brain activity, it influences how our body handles disease by activating your immune system. A cheerful heart is good medicine....a broken spirit saps a person's strength. (Proverbs 17:22)

Ta ta for now,,, from Iowa where it's actually nice outside 47 degrees and all is calm and I'm a happy person who laughs a lot~!

Yeah~! I'm a new woman...

O.K. my dentist is so much fun and has so much humor.. The new teeth are in and cemented in so they will be very hard to have them fall out.. Yeah~! I'm excited.. This has been a long road of healing. I had the fall Aug. 22 and here it is November and ta da I have the new teeth.. They feel good . Jeny was there today too.. It was so good to see her.. She is such a wonderful young lady.

After I left the dentist office I went to Target to look for Ben a birthday present. I found Jessie from Toy Story, he already has Buzz Light Year and Woody.. They interact with each other and talk. It's so cute. So I thought he would like Jessie.. I also bought him a game called Pigeon.. It's a matching game and it's for 4+ to adult.. The game is inside a bird.. I can hardly wait to see what this game is all about and play it with Ben.

I found puzzles called Tangoes.. Ages 4+ It has 12 double sided cards, magnetic pieces and a playing case where you store all the puzzles and the magnetic pieces . It has 2 levels of play on each card. It says on the box that it develops creative ability. It combines artistic and mathematical elements to build fine motor skills, visual discrimination and cognitive abilities... O.K. I just opened it up and it's really a great educational puzzles.. I think Ben will really like doing this because he loves to do puzzles. I also bought him 6 pair of socks.. That should do it for his birthday... Practical~ plus educational and fun~! I think I covered all bases and Ben should really have fun..and learn while he is having fun.

This afternoon I picked up Ben from daycare. He had his Buzz Light Year, Woody and of course Nibbles .. and his pack back.. His teacher said he had a really good day.. but no nap.. But he laid still on his cot and was very quiet.. We got to his house about 5 and his Mom was just leaving for school...got supper over and he helped me with dishes.. He loves to wash them.. I dry them.. He wanted to watch Toy Story 3 Movie.. He had his Buzz Light Year, Woody lined up on the couch along with Nibbles. !/2 way through the movie I told him it was time for a bath.. He said "Alright".. So he took a bath for 35 minutes. Enjoying getting into the bathtub and laying down and playing with his Thomas the Trains. After not being able to get into the bathtub for 3 weeks he is really enjoying his bath. I bought him some bubble bath and he thought that was so cool.

Out of the tub and into warm PJ's (I put them in the dryer).. Boot back on his foot to protect his leg and we played Super Nintendo for 1/2 hour.. then it was story time. 5 books read and then off to bed and to sleep. He had his chocolate milk and in 15 minutes he was asleep.. I took Nibbles out of his bed and decided he needed a bath.. He was smelling bad:( Tracie came home and while Nibbles was drying in the dryer she worked on my feet with her massaging magic. This is the area that she had class on tonight. It really felt good. I'm thinking it's going to be a wonderful thing to have a massage therapist in the family. Before I left Tracies house I put Nibbles back in bed with Ben.. Oh my, Nibbles smells good again.

Pretty tired and ready for bed.. Have a great day and ta ta for now~from Iowa...~!

Oh my goodness it's 10a.m.~!

Oh my goodness It's 10a.m. and here I set in my PJ's reading all my favorite blogs.. I have gathered so much information this morning it's amazing if I can keep it all straight.. Guess if I forget something I can always go back and read it again.
The best blog I read this morning was the success that varunner had with running the NYC marathon. She has had to train herself for a long time and yesterday she was successful... Her blog is called The two bears farm and the three cubs.. She is a busy lady, don't know how she fits in all this running that she does with her daily schedule. But she does with the help of her wonderful hubby, Paul.. Congratulations~! Job well done~!
I have a dentist appointment at noon.. Finally after waiting all this time (since Aug.23) I get my real front teeth, crowns with a bridge in the middle.. The ones I have are temporary and are easy to fall out.. I carry pkg's of glue with me and have become a pro putting them back into my mouth.. It will be great getting new teeth put in and knowing they will stay put. I won't have to cut everything I eat into bite size anymore and eating only with my back teeth. I will be actually able to bite into food with my front teeth.. Yeah~!
A recent medical study determined that one of the primary reasons we can't cope with the stresses of life is because we don't laugh enough.. Health experts say we need at least twelve laughs every day just to stay healthy. Laughter acts like a shock absorber; it helps get you over the potholes of life. The Bible says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh 8:10) When you can laugh in the midst of your troubles, you grow stronger through them...~! I'm so glad I laugh a lot~! When I'm at the grocery store I have had people come from other isles just to see if it's me laughing.. and of course it is and we get to laugh again. My brother used to make fun of my laugh and for a long time I didn't laugh when I was younger.. I got over it and ignored him~! Laughter is the best medicine and I believe it~! You grow old because you stopped laughing.
Ta Ta For now...from Iowa ,,sunny and warm 55 degrees for today...

