~Christmas Pins~

When Mike and I first separated and divorced. I did not have alot of money to give the boys to buy me Christmas (mom and dad always chipped in to help them and take them shopping)( THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALWAYS BEING THERE), so they started buying me a Christmas Pin each Year. I could never decide which one to wear, so I began wearing them all on one shirt, I have continued that tradition now for many years, Some of them have had to be retired (put away for safe keeping), because they began to wear out. The reindeer lost his horns and his red nose, the sleigh lost its sleds, the wreath lost all its greenery, the pin back broke off an angel and I could not get hot glue or super glue to hold another one one. I love them each and every one. Even in their adult years, they have continued that tradition. I get a Christmas Pin each year.

I have some that have special meaning to me, they all do but these really stand out to me. The double bells on the dress of the angel pin were given to me by Grandma Brown when I was about 7 or 8, it was inside a wallet that she sent me for Christmas. The Bells just below it is the pin she always wore on her coat at Christmas Time, thanks mom for giving that to me.

Then there is the candle, that one was when my dad had his wreck in Dec 14, 1991(Tony's 21st Birthday). We were at the hospital and James and Amie took the boys to get my pin. When they returned they had gotten the candle and told me "this is our light at the end of the tunnel", you see dad was in a coma and the doctors had told us earlier that they were going to have to drill a hole in his head to releave the pressure on his brain. Just minutes after they gave me that , the doctor came in and told us Dad was awake (no drilling, Thank you Jesus). We got to take him home on Christmas Eve and all he wanted for Christmas Dinner was some Black Olives and he got them. They are all different, there are Angels, Snowmen, Teddy Bears, Santa, Santa Bears, Candy Canes, but they are all very special to me. Bruce just walked through and told me I was going to have to get a bigger shirt, that one was kinda full.

This years pin is a jointed Showman, sorry mom, I know how much you like snowmen, but you can't have this one... Everyone at work waits to see what pin I get each year. I always wear my shirt once right after Christmas so they can see the new addition. So that is our little Christmas tradition in my family. Now the girls join in picking out the pin for each year.

SO MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

~Christmas at Nana's~

On Monday night all my kids came over for Christmas. Buck, Mandy and the girls came over around 2 and started cooking dinner, That was nice... Bruce ended up cooking the deer steak, because he did not like the way Mandy was doing it, so he offered to do it. Mandy told Bruce she liked his way much better, it tasted better, so she would be doing it that way from now on. I had put rolls in the oven that morning to rise all day, while I was at work. Mandy finished baking them. We had Deer steak, rolls, corn casserole, mashed taters, and Macaroni and Cheese, It was really good. I had baked on Saturday/Sunday so we also had 4 kinds of bread, Banana Nut, Coconut Pecan, Pumpkin Spice, and Cinnamon Nut, Then I had made Chocolate and Vanilla Fudge, Skillet Cookies and puppy chow. We ate and then had presents. I now have 2 Build a Bear gift cards. The girls and I will have a ball building bears. The deal is I take the 3 girls and they build me a bear. I let them do it however they want to. It is alot of fun..

We had a really good Christmas. I had gotten Kelsey twin baby dolls and Bunk beds for them. She loves to play with mine that I have had since I was little, so I thought I would get her some. When we brought out the bunk beds, I had forgotten to make the blankets for the babies, so she grabbed some Tissue paper from the gifts and covered up the babies with it. It was so cute.

I had gotten Cember and Gabby art stuff, Blendy Pens, Color Splitz Pens, Glitter Pens and some other stuff like that, and so it was not strowed all over the house, I got them a wooden storage cabinet with 6 drawers, so they have a drawer for each different kind of pen. Then there were clothes for everyone.

When everyone got through with their take home goodies, there was little left, so I am baking again today (after I brave the craziness I know is going on at Walmart for some more baking supplies) for Mom and Dad's tomorrow evening. That's OK I love to bake.

EVERYONE HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and REMEMBER JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON>..

Love ya ALL!!!!!!

~JESUS TOOK THE WHEEL~

You got it. As I was traveling to work this morning, we noticed a car up ahead of us was sliding on a bridge, I took my foot off the gas a good ways prior to getting to the bridge and lightly tapped my brakes to slow us down, There were 2 tanker rigs several car lengths ahead of us. I had told Betty (the lady that swaps rides with me) shortly after leaving Sheridan, " I don't want to be beside them on slick roads", as they were hauling flammable materials. Well as we hit the bridge, the long one over Hurricane Creek at Ico (just north of Sheridan) we began to slide, zig zagging across the bridge, at times it felt as if we were only on 2 wheels and we were about to roll over. We went back and forth across the bridge, and then we went into a spin. I was scared to death, I just prayed and all of a sudden it was like the steering wheel was ripped from my hand and we came to a COMPLETE STOP, headed back toward Sheridan. We had gone the entire length of the bridge, in what seemed like extremely slow motion, sliding from one side to the other and spun around and did not hit a thing,, That is the hand of GOD that prevented us from hitting anything. As we began crossing the bridge, there was on coming traffic, one of the vehicles that was in front of us, went into the ditch. The Tankers were sliding, we were all sliding, That bridge was a solid sheet of ICE. When we finally stopped, I just said, 'Thank you Jesus", it was his hand that stopped that vehicle, I could not do it.
I tried to call 911 to let them know about the car that went off, but I kept getting Jefferson Co. I could not get Grant Co. So, I dialed the Sheriff's Department and let them know, Someone had already gotten them, so Help was on it's way. Betty and I decided to just go back home and maybe try again later. As we were driving back to Sheridan, we listened to the radio and heard of alot of wrecks in and around Pine Bluff and also several on I 530, which is where we were headed. I am still shaking so bad, I am not sure I can drive that again today.. Although, it is the end of the year and I do have a Contract that needs completed to go into effect on the 31st. Just not sure what we will do from here, But I just know that had it not been for the hand of God, I would probably be in the hospital or worse right now. I give him all the praise for his extra strong protecting hand this morning.

