Hungry Birds

 Snow Snow Snowing briskly.. Birds are at the feeder just eating and drinking at the bird bath... So happy to see so many birds. I think I can count almost 20 cardinals , if they would just sit still I could get them all counted.. They are so pretty against the snow...  
This is how we need to be  reading God's word.. Hungry and thirsting...to read what he has in store for us each day..

This week-=end I am going to Wyoming, Iowa for a Women's Retreat that Holly my friend and I have organized.. It's going to be so exciting.. We have nose whistles which I had never seen and they are so cool...We have a young lady named Hope who is going to be our music leader and we have many praise music songs to sing...(7)..all new to us... Our theme this year is Come to the Light... We have a guest speaker coming ~ Nancy Griffith..she is amazing and well give us a message straight from  God..   I'm going to teach the girls how to make candles so they can have light to take home with them to remember we are filled with the Holy Spirit.. If you don't read your bibles daily and pray and have a conversation with God daily,,your Holy Spirit light is going to go off and turn into ashes... then to re -light it is so easy ~ just get back into the word and speaking to God again... God is waiting for us...  
      Sometimes we get attacked with Satan having people to try and discourage us.  But this morning I read my devotion and it says :  As long as you're in this world you'll have problems.. Nobody gets a free pass.  But don't worry, the Lord's got everything under control.. Just learn to be realistic.. You will always have to deal with unpleasant situations, stubborn problems and difficult people. But your attitude (not theirs) is what determines whether or not you enjoy life..  And I doooo enjoy my life~!~!
Have a great day~!  God Bless you All...ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Mr. Pheasant is hungry~!

This morning I woke up early ~ 6-ish.. It's snowing so softly this morning, just coming down in swirls.. I went outside right away to clear the snow away from the ground where the birds feed to keep their feet warm as they are eating.. Notice sometimes they have one leg up?  They are trying to keep the other foot warm..  I put out the black sunflower seed and had several cobs of corn that I shucked off the cob so it would be easier for them to get to..Yes, I spoil my birds..   I came back into the house and got my coffee.. I watched right outside my window for the birds to come..  This beauty of a bird, Mr. Pheasant came right up to the feeder and stayed for quite awhile..  He is pretty fat so he has been eating well this winter.   There were actually 30 of them but this is the only one that was brave enough to come to the feeder.. The others ran madly into the field and into the pasture.. They were so funny to watch with their necks stretched out and pale maling across the yard and into the field that will take them to the pasture..  
         Yesterday the weatherman was predicting for this area to get 5 to 8 inches of snow.. I think so far we have gotten 4 inches..  It's still snowing and it looks lovely.  At least the wind isn't blowing 90 miles an hour and it's really peaceful looking out there.. The school is having a 2 hour delay today.. I'm enjoying my morning with my coffee and reading all my favorite blogs and being in my PJ's before I go into the school to volunteer with the 2nd graders.. I'll get to see Ben in Kindergarden and have lunch with him today.. He is such a joy~!   
       Think I'll make some chilli and put it into the crock pot to cook slowly.. That will taste good on this winter day.. for our supper~!  
       This morning in my devotion it was talking about how God's presence will give you rest.. Unless we spend time in God's presence we will always have an underlying sense of insecurity.  There are certain people we draw security from just by being around them: their presence and approach to life make us feel better. Likewise , when you need to be lifted and strengthened you must spend time with God.  Being in His presence is like being in a room filled with perfume; you take the fragrance of it with you when you leave.  God can give you rest in the midst of trouble, and peace in the midst of conflict.  That includes a difficult workplace, or a home that's in constant turmoil.  God's presence can help you to show love in the face of  mistreatment, and patience in times of stress.  It can help you to bring positive change without a lot of words, and end up feeling good about the way you handled things. So spend time  in God's presence today..
Have a tiggeriffic day~!  Ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Mia is all dressed up in her dress~!

 Mia is the most cutest toy poodle.. She barks a lot and when Mia's owner, Holly puts a dress on her she quits barking and is so relaxed. We were in Holly's music room and playing the piano and a friend of ours was playing the guitar.. Mia climbed into the guitar case and was taking a little nap..  She is such a cute and funny dog~!  
Ben really likes this dog and Mia always climbs into his lap and just loves on him as Ben loves on Mia.. 