Girl Scout stopped today~!

Was over to Tracie's house this evening and Elizabeth and her Mom Lisa stopped by to sell her Girl Scout candy.. Lisa said they had stopped at the house and Dave sent them over to Tracie's Elizabeth is so cute and she asked me if I wanted to help out with her Girl Scout Troop.. I was a girl scout from 3rd grade to a Senior in High School. I earned the highest badge in scouts and I have over 20 badges. I loved being a G.S. I asked her when her meeting were and she told me the 2nd Sunday of every month from 3p.m. to 5p.m. I said "Sure I would love to help out"... I'll go to the meeting and see if I want to continue..

This morning was so lame,,, First I went to bed at 9 p.m. last night and then woke up at 4a.m. So I got up made coffee, can't survive without my morning coffee. I decided to lay back down at 7 with the good intentions of getting up at 8 a.m. and going to church.. Church starts at 9:30.. I woke up at 9:15 . Guess we missed church this Sunday.. I hate that ~! I love going to my church. When Dave got up I told him what happened.. So we had a quiet morning~ all to ourselves.

After lunch I went over to Tracie's house and we went to grocery store and then to Wal-mart. Looked in the toy section to see what I wanted to buy Ben for his birthday.. He loves toy story and thomas the train. Didn't see anything I really thought he would like so bought nothing. as far as toys go. Ben is going to be 4 on Friday..11/12.

Got back to Tracie's house and helped her with laundry and I played super nintendo ~ Donkey Kong. Tracie's x-husband Cory was bringing Ben to her house and I thought I would wait until he got there and say "Hello"... My little girl scout came and then after she left Ben came ... He was so excited to see me and his Mom.. Cory's family had given Ben a birthday party and he had Woody to go along with his Buzz Light Year. He was all a chatter telling us all about his party. Tracie had bought Ben the new movie Toy Story 3.. he was getting all his toys lined up on the couch to watch the new movie. I told him goodbye and I would see him tomorrow.. I will pick him up at daycare .. He said "Alright".. When I left Tracie and Ben were snuggled on the couch with nibbles, buzz light year, woody and Rocco the dog.

Getting ready to go watch my favorite TV show.. Amazing Race.. Jammies are on and I can hear my tea water getting hot on the stove. So I'll go get cozy in my chair and tell you all ta ta for now~!~! from Iowa... It was a sunny day today almost in the 70'.s It's 52 degrees right now and it's 7:30 p.m. O.K. ta ta Have a great day tomorrow...~!~!

When your glasses frost over you know it's cold outside.

Went outside this morning to feed the finches and get the morning paper. Oh my goodness ~ it is chilly out this morning. Sunny and 23 degrees.. It is going to warm up to the 50's today and be a nice day.. Planning on going outside and get the pumpkins carried out to the pasture, put lawn chairs back to the shed and pick up sticks from strong wind we had that lasted for 3 days.
When I came back inside this morning my glasses were fogged over.. Yikes~! it's that time of year. My glasses are sitting on my newly made hot plate that I made for the kitchen to put on my table when I have hot casserole dishes to serve soup ,lasagna, ect.. It's locker hooking and my next project is going to be a rug for my kitchen.. This is such an easy project and you can wash them in the machine on gentle cycle ~ even vacuuming them...IT looks like a rug that has been made with a loom. or a braided rug. It would be a great Christmas present for family and friends.




It's a beautiful morning and I should put on my clothes and take a walk down the pasture lane and look at all the frosted wonders that Jack Frost left last night.

I have been up since 6 a.m and now it's almost 9:30 and I have been sitting here all morning, drinking my coffee and watching the sun come up and reading all the blogs I follow.. It's been a very relaxing and wonderful morning so far. I found this new blog called Sweetest Jane and she talks about 'How to get your babies (i think it should say "Children) to clean your bathroom.." She has some wonderful tips ~ not new to me but good to read that someone else has the same idea on how to get your children to help with cleaning ~ cooking~ and other things around the house. Children work best if you are working right along side of them. I'm trying to incorporate these same ideas for Ben.. He loves having his own pistol grip and clean rag and a bucket to carry his things for cleaning. He just loves to clean the bathroom stool... How cool is that~! A little soda and white vinegar foaming in the stool....whoosh whoosh with the brush and then flush.. oh we want to do it again? sure one more time.. why not..