~SLIDING HOME~

I have to chime in on this one. Aunt Sue, I bet you remember this. We were in California for Christmas in '75 or '76, I think it was '75, I want to say that, because Mike had gotten me a promise ring for Christmas, because he did not want me going to CA without a ring, and we knew my mom and dad would not let me have an engagement ring at "15", I would have been sixteen in '76, got engaged in Nov. '77. I had a coat that could either be Long or you zip the bottom off and it was a short coat, it was black with a white fur collar. Aunt Sue fell in love with that coat and offered to buy it from me. Now, I was in California, with only that coat to keep me warm if it should get cold, however, when we left for CA, the weather was really good, not too cold....
While we were there we did some Shopping (Imagine that). I found a sweater actually 2, that I just loved, it had pockets on the front and a belt with it, one was light blue and one was brown stripped. I bought them and told Aunt Sue, I would sell (actually we just traded the coat for what I owed her on the phone bill for calling my boyfriend back home while I was there) her my coat, because I would not need anything more than that sweater on the way home...

WELL>>>>>>>>> Little did I know about what was ahead of us on the way home. We hit snow and ice at Needles CA and drove on it the remainder of the way home, including our driveway.. SOLID ICE. Dad kept asking west bound truckers (the day of the CB Radio)"how did it look over their shoulder" (CB Language, I never did get into that, now Pam.. Boy I will have to tell you a story about her and the CB Radio) and we were always told about another 50 miles and you will be out of it,,,,, Apparently that storm was just about 50 miles ahead of us, because we NEVER ran out of it.... So there I was with only a SWEATER to keep me warm when we would stop... Needless to say, I did not linger outside the car any length of time when we would stop, just run in do my business and run back to the car.. I just about froze my Patootie off that trip... I was so COLD,,, I was never so cold in all my life... But Aunt Sue was toasty warm in that COAT!

Wonder what ever became of that COAT??

~HAPPY B-DAY-TWIN -DOUBLE FIRST-COUSINS~

Tony as a baby and then Tony and Kiefer on the Jet Ski.

Sheri as a baby and then Sheri and her youngest son.

Today is the birthday of my youngest brother and my cousin. Yes, they were born on the same day only 18 minutes apart. Their Dad's are brothers and their mothers are sisters. Wow what a day that was. Sheri was born first (coming early) then Tony (over due). Delivered by the same doctor, mothers shared the same hospital room and they also share the same Middle and last names. So many similarities in their lives yet so many differences.

Today they are "38". At 12:20 Sheri will be "38" and following at 12:38 Tony will be "38". How do I remember that so well, actually I cheated, I read the newspaper clipping that I copied for my mom and dad's 50th Anniversary Scrapbook.. I can't remember what time my own children were born anymore without looking, I do know that my first one was born at 2:43 PM, but I have to look on the other 2.

Happy Birthday to you Both. Here's wishing you many many many more HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!!!!!!!

~Santa Hat & Jingle Bells~

Here is a picture of Cember in my Santa Hat that I spoke about a couple of blogs ago.. She found it laying on the table and had to pose for a shot. She is a real poser when it comes to pics.

Then Kelsey found my jingle bell earrings on the bathroom cabinet and had to have them in her ears, boy did she put on a show after that. We had to put her hair in a hair pretty so she could really make them jingle. We had to take a pic and send to daddy on his phone.

We were having girls nite and the next day I was going to the Nutcracker with Gabby. That was a real treat, never seen that before. Not quite sure what the story line was, but the ballet was beautiful and the scenes were spectacular. We ended up having to sit in the nose bleed section. That was really hard on mom to climb all those stairs, but she made it. One of the girls in Sheridan 4th grade was in it, so the whole 4th grade was invited to attend, at a reduced admission fee. That was neat. then we went to the park to have our sack lunches we had brought, and it was 37* outside, it was TOO cold to be at the park..

Not much of anything going on over the weekend, I did not feel real well. Then back to work Monday, Water Aerobics Monday Nite.

Today, we had our Secret Pal reveal luncheon at work. That was interesting. I was way off on who I thought had my name. I really got some neat things. Had a really fun time doing it. Next year we are going to do a month by month thing.. Secret Cupid, Secret Leprachan, Secret Bunny, etc... We will draw a name for each Holiday. That will be real interesting.

