Come for Tea~l

Wish you all could come Saturday and come to this old barn that is decorated so beautifully.  All provided by the owner, Debbie ~ free of charge..

Yesterday, my friend ,Holly and I went to Stone City, Iowa to visit the old barn that we were told was offered to women for gatherings.   This Saturday we are having a Breakfast Brunch for the girls that go to our church and live in the area.  Some of these girls go to church, don't go to church ~ believe in God or don't believe..   This is our 3rd month of organizing this for these girls.
      When Holly and I walked into this very old barn we were taken away with the view.   There can be place settings for 30 people.. We think we will be having 20 girls come to this gathering.. We have a young gal, named Hope who is a Freshman in college and she plays the piano and sings in her tenor voice.. She is going to play for us and we will be singing Praise Songs along with her..   We are going to have a $5 gift exchange.. We have asked the girls to bring along a favorite devotion that they have read this week and if they would like to stand up and say something that the Lord has done in their lives .   All voluntary, that way no one feels intimidated... Just keep it light with lots of laughter and enjoy each other.
The gal that owns this has such a wonderful spirit.. Holly and I got to talk with her yesterday and it was just a delight.. She said there would be no charge.. (we are going to have a free will offering and set it under one of her Christmas trees)   She is going to have coffee,tea,milk,2 kinds of juices and she is going to make us her homemade pecan roils.. yum yum...  We have asked the girls to bring something they would eat at a brunch.. So I'm sure there will be lots of food, fellowship and memories made.. We just let God lead us each month on what we plan for these girls and so far he has not let us down..
         After we left the barn we went to Holly's house and had lunch and then went to the local high school and elementary in Springville.  I gave the Superintendent, his secretary and the business office girl each a devotion. Then we went to the elementary and gave the Principal and couple teachers that we knew a daily devotion..   They were all happy to receive one of our devotions it was amazing.
        We then went to Wyoming, Iowa and looked at Camp Wyoming.  Last week-end in February we are going to have our 6th annual Women's Retreat and we wanted to look at some of the buildings to see which cabin would be big enough to hold us all.. We chose Owl's Nest cabin and it will sleep 30 women.  More than big enough for us to use.  Now to get everything organized for this event.. But we have plenty of time for that.We just pray and ask for God's leading.. It's like getting out of the boat and walking on water. I love it~!
          Today I have to get my front living room as we call it ready to bring down a twin bed and put in there. I'm going to have total knee surgery two days after Christmas.  I have already had two on my left knee and now I'll be having this one on the right knee.. Not looking forward to this but if I want to walk again without pain ~it is needed..
       Have a Blessed Tiggeriffic Day~ ta ta for now from Iowa~1
         

Ben playing with his Favorite Person~!

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No this is not Ben's Favorite Person, LOL..this is 3 beautiful pheasants that are in our side yard.. They were so beautiful pecking and walking all over the yard ~ looking ~looking~looking and very skittish.   I told them to stay on our property because we have No Hunting signs posted.. It's been a long time that we have seen pheasants and we are hoping they don't get on some one's table.   I also heard 3 Quail and they were singing their cool song. "Bob-White"...  I used to tell my kids there's Bob when ever I heard them sing and they would say "Bob who?"  I told them Bob White of course.. They would just laugh at me.. But they do remember...

HERE is Ben's favorite person ~  Jodie - our daughter from Michigan.. She came home yesterday to stop and get her cat, Calvin and then this morning Her and Mark left to go home.. I will miss them terribly.. We had a great time while they were here.  Sunday after church we went to Stone City and had lunch at the General Store and then went and picked up Ben.. He was so excited~!
    When we got to my house Ben wanted to get on the computer right away and play Mario games, puzzles with Aunt Jodie.  They had such a great time with all the games they played.. I just love this picture.. Wish it didn't have the shading on it,,couldn't get Ben to pose for another one.. Yikes..~!
      They found a game where you got to dress Mario.. I thought it was just precious Jodie and Ben's faces..
This morning I went to Mrs. Wittenburg's 2nd grade class to volunteer. I just love going there on Monday and Thursday mornings to help out..  She has 15 boys and girls..  Picked up Ben after  school and his mom, Tracie met us here at my house.. We had supper and then I got out the board games and we played Parcheesi and the card game War..  Then it was time for him to go home and get ready to go to school tomorrow..  Grandchildren are such a blessing from God.    I do enjoy them..   Have a Great Tuesday and ta ta for now from Iowa:)

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Taking care of our GranCat ~ Calvin~!