Here's the pumpkins and a look at the back yard/field.. the corn has been harvested and the field has the look of wide open spaces again. I heard the pheasants cackling to each other this morning.

I also saw Mr. Red tail Hawk looking for his morning meal.. No wonder there are no birds at the feeders this morning. Why can't he just eat birdseed and suet like these birds do?

OR go a mile up the road and feast on the raccoon that is dead on the road. I know they have to eat tooo, but my wild birds? no..don't think so.

Time to get dressed I guess,, get the material cut and ready to make my rug today.. I love watching college football games so I'll be doing my rug while watching the Hawkeyes I suppose. Would rather be watching Iowa State but don't think they are going to be on our channels today.

My hubby is a frequent channel changer ~ So I'm sure we will be watching several games.

Must get outside and get all my things done that I wanted to do today so later today I can sit and play... Ben is with his Dad today so he won't be around to help me... Dog-gone.

Have a great and blessed day~! ta ta from Iowa where the tall corn grows.. it's now 35 degrees and still sunny.. It's warming up ~!

It's Friday and another wonderful day~!

Such a beautiful day here in Iowa even thou it's a little chilly 36 degrees.. The birds this morning were so busy this morning at the feeders ~ until Mr. Redtail Hawk showed up in the pine tree in front of the house.. He looked pretty big sitting there this morning. We have had eagles in the area almost everyday now. They like to perch way up high on our pine trees and just sit and wait so patiently just like this Redtail Hawk... The Hawk really likes to sit about 8 foot off the ground in this branch and comes almost every morning to see what he can feast on and have for his breakfast.. I have only seen him once take one of my morning doves... Glad I don't watch him every morning as I know he probably has gotten more of my birds...

Not a really good picture of Mr. Red Tailed Hawk but you can see how big he is and how impressive he looks sitting on this lower branch of the pine tree near the front of my house..

Interesting how the Goldfinches camouflage themselves in the winter. The males in the summer are so golden in color and then in winter the darker feathers grow over the bright yellow ones . Otherwise they would stand out like a sore thumb and be eaten by Mr. Hawk for breakfast.

This bird is a junco.. He is actually the first bird to come in the fall and then you know winter is coming.. We have lots of moles in our yard and they keep the earth turned over and makes our yard look lumpy.. We live in the country and we don't really care what our yard looks like..

Yesterday I had the most fun... I had lunch with a friend that has moved back in the area.. She had her little boy , age 4 with her.. Chase is his name.. He is so cute with his curly hair.. I went out to my car and brought the bag I use for Ben . It has lots of things in it like: coloring books, reading books, those new crayons that squiggle out by turning the bottom of the crayon. I love them~! so did he. I have sewing cards which I think are fun orr you can put them on paper and outline them with a crayon. I saw on http://www.Jdaniel4'sMom.com this morning a great idea on another use for playdough.. So I'm going to add a container of playdough to this bag.. Chase had a good time coloring and playing with all the stuff I have in Ben's bag.. It was so good to see Tricia and Chase. She has one more boy who is in Kindergarten. Camden.. Her husband, Rick lost his job in Ohio and was able to get a job at Rockwell here in Cedar Rapids.

Last night I went to the neighbors house ~ her name is Sharon. Every Thursday she has some ladies in for tea and some kind of dessert (she had carrot cake this time) and they have different sewing projects. Sharon was working on her quilt, another gal was working on a thanksgiving runner that she is hand quilting and two other girls came just to enjoy the girl talk.

This is the first time I have gone and man oh man I really enjoyed these girls.. The project I took : Fabric Locker Hooking. You can make rugs . placemats, pillows, hot pads for the table. place hot things on these pads. I'm making a hot pad for the table just to get the feel of the project before I start on making a rug... The girls were so excited about this project that I was working on that next week they want me to give them lessons. no problem I can do that. I had such a good time and the time just flew by and it was time to go home.. I left Sharon's house after 10... One of the girls that wasn't there last night makes socks.. So I'm going to go buy the yarn and have her show me how to do that, as I love home-made knitted socks. Hope she is there in the coming weeks. She goes to our church , maybe I'll put a bug in her ear and ask her when she is coming next..to Sharon's house on Thurs. night... I can hardly wait until next Thursday... (I don't have Ben on Thurs. nights anymore, Tracie changed the day and I have him on Monday nights now)...

