HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Michelle!

I hope your birthday is everything

you expect it to be.

Here we have another Christmas time

baby. Lucky YOU! Love you lots.

M = magnificence : splendid, grand, exalted, majestic

I = imaginative : creative, inventive, an original

C = cheerful : merry, joyful, sunny, sparkling, bright

H = happy : mirthful, laughing,cheery, jolly, smiling

E = enjoyable : agreeable, pleasant

L = lively : brisk, energetic, spirited

L = loving : friendly, affectionate, caring, considerate

E = extraordinary : remarkable, amazing

Christmas 2008

My boys and their families.

Christmas is such a fun time. Laughing, eating, a day that is full of wonderful surprises. It is such a delight to watch the eyes of the kids, and their parents, when they open a package and they are surprised. It's all in the eyes. I think I enjoy that more than just about anything I can think of. They give me wish lists, and I try hard to fulfill those wishes. But it is always nice to throw something in that is unexpected. This is a tough time of year for us, but, we have managed to survive the years as they have flown by. There is an empty place at our table physically, but the sweet sweet spirit is there, and we know it. So Merry Christmas my boys, girls, and kids; thanks for the good times, it is always wonderful.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Happy birthday Danelle!

I hope your day lived up to your every

expectation.

I know your birthday is close to

Christmas, but I have never thought

of it any other way, than just your

special day!!

Love you lots!

D = DYNAMIC : forceful, intense, energetic, complelling, vigoruous, magnetic, electric, effective, influential, charismatic, active, powerful

A = AMAZING : astonish, surprise

N = NICE : likable, pleasant, agreeable, amiable

E = EXTEMPORANEOUS : spontaneous, impromptu

L = LOVING : devoted, thoughtful, passionate, amorous, affectionate, caring, considerate

L = LIKEABLE : relish, savor, fancy, esteem, approve, fondness, devotion, affection, love

E = EFFERVESCENT : bubbly, lively, vivacious

One Of MY Favorite Things

Danelle & Michelle

aka The Snoopers

When the boys were growing up, they never snooped the Christmas Tree, well at least we didn't know it if they did. It was not until the girls joined our family did I have to start wrapping packages very tight, secure and with lots of tape and staples. If you notice, the packages are wrapped tightly with ribbons securing them. All kidding aside, I love that about these two Snoopy's. This is an old picture. Christmas 2006. They haven't snooped together since then. In fact, they really haven't snooped this year. I guess they have out grown the temptation. However, Michelle did take a gander this week, but it wasn't serious snooping. They usually get in there and mess everything up. I have a system in the placement, and I have always had to redo it. I never really minded, it was so much fun to see that adults can be excited about it all. I always get a kick out of them finding one for the boys, and they always say..okay. Everyone is a kid at heart at Christmas time, and if they're not they should be. I am sorry there was no snooping this year, I missed it! It is after all one of my favorite things.

Let it Snow

IT'S BACK..old man winter that is. It was a week ago that it snowed and the streets were a mess. Not to mention the crazy people that think, just because they drive jeeps, SUV's or whatever, they can drive like it's normal. It's sorta fun to see them slipping and sliding around, that is, unless they are heading for me. Well, it's a week later and here it is snowing again. I have shoveled today. I think it was about 1 1/2 hours ago. It's covered up again. Not as deep as it was, but non the less...here I go again. I just got warm. My fingers are still stinging. It takes hours to get enough clothes on to do the chore. Sorta reminds me of the movie "The Christmas Story", when the Mom wraps up the kids and they can't move. An old wives tale says whatever day it snows, that's how many times it's going to snow, so that means...it snowed on the 9th, so we have 7 more to come. OMG!! Another story my Mom use to tell us, when the second snow falls, "the snow is clean" and you can make snow ice cream. I think I will pass on that one. Maybe the air was cleaner when I was a kid..many many MANY years ago. When I took these pictures, I just stuck my head out the front door. It's too darn cold to go any further, so you get what you get here. Today is trash day, wonder if they're gona make it. I think I will wait until they come by to get "all dressed out" to shovel again. Maybe my fingers will have their feeling back by then.

The weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside is so delightful....da da da da da....let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Shopping with Gramma

My Angel

Shelbie had her birthday in September. She has wanted a shopping day with just "Gramma". Well today was the day. After Landon's game we headed off for the mall. Believe me it was a crawl. There were a million (or so it seemed) people out today. But the of course there would be, it's almost Christmas. I told her that we might have to walk a distance because of parking. As luck would have it, we got a great parking place. It must have been the vibes she was sending out. The last thing her Daddy said to her was don't wear your Grandma out. She didn't. We went to some of her favorite places to shop and she was very picky about what she spent her birthday money on. She, also has her own style and what she likes. She purchased some treasures and even brought some cash home with her. I was remembering the first time we went birthday shopping together, it was gone in 30 minutes, now she is more selective. The pictures I have of her were taken with my camera on my phone. The top I thought was kinda neat. She is in the car and the sun is shining on her. Very angelic don't cha think. The other is a picture of her at "our" favorite place to eat. It was so much fun, and I love love love spending one on one time with the kids. I had a wonderful time, and I hope she did too. Love you Shelbie Lou!!

