Booya

Our daughter is an even better shopper than I am.  You'll need to click on the layout to get the story.  But in short, Chelle is a fantastic at snooping out the deals. You'd think it is raining money or something to see the results of her trips to the store.  Be sure to read the story.  That is not toilet paper he is holding.

We need to send her to Washington.  Boy could our government use some of her economizing to balance out the  flagrant waste we've been getting out of that city.

Memories Lost

I don't remember at all where I was or anything else about these pictures.  I do really wish I knew something about it.  One bad thing about not having brothers or sisters to share the memories, there is lots of lost data.   There is no one to ask now that mom, dad and all my aunts and uncles have passed away.

I know there are some who would say, 'so what?' but my curiosity really gets to me when I think about what I don't know.  Why did I have a rake. It doesn't look like fall.  It resembled what I was told Texas looked like back then, but we didn't go when I was that age.  Why was my hair like that?

I certainly don't want to lose important facts like how our country got it's beginning.  But some will because our history is being rewritten minute by minute. The name of God has been taken out of history books that our young people read in their classrooms. Early settlers and those who founded our country were solid Christians.  But all mention of that is no longer included in the textbooks for public schools.
God's name has been removed from various monuments in Washington D.C. How will students know if they are not taught?  If our kids don't learn at school, it is our job to instruct them.

Socks

Believe it or not, I am not the one here who noticed Caleb's socks.  Ron did.

Caleb is so cute... it looks like he is trying to hide those cute socks.  But I ask, why not mismatched socks?  They go well together and it adds more interest.  It can get boring wearing matching socks all the time.  Maybe he can set a trend. Of course, what do I know?  It could already be one and I wouldn't know.  I don't run in the right circles to be privy to that type of information.  I get all my fashion know how from fashion savvy friends and all of them are still wearing matching socks.  But maybe there will be a change.   You can count me in, especially now that I'm getting older and have more and more trouble distinguishing between colors when they are not flooded with light.

Some of us may need to wear whatever socks we can get together as we pay the trillion dollars to bale out Fannie Mae, while Franklin Raines walked away with a $90 million profit.  Remind you of Bernie Madoff?  It should, but Bernie sits in jail, while Franklin Raines who worked for the government is stylin'.

Lost and Found

Before Christmas I was looking for this picture of our son, John, taken for his first Christmas. I couldn't find it and was really quite disappointed, wondering what had happened to it.  Yesterday I was paging through the 1980 album and there it was, plus another picture of him on Santa's lap with his older sister with them.  How had I missed it before???

I had really thought it would be fun to make a layout with both his and his baby boy's pictures on Santa's lap, but I couldn't.  Even if I had found it, it was not to be.  Caleb's mommy and daddy were not able to get a picture of him with Santa. His mom does not have the luxury of staying home with him during the day, so weekends is all they have... and it just couldn't work. He would have been very cute with his big smile.

Well, I suppose most of you have heard about the turmoil in Egypt. Very unsettling to think things are falling apart all over the world.

In this country, we have several states who are in the hole so badly some are thinking they should be able to declare bankruptcy.  I heard a good idea today that equates them with Newfoundland which was once in the British Union. It fell into a bankrupt state in the 30's and was demoted to a territory.

I pray that we will all turn back to the Father in heaven who made  us and knows our hearts.  He knows what is best for us.  We must trust Him and only Him to get us out of this mess.

Look Out Emeril

Our Caleb has more than one grandmother.  Yes, that is right.  We are happy that she is there with him right now. She emailed me these pictures yesterday and I was anxious to get this layout  on facebook and in the blog tonight so that she can see how happy I am with the pics.

Carol also sent a video of Beth and Caleb strumming the guitar. I wish I had some way to get a still from the movie, but I don't know how.

Count your blessings, especially when times are rough and remember that God loves you.  He's prepared a place much, much better than this for our home when we've finished the trials of this life.

Hoping for a Better Tomorrow.