It's Friday and time for the week-end football games. I love to watch college football games as well as basketball games.. Have a great week-end and Ta Ta For Now from Iowa where the tall corn grows and it's 37 degrees and sunny...

What a wonderful day~!

Took Ben to the Doctor's office in Cedar Rapids, Ia and they took his cast off today.. He didn't want it off...last time they took it off his leg hurt really bad.. Today he was surprised,, it didn't hurt... While they were taking this cast off he was shaking really bad.. He said, it tickled.. Leg looks really good. Xray showed the fracture is healing and you could see that their was new bone growth. They put a boot on him which he really liked...he said "It felt good".






Here he is sitting with mom, Tracie, our daughter..
He said "Itches".. So they gave him a piece of gauze to rub it and not to itch it with his finger nails.. They had some cream close by and I put some cream on it and that took care of the itching.
He has his beloved Nibbles with him..Nibbles is the most educated bunny I know and has had lots of adventures with Ben. His heel was a little pruny looking but everything else looked good.

Tracie downloaded puzzles on her phone. Here he is with Nibbles putting the puzzles together.. He is happy. Looks like Nibbles needs a bath.. His nose is dirty... It will have to be washed on the gentle cycle.. Nibbles is starting to look WELL loved!~! I love to see these kind of stuffed animals..

He is focused... with those puzzles. Good thing she has this ~ it gave him something to do while we waited to go for Xrays and then getting fitted for a boot and having the boot put on and seeing if it was O.K..

He is doing quite well with the boot and doesn't seem to slow him down.. The bottom of the boot is slippery so he has to be careful on tile floors. I think I'll put one of those hospital socks over this boot so he has traction..

3 more weeks wearing the boot and ta da if everything heals right ~ Ben is free~!

When I picked him up today before I took him to get his cast off, we passed by where all the bales were that he had jumped on and hurt his leg.. I said "Ben, you want to stop and jump on those bales"... He said NOOOOO way GranAnnie...~! Hurts~! at least he remembers..

Have a great Thursday~! ta ta for now,, from Iowa..where the tall corn grows.. It's 42 degrees, a little chilly but the sun is out... Hoo-Ray..~!

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The day after the Election.

Well, I'm tired this morning. Worked at the voting poll in Springville, Iowa from 6 a.m to 10:20p.m... Got home at 10:30p.m.. We had 738 voters yesterday..the largest voting record in a long time. I love helping out but at the end of the day and one has to count the books that you wrote into when people signed there names has to match the number on the voting machine where the ballots go into. Yikes.. I had to count mine 3 times before I got it right.. Then we had two ballots, yellow for the people that lived in the country and white for the people that lived in the city of Springville... So those had to be counted out separately and then had to balance with the total voters.. It was crazy counting.. The gal I worked with was busy just like me.. There were 4 of us working the polls and starting at 7 when the polls opened until 9 we were busy busy busy..Good thiing I brought finger food and snacks... No time to eat or hardly take a break... It was a constant line of people.. We are not suppose to eat at our tables where we are working but snack food is o.k. Sure am glad I brought crackers, cheese and fruit.. I could just pop it into my mouth and still do what was needed.. I am so glad the elections are over... and my guys won who I voted for..
Today I am going to pick up Ben at daycare at noon to take him to Cedar Rapids to get his cast off.. He will be getting a boot.. It's a good thing because he has worn this cast to where he is needing a new one . THe boot will be good for him.. His daddy took him to the dentist this morning so his teeth and his leg will be in good shape.. He grinds his teeth at night just like Aunt Jodie did when she was this age. So when he gets older he will have to have braces..
It's a beautiful day here in Iowa.. 45 degrees , sunny and no wind... Fantastic~!
Have a great Wednesday everyone... ta ta for now~ from Iowa...

Everyone go to your polls and vote~!

Tomorrow morning (Tuesday) I will be leaving the house at 5:30 to go to Springville Library to work at the polls. I have to be there from 6 a.m. until 10.. long day but I do enjoy working as a pollworker. I get paid $170... plus mileage.
I have my lunch and supper packed and my reading material in my bag.. We are allowed to read books. no newspapers... no cell phones...no tv watching. I think tomorrow is going to be really busy with voters coming to vote.. I really enjoy seeing all the people and especially some of the folks I haven't seen for awhile.
Have a great day and do remember to go and vote. It's so important...
Ta Ta For Now...from Iowa where the tall corn grows...