Today the weather man is promising our area of Iowa 5 to 8 inches of snow.  Well, I'm ready.. Made a big pot of soup .
Put hot water into my stainless steel pitcher so in case the electric goes off I can have a cup of hot tea... I went outside and filled all the bird feeders and put water in the bird bath.. The birds right now are gulping down the food and drinking lots of water.. They are getting ready for the big storm.. just like me. 
I love snow , especially when it's going to be 5 inches or more.. I like to walk down the path of our pasture while it's snowing.. Everything is so quiet and the snow just covers everything.  I'll wait until it's almost dark to do this , then I can see the rabbits running and birds settling down in the trees. We have 30 pheasants and maybe I'll get a peek at them. at least I can hear the male pheasants making loud noises that they make..to warn  his group of girls that follow him,  that they need to go for cover.. Human's are coming.  Nature is so fun to watch ~!
      Went to the Christian Book Store yesterday and got a Louie Giglio DVD called Symphony "I Lift My Hands"... I watched it this morning and was so glad I did.. What a way to start a morning, listening to Louie and getting a gift from God.. What a wonderful inspiring video.. This video was on the bargain table for $5.. I'm so glad I picked it up.. my favorite Louie Giglio DVD is called " How Great Is Our God".. If you haven't seen this one ~ please get a copy and get ready to see where we fit in God's amazing Planet.. It's spectactular~!  
While I was there I got another book mark for Ben.. He asked me to get one like the one we got when we bought his bible last month.. It's a picture of Jesus.. He wants to tape it to his desk at school so he can have Jesus with him everyday..at school. We read about John the Baptist baptising Jesus.. He now wants to be baptised just like Jesus.. How precious is that.. God is good..
His Mom and I have been reading Ben the Bible and Ben just loves it and is not happy with reading one chapter at a time.. He wants to be read 3 or 4 chapters a night..So glad we are doing this as Ben is gaining faith in God rapidly.. We pray a lot and he is so precious when he is praying.. The other day he told God he was sorry his son died.. I thought that was so sweet..  
      The TV is showing closing on the bottom of the screen and I suppose later there will be postings of school closings for tomorrow.   I'm ready to sit and watch the snow come down..look out my window and watch the birds come to the feeders.. The cardinals are so bright red next to the snow..
Have a tiggeriffic day~!  ta ta for now from Iowa:)

       

Ben having fun with Grandpa Dee Dee

Dave came over to Ben's house and Ben decided it would be fun to try and wrestle Grandpa Dee Dee.. He was trying to knock him over... Such fun these boys had laughing. I had fun watching Dave trying to stay upright.. Ben ~age 6 weighing in at 50 pounds is quite a load on one's shoulders and his determination to try and get Dave to fall over was tenacious.  It ended well and Dave always carries a miniature candy bar in his left pocket and they both sat and had a treat... 
       Yesterday, I picked up Ben from his after school sitter, Donna.. HE was so excited.. He had a good day at school plus he was so  excited to see me.. He had been with his other grandma , JoGram for 6 days and he was happy to be with me and his mom now.. Last night we sat down with the reading books the school is having him read and I am always surprised to listen to him read so fast.. I should record it someday.. In Kindergarten
these children are required to know so much at a early age.. They are doing what I did in 1st grade..  He has Math mastered so no after school practice with him.. He is so much fun to be with..Wish I could of been this close with my other grandchildren..  
       WOW~! it's a brrrry windy cold day outside with the promise of a snow storm this afternoon.. The wildbirds are devouring the bird feeders..I only have 3 quail now, which is so sad.. I used to have 17.. These 3 quail are at the platform feeder just eating away and trying to master the wind blowing on them so strong.. at least I have one male out of the 3 and maybe this Spring I'll see their off spring eating at my feeder.. Hope so..
      Going to Springville School here in a little bit to help with the 2nd graders.. Mrs. Wittenburg said not to come until after 10.. They are doing testing all week .. She encouraged them to get plenty of rest each night and eat a good breakfast..  I'm going to take some orange cuties to them , I have them all peeled and ready to hand them out.. They all love cuties..
       Have a great Tuesday~!  ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Breakfast at the barn in Stone City, Iowa

This morning I went to the Stone City at what we call the Barn.. This gal and her husband own this 3 story barn and this is what it looked like at Christmas.. I should of taken pictures today because it was all decorated like Spring.. So beautiful..
Once a month she has a brunch at the barn and we bring egg casseroles, muffins ect. Deb makes her famous pecan rolls.. It's just a feast.. Afterwards a gal named Nancy gives a message and then we all set around and visit.. There were close to 50 women this morning from all over the area.. I have gone so many times now that I recognize these woman and it's really nice to talk with them .   This morning Nancy's talk was titled :
                                " God's Timetable."
When God makes you wait for something longer than you want to, He's teaching you patience.  Your emotions are like a wild horse ~ they need to be reined in.  "Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised" (Heb 10:36) Your impatience will just make you and everybody around you miserable, but it won't rush God.. He works according to His own plan and timetable.."In due season we shall reap" (Gal 6:9) 
"Due season" is God's season, not yours.. You're in a hurry. He isn't.  He takes time to do things right. You may not know what He's doing but He does.  And that'll have to be good enough for you.. God's timing seems to be His own business. He's never late, but He usually isn't early either. He takes every opportunity to develop in you the fruit of patience. But other fruits are being developed in you as well.. There are several things that must arrive at the finish line at the same time in order for you to win the race.  Developed potential, without character, doesn't glorify God.  If you were to become a a huge success and yet be arrogant and harsh with people, that wouldn't be pleasing to the Lord.. So when you get ahead of yourself in one area, He gently but firmly blocks your progress in that area until the others catch up.. You don't appreciate any of this while it's happening but later on you realize what a mess you'd have made if things had been done on your timetable instead of God's...
     Nancy's message was right on the mark and something to seriously work towards.. I love going each month and it's such a treat to listen to what Nancy has to say.. God's Promises are true and there for us... He touches our lives everyday..
     It was a great day ~!  It was a sunny day and very nice.. This evening it's 21 and a little chilly outside.. But it was great to see the sun out today... I went to town today to buy ink for my printer... I got home and tried to install it into the printer, only to find I had bought the wrong number.. Rats~!  Now I have to take it back and get the right one... I had it written down on a piece of paper and put it in a safe place in my purse.. Could I find that piece of paper today.. NO~!  Lesson learned.. Take cartridges out of printer and take with you...Can't make a mistake doing that... 
         Have a great rest of the day ~!  ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Nice Sunny Day In Iowa~! Happy Valentine's Day~!