Tomorrow I have an MRI and then go to the Doc to get the results. Not looking forward to that... Larry will be going with me and then off to the airport and to Charlotte until Saturday.

Tomorrow nite my aerobics group is going to Whippet for a Christmas type party. That will be fun. They have really good fish dinners.

Friday nite is STOCKING STUFFING>.. More on that next post.

Have a WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON and remember JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!!!!!

~CELEBRATING 50 YEARS~

This picture was taken shortly after they were married. They were married by the Justice of the Peace and then got into a car with My Dad's Brother, Jim, his wife and 5 of their children and headed for California.

This picture was taken last month while Visiting dad's brother and sister and mom's sister in California.

Tomorrow, Dec. 8th, my parents will mark their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Wow!!!!!!! You don't hear of that often any more.

I can't begin to name all the trials and celebrations they have experienced in their marriage. They have parented 4 children, 2 girls and then 2 boys. They have stood by us in our mistakes and our accomplishments with all the love and support we could have hoped for. They have seen all 4 of us through a broken marriage, their youngest son through the death of his second wife, at the moment his daughter was born permaturely. They have helped me raise my boys after my marriage collapsed. They raised Tony's 2 children for several years, They take over with Pam's daugher when Pam is in the hospital. They have been my rock more times than I can count. They have been there for all of us at a moments notice for whatever we needed them for, whenever we needed them, in the middle of the night of the middle of the day, it does not matter, they will be there. I owe them so much, I will never be able to repay them for all they have done for me, but I will spend the remainder of my life trying to pay them back. I want to be there for them, for what ever they need, whenever they need it.

They are proud Grandparents to 10 Grandchildren(8 boys and 2 girls), 2 grand-daughter-in-laws, 2 step-grandchildren and 3 Great-Granddaughters. Their oldest daughter and their oldest son each have 3 boys, their youngest daugher and youngest son have a son and a daughter (in that order) When we are all together, it is quite a bunch.

We were almost all together on Sunday after Thanksgiving, missing was their oldest Grandson, Buck (working in Georgia) and their 5th Grandson, Shawn (working at Sonic, just turned 16 and got him a car to pay for). While there was that many of us together, we presented Mom and Dad with a scrapbook and DVD of the past 50 years.

Their oldest Grandson is 29 and the youngest Granddaughter is 9, so there is a 20 year span between the first and last grandchild. There is 37 years difference in the youngest girl and the next girl born into this family. Pam was 37 when Buck and Mandy had Cember (Great-granddaughter). Then in 17 months we had 4 girls born into this family, 2 grand-daughters and 2 great-granddaughters. Then when Gabby was 7 we had another girl born, Kelsey.

So here's a Toast to my Parents, May You Love for Each Other be as strong as they day you married, and may you have many more Happy Anniversaries...

I LOVE YOU BOTH MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

~Busy Busy Busy~

It's the time of year that everyone is busy, busy, busy. That includes me. I have waited, as usual, till the last minute to do some of my gifts that I do every year.. The girls that work in the main office of the company that Larry works for in Charlotte, NC. Always get an afghan or some crocheted item for Christmas. I found out about 3 weeks ago what color one of the girls wants. She always comes up with some strange color that is hard to find. This year it is AUBERGINE (kinda eggplant color) I found it on the internet, so you have to wait for it to come in. I finally got it last week, only to realize there is not enough to do the afghan. Then I was off to find something to go with it, Finally decided on Black, so then I had to order it. I now have it and can finish this project. Larry will be going to Charlotte on the 10th for their annual sales meeting. He will take them with him and deliver then personally. He has worked for this company for almost 11 years and I have done something for them each year. They do so much for him all year in keeping all his travel reservations made, that I feel we owe them something. they are always so excited to see what I have come up each year for them. Year before last I sent them Santa Hats with jingle bells crocheted into the fuzzy ball on the hat. One of them has driven the big boss crazy with hers, He is a Scrooge, as Larry is, but I don't let that stop me..
I will begin wearing my santa hat to work on Monday, I start the first of December and will wear it every day until Christmas. That is if I can find it, I just thought, I do not remember seeing it since we have moved. I will have to set out to find it this afternoon.
OK Curiosity got the best of me. I had to stop and go find the santa hat. I FOUND It, It was still in a box in the pout house, I have it now and ready for work on Monday... I will get someone to take a pic of me in it and I will post it on here.

We are having our Thanksgiving dinner at mom and dad's tomorrow. Our family has gotten so big and so many places to go and some have to work even on holidays, that we decided to have it on Sunday, when most of us can be there, I think Shawn (James's oldest) has to work until 5, and Buck is in Georgia, but he will be there in thoughts.
I have made 2 pecan pies this morning. I am doing an apple cinnamon cake with caramel sauce and a sweet potato casserole for lunch tomorrow. Not sure what else I may come up with to fix, but it is sure we will have plenty of food. We always do..

Well gotta go and get some more cooking done.. More Later..

