Delightful Nature

Not sure how this title fits, but I'm in a hurry to publish so that I can play a game with my daughter, since the children have gone to bed.

More about Southgate Park...We enjoyed the hike and found the ponds particularly beautiful. One, I hope to feature here later was the home to a variety of water lilies. This pond with the cat tails was directly in front of one of the homes. It was a lovely house that I suppose was built to wrap around that pond. We were checking out the cat tails on one end while a welcome flock of Canadian Geese with 'preteen' goslings gathered on the opposite side.

I'm happy that we've kept our appreciation of simple things. Nature delights us. These cat tails brought smiles to our faces. Oh, how glorious is our Lord, who created all that is good.

There was good to be found in Washington this week. If you haven't heard, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment means what it says and that a municipality can not take away from it's citizens the right to bear arms .

Please pray that this court is not thrown into a tail spin by a liberal (progressive) president. May we continue to enjoy our freedom from oppression.

The New South Gate Park

Our daughter and son in law and their triplets are here for a visit. Today we went over to Boettler Park and then on to it's new addition, Southgate. It is quite beautiful, having been the farm of a wealthy family until recently. I have read about it not long ago, but forget the particulars, so will research it later. Having too much fun with the kids now.

Life Group "Fun"

I have to admit that this was fun, although I'm getting leery about planning boat rides months in advance...not that it would have helped to plan it closer to the date. It was a beautiful day, bright sun, very warm. We gathered at 3:00 for our life group hamburgers and boat trip. By the time we had eaten and readied ourselves for the boat, there were clouds gathering. It was still nice right here though, so we started out with iPhone in Ron's hand to keep us abreast of weather conditions. Not very long into our water time, it turned into a real WATER time. We girls missed our warning until it was too late to return to the dock. We really tried. Hugh broke the 'no wake' rule and sped us toward our house. However, the storm caught up with us and about one half way across East Reservoir. It hit...and it hit hard. We were drenched. We landed and ran to the house for shelter and towels. We laughed a bit, took pictures and then everyone headed home for dry clothes. This is the not the first time this same group has had a bad weather boat trip at the lakes. Should we just give up and keep our feet on the ground? Or should we chance it again? I think some decided after the first chilling adventure to avoid the chance of this again. Will we lose more after this?

Guess we will find out in a few weeks.

Practical Joke Gone Digital

No one would believe that anyone would do such a thing to nice neighbors like these, but look at the rock in front of their garage doors. Someone has been playing in Photoshop, and we all got a kick out of it. It wasn't hard to move back to the front yard, where it belonged. So all is well. And we are all still friends.

Sometimes You Just Don't Have a Good Picture

No, you don't have a concussion. But there are times when you just don't have a good picture, and you still want to remember the occasion. This is one of those times. I'm not sure how they came up with this picture or why they kept it. But we do need to commemorate this day.

These two guys are something else. Not sure how to describe them, but they are lots of fun to be around. Since they share June 9 for their birthday, I do wonder what that says about that date. Now, being born the day before is really quite all right, in my opinion.

I promise this is the last birthday layout for this year...until the triplets celebrate one in July.

Laugh...

Would you believe, more Caleb? Bet you are not surprised if you are a grandparent. I'm running out of pictures. That does happen eventually. But now we have more grandchildren coming on Saturday. They are a little older ...going into third grade, so we should have a myriad of activities to portray soon.

Having lots of thunder storms lately. One is coming up now, so I'm cutting this short. Don't know if you win or lose on that one. Hope to see you back tomorrow.

It Was a Rough Night

I had a horrible, good for nothing, frustrating night. I wanted to get this layout on here, but couldn't find the perfect ribbon. You say, that doesn't sound so horrible. That may be because you have had some really, really bad nights. I have too, but since I try to behave myself, I don't have many. Last night however, was so bad for me because I am way too serious about keeping up my schedule of one layout a day. It makes me feel like a real failure when I don't make my midnight deadline. Late last night as I was trying to finish this one...and it had to be just right, I couldn't locate this ribbon because my computer program called Bridge, that finds everything for me, just decided to break down every time I opened it. It has not been a good system for me because of that tendency. I wanted my old ACDSEE back. I lost it when I changed computers. It found anything I wanted. Of course I had put full days into programming it, tagging every item that was not named the way I wanted them to be. I had done the same in bridge, only to a lesser extent; so I was extremely frustrated to have it fail over and over. I went to bed leaving my husband working on the problem.