Today was a sunny cold day here in Iowa. Happy Valentine's Day...
Was at school today and had lunch with Ben.. afterwards I went outside with him and he was playing on the slide.. He had me take lots of pictures but I won't bore you with them all... He loves to play outside and he loves the thrill of the slide.. 

After lunch Ben went back to his Kindergarden class and I went to the 2nd grade classroom where I volunteer twice a week.  It was party day and you sure could tell it throughout the school.  Lots of sugar being digested and lots of squirrley kids.. It was a fun day~!  
      I was kept busy with putting up their pictures in the hallway that they had drawn of Abraham Lincoln and stories they had written about him...Some of these kids did a really great job of drawing Abe..  
    No school tomorrow as teachers have a inservice day... The kids were excited about that...I told Mrs. Wittenburg if she had anything for me to help her with tomorrow to call me.  There is always lots to do in her classroom and I really enjoy helping her.  
     This afternoon it snowed..about an inch.. It was so beautiful watching it come down.. Almost all of our past snow had melted and it was nice to see new snow.. Yes, I love snow.. One thing nice about Spring snow is that it gives your grass a free nitrogen treatment.. It doesn't last long because the temperatures always gets in the 40's the next day and it melts. 
We are over the hump of winter...Spring is on the way.. I can tell because some of the birds are starting to sing their mating songs..no more squawking like they do all winter.  Won't be long and we will have the warm sun on our faces and we can take off all the winter coats, hats , mittens and boots  and trade them in for a light jacket.. Oh , that sounds so good..
         Ben is spending the week=end with his Dad and tonight he is with his other Grandmother.. JoGram... She is going to take him bowling tomorrow.. He loves to bowl.. She is on a league on Friday's and afterwards she lets him bowl.. What fun for Ben~!
          Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day~!  Have a tiggeriffic week-end... ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Roots and Wings......

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother.. Genesis 2;24.
  Roots and Wings.....
        You'll know you've succeeded as a parent when your children are able to leave you and go out and build a successful life on their own.. You will never cut them off, but there comes a time when you must 'cut the apron strings' and let them stand on their own two feet. Remember, the children you are raising right now belonged to God before they belonged to you.. "The earth is the Lord's...and all who live it it"  Ps. 24:11.  You are a teacher, not an owner, and your opportunity to teach them is amazingly brief. Your children were born to "leave," not stay. You can't control their ticking biological clock. Your job is to prepare them for leaving. For the next few days let's talk about giving your child roots and wings.. "Roots".  Before fruit develops, roots must thrive.. And healthy roots require healthy soil with the right elements for feeding and protecting plants.. Roots also depend on attachment to the soil.  There are two kinds of families.. The first offers "insecure attachment".  Their parent -child connection is ambiguous, ambivalent, indifferent or even neglectful, making kids feel emotionally unprotected, uncertain they're wanted and loved, though they desperately need both these things.. These children lack confidence, self-worth, emotional strength, and the courage to take risks.. The second offers "secure attachment"  Their parent -child connection is expressed and consistently reinforced.. Even during necessary absences their children feel safe and securely attached.. Such kids become spiritually, socially and emotionally capable, with the self-worth and courae required to face the challenges life puts in their path.
     This was in my daily devotion this morning.. I really believe that our children are a gift from God.. we just have them on loan...   Have a tiggeriffic Day~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)

IT's so cold here in Iowa~!

IT's been so cold here in Iowa with lots of snow.. Which we need lots of, to replenish our wells.. We are having a severe drought here in Iowa.. I don't mind the cold it's that time of year..but I will be thankful for above 0 temperatures..  

IT's been along time since I have put anything on my blog..
Emily my sweet Grandaughter called me over Christmas break and wanted to come to my house for a whole week. I was so excited.. She wanted to do some artsy things.  I just had the best thing to do with her and told her to get ready.. I have been viewing , YesandAmen.blogspot.com website and had signed up for a class called Wild Adventure..  When Emily got here we went to Michaels to get supplies.. When we got back to my house we got busy watching one of the classes and then getting busy with what we had learned.. We had so much fun for the week..
We went to a movie with Ben and his Mom called Monster Inc. in 3-D..  It was a good movie and fun to watch in 3D..
We had a great week and it was hard to take her back home.. Emily is now 12.. her birthday is Jan. 5th.. I always tell her "Your birthday is Jan. one hand and mine is Feb. one hand".  get it Jan. 5th and Feb. 5th... We love our birthdays~! 

Here I am reading a book to Ben.. He just loves to be read too.. We are reading a book named 100 Bible Stories.. He is just loving it~!   

Ben really enjoys putting puzzles together.  He is with his Dad this week-end.. He will be back on Monday and we can play again together...

Today I made some soup..I bought Bear Creek Dry Soup Mix. One was potato and the other one was brocolli cheddar cheese.. I opened up both bags and took out 1 1/2 cups from each bag and put it into a crock pot with 8 cups of water..Stirred it altogether.  I put the setting on high and let it come to a boil. Stirring occasionally. We had it for supper with salad and some baked apples.. It was so good...Tasted good on a cold winter day.  Didn't know this soup was so good...Dave liked it...that is what is most important.