~I WON I WON~

We had our Thanksgiving Potluck at work yesterday. Each department brings a group of items, Home Health brought veggies and side dishes, Personal Care brought Desserts, Administration did the meats, etc.. Then we always have a dessert contest for whoever wants to enter. I made a Pumpkin Spice Cake with Raisins and Nuts, then topped it with Cream cheese frosting. There were 10 desserts in the contest and I won it... I was shocked, one girl (my BFF) made a Pumpkin Turtle Pie. It was AWESOME!!!! She is bringing the recipe to me, I will share when I get it.. After I tasted her's I did not think I had a chance. But I WON!!!!!!! Sorry I did not get a pic before I took it to work. Maybe next time I will remember.

Oh, I forgot the prize, It was the Food Network Favorites Cookbook and a Betty Crocker Grilling Cookbook. I love them. I have been thinking about ordering the Food Network one, It is well worth it from what I could see just skimming through it yesterday. Maybe after the Holiday Rush, I can sit down and really look through it and pick out some great sounding stuff. Too busy right now, maybe in a few weeks I will get a chance.

Later all,,,

~One Toy Complete~

The 1947 FarmAll Cub is complete. We finished it on Saturday. I think it turned out really good. We are very proud of it. I have come to the conclusion, that together there is nothing that Larry and I cannot do. We have rebuilt 2 campers, the lakehouse (alot of that was done by Buck & Bruce, but we also did alot), now the tractors.. We printed out both of these pictures and have them framed and hanging on the wall in the Pout House.

We moved this one against the back wall and have moved the 1960 model one in there to start on it. We are going to do the same thing to that one that we have done to this one. I can't wait to see it. The 1960 has a belly mower on it that we are also going to redo. This one has cultivator, turning plow and blade for it. We are not going to redo those, no sense in it. Once we are through with these, his BIL has an old John Deere Cultivator that we are going to restore, just for looks, not to be used, We will have to locate a single tree or maybe a double tree for it, not sure which.

I told Larry, I need to take a break I have something else that needs to be completed.. So I am working on Christmas stuff for a couple of weeks. Then it is back to tractor. We have all winter to finish them. I hope to put them in the fair parade next fall, maybe get Kiefer to drive one and put the girls in overalls and pig tails in a wagon behind it. Not sure if he can settle down and drive responsibly enough for that, we will see.. I will have to walk beside, just to make sure Kelsey does not climb out. I may drive the other one and put her on there with me, just to make sure she stays put.. I think it will be neat. Wish Larry would drive one and me drive the other, but there is no way he will do that. Oh well..

Well, gotta go and get some work done. I am off tomorrow though and I am going to spend the entire day working on my Christmas Stuff... I think I will be the only one home.. The whole house to myself, at least most of the day.. Bruce will be in around 5. I don't even have to get dressed, unless Pam needs me for something. I will check on her several times during the day, as I do every day. Not complaining about it, she is my sister and I will do what I can to help her recouperate from this surgery as long as she does not get crazy...

Mom and Dad, Hope you are having a WONDERFUL TIME.... Miss you.... LOVE YOU!!!!! DON'T HURRY HOME!!!!!!!

~Events of the Week~

Monday, worked 1/2 day, then had to attend funeral of my Best Friends MIL, then I took lunch to the house and served the family. Cleaned and put away everything.. Then home to take care of my own home..

This is Apple Cinnamon Amish Friendship bread with Caramel Sauce (thanks Sheri for this recipe) that I made for Dessert after the funeral. The Office gave me money to buy Chicken and all the fixins for lunch. I have orders for 4 of these for Thanksgiving. Everyone at the office just loved the one I made for our Bosses Day Salad Luncheon.

Tuesday, slept a little late, then off to pick up the Yukon, pick up Mom and Dad, pick up Pam and off to Little Rock, Pam to the DR. she has to have outpatient surgery to remove another hematoma on her L arm, that will be Thursday or Friday. Then off to the Airport to send mom and dad to California.. Made it home in time to make Bread for a snack after Water Aerobics, I know kinda defeats the purpose, but sometimes it is good to just socialize with each other. Then home to bed.

This is Banana Nut and Pumpkin Spice Friendship Bread. On the Pumpkin I put a Cream Cheese Glaze.

Wednesday, off to work, put out fires from Tuesday most all day. Got alot accomplished, having to change all my payables forms, they devised new ones for us. Jammed up my printer and no one has been able to get it to work since, too much work, gotta slow down.. Kept Kelsey until Rocky got home, we watered the outside plants (Crysanthemums) on the porch and steps. then we went and looked at the tractor. It was really nice out so we sat on the back porch and tried to learn "Star light, Star Bright", not sure how much she remembers, but it was a start.

Thursday, UP at 3 AM, Pam has to be at the surgery center at 5:30. She was out of Surgery and we were headed home before 11 AM. Got her home and settled, then off to the grocery store (for her and myself). Home put up groceries and started a pot of soup. Back to town to pick up Bri and take her home. Took Pam supper and went to aerobics, then home and made Cinnamon rolls for work.

Finally FRIDAY!!!! and Payday to boot... Bosses B-day today (cinnamon rolls for her), Then put out more fires from yesterday. Things are settled now and I am winding down to go home.. I will take Bri to her dad tonite and then home to hopefully relax. Larry cleaned house last nite while I was gone. I am so LUCKY!!!!