 This is Calvin our Grancat.. He is such a wonderful kitty and we are having fun having a cat back in our house.  This is one of his favorite blankets.. M----mmm ~ he has four blankets with him.. This is the one he sleeps with on our bed.  During the day he is upstairs sleeping and then in the afternoon he will be coming downstairs for food and water and of course the little box.  Thank goodness for liter boxes.. Jodie our daughter who is the owner of our grandcat called us this morning and said "Mom take the blue waffle blanket and set it on your lap and then have Dad put the quilt on his lap and see which blanket he will go to first.".  So here we are nice and toasty warm watching the Iowa Hawkeye's playing Nebraska and waiting for Calvin to come downstairs and make his choice of who's lap he is going to lay on first.. Hee Hee~!  This will be interesting~!    Today I have spent almost two hours reading all my favorite blogs.. I love Going Gently blog,, he has such great adventures with his animals.. He lives in Wales..  He is a great guy and it's always fun to read his blog..  I also enjoy JDaniels4 blog, Two Bears Farm and the three cubs..The Quiet Corner,, I have many more too many to write down here , but I read lots of them and try and make comments on all the ones I read.~ it's quiet enjoyable.. and relaxing.

Yesterday for Thanksgiving Dinner we went to Balltown, Iowa to Breichbach's Restaurant .  We got right in and had a great meal right to the dessert.. Coconut Cream Pie~~~!  It was so delicious.. We were so full.. Good thing~ no cooking, no dishes and left very full..  We always on the way out of town stop at the look out area that shows a valley of farms and if you look close you can see the Mississippi River..  Dave didn't want to get out of the car so I stood by the car and Tracie snapped the picture.. It was a wonderful drive and if anyone tells you that Iowa is flat.. This picture shows that it is NOT>