Again I've brought back my memories of our family 'walks'.  I don't know if I were faster on a tricycle or if I just didn't want to walk, but anyway...this was my ride when I was three.

It is hard for me to concentrate tonight for some reason.  It seems like all I'm doing is breaking thoughts for snowmobiles as they rush by the house.  Lots of them out tonight on the lakes.

It was a ho hum day around here. Pretty much like the State of the Union address by the president last night.  Same old thing, promises he can not fulfill without setting business free to produce without his intervention and taxes.  And why  would someone promise to spend money when we are broke? Surely most people can now see  that can not work.  Investment = Spending.

One bright spot in the day:  I found out there are zumba classes at the Y.  I went straight over when I heard and now have on my desk piled chronologically , a schedule.  I'm planning to try it out soon. Hoping my aging body will not complain, but help me enjoy some much needed exercise that is sure to make me look 30 again.  See what I mean,  I'm not thinking straight tonight.

Hoping for a better tomorrow.

Kiss the Camel

Sometimes I get more photos than I can scrap before I receive another stack and have to pass up some really good subjects. To illustrate, check out this interesting picture of Chelle kissing a camel.  Now that doesn't happen that often, you know. Glad someone had the foresight to take that pose.  It made a great memory and a super layout.

It's been a good day:  Ladies' Bible class in the morning. Had lunch with the girls. Ran some quick errands. Made it  home for a quick computer check, in which time I looked at the Scrapgirls Newsletter and grabbed the freebie for the day and answered some email. Went out to dinner with friends and home with them for three games of Frustration.  The girls won two out of three.  I've been home a while now. I've connected with some friends on facebook...including some from scrapgirls who are tagging me and have been able to avoid the State of the Union address.  How blessed I am!

Snow and the President's State of the Union Address

These pictures were taken on January 10 this year.  They haven't had that much snow in Nashville in a long, long time.  Some scientists claim all the snow and cold we have this year is because of global warming.  Okay, just stop and let that sink in.  There is no way to explain that one...even though they try.  Remember these same types were claiming in the 70's that we were all going to freeze to death.  You'd think they would get the picture by now.

I'm not one bit worried about it, because our God and Creator is in control.

It is true that for  some reason God allowed these left wingers to take control of our government. I feel it was probably to teach us a lesson.  Many of us, even though we believe in the heavenly God, were busy with our own pursuits  and neglecting God.  Well He got my attention. How about you?

In about 23 hours, our president will give his state of the union address.  Oh, that he would admit that it is in a terrible state and that everything he has done has made it worse.  But he won't.  I am expecting him to continue to blame others, and snow us.  He will be doing the one thing he does well...making speeches filled with promises, promises of hope and change.  Well I for one am hoping for a change in '12.  

We've been stimulated until we are worse than broke.  We can't take any more of his so-called 'investments' which are robbing us and we can't even figure out what the money is doing for the country, if anything.  We don't even know if it is still in our country.  There is no accountability.

Pick Yourself Up

What a blessing it is to have wonderfully developing grandchildren.  It is always a joy to receive pictures of all Caleb's latest achievements, since we can't be right there witnessing all he does. Thank you Alana and John for sharing him with us so well.

He is learning to walk, but at the same time it looks as though he is going straight into judo.  Is that a karate chop?

Caleb is learning one of life's lessons: When you fall down, pick yourself up and keep trying.  Looks like he's got the idea.

May God guard over him every step of the way.  

His maternal grandmother is there with him this week and we wish them all great blessings.

Thrift

We didn't have much when I was young. It was during World War II.  My dad had another year to go in college in Texas when he met the one who would be my mom in West Virginia, while selling Bibles door to door to pay his tuition.  Getting loans back then wasn't the popular thing to do  as it is now.  It took a lot of hard work to  earn one's way through school, but that is what my dad and most did at that time.   He didn't have wealthy parents to finance him.

He moved to WV and got married.  My mother's foster parents were old and had died.  Mom and dad lived on the farm for a while and then we moved to Marmet so that my dad could work in the electric plant.
At least he didn't have loads of debt like many who go to college today borrowing their way through.  They started with nothing, but at least they were not in the hole.