BBall Video..at last!!

This video is pretty short. But it is of the tip-off of the game. Landon was the center and towered over his opponent. He runs really fast. He takes off and is at the other end lickety split.

Another Saturday of Basketball

Wow, basketball, basketball. First game was at 9 am, second game at 11:30.
Pictures of Landon and his first game of the season. I especially like the picture of him with that determined look on his face. He is one of the tallest, if not the tallest boy on his team. He was the center for the tip-off, and of course he hit it. I have a video of that play, but it won't load, I will post it later if possible. His team won 12-8. He scored two points to make the score 12... Great job Landon.


Pictures below of Emi. She started the game and score the first bucket of the game. Way to go Emi Bear.

It was a good game, and her team is improving every game. They lost the game but it was a good one and close for a long time.

Way to go Tigers!!

A Song........

One of my favorite Christmas songs. What luck to hear your Granddaughter's class sing it in a program. The 6th grade chorus of Santa Fe Middle School.

Shelbie's Christmas Program

OH what memories are brought to mind when I look at these pictures. Shelbie performing on the stage that her Daddy once performed on...............oh so long ago! I will attach the stills first and then the video. I know I am prejudice but she was the prettiest young lady on the stage. They had to wear a white shirt/blouse, black slacks/skirt. She was decked out in a new blouse, slacks and shoes. VERY NICE!

Emi In Action

STMM played today, here is a video of Emi in action. What fun to watch. She was rough and ready today. They played a tough tough team. Last year this school played Val's team and the ref stopped the game and told them they were going to the bench for the rest of the game if they didn't start PLAYING basketball. Em didn't foul anyone, but she was after the ball all the time she was on the floor. She is her father's daughter folks. NOT ONE BIT AFRAID of taking the ball or committing a foul. They lost, and she missed her shot, but they played good and if you can't tell I am her #1 fan!! FYI, my new camera does video too. Just thought you would like to know.

My beautiful tree

Just sharing pictures of my Christmas tree. Took them with the new camera, that I am sure you are tired of hearing about. But the important thing here is, one was taken with the flash and one without. Pretty cool huh?

BBall begins.....

Okay, okay I am still learning to use the new camera. Some of these pictures were taken with a flash and some were not.

It was Em's first night of the new basketball year.

She is 100% committed to playing this game. It is fun to watch her. She is a 7th grader playing up with the eighth graders. She doesn't play the whole game, but she played a lot of it tonight.

Notice the new uniforms and above all, she wanted to wear #23 (Michael Jordan's #). They have a big team, and that's good. I am looking forward to more evenings of BBALL.

Go TIGERS!!

#23, a girl on a mission.

At Grams

The kiddos stayed with me last night and I got to use my NEW camera to take these pictures. I enjoy having them stay. We enjoyed pizza, and watched Charlie Brown. We were all tired and went to bed around 10. Got up went and ate breakfast at The Village Inn, shopped at Target and then it was time for them to go home. Love love that new camera the kids gave to me. It's an early Christmas present from them "all". I had so much trouble with the other one, it had seen it's better days. It was a good camera for it's time. This new one is super special and does all sorts of neat things. I am learning as I go...but it is awesome.

Ain't LOVE grand?

Thanksgiving Memories

The bird has been eaten.

The potatoes are gone.

The plates all matched.

The crystal held the drink.

The dishes are done,

and all put away.

Just a memory of a great holiday.

TAG, I'm it??

Good grief Charlie Brown! I have been tagged by Minnie Mouse!

I am not sure what I am suppose to write about, but here goes. I met Gary on July 7Th, 1963 at a party that was held by the church we both attended. The party or cook-out was in the country at the home of a mutual friend. I have to digress a bit. The very first time I layed eyes on Gary, he was standing at the communion alter with his Mom. He was home on leave from Pearl Harbor, HI. He wore his Navy whites and was soooo handsome. Back to the cook-out: he came into the party on the arm of another girl. She was after him, and the truth was they did not come together, they showed up in the parking area at the same time. Two of his best friends were at the cook-out and they happened to be friends of mine also. We all went to the drive-in afterwards, and the REST IS HISTORY!! It was love at first sight.........believe it!!! We were married one year and 1 month after we met. We were married 34 years, 3 months and 26 days before the disease he had, claimed his life.