Here's Tracie sitting on the bench with the view of the valley behind her.. Hazy day so it was hard to see the river.. What a beautiful view~!  We had a great time and it was nice to get home ~ naps for everyone... Even Calvin climbed on my lap and took a nap with me.. Nice ~ cozy ~ and warm...
     My friend, Holly is having surgery again today.. She called me yesterday and said she was reading her bible and listened to James MacDonald again...Later today I'll drive to Cedar Rapids to St. Lukes Hospital and give her a visit..  She needs lots of prayers and support..
Well, have a blessed day~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is Ben with Mrs. Kedley his Pre-School teacher.. She is so good with him and understands him so well.  He is getting his hand painted for a Christmas Card for his mom and dad.  He made a Thanksgiving card previous of that and I had my phone in my pocket.. Then I realized ~ oh my goodness ~ I need to be taking  a picture so I can show you all..  He loves going to Pre-School and that is so good.. He is a happy boy..~!
      Yesterday was a great day in the Lord...There is a gal that I know that is having lots of struggles in her life that I have  been in contact with for about a month now..Her name is Holly.(not my friend Holly)  I knew this Holly since she was in grade school and I was a custodian.. She is now 32 and she is in the hospital.. Monday ~ she sent me a message via Facebook.. She asked me if I could bring her a bible and a devotion that we hand out at our church..  I said "Sure I can do that">  Holly is a diabetic and because she doesn't take very good care of her diet she has lost both of her feet.. She went back to the hospital last Wednesday to have more surgery.. She has a sore on the bottom of her foot and she has a large blood clot that the Drs are now getting dissolved.    She needs lots of prayer..  So yesterday my friend Holly and I drove down to the hospital ..I stopped at the christian book store and bought her a Women's Devotional Bible.. I have one and just love it..  I had the store engrave her name on the front cover.  This bible has beautiful pink flowers all over the front and her name looked just wonderful amongst the pink.. I gave it to Holly along with the devotional.. She cried and was so thankful.. She said last week if you had brought me this I would of told you to go home.. She said "I'm ready to ask Jesus in my heart"..and I need your help".. I had a track with me and asked her if she was really ready to change, she said yes,,.. So I read it to her and at the end I told her she would have to read the prayer... She read it and then she cried some more.. It was so awesome to watch her face radiate with God's love.. She said "she felt like a big rock was lifted from her back'... She had a computer next to her and I asked her if she was willing to listen to this pastor that we listen to from Elgin, Illinois.. She said yes.. So we turned on the computer and I went to   www.jamesmacdonald.com    and  clicked on teachings and then scrolled down to video.. His has a series on Change..  The first one is titled "Take out the Garbage..".   We listened with her and she watched intently to what James had to say.. She cried , she nodded her head in agreement with what he had to say and then when it was over we prayed.. She texted me this morning to thank me over and over again..  She said she got out her bible and highlighted all the scripture that James used in his sermon and watched the video 5 more times. .  Now how wonderful is that.. I was so excited to be a tool for God to do this for him.. Another child is going to enter the gates of heaven and be in the arms of Jesus..
I just love to listen to James everyday.. He has audio messages that are his old sermons but uses them as daily messages.. it's called Walk in the Word.. The video is his Sunday sermons right now and it's great to watch it on my screen on my computer..   Holly wants to go to church now and go to our bible study.. I told her that she was on an adventure of her life and God has so many blessings to give her and show her.   God is so good.
    Today Tracie,Dave and I are driving to Ball Town, Iowa to eat at Breichbach's Restaurant for turkey today.. I 'll bet the chickens are all happy today..His cousin is getting eaten today...Lol...  Have a great time watching parades, eating all that good food~ taking naps and being able to see friends and family on this thankful day .  Have a Tiggeriffic Day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Aunt Jodie and Ben are a team~!~i

 Aunt Jodie arrived this afternoon with hubby Mark and their cat Calvin. They live in Michigan and are here in Iowa for Thanksgiving. They are going to be here for a day and then they are going to Marshalltown to Mark's family for Thanksgiving.  It's so good to see Jodie and Mark.. We are going to take care of Calvin while they are in Marshalltown and then will come back here for a few more days before they go back to their home in Michigan.
     This evening Tracie and Ben stopped in for supper. We had Leek Potato Soup and Garlic Bread. I made Smokie Joes for Ben and corn.  It tasted really good. For dessert we had apple crisp.  Yum Yum~!   After supper we got out the games.. We are playing  Parcheesi, Tracie and Ben were a team and Tracie and I were a team.. Jodie and Ben won ~! He was so excited as up can see in the picture above.. What a boy~!  We had such a great time playing  and laughing...

Ben and Aunt Jodie were looking at the computer and found a game for Mario.. Dressing up Mario.. Ben had a great time playing with that and showing all the different outfits that Mario could wear...
       He went home about 8 p.m.  with the excitement of knowing that  Aunt Jodie and GranAnnie were going to come pick him up in the morning to take him to school..  Off he went smiling and waving and blowing kisses to us.  What a boy~!  

I went to the school today and helped with the 2nd graders.  They were working on their Science lesson.  They are learning about The Water Cycle.
Mrs. Wittenburg had a play for them to do and they each had their own parts to read.  Then they made head bands of the part they got to be in the play.. They did a really great job with making their head bands.. I had a great time with them and came home at noon.
       The weather here in Iowa is super great~!  Lots of sunshine and really nice temperatures.. It was in the High 40's today.. It can stay like this until March.. Wouldn't that be nice.. Ha Ha... I love the winter weather with all the snow but I do enjoy these mild days we are having.
Have a Tiggeriffic Day~!  ta ta for now from Iowa..:)

No pictures today ~!