They got an apartment on the second floor near the plant where my dad worked. I was the smallest of the neighborhood children, excluding babies. We assimilated easily and enjoyed our friends there.

Dad did not have 'wheels' as most people now.  He had to use public transportation or walk to work and back.  Knowing dad, he walked because he was always wanting to save and to pay as he went, not believing in running up a debt.

Oh, that we had  continued to train people to sacrifice for a time  so that they could some day have a nice home, etc.  Now, young people think they deserve the very best right out of school.  They feel like they are too good to take work that is beneath them.  We should have taught them that honest work is always good.  Sometimes, they need to take what they think is a meaningless job  to show their capabilities.  But often now, people would rather take welfare than to work for less than they think they deserve.

Well, it looks like the time has come when we either sink or swim against the tide. We need to resurrect the  phrase, 'hard work never hurt nobody'.  The English isn't correct, but it will feed you when times are bad.

Cut Government Spending, Not Our Paychecks

When I was a little girl, we had a few toys. But we had enough.  This layout shows me with my doll and stroller I got for my third birthday.  We lived on a lot less than children do today.  World War II was being waged in Europe.

If things keep going backwards like they have the last couple of years, we will again have to live on much less.

As the spendthrifts in our government continue to add to our debt and tax us more and more, we need to have a tighter grip on our wallets.   We have less to spend and prices are higher.  That is called inflation, in case you didn't know.  When we are told there has been  no inflation in the last two years, it is an out and out lie.  They mess with the numbers to try to prove their point, but just go shopping.  Everyone uses fuel and eats food.  Check out the gas pump, your utility bills and the grocery store.  You ARE spending more money and getting less product.

Now that Republicans ( money wise) are in congress, we intend to cut the budget. No, not Medicare or Social Security as the Dems would have you believe.  But there could be a 10% budget cut across the board.  This is not something I've dreamed up, but a plan Rush Limbaugh has discussed on his talk radio program.  (I know 'talk radio' is a bad word these days.  It isn't PC to say you listen, but I'm not frightened into a corner by all that rhetoric.)

Rush advises cutting Obamacare to save several trillion. Then we could do away with all stimulus spending and TARP.  We could sell 20% of the land the federal government owns, which is about 25 % of all the land we have. We could cut the number of government vehicles,   reduce office space, cut government salaries, cut the EPA, the FDA, the FCC.  We could get rid of any office headed by czars.  These people get paid by our taxes, but are accountable to no one. but the president.   Oh my, that is just a start.  There's much more that can be done and all of it would better our country in more ways than just reducing our debt.

If you get a chance, listen to Rush on the radio, heard in most places between 12:00 noon and 3PM week days. Listen and see if you agree or not.  Don't believe what you hear said about him.  LISTEN for yourself. Think for yourself.  Judge for yourself.

One Chipper Pet

You might question whether or not our cat is 'chipper'.  So I'll tell you up front...she is always 'chipper', even when she doesn't look it.  Her name is, CHIPPER.

She is called that with no regard to her actions, except that she is a true hunter and she prefers Chipmunks. Therefore I called her a chipper instead of mouser.

She has adopted this simple chair as 'her' chair this winter. So when this feline in housebound, she is either on the register, her 'blanky' or this dining room chair.

The only opinion I have tonight that I care to mention is this: I do not like having vertigo.  I am on medication now for it, so it isn't at its worst, but I still would prefer to skip it and sit here without nausea and a headache. I get sick to my stomach enough  just thinking about all the work that needs to be done to right our nation.

I think it is time for the first real American black man to be president.  His name is LTC West.  He's from Florida.  He is the new Republican congressman  who won in southern Florida, even though it is a Democratic Party stronghold. If you don't know about him, you should check him out  online. He's a fantastic hero in my opinion.

 You can disregard my comment about color.  He does not have to run on the race card.  He has all it takes to be a superior president.