Gary was smart, but he didn't claim that until he was older. He excelled at everything he attempted, he was the Outstanding Electrical Apprentice for Kansas and for the city of Wichita in 1969. He would tell you now, that he goofed off in high school, and threw away his first year of college. He found himself the four years he spent in the Navy, and believed that it was the best thing he ever did for himself.

Laundry, well I must say he did a good job at that. I can tell you he could use an iron better than most women. I think that came from his years in the Navy.

Cook, YEP, he could do that too. I remember our oldest granddaughter telling me that her "Papa" cooked the best chicken ever! His claim to fame was the grill. He would put chicken, steak, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and nothing ever touched, or so he told Michelle. LOL

When he retired because of his illness, he would cook dinner, and when I got home from work it was always waiting for me. A side note, he cooked the same thing several days in a row. Not sure what that was about, but I was grateful in any case.

Yard: the yard was his pride and joy. He planted beautiful roses, and flowers. He was always making changes. Our home was on an acre, and I remember him verti cutting it ALL, and replanting. Water water water, and it was beautiful. He planted a tree in the front so it could be seen from the living room window. It was a Bradford pear tree. I never got to see that tree bloom, hopefully it is flourishing and blooming these days. We had a bargain; he took care of the outside, and I took care of the inside. It worked well, because I didn't and don't like creepy crawly things.

List maker: there were pieces of paper everywhere. He would make lists of things he wanted to do, or needed doing. Most of the time he put them on the fridge. As he completed each task he would come in mark it off, and move on to the next. I never had to make a honey do list, he did!

DAD: He was an awesome Dad. I remember how he marveled at the birth of each of our sons. He just could not wrap his mind around the fact they were "just little human beings", perfect in every way. I attached pictures of our sons. They both have so many parts and pieces of their Dad. Their eyes, their smiles, it's like looking into a mirror. he loved the game of golf. When our boys graduated high school and went on to college, he took the game up again. The day he passed, the boys and I laughed because it was a glorious December day, and we just figured Gary had gotten a golf game together in heaven. Gary loved Christmas. He was all about surprises for our boys. I remember clearly one year when he had the flu. He was so sick. Mark had wanted more than anything a "green machine". Naturally it had to be put together. Even as sick as he was he put that thing together. His famous words were "if you don't believe, you don't get". I know those kids believed him, it was his way....maybe it was in the eyes when he said it.

When the boys found their soul mates, he was so taken with them. They were NEVER his daughter-in-laws, they were HIS girls, and told the boys, if you should ever decide to get a divorce, the girls could come for Christmas not them. Of course it was his way of saying how much he loved them. All knew that.

Look at this, it goes on and on. Not sure if this is what being tagged meant, but it is what it is.

So, Sherry and Mark your IT!!!

Everyone needs a HERO........

This GUY is MINE!!

#30 Running that ball for the TD

Warriors QB

I had such a good time watching Landon play football this year. As most of you know, I am not a big football fan....but I would be no where else when this little hero plays. He plays with such heart and as a side note, he is a smiler too. He was the QB for a lot of the season, and I was lucky enough to see him run for a touchdown. It was thrilling to watch. I didn't much like seeing him get smacked, and he made one trip to the emergency room, but all's well that ends well. I love this picture of him in action. This #30 owned the field!!

I added pictures I stole from his Mom, I don't think she will mind.

The mum.....one more time

I promise this is the last pictures of the mum plant. The wind took it's toll on it, and now it is laying on it's side. It is such a pretty plant, and I promised Sher~girl that I would post them so she could see it in it's full glory. So here you are Sher!!

WE ARE FAMILY.................

COUNTING MY BLESSINGS

EVERYDAY!!

Greetings...........Today you join millions of people...

It has finally happened...........I am considered OLD! Yep, you guessed it. Today I received the confirmation. I got my Medicare card. For obvious reasons I did not place the card on this post, so I did the next best thing and added a copy of the "book". I have the card, but it's not good until February 1st, so maybe I'm not old after all.

My Beautiful MUM !!!

God Bless that Miracle Grow! Here is an update on the mum plant. It is glorious. It originally was a gift from my wonderful neighbor Faye in memory of my Mom. Faye hoped that it would bloom like the plant. I think it is prettier than it's original form. The lavender is more vibrant. The plant is quite spectacular!!

The center's are bright YELLOW Faye, just like you hoped for.