       I always like to have a picture to start my blog with otherwise it just looks so blank.. But too busy today to try and search for one to put here. Just imagine a cloudy day and the birds are so busy at the feeders.    
 They are back to their squawking noises.. No more mating going on out there and hear their beautiful songs they sing.. But I do enjoy seeing them at the feeder..  This morning I went out to the burn barrel to burn the big load of trash I brought from Tracie"s house last night.. I didn't want to burn it last night because it was too windy.. BUT this morning when I went outside to burn this trash it was gone.. I thought I must of lost my mind.. How could this be, that barrel was full of boxes, 3 bags of trash, it was plumb full.  I didn't see anything in the field or yard  where some raccoon had carried it off .
I had burned trash from the house yesterday morning but how could there be still a spark this late in the day.. I came in the house and asked Dave "Did you burn the trash this morning that was in the burn barrel.."  He said "Huh".. I came to the conclusion that I hadn't lost my mind.. There must of been a spark that lit it and caught it on fire.. Whew~ that was so strange...
      This morning Tracie is bringing Ben over to the house to go to church with us.. She has a massage therapy meeting from 10 to noon. I told her since I was watching Ben for her then she would have to come and help me clean my house.. Jodie and Mark are coming and I really need to put some things away or throw away and get ready for them to come.  They are bringing their cat with them and we are going to take care of Calvin for a week..  I have lots to do today..
     Yesterday at 1:30 I went to  Marion High School to watch the play the home school kids that are from this  area performed, the play was Pride and Prejudice.. There were 4 kids that live in our neighborhood that were in this play. Jordyn Weppler who is 16 had the lead part and she was really good.. It was quite a performance and I was so glad I went to see them perform.  There are 42 children in our community that are home-school..  I think it's just so wonderful.  There is a main building in Marion, that offer middle school and high school classes.  Boy, I would need that if I home schooled my children.. Chemistry, physics, calulous and all those other classes would be beyond me..
      Time to get busy and get ready for church.. Rascal Shorts will be here soon and happiness will fill the house for another day. I showed him on the computer, games he could play and I'm sure he will want to do that before we leave.. I typed in Curious George Games and he just loved all the activities that he could do. When he was here on Friday night it was fun to watch him manuver the mouse to get to where he wanted to go and then play the games.. He has great eye/hand coordination. which is good.  He was also interested in looking at the Presidents of the U.S.A.  I showed him on our money  the different Presidents pictures. He must of looked at all the Presidents for 45 minutes and asking when they were born and where they were born and then how they died.. He really liked Abraham old Lincoln the best..  He wanted to see his house , his wife .  I thought this so interesting..  He liked George Washington . He thought his hair looked funny. I didn't even try and explain that it was a wig.. It was a good time watching him click back and forth to all the Presidents and listen to him ask lots of questions.  (he has lots of questions).
      Have a Blessed Sunday ~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)
     

Darth Vadar ~ and Kelsy

This is my grandaughter, Kelsy.. She is taking care of Darth Vadar in Chicago for 3 weeks.. She took a job in that area to be a nanny for 3 weeks..  Kelsy graduated last June from Iowa State University.. Her degree was in Graphic Artist and her talent is beyond ~ beyond.. Now she has many interviews coming that may take her to Georgia, North Carolina or Minn.   It will be interesting to see where she goes .  She is a beautiful girl with lots of talent in the art field.. She has been good at drawing and creating since she was a little girl.. So this is a field she will be good in and the person who hires her will not regret their decision.  We are so proud of her and only wish her the best..
     Today is chilly, windy and party cloudy. The usual sky of November.. and the promises of snow and all the weather November promises to bring.  So bring out the mittens, hats, boots and winter coats and be prepared for what is coming.