Have a great week-end...ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Trick or Treat~! Happy Halloween~!~!

 Tonight was "Happy Halloween".. Trick or Treat~!~!  
Tracie and I took Ben out trick or treating and we had such a great time~!  Ben dressed up like Spiderman and he had a string of glow sticks around his neck so he would be seen when running from house to house.. Tracie also put some on his bucket.. 
He was very polite~!  He would ring the doorbell and when someone came to the door he would say "Happy Halloween"...and then they would put something in his bucket and he said "Thank You".....

We had to stop at Donna's house and get some treats.. He loves Donna. She takes care of him after school and on days there is no school.  He was so excited to see her and show her his bucket of treats..

One lady gave him a plastic finger nail and he put it on his finger right away.. Oh boy that was the best treat~!   He really thanked her over and over~!
We stopped at this one house and he rang the doorbell. He waited and waited and then rang the bell again.. He sat down on the step and told us "She must be in the bathroom".. we just laughed.. Pretty soon he stood back up and went to the door and he knocked on the door this time...A lady came to the door and gave him some candy..He asked her if her doorbell was not working and she said yes, it doesn't work..He told her he waited on the step,  because he thought she was in the bathroom...before he knocked on her door.. She laughed and told him thanks>>> He thanked her for the candy and that was our last stop.. On our way home he told his mom "First thing we get home Mom we are going to check out the loot">>spread it all out and see all the goodies.. We had a great time and it was fun trying to keep up with Ben as he ran from house to house..
      The full moon this evening was so pretty.. It was a nice evening and just a little cool.. 38 degrees.. Not bad for October..
Last year it was freezing cold and misting rain.. Tomorrow is Nov. 1st and time marches on and before we know it Thanksgiving will be here and then Christmas...I think the older I get the time just goes faster..
Have a great Halloween~!  ta ta for now from Iowa:)
       

Full Moon

I woke up this morning at 3 a.m.  Just couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided to balance the checkbook.. Now that it is complete and all in order. I put on my jacket and went outside and looked at the moon. Oh it's glorious this morning.. It's 30 degrees outside ~ so I didn't stay out too long.. Not much stirring this morning.. 
        Picked up Ben yesterday at 4 and went to Casey's store. Had to get a gallon of milk.. Ben wanted pizza so I bought him 3 pieces.. A gal I know that works , her name is Theresa asked me if I was going through town and if I was could I take her home.. I said sure.. When Theresa got in the car she told Ben and I it was her birthday.. Ben said "Would you like one of my pizza's?"   She was surprised and said No thank you. When we got to her house Ben said "Lets sing Happy Birthday".. so we did.. she was just beaming.. She told us she was 77 and she thanked us for singing.. She said it had been a long time since someone had sang her Happy Birthday.. I told Ben I was so proud of him for offering her a piece of his pizza and singing to her on her birthday. He was just a smiling in the back seat.. 

      When we got to his house he charged out of the car and got his bike out of the garage and rode it all over the driveway and the sidewalks.. He was happy to be home..  He came into the house and saw that there was face painting markers on the table.. So he had me paint his face.. He loved it..~!  
I told him instead of wearing a mask for Halloween he should just have his face painted.. He is going to be Spiderman..
I made him pumpkin shaped sugar cookies today and I bought frosting and sprinkles to decorate them.. When his mom got home I showed her the cookies and she said that after she had supper they would decorate the cookies.. 
       It's almost 5 a.m. and I best get a couple hours of sleep.. Going to help Mrs. Wittenburg with her 2nd graders today.. I think I can fall back to sleep now..
       Have a Tiggeriffic Day~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Hey~! That's my corn~!

This morning as I was looking out the window ~ I saw this squirrel coming to the feeder and sniffing the corn.. 

He lifts it up with his strong arms and starts snacking on the end.. yum yum~! 

Now he picks it up and still is able to eat off the corn.. Didn't get this picture but he then tried to carry if off the yard.. It was so funny. He would carry it and trip over it and then he would pick it back up and trip over it over and over again. I just sat and laughed.. He got to the edge of the yard and tried digging a hole to bury it ,,,he gave up and just sat there eating and filling up his stomach.. He is getting ready for winter.
     The junco's are here and that is the first winter bird to show up.  So guess winter is officially here..
      Saturday I went out to lunch with Kim Wittenburg, the second grade teacher that I help twice a week. We went to Olive Garden.. I just love to eat here.. We had a chicken something with angel hair pasta and a salad with bread sticks.. IT was delicious.. After dinner we went to the cheap theater on Collins Road and went to a movie called Timothy Green.. When we got into the theater she said she was going to get some popcorn and I said I would go and find us a seat.. Get ready to laugh.. I went into the wrong theater.. I sat there and waited and waited and then finally when the movie started she came in to find me and said "Anne ,,you are in the wrong theater.".. I just laughed and laughed.. So I followed her into the right place and we settled down to watch a delightful movie.. I thought it was good..  The little boy that played Timothy was so cute..  When we came out of the theater there was a area where you could vote.. Early voting?  yes,,it was early voting.. I have already voted because I am a poll elected official and I needed to get it done before next Tuesday..  
       We walked to the Christian bookstore and found this wonderful CD for $1.. It's called "The Invitation".. by Lee Strolbel.. I listened to it on my way home and it's a great CD to give to people that haven't committed to accepting God into their lives.. 
     Had a great Saturday and today being Sunday was wonderful too.. Lazy day~!  Made ham and bean soup so I didn't have to cook..other than I made some corn bread..  Have a great   Monday~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)   