Learning experience for Gramcracker

Several weeks ago, I was interviewed by my oldest granddaughter for a heritage project in her English class. The interview was only one part of the total project. Today was the culmination of the project and I was invited to see it. It was really nice to see each student's project. I was very much impressed by what the teacher had to say. She wanted the students to know where their ancestors came from and to have pride in their struggles. She feels that her generation and those younger are not learning about their families as they should. Each student made a poster of their families. The poster had pictures, maps, customs, types of foods; just a lot of good information on them. They had to stand tell their name and two things that they learned from the project. Of course Val's was absolutely the best as far as I was concerned. She did a fabulous job. When they finished with the poster's, some brought a food that was indicative of the country of origin, introduced their guest and then we all got to enjoy the food. It was a very interesting combination of flavors. I was impressed by all of the kids, but besides Val, there was a girl that was from Russia, who was adopted from there, I enjoyed her story. The second person was a boy who's grandfather was from Vietnam. His grandfather was in the Vietnam military and was a prisoner of the Vietcong before he made his way to the USA. I was amazed and very impressed by all the stories. You just never know.....do you? OH BY THE WAY, Missy got 38 out of 40 possible points. YOU DONE GOOD VAL!! I hope you enjoyed what you discovered and learned as much as I enjoyed helping you, and thank you for inviting me.

Simply Amazing

The weather man says that the polar express is coming to our neck of the woods tomorrow. I can't say that I am totally sorry, because I am tired of the mowing and trimming. As I was mowing today, I hopefully thought, maybe this is the last time for this season. The sad part is that all of the beautiful, colorful flowers will sadly go away also. In April I received the mum plant you see above. After a few weeks, I planted it in my front flower garden. As you can see in the next picture, it took off and is a big plant. I haven't measured it, but it has to be at least 3 to 4 feet in diameter. The picture does not do justice to it. It is not in full bloom, the flowers are just starting to open up. I took this picture today because of the impending cold that is coming. It may not have the chance to bloom fully this year.

I take no credit for the plant, it's all Miracle Grow. I have used the stuff on the plant every 10 days since I planted it. I guess you could say it works.

I hope that you enjoy the pictures of my one success of the summer.

A Saturday of Sports

I just love spending my Saturday's watching the kids at their sports. Sorry to say that fall sports is starting to wind down. Emily played volleyball, and that is really exciting to watch. She is my hero when it comes to that game. She plays all over the court, I guess you could say she is a one person team. She just has that knack of knowing where that ball is going to come down. Not to mention that she can serve the ball better than anyone else. I guess that's why she was very seldom substituted out. She played all games, and like I say about her....always smiling. Shelbie is the soccer queen. She does love that game. I went to see her play this morning. It was a bit chilly out there She is very good at defense and when she gets a good kick, it sails. She and her team won BIG today. It was like 10 or so to zip. Landon is a football player!!! He was the QB today, and did a mighty fine job. He ran for a touchdown and it was thrilling. The announcer said when he turned the corner he poured on the afterburners. Unfortunately, it was called back because someone somewhere did a no no, and the TD didn't count. They didn't win, but it was a good game and lots of fun to watch. They play in the Railers football stadium. I understand that BC has it's own field now, so IT IS HOME TURF for the Railers!! It is a beautiful stadium, one the town should be proud of. Tim said he thought Derby's was nice, but in my opinion, it doesn't hold a candle to this one. I am pooped out now, but it was time well spent. JUST LOVE TO WATCH "MY" KIDDO'S play!!! Sorry, I have no pictures, my camera just isn't performing as it should anymore.

Something Special........

I received this today. I read it a long time ago, and I loved it then, and I love it today. Erma Bombeck wrote this after she found out she had cancer. I guess we don't think about what we should've, could've or would've done until something earth shattering happens. So, apply it to today, and don't miss your chance..........................

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.I would have talked less and listened more.I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have sat on the lawn! With my grass stains.I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's'; more 'I'm sorry's.' But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it. live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!! Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what Instead; let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with, and what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hope you have a blessed day

Who Let the Dogs OUT!!!

Okay, don't get too excited about the title of this post. No disrespect intended. I just love that song, and it seemed appropriate for this bunch of girls, gals, ladies, whatever you call us.

It was time to have the monthly meeting of the minds. We missed Sherry and Wanda, but it was a good time. In the pictures are: Top; Marsha, Connie, Mary and Marie. Bottom; Marie, Nancy, Marsha and Connie. Guess who's missing. The picture taker.

We enjoyed hamburgers, fries, drinks and ICE CREAM!!! at Freddies. Just so you know who's who, Marsha is a cousin, Connie is Mary's step sister, and the rest of us you know. The faces change each time, but that's the beauty of the whole thing. It was so nice to catch up with Marsha, and see Connie. I had not seen her in a long time. Next month we are moving up scale and going to Olive Garden, so maybe we will dress it up a bit. If you are family, come and join us I am sure you have something to offer to the conversation.