    Yesterday I went to Mrs. Wittenburg's 2nd grade class to volenteer in her class. Here is a picture of Kim and her brother Curt. They are at the Iowa Football game that was on Saturday. Those little ones were all excited when I walked into the room.  Lots of smiles, clapping and waving..If anyone is just bored with life or you have a day you could give to your local school as a volunteer they would love to have you come to help.. Used to be lots of people who could volunteer but now with everyone having to work they need people to come and help.  They will appreciate your time and be so thankful.. Check it out and enjoy one day with children. I love it and so glad to be helpful to Mrs. Wittenburg.. She is a great teacher and her children that she is in charge of  ~ love her so much..
          Dave will be leaving for work out center here in a little bit.. I'm going to clean the house and try and get things picked up and put away.. Reorganize things and sorting out things to take to Goodwill.  Less things means less to clean and work around.. Guess I need motivation and with our daughter Jodie and hubby, Mark coming next week will move me to do this...
           Guess I best get busy ~ Have a Blessed Friday ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Good Morning

In a bit of a hurry this morning and I was trying to find a picture and this is from this summer when we had the trade off of grand girls leaving and coming to Iowa. Kelly on the left was coming back to Illinois after staying for a week at GranAnnie's house.. Emily and her friend Eorr (Elizabeth) were going to come to Gran Annie's for a week.. I always need a picture to put on my blog or it looks just too plain.. I had such a great time with these girls >  I miss them so much and love them even more..
Getting ready to go to school and do my volunteering with Mrs. Wittenburg's Class of second graders. I wish I could take pictures of them but with this day and age of privacy I can't post any pictures of these precious children who I have become friends with and just love being with them. I think I could of been a teacher.  I guess you could say I was a teacher by raising 4 children.. These children (15) are just a lot of fun to help with their reading, math or anything else Mrs. Wittenburg has in mind for me to do with them.. Taking sliced apples to them this morning.. I bought one of those Apple slicer,corer, peeler yesterday and I'm going to take it to school to show them how easy and cool it is to cut up an apple.. I don't know if you have ever seen one of these ~ but they are the coolest.. In the evening when Dave and I want a snack I cut one of these apples and put it in the micro-wave for 5 to 8 minutes.. Oh it's so good. nice and hot with just a touch of cinnamon on top and sometimes I sprinkle raisins..   It's very tasty and satisfying .
        Yesterday I had lots of errands to do and it felt good to come home with everything I needed... Ever go to town to get a specific item and come home without it?   Yikes~! that is not good.. Grocery store is 15 miles from here so it's a long way to town.. Well it's just not right down the road.   It's always good to have milk, bread, and toilet paper in the house..
       Beautiful sunrise this morning and the Lord is so good.. Good time for devotions and listening to my favorite music.. Must go.. Ben will be here soon for me to take him to Pre=School and then go to Mrs. Wittenburg's Class..  On Thursday his Dad drops him off here at the house before he goes to work.  He is always a bundle of joy and brings lots of sunshine into our house. Praise God for Grandchildren and Children so we can have grandchildren.. :).  Have a Blessed Day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Doggie Doo ~!

This evening Ben came over with his Mom, Tracie.. He had this game that he had gotten for his birthday and he wanted to play it right now.  I told him we needed to eat supper and then we would play right away.. So after supper we got out the game ~ read the rules, Feed and walk your little pup.  When he makes a mess you clean it up ... Oh my goodness it was so much fun~!  No batteries just a lot of fun~!  It is for 4 plus ages and 4 people can play..

He also worked on his 100 piece puzzle again.. He loves puzzles and had this one together quickly. It was time for him to go home and they packed up their things and off they went but not before giving out lots of hugs and kisses...We had lots of fun tonight..
     This morning we left early and went to Altoona, Iowa for a funeral.. Ruth Pearson died 11/11/11, she was 92 years old . We drove there for her funeral.. She was such a grand lady.. Very happy and always had a smile.  She loved gardening with flowers and vegetables.. The family said she canned everything that she possibly could. She loved to make quilts for a group called "My brothers Keepers". She was part of the red hat ladies. She loved life and she especially loved God... It was a great day and so much fun to visit with her family.  Ruth will be missed by all.
     We got home about 4p.m. and I was ready to take a nap.. It was a long day...Ben got here about 5:30 and the fun and games began.. He is so much fun...  Tomorrow is Wednesday and I'm planning on going no where and just not do too much.. One has to have that kind of day once a week.
      Have a great day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa~!~!~!

Have you walked your pig today?