Wickiup Nature Center

 Over the week-end Ben and his Mom, Tracie went to Wickiup Nature Center.  It's a great place to take children to introduce them to nature.. This week-end they had a Halloween Theme.. Ben said they walked on trails that had signs that told them what to look out for and if you found it you received a prize to put into your pumpkin bucket.. He had a lot of prizes in his bucket .  Inside the building was this bull snake.. non poisonous.. He looks like a rattler snake and will even curl up and strike at you..he can leave teeth marks but won't hurt you seriously..  We have them on this farm and they are good for getting rid of mice and rats.. The old farmers tell you if you have a bull snake on your farm that is a good thing .  This is the time of year that snakes get ready for hibernation..It's that time of year that we all have to get ready for the cold weather..:)

Ben got his face painted while he was there.. When Tracie sent me this picture over my phone I thought he had a head bandanna on his head.. Nope ~! it's all paint.. Ben the pirate~!  Cute..
He loved his face painted and wore it until bath time last night.
      Last night I went to his house and he showed me his new Spiderman scooter. It's blue and red.. He has been wanting one for a month or more. This one has only two wheels, the one he had had four wheels.. So he is happy and he showed me how fast he could go around the sidewalk at his house..

           We got out the markers, colored pencils and paper and drew people pictures , colored them~ cut them out with scissors and then fastened them to bendable straws.. They were so cute ~ the bendable straws made it so the people we taped on them would bend in all directions. He said next time we should make some for Uncle Wally for his grave stone.. We could put them in a plastic bag to keep them dry and tape it to the stone and then the angels could come and take the pictures to Uncle Wally.. I teared up because he remembered our visit to the cemetery and going to Wally's grave site..                                                                                                                          I brought this tractor one home,  I helped him make for Pa Pa Dee Dee.. He did most of the tractor and I put on the man.. We had lots of fun.  
          Today is Monday and the storm clouds have moved in and I can hear rumbling of thunder and see lightening in the sky outside my window.. It could rain for a month here and we could still need rain. After the drought we had this summer ~ rain is welcome~!   Have a Tiggeriffic Day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:) 

Rainy Day ~ lots of adventures~!

 It was sprinkling and Ben decided to put on his fireman's raincoat and go out and jump on his trampoline..  He is so silly. He jumped in circles, he jumped sideways and had a really great time.. This is a great tool to burn off the extra energy he has and then settle down when we go back inside.. This was the best thing his Mom could of ever gotten for him..

 I had taken him to the Dr. this day for a sore throat, headache,neck hurting and slight fever.. He wanted to stop in for pizza.. He ate one slice and drank his root beer..  He was feeling better..  Dr. said he didn't have strep throat and his fever was gone and it was just a virus that was going around.. Thank goodness.~! 

We went to a store called The Imagination Store.. He found this toy that was lots of different shapes and you put them together in order..He said he made a diamond.  Oh he loved this one.. I told him that his birthday was coming up and he needed to put it on his wish list.. He said "Take a picture".. So here it is and he said maybe Aunt Jodie would see it and buy it for him. mmmm?  This is a great store for children to expand their minds.. 

We went past a cemetery and he said he wanted to go in to read what all those stones said on them.. It was Oak Shade Cemetery and that is where my oldest son is buried.. He was killed in a auto accident in 1995, Ben has been talking about dying and death for quite awhile now and I thought mmmmm this would be a good place to talk about what happens when you die.. I told him that if you believe in God and you have a relationship with him ~ when you die the angels come and gather up your soul and take you to heaven to live with God.. Your body stays here and is placed in a box and a grave marker is put in place on top to say who you were, when you were born and the date or year you died..  It was quite good to see him understand what I was saying and he had lots of good questions.
We walked around the cemetery and he looked at a lot of cemetery stones and had me read off their names.. then I was surprised when he could read the dates of the years.. like nineteen hundred or eighteen hundred or even two thousand.. For Ben only being 5 years old I thought this was remarkable.  He also told me after I read what it said on the tombstone, that the girls names were on the left and the boys names were on the right.. I told him someday when he gets married his wife would stand beside him on the left and he would be on the right.. We had a great time at the cemetery. 

We found this tombstone of a young man who must of liked music a lot.. I just love what it says here..
On the right of this stone was a full picture of him from head to toe and below this saying was a drum set..
After we visited here I took Ben to his Mom's house and we played games , read books and he played with the car he had gotten at the Imagination Store.  He was feeling so much better and he got to go back to school the next day.
We had a great day together and learned lots of new things..
Have a tiggeriffic day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Sunny~Sunny~ Day~!~!

Today is Monday and it's a sunny day.. After two days of much needed rain it's really nice to see the sun again.. The birds are enjoying it this morning. It's a very nice 50 degrees this morning with the promise of 65 by this afternoon. Mr. Cardinal looks so bright at this feeder. I miss hearing their beautiful song..What Cheer What Cheer.  It's coming onto fall here and all the birds are settling into cold weather just like people.. Got out the winter coats, scarves, mittens, boots hats and am ready for the colder weather that will arrive soon.  
   