We hope to finish putting the tractor back together tomorrow and crank it up. I can't wait to drive it... Sunday I plan to barter with my SIL for a haircut, bread for a haircut.. How much will it take???.. But today, my hair did perfect, everyone at work commented on how good it looked today, what did I do different, not a thing... . kinda makes me want to not cut it, but I know this working great will not last.. So I guess it is time for a cut.

Well time to log off and shut down and head for the house, making a pit stop at Pam's to check on her. Talked to her earlier and she said she was doing fine, feeling beginning to come back in her arm, she can move her fingers better.

So till Next TIME!!!!! May God Bless and Keep YOU!!!

~Oh Deer, Deer,, Deer,,, Deer,,,, Deer~

Wonder why there are so many "Deer" in the title?? I will explain.. It has been a busy weekend here in Deer Hunting Country.

To start off: Bruce Killed a 8 point with his Bow on Saturday morning. This was his "4th" this season. Bow season starts Oct. 1 and runs through Feb. 28th. He has gotten 3 doe and this Buck.. He does not gun hunt, only bow (for Deer, he uses a gun for coon and other hunting), he and Rocky are both strictly bow hunters, but Rocky does take Deanna gun hunting during gun season, that is this next weekend. Buck does the Black powder and modern Gun. He does not get into Bow hunting much.

Then: Kiefer called and he had gotten a Button Buck that morning... I think this is Kiefer's 3rd deer, not sure, I will have to check that out.

Then: Saturday afternoon: Cember called and she had gotten a Button Buck... That is her second deer to kill.. She was with her dad hunting when she was about 3 1/2. Buck killed a deer and then she wanted to know if she could go "pat it" since he "powed it". now she is the one doing the "Powing".

Sunday afternoon: I got a text that Gabby had killed her first ever deer, a Doe... She called me and did not talk but just a second. Then she had to go help Dad skin and clean her deer.. She gets into whatever her daddy is doing. she is his shadow.. Cember likes to kill them, just not so much on the cleaning part.

10 minutes later, I had a text that Cember had gotten another Button Buck...

SO that is "5" Deer killed in less than 36 hours in our family.

I know some of you are not HUNTERS, but my family is... This is very exciting for us. We will have plenty of deer meat for the winter. Buck and Mandy were really busy Saturday and Sunday evenings, with "3" to clean and cut up.. I will post pics when I get some..

Well gotta go and get some bread baked, My sister in laws are out of Breakfast food. Aunt Faye got me started on Amish Friendship Bread in August when we went and picked up the swing, then I started baking it for everyone, now Larry's sisters think they have to have it for breakfast every day. They whined to Larry today, they had to have Honey Buns from Walmart for breakfast. So I am off to bake more breakfast.

Tomorrow is a busy day. I pick up the Yukon at the shop (u-joints went out) in the morning, then it off to the airport to take mom and dad. Then maybe to work or back home, not sure yet.. Depends on stuff..

So nite all. God Bless and Keep you ALL!!!!!!!

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY~

Justin (the one in the middle), Today you are 10... Wow when did that happen. You were the second born within 17 months. The second to get to double digits this Year, Cember was 10 in April.. You were the only boy born in the midst of 4 girls, the first girls born into the family in 37 years. I remember the day you were born. so little, the 3rd little boy for your mom and dad, as I have 3 boys, kinda odd, your dad and I (the oldest boy and the oldest girl) each have 3 boys. then Tony and Pam (the youngest boy and the youngest girl) have a boy and a girl in that order. Not sure how Sheridan Schools is surviving with 4 McLemore children in the same grade.. Keep on your studies and be all you want to be....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!!!!!!!

~My Little Spooks~

After work yesterday, I went to mom and dad's to help make the traditional Caramel Popcorn Balls, that they kids look forward to EVERY YEAR!!!!!!! Yes, even the older ones, Tony, Pam, Rochelle, Myself, all the way down to Kelsey... We all LOVE them. I waited there for all the haints to come around. Briauna has pneumonia, so we made her stay in. Maranda carried Bri's trick or treat bucket around and gathered some candy for Bri. Thanks Maranda..

Kelsey (Itsy Bitsy Spider) came in the door, "I Want Canny" and as she left she treated us with her version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". How cute. The first song she learned was "ITsy Bitsy Spider (hense the costume). Now we are working on "Old McDonald" I remember all the kids learning to sing little songs like that.. Here are pics of our little haints..

Cember was a Vampiretta.. Today, Cember killed a button head buck. WAY TO GO CEM!!!!!!!! Congratulations...

Gabriel was a Cheerleader... Raw, Raw, Sis Boom Bah!!!!!!!!!!! and all that yelling stuff.. Maranda Was our Resident Punk Rock Skateboarder.. For real, She is REALLY GOOD on a skateboard. She is very athletic... Kiefer is the resident Scare Crow. I need him in my garden.. Rather, we need him out there where Bruce planted Clover for the deer. They are eating all the seed... Kiefer also got a Button Head buck today in the Youth Hunt.. Way to go Kief. !!!! Keep it up...

Briauna put on 3 different costumes, but would not let me take her picture in them. Maybe I will get some of her later.