I have heard of walking your dog but never walking your pig.. I thought this was so funny.. This pig has on a dog collar and has a leash.  It's owner is being faithful and walking her pig.  I know people in Florida have these pigs and keep them in the house.. They have litter boxes for them. These kind of pigs do not have fleas.. This lady said her pig is great company and she just loves her.  Just can't imagine having one in my house..  I saw this pig while I was at the World's Plowing Matches in Sweden in May.. My brother, Dave wanted me to raise these pigs on our farm and sell them.. I politely told him "No"..  There was a lady in Springville where I live that raised one of these pigs and she said it was just like owning a dog ~ only better.. Pigs don't bark..
Ha Ha...
       Took Ben to pre-school today and he was excited. He was the snack leader and he brought grapes and carrots.  He had so much to tell me as we were driving into town. It was his birthday on Saturday and he was at his Dad's Mom's house. Ben said that Jogram and Pa Pa Jim had a birthday cake for him and his cousins ~ Collin and Courtney came to sing Happy Birthday to him. He loves musical cards and they got him a card. Jogram cut his hair and he said all his curls are gone. His hair was getting so long in the back it had cute curls.
He was jumping all around this morning in the living room and was glad when it was time to go to school.
      After I dropped Ben off at his part of the school I went to Mrs. Wittenburg's Class of second graders. These kids looked like they all had a busy week-end and didn't get much sleep.  They were all yawning.  Good thing they had a early out today.  They can go home and take a nap..
        It's a beautiful sunny day today and a little windy.  Perfect day to fly a kite..
      Have a great day~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

A Great Day at Play Station ~!

Today is Ben's Birthday, he is 5 years old and he was so excited. He is with his Dad this week-end so we celebrated yesterday (11-11-11-)  We went to the Hubba Hubba Hot Dog restaurant.  It was so good.. I should of taken a picture of my hot dog, it was piled high with relish, banana peppers,  pickles, lettuce, tomato.  It was a large dog so it was a big sandwich.  Ben had a hot dog with lots of ketchup.. Just like Uncle Richie, he likes ketchup on everything.
My friend Holly and her children, Nathan and Caryn were there along with Tracie's good friend Kim and her son who is 5 years old , Jacob.. to help celebrate Ben's birthday early.

This is what was in the big box.. Tracie got it at the children's toy store that is in Marion, Iowa. Intelligent Life Toys. He was so excited when he saw what it really was. so did Pa Pa Dee Dee, he helped Ben make something , see his hand right in there helping Ben?.  I thought ~ there's a lot of pieces... But it is very hands on and very educational. I'm sure it's good for motor skills.. It kept Ben and Pa Pa Dee very busy for sometime..

This is Nathan, he is turning 13 today. Ben was born on the same day as Nathan's.. Nov . 12th.   Ben and Nathan are good friends and he loves going to Holly's house...

Here we are at the Play Station. I'm knitting a hat and Ben tried it on and just loved it.. Now he wants me to make him one.. I told him I would.. I just love this picture of him.. He had just eaten his cupcake that Tracie had bought for the party.  You can see all the frosting stuck on his teeth. He had a great time at Play Station with Jacob.. Ben loved all the little children there and made friends with them and was very gentle around them.  Ben is good with small children and loves to coddle them and talk with them and look after them so they don't get hurt.

Here is a picture of Kim and Jacob.. Ben and Jacob had such a great time together..   I loves Kim's eyes, they are so pretty.  She is a wonderful girl and is such a good Mom..
Yesterday was Veterans Day ~ at the HyVee Grocery Store in Marion  . Holly and I dropped off Nathan because his boy scout troop was gong to serve breakfast to all the veterans.. HyVee fixed it and the boys served it to them.. Nathan said there were over 700 men and women they served..  While we were there I shook hands with as many of the veterans that I could ~ Thanked them and told them how brave I thought they were ~ and without them we as Americans would not be free.. Some of the men had tears and were so thankful.. I love to see veterans wherever I go so I can thank them and shake their hands.   We as Americans should do this daily~!   One man told me he fought in World War 1 and he flew a plane with the fighting tigers.. If you get a chance google fighting tigers  and see the awesome airplane he flew.  He told me his story and was crying while telling it, because his best buddy was hit and his plane went down. He said he knows he died..  All these men have such great stories to tell and we need to take time to listen and then give them a big Thank You~!
Have a great and tiggeriffic day~!  ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Girl's day out~!