Here they are the gobblers of the feeders.. They are so bright blue.. Right now I can see 6 of them out there scrambling after the black oil sunflower seed.  The other birds are  waiting for their turn to eat.. Blue rules for right now at this feeder..

Got to see Ben this morning for just a minute.. The library at school has a fund raiser to raise money to buy new books.. Today is penny day. Each class is to bring their pennies to school today.. tomorrow is nickel day and Wed. is dime day and Thursday is quarter day.. Which ever class brings in the most money by the end of the week, can have an ice cream party with the principle of the school..  Ben was so excited when his Dad stopped at the house this morning and I ran out a big bag of pennies.  He said "Thanks Gran Annie".. tomorrow is Nickel day~!.. I said 'Yes , Ben we will be ready with our nickels.. He always seems to remember what is coming up at school, like what day to wear a green shirt or a red one.  Or sometimes your favorite football team.. Just love that boy..
        Have a great Monday~!  I know I'm going to do that ~ Dave brought home some apples and I'm going to make a apple pie.. Nothing is better than warm apple pie with a cup of coffee.. Dave went to town this morning ~ maybe he will bring home some vanilla ice cream to put on top.. yum yum~!  
Ta Ta For Now From Iowa:)  Where it's sunny and bright~! 

Can you see me now Gran Annie?

Last Sunday Oct. 7th ~ Ben came to my house to play.. His Mom had a migraine and needed a nap.. It was a beautiful fall day and he wanted to go down by the creek, behind our property.. I decided to drive down to the road at the North of our property and take a look at that side of our land.. I have a cache down there called Zippity Do Dah and it needed to be checked out.. A cache is part of geocaching.. It's a blue bird house  and I have the hole covered so birds can't get into the box.. There is a log sheet and treasure inside for fellow geocachers to sign and then report online to www.geocaching.com  that they found this cache and how they liked it..  First thing we found was the nail that kept the door closed was gone and a little mouse had taken refuge.. I suppose it thought this would be a great winter home.. We drove back up to the house and got a hammer and another nail in the shed and drove back down to the cache.. I held Ben up to the birdhouse and he drove the nail into the wood and then we bent it over to hold the door shut.. He took out the nest the mouse had made and this huge spider crawled out.. He hit the spider with the hammer and smashed him flat.. He laughed ~!  good thing the mouse wasn't there... he would of squashed him too... We put the log sheet back into the nest and the plastic bag of goodies.  closed the door. 

We took a walk and found this tree stand..  He didn't hesitate at all, he went to the ladder and climbed up.. He sat down and said "GranAnnie do you think I could fly?"  I said 'NO WAY"<< 
He said "Just kidding ".. 
He really liked it up there and said he could see lots of things up there.. He said the creek hardly has any water.. Because of the drought we are having here there is not much water flowing.    When it was time for him to come down he just turned around and came down with no problem..  It was a fun time with him in the pasture and we found lots of bird nests in the trees. We went down to the creek and saw lots of frogs jumping around..animal tracks and rocks..

The other day I picked him up at school and we went to WalMart to buy snacks for him to take to school the next day..It was his turn for snack day.. He picked out those small oranges (which I had to peel ~ all 20 of them. can't bring oranges without peeling them)  and pretzel sticks..  We always have to go to the toy section and look to see if any new lego's are there.. Nothing new today. But he found this mask .. Star Wars...IT even talks.. He was so excited~!  When we got home he said "GRAN ANNIE CAN YOU SEE ME NOW? ">>>> I laughed and told him I could see his eyes just a little.. He loves this mask and had a great time wearing it all around the house... Now he wants another one he saw on the box.. I told him his birthday was coming up in November and he should add it to his wish list.. Lets see ? He has a new bike ~ a new scooter~ the red mask~ a new DSI game~  and a batman cape with accessories on his list..  Wonder what will be added to the list next...
      Today is Saturday and this morning it was so dark outside for such a long time.. We had to keep the lights on in the house until noon. It's a rainy day~!  Yeah~!  We haven't had rain for so long and we need it really bad.. The birds are busy at the feeders ~! I gathered corn from the corn we have in the field to feed the birds this winter. I put out a few pieces and the Blue Jays are gulping them into their craw..I think that is what it's called.. They are busy along with Mr. Squirrel..
Have a great day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Our Annual Trip to Balltown, Iowa

 We go to Balltown, Iowa to Briechbach Restaurant every October to see the leaves on the trees and eat the delicious food that is served here..We went here on Friday afternoon.  I picked up Ben an hour early from school so we could get there before the crowd showed up..it was a good thing. When we left there was quite a few people in line..   Tracie's friend Brian came with us this year.. He is such a nice young man. Ben really likes him and if you notice they are wearing the same kind of shirt.. Iowa... Ben  was being really silly looking through the binoculars. It was a cold day even thou the sun was out shining..

Here is a picture of Tracie, Ben and Brian. We had a really great time eating and enjoying the scenery. Brian and I took Ben over to the feed store that is across the street . They have lots of dried flowers, herbs , squash, apples,pumpkins, gourds.. Ben picked out 3 large pumpkins and was so excited.. I love fall and all the color and pumpkins and all that is involved...with October. This time of year there are a lot of October fests.  