OOwala ( How does one spell that?) When I woke up this morning after my husband had gone to the Y to work out, I found a miracle. What I had needed for months with this machine was a program that actually worked and would fine the one piece of ribbon I wanted out of the 15,000 I have stored hither and thither in my computer. He had set up Picasa with all my material.

(I have used it for my pictures all along.) It has a wonderful search system. AND, believe it or not, my ACDSEE was back! I'm truly thankful to Ron and for his life as a computer expert. But really. I'm thanking God that I can actually find what I have, but even more important... for bringing my husband and me together 43 years ago.

And while I'm at it, I want to thank Him for finding this beautiful inside and out bride for our son John about seven years ago. We love Beth and she is the perfect mother for my sweet, happy grandson, Caleb.

Happy where you are?

Deitz Landing has had a restaurant as long as I can remember. And although my short term memory is sometimes fading, I still remember years back.

I've lived here at the lakes since I was three, except for about 10 years when I was away at college, when we lived in Mount Vernon for a couple of years and 3 1/2 years in Westwood, Massachusetts. Yes, I can still spell it.

The lakes have been my real home all those years. I'm not sure why anyone would want to leave. Yet, we have 6 kids who have all left for different states. Now that there are no children at home, I don't like to take summer vacations anymore. Because when I do, I wonder why I ever left. The same goes for fall and spring. Of course winter is different. I wouldn't mind missing much of that...as long as I experienced one good big snow sometime during the season.

Oh, back to Deitz and it's restaurant and new owners who have done a great job with the menu. I liked it before, but it is very good now. I'm glad Tim suggested we take the boat over there for lunch one day of our birthday week. We totally enjoyed the time on the water and the tropical feel there on the deck.

Are you happy to be where you are? There are times when we must live in places that are not our choice. And sometimes, it just really doesn't matter where we live because there are overwhelming circumstances that grab our minds and won't let go. Life isn't fair. Sometimes it isn't joyful, happy or peaceful. We really were never promised a 'rose garden'. We all have those sad experiences, so we shouldn't ask, "Why me?"

Is there a secret to being content in every situation, no matter what is going on in your life? According to the Bible the answer is yes--whether we're rich or poor, sick or healthy, God provides a spirit of contentment to replace the feelings of bitterness or envy that we're otherwise prone to. Philippians 4:10-12 Pick it up and read it some time. It can be a blessing to you.

Son is Now a Father

Time flies when...you are raising a family. A short while ago I gave birth to a 7 pound baby boy. He is still my baby, but today he is celebrating his first Father's Day with Caleb in his arms. In some ways it seems like such a short time, yet it seems like forever since I held a baby up to my chest and snuggled him.

What a joy 'grandmothering' is. I would like to hold him forever, but he too must grow and I realize it will be much too fast. It has been hard letting him go home to Colorado, but I hope to see him on Skype. It won't feel as good, but it beats the old days when I was a child and my grandmother lived in Texas and we in Ohio. We didn't even get together once a year. How sad.

I pray he will grow up knowing why America is a great country and loving it. We have a fight on our hands however, for our nation is in danger. It is in danger from those outside and even 'citizens' (they used to call them traitors) who want our demise.

Imagine a jury that condemns a man to die before they listen to all the evidence. Americans would decry that type of behavior. Yet we have congressman and others high up in our government who will vote on bills they haven't read and listen instead to what others tell them to think.

Would you believe that Attorney General Eric Holder wants to sue the state of Arizona over a law that he admits he has never read? Google it if you don't believe. There are videos of him on Sunday talk shows. By the way, the law is only 10 pages long and should be familiar to him, because it is actually a federal law, which the government refuses to enforce. It does not call for stopping anyone for suspicion of being an illegal alien. It only permits them to ask for papers if they have broken another law, such as traffic laws or robbery, rape, murder, etc. The federal government is going out of their way to be uncooperative and to punish the state, which is well within it's rights. States, arise and let yourselves be heard. States do have rights. Stand together for Arizona. Or the federal government will come after you next.

His Birthday

On one day a year, June 8, Ron always teases me about being old...guess he should know. For on that one day, I'm the same age as he. If I had been born 25 minutes later, we would have had the same birthday, but I would have still been younger.

Speaking of getting old, I really feel quite a bit older this year, perhaps because of all we've been put through this last year and 1/2. Anyone with any knowledge whatever of history should be shaking in his boots.

When running for president Obama hid his agenda under the words 'change' and 'hope'.

If all of us had known what he wanted to change, I am sure he would not have been elected.

In our newspaper today I found an interesting letter to the editor about this concealment. I quote:

"What he is doing is ruining the economy, rewarding his friends, punishing those who disagree with him and generally amassing power and money by whatever means.

