Ben shoveling the snow

 Picked up Ben after school today after helping with Mrs. Wittenburg's 2nd grade class.
He was so excited to get home.. He took his book bag into his Mom's house and went out to the garage to get the shovel.. He said "GranAnnie I'm going to shovel the snow off the walk so when mommy gets home she doesn't have to walk in the snow.."  Oh how sweet this was to hear.. He has never shoveled the walks by himself.. I was so proud of him.

Ben standing tall with his shovel...

Snow falls and it's so glistening~!

      Here we are December 12th and it's crisp and cold outside with lots of snow.. It's Iowa and it's suppose to be like this..Only not so cold..But it is winter and I love all the seasons.. So glad I have seat warmers in my new car and I can start my car from the house... gotta love it when it's this cold..  
     My daughter , Jodie has been here for couple days and she bought a remote for our garage to turn on the outside lights.. I have had to go outside and manually turn them on...garage is not connected to the house.. This is so nice now to just flip the switch and ta da the lights go on,,, Sweet~!  Jodie does so many things for us it's just so awesome...and she is so thoughtful~!
    Had a great Thanksgiving in Illinois visiting with my son, Rich and Lisa and family. Ben went with us and loved being with all his cousins and Aunt Jodie and Uncle Richie.. He pulled on the wishbone with cousin Sophia...He was so happy he won~!  

Emily Anne and my Sparky Girl Kelly~!

   

Sophia and Ben playing Monopoly.  They had a really great time playing..Ben is the banker..... and keeps right on top of things.. He knows his math and he knows just what you owe...course he can give change... He is so smart.. Can't believe he is 7 and so smart in reading and math.
       Today I went to school and helped Mrs. Wittenburg with her Christmas presents that the children are going to make and give to their parents.. I'm going back tomorrow and finish with another project she wants them to make for their parents.. There are 23 in the classroom and 4 of the children need two presents for their parents..because of divorce.  It's a lot of work but soooo rewarding,,the children are so excited to be able to make something to give to their parents. I love working with them..
     Took Ben to counseling this afternoon . It's called Play Therapy.. Not sure what it's all about but this is what the guidance counselor wants his parents to try for Ben.. So I get to take him every Thursday and we have so much fun.. Afterwards we go to Casey's store and buy a drink and a cookie and then we drive to the local cemetery and today we put our boots on and of course hats,gloves,coats (it's really cold and snowy here) and walked through the cemetery.. They have a awesome memorial for the cival war soldiers.. So we talked about the soldiers that were buried there and I told them that President Lincoln was the Pres. at that time. That is Ben's favorite President..  He loves to walk in cemeteries and read the names on the tombstones.. He asked if the ones that all had flowers were believers of God and they were the ones that were in heaven with God..and the ones without flowers were not going to heaven.. I told him ,,,No, the ones with flowers are blessed because someone that lives close went to the store and bought some  flowers and put them on their families graves..He said "Does Uncle Wally have flowers on his grave?"  We live close to his cemetery.. I said No Wally doesn't have flowers on his grave...So on Saturday after he has play practice at our church we are going to buy flowers for Wally's grave and take them and place them on his tombstone.. 
We had a nice quiet walk around this cemetery and Ben asking lots of questions and reading lots of names. I just love being with him...
Well, have a blessed day and ta ta for now from Iowa:)