Ben gets a new shirt from Aunt Jodie~!

Ben got a package in the mail from Aunt Jodie and he was so excited.. He could hardly wait to get into the house and open up the package. Jodie has been sending him packages with cool stuff lately and he just knew this was going to be something exciting.  When he opened it up, Ben was so excited in seeing this white button down shirt with a small blue truck above the pocket.  HE had to try it on and then say "Take a picture of me in my new shirt".. He loves this shirt so much he laid it out to wear to Pre-School the next day.. He has these brown dress shoes that he calls his "Luigi shoes".. that he wore with his white shirt the next day for school... I think it's so amazing the little things in life is what makes us joyful...

We went to Iowa City on Tuesday for testing and we had a break after lunch and we found this playground for Ben to have some fun.  He loves to swing.   It was so good for him to run, jump, climb and swing.. Energy release. Some days I think this is what I need to release some of the pent up energy I get when I am so busy.. Best thing to do when over whelmed is step away from the situation and breathe and just pray to God, take a walk. Go outside where I can watch the hummingbirds and my wild birds at the feeders.. Now that is a relaxing thing to do..That was easy ~!   The testing that he had done at the Children's Hospital in Iowa City showed that he is a very smart boy..Doctors found "No" Hypertension or ADD (attention deficit disorder..  He is just a very busy boy . It was a long day and glad to go home at the end of the day.

I love this picture!~! This is Ben's new jammies from Aunt Jodie..The wiggles PJ's.  He loves them.. I think it's so cute he is loving up his stuff bunny "Nibbles"  Ben has  to have Nibbles when it's close to going to bed.        

Have a great tiggeriffic day~!~! . ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Hummingbird Heaven~!

Can you see what I did most of the day...I watched these hummingbirds come and go at this feeder.. It was so sweet.. Hope you all had a relaxing day~!

Have  a Tiggeriffic Monday~!  ta ta for now from Iowa:) 

 Isn't she just precious~!~!  Whir Whir Whir goes her wings~!

 O.K. I'm digesting my food ~! Catching my breath~!  getting ready to eat again~!

Love you to the moon and back~!

        I woke up at 11:30 p.m. and came downstairs to use the bathroom.. I looked out the window and oh my goodness ~ What a breath taking view there was out there. The moon was just a glow.. My grandchildren from Illinois used to tell me they loved me to the moon and back.. now that is a lot of love.  I love the book Goodnight Moon, such love that is expressed in that book.  Of course I love the song Kim Hill sings that is on my play list "Up to the Moon".  But the best part is God created this Moon and He Loves Us So Much~!
From the very beginning of time this Moon has shined on us through all these many years,  men have walked on this moon.. I can remember being in 7th grade and the Science teacher telling the future of men going into space.. Allen Shepard being the first astronaut going into space and then coming back to earth.. What an experience that would of been to see the whole world from way out there.  God was present everywhere one would look~spectacular ~ awesome~and downright breath taking~!
My Science teacher told us that this was just the beginning, that man would land on the moon someday.. I thought at that time "No Way".. "Impossible"...but when it happened and I was glued to the TV to watch the moment many years later ~ at age 39 Neil Armstrong on July 20,1969, (he is now 81) took the first step on the moon with the statement "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.."  (He really meant to say "That's one small step for "a" man; one giant leap for mankind")  In all his excitement he forgot the word a. This still remains to be one of the World's most famous sentences.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldin spent 2 1/2 hours exploring the moon, taking samples to bring back to earth.  While Michael Collins commanded the Apollo 11 ship and kept it in orbit.  That to me would be a leap of faith to land on the moon and know ~ your way to get back to earth is going around the earth in orbit..,trusting that it will all work out and you get back on the ship and get to go back home. I can remember Neil and Buzz jumping up and down on the moon looking like kangaroos, or hitting a golf ball into space with a golf club.  I got teary eyed when I saw the United States flag being put into the soil of the moon and left to fly there forever. It's a moment in time that will always be with me and remain in my memories of one small step for man ; one giant leap for mankind.
         The stars were out so bright last night, I just sat in my reclining lawn chair and looked up into the sky and prayed to God and thanked him for such awesome beauty .Living in the country has it's advantages, the stars are so bright.  I found all my favorite constantants and there was the planet Venus shining so brilliant in the sky.. Venus is like a good friend you can count on being able to see and being right where you think it should be in this September night sky. I could of stayed out there all night but decided I best get back to bed.   Hope someone besides me here in blog land saw the moon last night.  To me it was a God moment and and time to say ~ "Thanks be to God ".                                                                                                                                      Have a Tiggeriffic Blessed Day~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Yum Yum~! Rich's pancakes~!