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I had this all typed out ~ this post and dog ~gone it got erased by me fumbling around.. Well I 'll try and say it again what I had written..
Last Saturday a group of girls that Holly and I invited to go to Galena, Illinois..for dinner at the Market Shop Restaurant and then go shopping at the shops in Galena..(I'm on the right side of this picture~ I'm wearing the blue jacket ~ Holly my friend is on the left with the grey jacket.  There is a gal in the middle, she lives in our neighborhood.) There are a lot of quaint shops throughout the town from antiques, to popcorn store, tea/coffee, beading/jewelery and lots of restaurants. I didn't buy anything but there was a few things I thought were interesting.  I saw these cool tea bags that had mesh bags with a leaf attached to the top of the bag.. I thought $15 for a box was a little pricey.. The other thing I saw was a stained glass picture of wild birds.. It was so pretty and would of looked good hanging in front of my windows here on my new porch.    I enjoyed sitting on benches in front of the stores..Talking with people as they passed by. There was this old man who came by and I asked him he wanted to dance.. He said, "No Way">  But he did sit down next to me to talk and tell stories.  He said he was a barber in this town when he was younger  and his brother was the undertaker.. He said not many people wanted to go see his brother because he was the last person to let them down... Lol.. He was really funny and very interesting..  We heard a huge Labrador dog barking that was in this big black truck . The windows were down and the dog was barking very loud.As the truck went by where we were sitting,   I started barking and this dog came to the other side of the truck and was barking at what he thought was another dog.. Hee Hee.. it was me... We all had a great day and are looking forward doing something next month.. Holly and I have decided we are going to do something every month.. We call it our church outreach to women in the neighborhood.. Some of the ladies go to our church.
       Today I went to the school to help Mrs. Wittenburg with her 2nd grade class.. I go on Monday and Thursdays.. I really enjoy working with these little ones.  Today I helped them alphabetize their spelling words and have them read their reading books to me individually.  I took some sliced apples with me today and in the morning when we had a break we ate them.. The kids loved eating the apples.. Apples taste so good this time of year.
        This evening I'm going to Sharon Lang's house for our sewing group that come every Thrusday evening. It's lots of fun to see all the projects some of the girls are working on. I'm making head warmers for my grandchildren for Christmas.  Some of the gals are making quilts for their grandchildren some are making beautiful knitted sweaters . It's just fun to talk with them and hear about their week and drink delicious tea that Sharon makes for us.. Last week she had awesome pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.. Yum Yum ~ it tasted so good.   Enjoy the beautiful full moon and be sure to look at  Jupiter the planet that is right next to the moon.. It looks like a headlamp in the sky it's so bright. It's been there for quite awhile..
      Guess I best get going ~ have a Tiggeriffic Day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

A lot of grumbling going on with this first snow~!