Birthdays Can Be Hard To Take

Birthdays can be hard to take, but not when you have a bunch of girlfriends to help you enjoy it.
We are blessed to have a great group of girls, who enjoy getting together for almost any excuse, especially one that calls for cake.  

By the way, I was corrected by another friend recently for calling her a girl.  In the workplace that is looked upon as a put down.  Well we girls accept it readily, because even though we are well educated, we are young at heart and  fun loving. We also have minds of our own and answers to all the world's problems.  Just ask us.  We'll tell you.

And in case you are wondering, I do have an opinion to share.  Of course, this may not be the opinion of one or more in the picture, but I'm very secure in myself and offer this on my own:

Our president went to Arizona, where he has not been particularly helpful this last year, and made a hate speech against most of the nation.  He thinks that the government should tell everyone what he or she should be allowed to say. In his opinion, if there were no one saying things that are offensive to him, no one would commit murder ever again.  If no one ever said anything against him and his progressive pals, there would never be a crazy person decide to kill a lot of people.

Does he realize that this man was highly disturbed and that it was not a secret in his district?  Does he not know the man hated George Bush?  Does he not know he liked the Communist Manifesto?  He and his friends in the press have tried so very hard from the instant this happened to pin it on the right...the least likely of any group to  condone murder ...the ones most likely to be guided by the love of God.

Since they really couldn't make it stick that any one particular 'right winger' pushed this loco into doing this terrible thing, he has decided to blame us all.  We need to be nicer and everything will be all right.

Don't buy it

NO better Word: TACKY

We girls have had a 'tacky' ornament exchange every Christmas for years. This time I found it very hard to find something tacky.  I don't know if it is because I didn't shop in the right places, or if it had to do with the economy and stock was cut down somewhat...and what better things to cut?

This year we ran into a snag...the global warming has drowned us in snow this year and the night of our party was no exception.  Terrible driving conditions kept us home on the only night we had found that all  those in the state could meet.

We postponed it until January 11, the next time most could get together. And wouldn't you believe it, bad weather, icy streets hit us again.  But we were determined.  I had the farthest to drive, so I left my house really early expecting to get up to the party town before the roads got too bad.  Too late. About 1/3 way there I hit pure ice and there were three lanes of traffic all going 5 miles an hour or less for many miles.  It took me and hour to make a 1/2 hour trip.  But having prepared ahead, I was not late.  I also thought to take pjs with me so that I could spend the night with a friend.  The next morning there was six inches on snow on top of my car.  Al Gore just isn't talking loud enough,  or God just isn't paying attention to him.

Well we had a good dinner, celebrated Phyllis' birthday and exchanged our gifts.  I think we need a new word to describe these unfortunately terrible Christmas tree ornaments. 'Tacky' just won't do it. From left to right. Jane received the ugliest thing I've ever seen.  What is it? We don't know.   What does it have to do with Christmas?  We don't know. Next Paulette was fortunate to get mine. I had to 'make' it since I couldn't find anything 'tacky'.  I bought a snowman ornament frame and put in it a picture of our smug President. He is the ultimate 'snowman'. He sure did snow a lot of people before the '08 election.

Then Jill got a spongy ballerina .  Yuck.  At the bottom, Sali got, not ornaments, but Christmas decorations,  big, ugly felt poinsettias.  Teresa received a large pink chandelier...perfectly awful for a tree and I got a plastic musical note, which wouldn't look bad on a kid's tree, but wouldn't quite make it on my angel tree.

The next morning I left just after rush hour to take advantage of the roads having been cleaned. However, it was worse than the night before and it took me and hour and 1/2  to reach my house.

This is our last year for tacky.  We've had  enough. We'll be choosing another theme next year.
And we're hoping for a different president as well.  Wow, that would be the ultimate Christmas present!

1946 Little Girl Innocence

Haven't added a page from my 'autobiography' for a while. I think this is cute. I like the background paper with the scallop and punched holes around the edge.