This is my son, Rich..wife Lisa posted it on Facebook.  He is making pancakes this morning for his family.. He makes the best pancakes.. He usually puts blueberries or cut-up apples in the pancakes and they taste so delicious.  He lives in Barrington, Illinois..  With this being a long week-end he actually should be at my house making these delicious looking pancakes.. or maybe I should of gone to his house.. that sounds better.
       This week has been busy for me.. I have been helping out with Mrs. Wittenburg's second grade..at Springville School..  She was so excited when I showed up at her class on Monday.. She put me right to work with helping 2 boys with their reading in the hallway.. I have been helping every morning for a week now and I so enjoy doing this for her.. Yesterday I helped the kids (16)  with a worksheet about constanants.  I took two at a time to the hallway.. I had so much fun with this.. Most of these kids I knew their parents when I was a custodian at this school.. They were surprised when I told them I knew their parents and some of their grandparents.. This is a great class to work with and I love 2nd graders.. I wanted to take a picture of the class and post it here ~ but with the new laws Mrs. Wittenburg said I would not be able to post any pictures without permission from each parent.  So you will just have to imagine how cute all these boys and girls are with their sweet smiles and some toothless grins..  They are so wonderful to work with. Needless to say I'm enjoying myself and I told Mrs. Wittenburg that I would see her on Tuesday..  So this is my new adventure and I'll be letting you know how much fun I'm having.  
     Today it's a dismal day, it's 10 a.m. and I have to have the lights on in the house. It's raining outside and very dark...rain gauge showing 1/2 inch.. The neighbor lady Sonya called me this morning and said her little dog itsy bitsy is missing.. She was really sad.. Her husband had bought this little dog for her  last Christmas. It's a Shitzu , brown and a very sweet dog..  I told her I would watch out for her and if I saw her I would  bring her to her house.  It's a very rainy day and now it's starting to thunder and lightening and I'm sure that will be scaring itsy bitsy..  The corn is so high here and we do have LOTS of corn, if this dog got into the corn it would be hard to know how to get out..  I told her to call me it Itsy Bitsy showed up..
      My devotion was so fantastic I thought I should share part of it with you.. It was called "The Butterfly Effect"..
Have you heard about the butterfly effect?  In physics, it describes how tiny changes in the initial conditions (such as the flap of a butterfly's wings) can affect weather thousands of miles away.  Imagine---a fragile butterfly can alter weather patterns on another continent ~!  Had it not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the weather system might have been vastly different.  What can you learn from this?  You may feel insignificant at times, as fragile as the butterfly .  It may seem like you're just flapping your wings when you are standing alone for truth and honesty in the workplace or the home.  You say, "What can I do in the face of a problem this big?"  More than you think~!  Your faith, your words, your deeds, your prayers, your example, your kindness and persistence, can release the power of God and activate the forces of heaven to go to work in that situation.  God loves to use things that we consider to be insignificant, like Moses' rod which parted the Red Sea or David's slingshot  that brought down a giant, or a boy's lunch that fed a multitude.  Your flapping wings can intitate changes that will influence lives around you for all eternity. Jesus said "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain. "move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.. It's not about the size of the seed you sow, but about the God Who can make it grow.  It's not about the prayer you pray, but about the greatness of One Who answers prayer.
Have a Blessed Day~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)
ps. I think I fiqured out my computer's problem..with not being able to leave comments on some of the blogs that I follow.. Yeah~!~!