During the 2008 campaign, he carefully concealed his plans for redistribution of wealth, substituting socialism for capitalism and government by unelected czars responsible only to him, a completely far-left agenda left undisclosed under the mask of 'change'." Thomas D. Butcher

Living in 'fly-over country' does not make us stupid as is popularly held in Washington DC. We will band together and vote them out of office.

Family Picture...That Smile

We finally realized we needed a group picture, but by the time we got set up, Caleb had become bored and had fallen asleep. I still love the pictures and we'll tease him about them when he gets a little older.

I know he will have a good disposition. He already does and he has that smile. It was my mom's and has been passed down. We all like to have fun and laugh.

Speaking of laughing, I had a good one today. Every morning I run to my computer to get the cryptogram sent to me from www.wordles.com. Along with the puzzle comes a quote. Today it was this,"The problem with political jokes is they get elected." -Henry Cate, VII.

The newest joke in the news is a man who had to be provided a lawyer when he went to jail because he had no money. He has won a place on the Democratic ballot in South Carolina. The party is astounded and can't figure out where he got the large sum of cash it takes to run. Looks like they are legally stuck with him.

Somehow however, because I believe the party is now extremely corrupt, I can't help but think that they did this on purpose to split the vote three ways in order to win. Watch out, they may run someone against him, saying he is a Tea Party candidate. They have already tried that kind of thing once, but it didn't work.

We need to watch out for that type of underhandedness during the elections this year. Keep alert. Don't let them circumvent the law anymore. Expose every illegal move.

Hope you have a good day and stay on your toes! Our very lives depend on it.

Arizona Billboard

I just received this in an email. I don't know if this is real or not. It looks good and if it doesn't exist, it should...in multiple all along the border. When I last read the Constitution, states had rights. And other states should mind their own business.

It's Been a Long Day

I'll publish this now, since I want to meet the midnight deadline. Comments will come later.

Since Beth and John missed their flight on Tuesday, they could not get a new one out until early this morning. So we were all up at 4:00. (I went to bed at 12:00.) It was worth it to visit a little longer though. Ron found Caleb a floating device so that he could be a legal boater on the lakes. He didn't like it at first, but adjusted and we all had a nice trip around the lakes. Beth's mother came up from Columbus and spent the afternoon with us. That is her with Beth and Caleb in the first layout.

Packed and On the Way

This is my first attempt to put in pictures in particular places. As you can see, I didn't do it very well. Surely I could get better with practice, but then I'm not likely to try it again for a while. Think I'll stick with scrapbooking layouts. I didn't have time today to do one and was anxious to show you the clever packing that was similar to what we did in Hawaii. Only those who have packed to go to college would really appreciate what it takes to get so much in an automobile.

The car belongs to Chris and Annette, Beth's father and step mother , who were traveling to Nova Scotia today to spend almost three months in their summer home.

Since they were going north anyway, they brought Beth's wallet to her. Yes, it was tough, but they were able to get the wallet in the car. They didn't even have to tape it to the ceiling.

They spent the night here and left this morning. It was an added pleasure to be able to visit with them a bit.

I'm not sure how much time she spends on her computer up there, if any. I know they have one big party all season long. Annette, it you see this, you will know we are very impressed by your shopping skills and Chris' ability to shove it all in that car. Enjoy your 'vacation'.

Big Horn Sheep

I am really going back for this one. Haven't had the time today to make a layout. I've just enjoyed what we thought was our son and his family's last day with us.

When we were visiting John and Beth in Colorado this February and were traveling in the Rockies, we came upon a line of slow moving traffic. It seems these big horned sheep were in the roadway. We were told they could ram our car if provoked, so what did I do? I stuck my camera out the window and took pictures, of course. This big ram seemed to be quite happy to pose, while his mate headed down to the river. I guess she was camera shy.

Due to a small problem, the 'kids' have two more nights here. Beth forgot her wallet at her mother's in Columbus, so she didn't have ID to get on the plane. Her dad and stepmom are bringing it to her tonight. The next flight open will be leaving on Thursday, It's an inconvenience for them, since they want to get back to work, but it is a present of more time with them for us.

I do have plenty more pictures that were taken today and yesterday, so you'll probably get to see another baby layout tomorrow.

As for opinions, the only one I can think of offhand is this: Hang in there and talk to everyone you know about needing to change our elected officials. This is no time to be put in a PC box or to clam up because you don't like controversy. Vote in November like your way of life depended on it ( BECAUSE IT DOES).

Family is Love

I'm treating you to another layout of our grand baby. Because that is all I can think of right now.