Well gotta go to bed. I have a really busy day tomorrow, well actually for the next 3 days. My best friend lost her mother in law last Wednesday. They are having visitation tomorrow afternoon and I am making a big pot of soup to take up there. Then Monday is the funeral and Tuesday I am taking my parents to the airport to LEAVE ON A JET PLANE for California to visit with my dad's sister who is very ill and his older brother, that is also married to my mom's younger sister. I am so glad they are getting to get away for a few days.. I will miss them terribly, but we do have CELL PHONES!!!!! So until next time. Say La Vee!!!!!!!!!!

~Happy Birthday~~

Today, My baby sister, Pam turns "47", She is the little one with the dark hair and beautiful smile in the top pic, I would love to see that smile again. Boy was that a long time ago. Things have certainly changed since that time. We added 2 brothers to the mix, then boyfriends, girlfriends,then in-laws, and out-laws, and children, nephews, and nephews, and nephews, then we finally got another girl in the mix. There is "37" Years between Pam and the next girl born into the family, Cember a Great Grand-daughter for my parents. There is 9 boys, James, Tony, Buck, Rocky, Bruce, Chris, Shawn, Austin, & Kiefer between those 2 girls... But now we have 5 little girls with only 1 boy, Justin, born in that year range. 4 of those little girls, Cember (Justin comes in here), Briauna, Maranda & Gabby were born within 17 Months, then it was 7 years before we got another baby and it happened to be a girl, Kelsey..
Pam had the first Grand Daughter for my parents, My oldest Grand Daughter was the first Girl born in our Family since Pam..
Below is Pam and her Daughter, Briauna, taken last Christmas. Today she is "47".. Happy Birthday, Pam... I want your HAPPY DAYS BACK!!!!!!!

~Neighbors Needed~

I have moved. Come join me!!!!!!!


Can't remember if I told you that I have moved out from 1 Beggars Alley,
located at 2 Poverty Lane, at the corner of Down and Out Circle. As of
today, I have a brand new home.

My new address is Living Well on 3rd Abundance Drive , located at the
corner of Blessings Street and Prosperity Peak .. It's in the I Can
neighborhood.

No longer will I allow myself to travel to the other side of
town on Begging Peter to Pay Paul Route, located at a dead end
intersection called I Don't Have, which connects with Borrowers Junction.
I no longer hang out at Failure's Place, near Excuses Avenue, next to
Procrastination Point.

I've moved to an upscale community called Higher
Heights with unlimited potential and opportunities for me to succeed. I can
do ALL things through my Higher Power who strengthens me!


Life is good because God is good!

Care to change your address?

There are many vacancies!

GREAT IS THY FAITH FULLNESS!

I AM WELL BLESSED AND SO ARE YOU!!!!!

DON'T TELL GOD HOW BIG YOUR STORMS ARE!!

TELL YOUR STORMS HOW BIG YOUR GOD IS!!

May God Richly Bless each and Everyone That Reads This

~Girls Weekend!~

This was Girls Weekend at the LakeHouse (or as Cember and Gabby first called it "The Water House"). It is not anything fancy, just a little cabin in the woods. Larry and I bought it about 4 years ago, while Rocky was in Iraq. I spent many a day there working, crying, just being alone, it helped me keep my sanity when Rocky was in Iraq. More about all that later.

This weekend I took all 5 of the little girls, Cember, Gabby, Kelsey, Maranda and Briauna to the lake house for the weekend. Something I tried to do about every couple of months, but since we built the new house I have not been able to do that, So I decided to take this weekend and go. Friday nite, is just kinda a chill out, watch movies eat popcorn type a thingy. I, of course, go in and wipe down everything (this time it has been shut up since we were there in August), just so I feel it is clean enough (not SPOTLESS) for us to be healthy. It was around 11:30 when we finally went to bed, yes Little Bit (Kelsey) lasted as long as the others.

Up around 8:30 on Saturday morning, Strawberry Muffins and milk for breakfast. Then outside we went. The girls played in the cane break at the back corner of the cabin. They made a playhouse out there and played most all day. Gabby became a little shutter bug, She is learning to use the camera and she took pictures of everything, even took a few videos. I am attaching a few. Someone managed to get a few of her and I got some of all them. While they were busy playing and doing what little girls do, I was raking the yard, picking up limbs and burning. We have a fire pit at the side of the cabin and I was burning leaves and limbs in there. I have the Booboos to prove it. I forgot to get my gloves and take them with me. Oh well, My blisters will heal.

We stopped long enough to make a sandwich for lunch and then back at it. I talked them into helping pick up some limbs and we could roast weinnies later. That did not last long, that was WORK! Oh well, every little bit helps. I finally finished and got the fire burned down enough we could roast hot dogs. so they went in and brought everything outside around the fire. Cember and Maranda took turns roasting the hot dogs, Gabby and Bri may have a little, but I think it was too hot for them. Cember and Maranda stuck it out. They really roasted them (almost black)... Everyone liked them that way. Between the 5 girls ( well I had 2) they ate 3 packages of weinnies and 3 packages of buns. I could not believe how much they ate and would have eaten more had we had them, (later I found another package in the freezer, OOPS). Next time I will take more.. I cannot believe how much those girls ate this weekend. We went through 5 family size bags of chips, 1 lb of ham, 2 lbs bologna, 1 lb cheese, 6 pkgs of muffins mixes, 2 gallons milk,,, plus countless snacks. I hope they had enough to eat.