The is the view from where we were standing.. The Mississippi River is in the distance, you can see it if you knew where to look.   It's quite a view.  

On the way home the sun was shining brightly and we saw two sun dogs.. The sun was setting and the sky was so red.. When riding in a car it's hard to get just the write spot to get the picture one wanted. There's so many hills here in this part of Iowa that it was difficult to get the one I wanted.. If anyone tells you that Iowa is flat ~ tell them they haven't been in the North. 
       Today being Saturday ~ I decided to get out the big suitcase out of the closet. I keep my winter clothes in this suitcase and now that warm weather is pretty much over it was time to make the switch.  I went through my summer clothes and picked out the ones I wanted to keep for next year and made a pile for Goodwill. I put all my summer clothes and shoes in this suitcase and put my winter ones on the bed.. Got them all hung up in my closet and put some in my dresser. Now I'm ready for cold weather.. I love the suitcase method.. Not enough storage space in this house and this sure helps.. Plus I go through them and decide which ones go to Goodwill before they go back into the suitcase. 

      Made Ham and Bean soup today.. Was looking for a corn bread recipe and found one on one of the blogs I follow..  Crazy As A Loom   ... She has recipes on her blog and this one was so good..   Today was very cold and tonight is suppose to freeze.. I went out and covered up some of my flowers.. Does anyone know what kind of flower this is, it's blooming right now.. It is next to the sedum and the iris's..  Don't know if I need to bring it inside for the winter or hope it comes back next year..
Hopes someone can help ..
Have a great day ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)  

The corn is ready to harvest~!

Ben and I were outside kicking the soccer ball around and the ball got into the corn.. Ben went in to get the ball and he was shaking the corn.. He said "GranAnnie this corn rustles".. He liked the sound and walked on the outer edge of the field with his arms making the corn move.. I could see where he was by watching the corn tassles above move as he walked. I won't let him go too far into the corn. That is how children and adults get lost.. They get inside and can't find their way out.. I told him this week=end we would cut corn down and make a corn shock...and maybe make a few pumpkin people to sit on the hill by the end of the driveway..

He decided to lay on the ball and told me to take an upside down picture of him... He thought this picture was so cool~!  
     We went into the house and I got some paper out and had him draw circles on the paper with my circle template I bought.. He was having a ball making circles.. Then I brought out the lower case alphabet sheet and told him to make the letters inside the circles. I had some watercolor paints and a little bowl of water and a paint brush. He drew the letters inside the circles with colored pencils and then he really liked the idea of using the paint to color in the circles. He had a great time doing this and he filled in all the circles..I told him tomorrow when he comes he can cut out the circles and we can glue them on a piece of paper and put the letters in the right order.. I thought he would like this a lot.. I'm trying my best to find ways for him to practice his lower case letters and put them in order..  His Dad came to pick him up and take him to his house..have supper and then read some books and go to bed and start the day off again.
I love it when he gets in the back seat of his Dad's car.. He waves and blows kisses..and yells  "Love You ~ Gran Annie"~!
Just melts my heart...ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Pa Pa Dee Dee and Ben riding on the John Deere 530

I just love this picture of Pa Pa Dee and Ben riding on the John Deere 530.. Think I will frame this one and give it to Ben to put on his dresser at his mom's house.. I'll bet even Aunt Jodie would like a copy of this one..
After I picked up Ben at Donna's house ( his daycare provider after school) we went to my house. Pa Pa Dee Dee was just getting the JD out of the shed.. Ben of course wanted a ride.. So off he went with his legs a flying.. and climbing on that tall tractor..with ease.. He has such strong arm muscles , he makes it look so easy..  

He was being silly in this one, not sure what he was trying to do but he liked it.. I suppose we are going to get into the age that every kid does including my four..A time when they think it's funny to stick out the tongue or make funny faces or do this with their hands.. Silly boy..
After I took the picture~ Ben and I went into the house to fix supper.. I took out his work from his school folder and said 'OH Ben look you have homework".. (while he was outside with Dave I slipped into his folder and put in a work sheet I had for lower case alphabet  and wrote homework on the top )  He said "Gran Annie this isn't from my teacher it's from you...that is your handwriting".. I couldn't believe he could know that ... I just laughed  and said Yes, Ben you are right.. could you please practice writing your lower case letters and I'll help you... He said I'll do it with Mom.. So we played a game of Old Maid.. He loves that game.. I got him a card holder so he can hold his cards in front of him without me seeing them.. I have taught him to be a good sport and it doesn't matter who won it matters how you play the game ... and congratulate the winner even if it's not you.. When he wins he always pats himself on the back.. if I win he says "Congratulations Gran Annie"..  
We had supper and then Tracie took Ben home.. She called me later and said she set up a point system with Ben with Skittles.. She has these little plastic bowls with lids and they went over his word list and he would say the word and write it on paper.. For every word written with good penmanship  he got a skittle and he put the colored skittle in it's own bowl.. He showed them to me this morning.. He had a bowl of  green ones, red ones, blue ones, ect. He was so excited.  
Took Ben to school this morning and on the way there he decided he didn't want to buy his lunch.  Good thing my house is on the way to school,  we stopped and we gathered some things for him to put in his lunch box which I keep at my house.. then quickly back in the car and off to school. He was so happy this morning he just talked and talked about what he had done with his Mom last night. They made Jello and worked on getting points.. I told him that if he had a great day and didn't get his name in the yellow or red cup he could play with my Kindle Fire when I picked him up this afternoon.  He said 'O.K. that means no name calling, so pushing kids and no burping in kids faces.."  I said 'Yes that would be a good thing not to do today"..  We got to school and he skipped all the way to the door, he turned around and waved at me and blew me a kiss~!~!  That was a tender moment for Gran Annie.. Have a great day~ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Ben and Mr. Squirrel