We were girly girls back then, somewhat prissy at times.  Here we are sitting at my friend's door...no cares in the world.  Oh to have the same innocence for our children today.  Most are thrown into the world before they have the training and/ or defenses to fight all the corruption.

The media, in the form of TV, generally reaches kids early.  They are even confronted with evil in their classrooms and day care centers. What chance do they have?  No wonder  some of the younger voters have no guidelines by which to judge what they hear.

Have you heard about the new poll that was taken with a supposedly  random sampling of adults whose conclusion was that only 25 % of the people are now for repealing Obama 'healthcare'?   Don't believe it. Pollsters are trying to influence public opinion by making us think that more people are for the plan than really are.  I'm not sure why their objective, but it is obvious there is some miscalculating going on out there.  We must continue to stand against it and encourage our congressmen and women to vote to repeal the full 2,000 some pages.  Well Nancy, we now have read it  and it must go.

Our Grand Daughter Leah Loves NYC

Well,  not sure what is going on here tonight, but it must be a problem with my server.  I can not upload a picture  here or to facebook.  I would just settle for imparting wisdom, but I'm vacuous.

 I'm  undertech.  Oh and of course my spell check doesn't like that 'word'.  Must I say I'm lacking in technical skills?  Do you ever get frustrated by malfunctioning computers or internet problems?  You think it is bad now?  Just wait until the government starts regulating it. Not something I want to think about right now.

Time is passing quickly and so it looks as if there will be no layout tonight.  I will try again tomorrow to upload a picture of Leah in the big city.

Success today.  All we had to do is restart the computer. Wonder if I'll ever get used to a MAC.

Winter Wonderland in Ohio

ORU met for dinner at the Rosewood Grill in Hudson for Phyllis' birthday. We all arrived individually and  none of us noticed the fire pit.  We are hoping that it just wasn't burning that early.

It made a great foreground for a picture on a very cold night.  There was plenty of snow at that time and later in the night we got about 6 more inches.  That's winter in Ohio.  Love it... or leave it...and that's what many do.

 One of the girls, Robin, is not present because she is in...Florida.  Another has moved to Texas, but  not because of the weather.  Several of us really enjoy winter and plan to stay around for a while.

Hand in Hand

When Caleb's Daddy, John and his brothers and sisters were  little the government authorized putting fluoride in the drinking water. At that time there were scientists warning about  the dangers of it, especially if a child was to get too much.  One of the effects they warned about was that it could cause mental retardation.  I made sure my children did not drink water with the additive.

Well as you can imagine,  50 years after health officials adopted this policy, the government has finally caught up with the scientists who knew all along it was a bad idea.  The headlines in our paper one day last week announced  a new finding that too much fluoride is not good. They have reduced the amount a child should have to .07 mg per liter. Over the years some areas have added .07 to 1.2 mg per liter and many kids were also getting it in their toothpaste.  Some were taking supplements as well.

Supposedly the mineral is streaking and sometimes pitting the teeth.  I'm wondering if there might be some mental retardation as well that will be kept under cover.  If so, we will probably never know.  But let this be a lesson.  History repeats itself. Officials are always changing their minds as to what is good for us and what is harmful.  We can not believe something just because the government says it is so.

Caleb's First Painting

You get to see Caleb's first masterpiece.  Looks like the medium is pastels.  He sure got into it. What a sweetheart.  I can hardly wait to see him.

A few days ago when we went online to purchase our tickets, I had my travel miles laid out.  I was ready to get my 'free' ticket.  Right.  Well, Ron got so perturbed with their tactics that he just paid cash saying it was cheaper.  Now, I haven't really figured that out yet, but I suppose he meant it was easier than dealing with Continental.

Years ago when we started piling up the air miles, the free tickets were great.  We even went to Bulgaria on them.  But now that the airlines are having trouble with the cost of fuel and some of the punitive laws the government has passed, these tickets are not such a good deal.

 When they were issued we got air miles.  Wouldn't you think that 50,000 miles meant just that?  That number should take me around the earth...twice!  But it seems, it will only take me to Florida and back home.  So my air miles have been devalued.