I had a big disappointment today. Our grand triplets will not be able to come in July. They must wait until fall and we haven't seen them in a long time.

I'm brain dead tonight. Have been sitting at the computer almost all day. I made this layout and then tried to organize trillions of files. Thank goodness I worked out at Curves or I might not be able to move right now.

Now I'm just sitting here waiting for our president to fly in on his big jet and save me from a life of work. Perhaps he'll give me a bunch of your money if I'll just decide I don't really want to be free any more. See, I told you I was brain dead!

Birthday Celebration Part Two

Last Tuesday night I answered the telephone after 8:00 and was summoned to Friendly's where my husband and a few neighbor friends had gathered. After we ate ice cream, and everyone wished me a happy birthday, Kay bought me an ice cream cake to take home. So Wednesday night, they came over after church and we had ice cream again. In the meantime, the girls met at Chipoltle in Hudson Wednesday for lunch. We ate and then progressed across the street to Dairy Queen for another celebration with ... ICE CREAM. What a birthday.

Several of us decided that we could adopt a 'private' little area at Dairy Queen for meetings. It had a sofa and chairs and a mounted wide screen TV. It was quite cozy. With just a little personalization, the room would be perfect for us. And ice cream is readily available!

What are a few heath blizzards when you are able to avoid the scale? (See layout.)

Now, tonight our lifegroup meeting took place at Buca di Peppo. There were funny cards for both me and Ron, whose birthday is the day after mine. And of course, there was more ice cream, chocolate this time with brownies. Now that I've put on at least 50 pounds this week, I will need to spend my 67th year dieting.

After this eating spree was all over...yes it is, I remembered the Bible verse which says

"...and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony." Proverbs 23:2 Whoops.

Caleb Will Read Some Day

Being a teacher, I've planned ahead and made this layout for Caleb, so that he will be able to read it in a few years. It has been fun having Caleb's family here. We got to witness his first time to roll over. He was very pleased with his accomplishment and practiced, sometimes with frustration.

Beth's mother (That makes her a grandmother too, but I just want to keep him for myself right now.) is celebrating quite an accomplishment herself. She graduates from Ohio State this weekend. It's taken her quite a while, one class at a time, but she did it! Hurrah.

I'm looking forward to seeing the threesome again after they have visited Beth's relatives in Columbus. Meanwhile, I have a chance to make a few layouts and practice creating text on a path. Not everything comes to me easily these days. Sometimes it takes work. But I still enjoy the results enough to plow through it all. It is wonderful to have two computer techies to help me: Ron and John. John was helping me with the curving text yesterday, so today I need to try it a couple of times to make sure I don't forget before I actually want to use it.

Speaking of the relatives in Columbus, they are the lucky ones now, since Glenn Beck is coming to their city next week. I wish I could go, but now that my schedule is free, Ron just doesn't feel up to the hassle.

Just think how many millions of people would be there if they could. Glenn is THE MAN of the times, for sure. I'm calling him the Education Czar. Go Glenn!

Thumbody Loves U

Our little thumb sucker is visiting and oh how glorious it is. It has been a very, very long time since I've had my own baby in my arms. Being a Grandmother, I can tell you, the same warm feelings are present when I pick up this new bundle of joy...plus I don't have all the responsibilities of seeing that all his needs are met. Yes, it is very special being a grandmother.

It is also wonderful to see those precious ones grow into adults. As of this minute, we have grandchildren from the ages of 4 months to 23 years. It is just as good as it has ever been. Being a grandparent doesn't get old.

I'm posting this layout tonight even though I am not yet happy with it. I'm having trouble with my Apple (Are you surprised.) and I haven't been able to complete the title to my satisfaction. I can always modify it later, so here it is...Grampa with Caleb, our happy fellow.

All Is Right With the World

When you and your four month old grand son are laughing with abandonment, all is right with the world..

I pray to our God in heaven to protect this young life and all who attend him. Praise God for life!

Packing It In

Notice in the pictures all the things we put into a regular sedan when they didn't have a larger vehicle for us to rent on Honolulu See the two of us scrunched into the back seat with several suitcases. It worked out even though we were a little uncomfortable... much like the first part of this week. We've been trying to pack more into our days than can fit well. We've had two birthdays in the household already this week and too much to do. However we have crammed in some celebrations and have gotten a year older in spite of our lack of time.

Now, we will be able to relax a little. John, Beth and Caleb are on their way and should arrive soon. I can hardly wait to see them, but especially the 4 month old who is changing so rapidly at this age. It will make the first part of the week seem distant and non important. This will be our big memory of June.