Found this picture of  Ben eating a blue sucker.. We are at Gay Mills, Wisconsin visiting the apple orchard and buying apples.. It was a great day and we had a fun day..Ben is with his Dad this week=end camping with Jo Gram his other Grandma.. I talked with her today and she said that she got Ben to practice making his letters.. Upper Case and Lower Case..  Then they went for a bicycle ride on the trail.. He loves to do that.. Hope he has a good day at school tomorrow.. 

Look at this squirrel stretching to get to the grape jelly... I'll bet his lips are going to be purple..and his paws sticky sticky sticky.. I'm sure he will groom himself later.

 Look at this fatso~! Now he is draping over my bird feeder gobbling up the black oil sunflower seeds.. I always say if you feed the birds be ready to feed the squirrels.. They are such hogs..

 I opened the window and yelled "HEY".. He went to the tree and then he kept a watch on where he had been.  

Then we had a stare down to see who would leave first.. I stood my ground and looked him eye to eye and he watched me waiting for me to leave ... I finally left and decided to see what he would do next.. Yep you guess right he was back to the grape jelly.. 
Had a great day today.. Went to church and cleaned out my Sunday School room . There was a lot to throw away.  It looks so much better..  My friend Holly is helping me teach... She does one month and I'll do the next one.. We have 3rd graders to 5th..  Came home and watched the Ryders Cup Golf Tournament.  Was so proud of Zach Johnson the pro golfer from Iowa.. He did a great job even thou U.S.A. lost and Europe won..
      Time for the Amazing Race on TV and then do my Bible Study for Tuesday . Have a great Sunday evening.. ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Fall has arrived~!

 Crisp morning of 46 and the sun is shining so brightly. The Green Ash Tree is bright yellow this year.. The leaves on the trees have never been so colorful as they are this year.  I just love fall with the air so clean, no humidity and ending the day with it being so warm.  It could stay this way until next March.. I know I'm living in the wrong state.   But I do like all the seasons that we get to have here in Iowa.. I really do like the snow which I hear this winter according to the Farmers Almanac we won't be seeing much snow.. It worries me a bit as the Mississippi River is shrinking and the creek behind our property is not flowing anymore.. This creek always has water in it regardless how dry it has been. We are in a severe drought here in our area and I was hoping for lots of snow to replace what we lost this summer.. Now I hope our well holds up and it doesn't dry up.. That won't be nice..

Took this picture of Mr. Squirrel hanging upside down on the bird feeder. He found the bowl of grape jelly the Orioles had and they left and the hummingbirds left and now I guess he thinks it's his turn.. Sorry the picture is not closer, took it with my phone..  I only have 1 squirrel and he gets fed well. Today I'm going out to the corn field and gather corn and put it in a big plastic tub and store in my garage.. That way I'll have it for this winter and Mr. Squirrel won't go hungry.

Ben decided to climb trees again and he is getting to be quite a climber.  He needs a tree house like his Mom had when she was his age.. She pretty much lived in the trees to read books, do her homework, play with her dolls..
Yesterday Ben came home from school and said he got in trouble.. He called his teacher stupid and told some girl she was a fart.. Boys and their language..He doesn't like to do the lower case alphabet and refused to do his work at school.. So his teacher wrote in big letters..HOMEWORK on the top of the page.. So he called her stupid.. When I brought him here I tried working with him and he just broke down and cried. I had made oatmeal raisin cookies and told him we needed a cookie and milk break.. and gave me some time to talk with him and get.the primary paper that I had bought that has the dotted lines to divide the upper case and the lower case letters.  I gave him a sheet and I took one.. I had him watch how I was making the letters, and told him to  make the same letter on his page. We went one letter at a time.. It worked and we got his HOMEWORK all done..  I think he was just having a hard time knowing how to make those letters and putting them in order.. Later I got out some computer paper and showed him how to put tempera paint in the middle of the folded paper and then smash it together.. I was showing him what symmetrical was and he was so excited to see what the design would be when the paper was unfolded.. I told him we would let it dry and the next time he comes we can take scissors and markers and make something out of what we might see  in the design..  He said the one looked like a 3 eyed monster.. I have colored paper and we can glue our designs onto the paper after we cut them out and use markers to draw on them.. Should be fun on Monday after school.. I pick him up at daycare pretty much everyday after he is dropped off after school and bring him to my house so I can play with him until one of his parents comes pick him up at 5 or 5:30.  We always have a good time when he is here and I like it because I get to see him once a day.. Wish my other grandchildren lived close to me so we could have more time to be together..I'm sure their parents would like that too..  Have a great Saturday ~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)