This reminds me of a cartoon I saw in our newspaper about a week ago.   It shows a man at the ticket counter and the airline representative is telling him, "I'm sorry sir, but all of your frequent flier miles have already been used up by your lost luggage."  Perhaps that is what happened to ours.

Hand in the Cookie Jar

Our grandson is a really good boy, so when his mom caught him with this expression, I thought that I would finally make a layout with a kit I have from www.Scrapgirls.com  called Not Guilty.  I had bought it because it was just too cute, but hadn't found any pictures to go with it.   Now I had the perfect one. So I called Chelle to get the story behind it.  But, since he was not guilty of anything, I had no story to go with it.  I asked his mother what I could say without making him feel badly that I had used his picture this way. While she was talking, he overheard and said that he had taken a cookie when she wasn't looking.  Confession is good for the soul and it gave me what I needed to make this layout. Love you, Aussie...And keep your hands out of the cookie jar. There is a right way to get a cookie.  Follow the rules.

We have people entering our country illegally to get their hands in our cookie jar.  And they are scoring big time.  Of course our society is on the losing end.  It doesn't work when laws are broken...and of course those who are willing to break the law to enter are willing to break other laws as well.  We are up to our necks in law breakers.  Enough of those and the whole system breaks down. 

If we can not regain control of our borders, we are lost.  It is that simple.  Yet, our federal government can not be bothered by such trivial things as protecting it's people. There are much less important things taking up their minds and ruling their actions, like health care we don't want.  It is time for a BIG change.

Medieval TImes? No Thanks

On December 30 of this year our grand daughter, Lauren spent an evening with her boyfriend and his parents at Medieval Times.  We've been to one ourselves years ago and for the life of me, I can't remember where we did it.  Perhaps it was in Florida.  It was quite entertaining... even though we had to eat with our fingers.   I assume Lauren and Aron were in the Northeast somewhere nearer their homes.   I could ask, but am in a big hurry to get this blog online. 

Sorry I missed last night.   I found myself away from home when the BIG SNOW hit and decided to spend the night rather than attempt a homecoming around midnight.  Was a good decision.  This morning a little while after rush hour, it took me an hour and 1/2 to make a 30 minute trip.  So the roads are still nearly impassable in some areas.

Back to the Medieval times. It was fun to visit for a short time, but we don't really want to go back there to live, do we?  If not, we need to keep alert, reading all we can, to avoid losing our freedoms.  We  do not want it to go backward into serfdom living under a tyrannical  king. 

No matter that there is no evidence, many vociferous voices on the left are calling for censorship, blaming 'rightwing' talk show hosts for the terrible shootings in Arizona. 

Read here to find out more:  http://www.glennbeck.com/content/blog/stu/where-is-your-evidence/

Compliments To the Chef

It is great to get help in the kitchen, especially from a handsome white haired man.  Ron offered to help with the turkey two years in a row.  It helps me quite a bit, because he cooks it in the roaster oven which leaves my oven free for everything else. I always start cooking two days ahead and still have a lot to do on Christmas day.  So, I really appreciate him being there.

The only thing I would like better would be for him to decide to take over the cooking altogether. I have enough to do behind the camera. Of course, I doubt that will happen.

 Ron is also my tech man. I need him  to keep my computer behaving.  Speaking of computers...
I have no doubt the feds are trying to pull the wool over our eyes again. I'm not looking forward to this, but  if our president has his way, everyAmerican will  soon have his/her own Internet ID number.  He has given authority to the U.S. Commenrce Department to follow through with this freedom restricting idea. It is quite interesting to see how they are presenting it as a wonderful thing to protect us.  Of course what it will do is allow the government to monitor what we personally do on the internet through a centralized database.

 They have given it a catchy moniker : The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace.  Doesn't that sound like a caring government?  Well it opens the door to an infringement of individual rights.