     Goodness to be it's Iowa~! we are suppose to get snow.. Lots of grumbling going on in the area with the first sight of snow.. What do these people expect?   They should know it's coming sooner or later.. These are the same people who complain about the heat and humidity in the summer..  Well it's  just a way of complaining.. I feel bad for the weather man, people try and blame him/her for the weather.
Well, now that I have that off my list I will go on with my day.. I love every day that God gives us ~ all the seasons have something to enjoy, and I do enjoy all of them... This snow is just a reminder of what is coming and it will melt in a few days and be a nice day again.  50 degrees by Friday...  I always tell people "If you don't like the weather in Iowa today,  wait until tomorrow.
      This morning my devotion was about  "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us."   God knows everything there is to know about us, including our past, present and future. He doesn't miss a thing.  He knows my name and the most amazing part is God's heart. His love for me existed before I was born. and it will exist after I am  gone.God loves us~! There is no "ifs" in God's heart.  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God~ !  And that is what we are~!
     Going to go and get my hair cut this afternoon. I can hardly wait..it's a bit shaggy. Want to stop at the yarn shop and buy some yarn to make a winter hat for the grand kids.. While in Galena, Ill, on Saturday I saw the coolest hat and thought it was fancy.. I thought it was homemade but NO it was made in China.  So I'm wanting to make these hats for Christmas.. Thank you China for this cool hat..~!   On www.delia.blogspot.com   she has a wonderful dry erase clock she made for her 6 year old boy. I'm going to Walmart today, buy all the stuff I need and make one for Ben. It will help him with scheduling his time when he gets home from school. Take a look~~ I think it's a marvelous idea and it will teach him how to tell time at the same time...Thanks Delia...~!~!
     Ben was over last night and he  wanted to play with the train board with Thomas the Trains that we have here..  We had a good time... I got out the Lego's and we built tunnels for the trains to go under and a house to store them into, it doesn't have a roof but that is good as it's easier to get the trains in and out of the house..  We had a great time and I had his mom set a timer when it was time for him to go home.. We told him he had 5 minutes and when the timer went off he was O.K. with stopping.. He ran and got his shoes , coat and hat on and gave goodbye kisses and hugs to Pa Pa Dee , and me and off he ran to the car to jump into the backseat in his car seat.. I was very surprised but happy.. Off they went with blowing kisses to them as they went out the driveway. What a bundle of joy he brings to our lives..
     The birds are gulping down the food this morning.  It's good to see them at the feeders. The snow is still coming down and it's so pretty..The county has their trucks with the snow blade on the front of them to clear the snow and ice off the road. Amazing ~!  Have a Tiggeriffic Day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Sunday drive to Balltown Iowa.

Sunday  after church we went and picked up Tracie and Ben to go to Balltown, Iowa for our yearly visit to Breichbock Restauarant .  We have gone here for 5 years now to see the pretty leaves and the country side. It was a windy but nice day.  we usually stand next to the fence and take our picture with the country side in the background.. This year Ben was ornery and we didn't want to get him out of the car.. I just took a picture of him in the car and then turned around and got the countryside.. You can see the Mississippi River from here.  Ben could only think how much fun we could have to come back when it's cold and snowing and go down this hill in a sled.  If you ever get to Balltown be sure to stop in at this restaurant because the food is really really good.. Across the street is a feed store that sells apples, potatoes, squash and dried herbs and lots of other things.. I always like to buy a bushel of apples.. They taste so good this time of year.  

On our way home we saw a beautiful sunset and it was fun to watch it sink into the horizon.  Ben kept asking,, "Where did it go?".  Cute. 

    Today is Tuesday and it's a rainy , windy, cold day.  Looks a lot like a wintery day.. Today is a voting day for people that live in Springville. I thought there was something that I could vote for and drove into town.. The voting officials were happy to see me but we sad to tell me that I couldn't vote.  Voting was only for Springville Town Residents.  Voting 3 council men/women into office.. Shoot..I love to vote.. Oh well, I went to the library and picked up three books..and 1 magazine.. Magazine called Life:Beautiful 2 books Pocketfull of names,,written by Joe Coomer.. Plainsong written by Kent Haruf.  So now I have plenty to read in my days of staying home.. I love to read and you would think this time of year I would have all the time to do this.. With helping Mrs. Wittenburg's 2nd grade class on Monday and Thursday it leaves me 3 days of the week to read.. Good Luck~1  Tomorrow I'm going to visit my friend that goes to church,, his name is Gene Andersen.. He is a wonderful man who likes to tell his stories of working on the railroad.  Then I'm going to go and get my haircut at 3.. Yeah that will feel good.  busy days~1  but I love going to help out with the 2nd graders.

      Ben and Tracie are coming over for supper this evening.. We are going to have chilli.. I'm going to cook some potatoes and make mashed potatoes to pour chilli over.  That sounds good.. m-m-?  I'm going to make some apple crisp.. sounding like a good evening.. Ben loves to play games so I'm sure we will be playing Parcheesi or Sequence. 

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