After dark Saturday nite(After baths and head washings), it became Craft Time, We made halloween necklaces (orange, white & black beads, with Pumpkin, ghost and candy corn charms), I think some of them made a bracelet to go with it, Then we got out the craft foam, and made fall get well cards for ms. Norma. Ms. Norma, is a very sweet lady that we fell in love with when we bought the lake house. She lived in a LOG house across the road from us. She is one of those people you could spend hours listening to them tell you stories of their life, or at least as long as she could hold out to talk. She has a lung disease and is on oxygen 24 hours a day. Her and her husband built that log house, It took them 7 years to do it, they cut the logs, debarked them and all. I will try to find a pic of that. Cember and Gabby had to go see her everytime we were up there, that was a first thing Saturday morning kinda thing. Then on Oct. 2, 07 they went over to find a note on the door that she had been taken to the Hospital at around 2 that morning. They were heart broken, we set about trying to find out what had happened. She had taken pneumonia and was hospitalized. We found out about 2 weeks later, that she would not be coming back to the log house, she was going to have to be in an assisted living facility near the hospital. So we try to go see her when we are up there. She just adores the girls.

Sunday morning, was clean up, load up and head out. We left the lake house around 11:30 headed for Ms. Norma's. First we stopped at the dollar store to fix Ms. Norma a trick or treat. When we arrived she had a halloween book marker for each of the girls and was so excited to see them. We walked down to the rec room and saw the huge aquarium and bird atrium they have there, then we walked out to the garden and the gold fish pond, it was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I saw ms Norma was getting real winded, so I said Time to head on home. So we load up again and home bound we are, stopping at Micky D's in Malvern for a burger.

Now I have to unload, clean up, wash up and put away our weekend. Me, I had a WONDERFUL time.. Now to start planning the next one. I think it will be the Stocking Stuffin Party... May sneak one more in before that, Not sure.. We will have to see..

Until Next time, Nite All and Sweet Dreams...

May God Bless you as he has blessed me with wonderful times as this weekend was...

~Before and Middle~

This is the 1948 FarmAll tractor that we bought Aug. 3 (20th Anniversary of mine and Larry's first Date). We have spent most weekends taking apart, sanding, priming and painting on this.
This is how far we have gotten. We are slowly but surely getting there. Just wish we could have found RED paint!! Hahahaha I think this is going to be RED! So far we have gone through 9 cans of primer and 7 cans of Regal Red paint. We have plastic bags over the front tires, because they are finished and I did not want to get red overspray all over them. Larry laughed at me for doing that, then he saw how much red paint would have been on there had I not done that. We are having alot of fun doing this. We planned to work on this all day this past Saturday, but it rained. You can't paint in the rain, it will not dry. Bummer... Oh well there will be next weekend..

Instead we unpacked some of my teddy bears and got them put in 2 of the 3 cabinets. Not sure where we are putting the 3rd cabinet yet, so it is still in storage.. Everyone kept asking what I was going to put in the cabinets that have been in the house for about 3-4 months, now when they come back, they will be full.. Larry and I have collected these bears from places that we have been, some of them were his nieces (she died of Cystic Fibrosis 4 months after he and I married), her mother gave them to me after Pam died. SO those I will treasure forever. I have some that my boys and my little girls have given me. Buck, Mandy and the girls bought me the 911 commorative bears from the United Way when Rocky was in Iraq. Rocky and Deanna bought me It's a Girl Ty Bear when we found out we were having Kelsey, I have a Yellow Jacket Bear that Bruce gave me when he was playing football. So there are so many bears and each one has a story. More about Bears later.. Now I must go get 3 girls bathed and ready for bed.



Nite all.. May God Richly Bless each of you...

~Grandparents~

When I was typing the last post, I was thinking about my grandparents, in particular my Grandma Brown. I remember after she had her stroke and her and I were sitting watching TV one evening and I was working on a blanket or something. She told me she was kinda disappointed that I had not taken up her quilting. She always thought I would be the one to take that up, but after watching me that evening, she then understood why I did not quilt, she could see how fast I could do a blanket in crochet.

But thanks to my oldest son, Buck, I think she would be proud of these!!!

Yes, they are Crocheted Quilts... Buck had asked me to make him a blanket for Christmas, and this is the one he wanted, handing me a book that he borrowed from Mandy's (his wife) Mom. It was the Log Cabin one at the top. Then a couple months later, Mandy's mom was working on the Double Wedding Ring and could not get one part to come out right, could I figure out what she was doing wrong, so I started the bottom one. About halfway through this one, I thought "Grandma would be happy, I have taken up her quilting, just in a different form".. The Log cabin one was really easy, but the Double Wedding Ring, was a challenge. Over the past 3 years I have made 5 of the Log Cabin and 4 of the Double Wedding Ring ones. This one I kept for myself.. I want to do a Log Cabin baby blanket. One of the girls that works in the main office of the Company Larry works for has just had a baby girl, I think I will this one for her... I'll pick up the yarn for it tomorrow..