I did take some pictures of a couple of our 'parties' and hope to share them in layouts soon.

Lauren and April

I know you have already seen Lauren's perfect dress, but I had to share this picture of her and her mother, April. So beautiful they are inside and out. They are blessings in our lives.

Relationships are the most important 'things' there are. I have a sign on the wall over my computer that reads, "The greatest gift I ever received came from God... my family."

It is so true.

Grandmother's Peony

Today is the first day in a long time that I've spent over 5 hours working on the yard. I was motivated by the beautiful, sunny, but cool weather. It was perfect for doing the little things that must be done. Weeding, weeding and weeding. I jokingly call this our campground because that is what it usually looks like...a boyscout camp. Ron mowed. Tim was here helping and that made the area shape up nicely. Things got edged, driveways swept, etc. I even trimmed one of the trees a bit. After putting in a flower bed week before last and filling our large pots with flowers, with today's work, it looks fairly nice around here.

I am sad to say that the nice weather we had this spring caused my peonies to bloom a couple of weeks too early. My birthday is tomorrow and I had always cut my favorite flowers for in the house. They have bloomed and died already. Today I cut off all those dried ends.

Thought you would like to see a picture of Ron's Grandmother's Tree Peony that came to us through his mother. Our daughter got them when Gladys passed away. We got them when she moved to Florida. The peony tree loves its new spot and blooms splendidly.

Spring and Prom

Lauren is home from the university for the summer. Her friend Aron will be joining her there in Alabama this fall.

This spring Lauren and he went to his school's prom. They really are a sharp looking couple. They don't need a proud grandmother to tell them that. But here I am and with pictures!

My Wish for a Reunion

It is wonderful to have the 'kids' come to visit. Tim is here now from Florida. Looks like he plans to stay the summer. Can't blame him. IT is terribly hot down there now. He is at a time in his life where he can choose to do that. He just has to close up his condo and head north. Wish it were that easy for us to go south in the winter, at least for a couple of months. I would choose January and February.

Next week, coincidentally the week of Ron and my birthdays, John and Beth will be bringing our new grandson to visit for a day or so. Now all we need is the other four kids to magically appear. It would be great to have them all together and get a family photograph made. Oh well, I'm just dreaming now.

Today's layout is a picture of John and Caleb made back when he was a newborn in February. I'm finally getting caught up with Caleb's baby pictures.

Christians: Not Perfect, But Forgiven

Ron would like me to add this to yesterday's post. Would you believe he is not perfect? Of course you would. No one is, not even Christians who are striving to live a life pleasing to God. We all sin and fall short, but God has shed his blood on the cross to cover our sins. We are forgiven.

My Godly Man

I am very happy to be married to a Godly man. He truly lives his life as a Christian. He's at church twice a week, in other Bible studies three to six times a week, prayer breakfasts twice a month, and with lunch buddies once a week. Of course, he is also at the YMCA every morning, where discussion often turns to religion. I certainly can not keep up that type of schedule, choosing to sit here at the computer much of my spare time. But I'm very happy he is that interested in doing God's will and sharing with others. This layout is of him and his friends at lunch. Another of the guys, Hank, took the picture. Ron is the one back in the corner with white hair.

Ladies' Retreat

The ladies of our church have a Ladies' Retreat every spring in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We invite friends and spend our days in Biblical study, 'fellowship' , crafts and eating.

At night we sleep on cots in the cabin...those of us who dare spend the night there. Some of us are 'too old' to enjoy a slumber party. We go home and come back again in the morning.

It is always a memorable time. Christian sisters do have fun.

Every year we fill out a form of what we would like to do different next year. I wouldn't change a thing.

The Protection of Family

It was delightful to come upon a swan family while boating this weekend. We have never seen the cygnets on this end of the lake chain, only the adults. We found these in a quiet channel that ran behind a neighborhood. The swans were pretty calm until we turned around to exit... there was no outlet. The cob (male) looked as if he might attack if we made the slightest move he didn't like. The cygnets stuck close to their mother, the pen.

It is so pleasant to see a family living together with father protecting the mother and his young as God intended for us humans.

A lot of divorces happen because the couple has trouble managing money. And naturally it gets even more costly when trying to maintain separate homes. As things get tougher financially, it will be harder for families to live apart without each other's support. If you are married, please try harder to keep it together, for everyone's sake. If you are not yet married, don't do it until you are convinced you love the person enough to make the sacrifices necessary to hold it together. Believe me, you will be happier in the long run than you would be running off to find greener pastures. Green pastures don't grow by themselves. They need nurturing.

Show true love, and more likely than not, it will be returned to you.