This one I did again at the request of Buck, unfortunately the one I made for him burnt in the house just 6 weeks after I gave it to him, but because of the Grace of God none of them were injured, just stuff lost. I call it the Color Wheel Grannyghan.. Notice it starts and ends with Red,,, Red and Yellow make Orange so Orange is between the Red and Yellow. Yellow and Blue make Green, so it is between the Yellow and Blue, then Blue and Red make Purple, so it is between Blue and Red.. To add a little variety I added the pastel version of each of these colors alternating them between the dark colors. I thought it turned out neat. I have sold several of these as well. It is kind of a quilt since it is all these blocks put together.

I think this is all for today. I am off to paint the tank on the tractor that I have sanded and primed. We are coming right along on that old treasure we bought just 2 months ago. I will post update on it soon..

Have a SAFE BLESSED WEEK!!!!!!!

~Baking~

On Friday evening, my kitchen looked like a bakery... I was baking Cinnamon rolls for my oldest Grand-daughter, Cember. She is in SIS ROCS, a club at her school that raisies money for charity. There was an antique car show in Sheridan this weekend, and they were going to sell baked goods there. Cember told her teacher, My Nana will make Cinnamon rolls for us and she makes the BEST!! Now how do you tell them NO.. Not me. She had to have them (I need 35 Nana) 7 AM saturday so I told her I would do them Friday nite and bring them to her.

When I arrived at 6:50 Saturday morning, there were 9 people awaiting my arrival. They had decided that my cinnamon rolls would be breakfast for all working that morning. Good thing I had made 48 and taken them all to her. I spoke with her later that afternoon and she told me they were gone before 8:00. Everyone LOVED them. I told her and Gabby, Nana is always good for baked goodies when you need them.

Then I realized I had Amish Friendship bread to do that nite. It was the 10th Day and the starter had to be finished and bread made. I made 4 loaves, 2 Lemon and 2 Chocolate/Chocolate Chip.

Let me back up a little. About an hour after I got in from work, Larry and I are discussing what is for dinner, I am thinking something simple, since I have baking to do. But NO... He decides he wants Shrimp Gumbo, so off to Wally World we go, I need Shrimp. When we return, I get the gumbo started, then I start the bread dough for the cinnamon rolls, after I have it resting, I do the Amish Bread and get it in the oven, stopping to stir the Gumbo and add ingredients to it. While the Amish Bread is baking, I make out the cinnamon rolls and let them rise till the bread is done.

I get the bread out of the oven, cinnamon rolls in and we sit down to eat Gumbo. Boy is it good. I love Gumbo, this coming from someone that used to eat one thing at a time and washed her plate between items, yes I did do that... Then Larry happened and that came to a halt, but I am still particular about something, I will NOT eat raw onions, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, and a few other things. But I eat more casserole type things (foods mixed together) than I ever have before. Mom and dad were shocked the first time they heard I had eaten Gumbo.. I think they have kinda gotten over that now.

About the time dinner was through and I had the dirty dishes put in the dish washer, the cinnamon rolls were done, I mixed the icing and got that on them set them aside, finished the kitchen and sat down for a minute. Noticed it was close to 10 and decided to go to bed... It had been a full evening, but the house smelled WONDERFUL!!!!!

Up at 5:30 Saturday morning, put the rolls in a container and headed off to the school...

Moral of this story, it does not stop at you kids volunteering you for things, you Grand Kids do it too!!!! I LOVE them and feel proud that they want me around them and don't think I am an old foggie!!!!

~Another Year Older~Another Year Better~

Today (Actually Tomorrow, the 25th) Aunt Net will be another year older... Not sure how old she is in the first Pic (bet you wonder what I got that one).. But she hasn't changed much... I remember when I was a little girl and you would take us to Whitaker's store to buy candy when we would come to visit. Can't say that was a LONG time ago, because you are not that much OLDER than ME!!!!!!! I am closing in on (Five-Oh) rather quickly... You have always been very special to me, as are my other aunts. I remember when you and uncle CW lived just up the highway from Grandma's and I would come stay with you. Then you moved to PB and I did not get to see you as much, Then I got married, and life got real interesting. Now we are both Grandmothers and what a treat that is. Sorry, I have not got a copy of the Cindy Crawford pic that Sheri was supposed to do for you, so this will have to do for a recent Pic (sorry, I tried to crop out CW and it did not work).

HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

~Blankets Finished~

Sheri, these are for you...

I have finished the last of the blankets for the Race for the Cure Raffle. I was told today, they have already sold 500 tickets. That is great and we still have 3 weeks to go..

This is the first of the 2 I did. It is solid pink, worked in double crochet, except skipping every other stitch to make the ribbon shape open.



This one is worked in brown single crochet, changing to pink to form the ribbon pattern in it. These were done for one of our nurses for their fund raiser for Race for the Cure.
This nurse remembered me saying I had made Rocky a flag before he went to Iraq. She was a very strong support for me while he was over there. So this is the very least I could do for her. I will let you know what the final dollar figure is for these 2 blankets.

Until next time. Good nite all. I have 3 little girls to get to bed.