That seems to be their MO now, well actually for the last few decades.  It is called incrementalisn.  They take small steps that lead to big overhauls of our system.  Don't let them trick you. Remember how good an Obama presidency sounded  weeks before the election of '08?

Snowflakes

I'm not absolutely crazy about my cat as some are, but I do enjoy doing layouts of her.  She is so picturesque.    She is also slow in motion, often being still for long periods of time, thus giving me time to grab my camera and take a shot.

She was sitting by the door for a long time staring outside.  But when I offered to let her outdoors, she declined indicating she thinks it is too cold out for a spoiled cat. She would much rather soak up a little sun indoors,  lounge in her catnip filled bed, or if it is really cold, lay on the register.

 What a life.  I couldn't take it. I'd be bored to death; but she doesn't seem to mind.  Still once in a while she will sit and look longingly out the window at the squirrels, birds or whatever else moves.  this day she was looking for a stray neighborhood cat.

I got this picture and thought I'd like to try a technique using a mask I'd figured out with some tips I found in a newsletter from  www.Scrapgirls.com.

On a more destructive rather than creative subject, if you remember correctly, yesterday I had concerns about what the progressive news media and pundits on the left  would say about this lunatic that shot up Arizona on Saturday.  Boy was I right...again. :)  They have insinuated that this goofball was motivated by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party and they are responsible for his actions.

 Seriously, this was a fellow who has been disruptive and exhibited antisocial behavior for at least several years before Sarah and/ or the Tea Party came on the scene.  He does not share their views at all.  As a matter of fact he was fascinated by leftwing politics and anarchy.  Some of his favorite books are "The Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx, and Adolf Hitler's  "Mein Kampf" , along with "One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest".  As a Tea Party member, I don't know one who would name such leftwing political books as these first two  favorites.

There are many facts readily available all over the web about this strange young man's life.  Check them out for yourselves.  There is no way he could be tied legitimately to the right.  Remember, the right had to be spurred into action and practically pulled off their sofas and out of their offices because of a corrupt, disingenuous bunch in Washington.  People busy living  good, productive lives are now willing to say they've had enough. They are working people, not those who would take up their guns and go looking for politicians or anyone else to shoot. As a general rule, they are God fearing people who value life and freedom, which are  both gifts of God.

Daughter and Son-in-Law

Children are so much a blessing and we were truly blessed to have our daughter, April, and her husband Tim here for Christmas day, with their daughter, Lauren. They have been so good about traveling here on Christmas and we surely appreciate their company.

It won't be many days until I'll have all my Christmas '10 layouts posted.  But Christmas will be in our hearts all year.

This evening we went to see  a sweet girl get married.  Her parents are beloved friends of ours.  The bride  and her husband are both in divinity school to become chaplains.  It was a lovely and heart warming wedding.

We need all these good times to make it  through the rough ones like the tragedy today in Arizona.  I just can't fathom how we can let people get so possessed that they would commit  such a hideous deed as to kill someone.. This young man killed 6 within about 20 seconds of gunfire.  Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was targeted, but so far survives. Six other innocent people, including a nice year old girl, were killed.  The gunman is in custody. A second  man who may have been an accomplice is the subject of a search.  I fear that some may try to blame this on the political right, but I can not believe that is true. It is the left that is lawless.


I am at a loss for words.

A Boy and His Truck

Boys and their toys...a boy needs a truck!  Caleb has his first and it's really cool.

 Tomorrow we will be Skyping Colorado and I can hardly wait.  What a happy boy and what a happy grandma I will be when I see him pushing around that big truck.

I could be happier though.  If we could just go back before the  2008 election and have everyone know what they do now about these progressives in office.  We tried to tell them, but some have to learn from experience.  Many don't learn from history, until it is their own.   Of course the major news media did a great job of keeping the people ignorant. They don't seem to be getting away with it as easily as they once did, however.  Fox News is doing a great job of showing both sides and more people are listening.

But no use 'crying over spilled milk'. We need to go on and do the best we can to recupe(erate).

 Does anyone know how to spell the short form of recuperate, which I use and hear now and then?  When I googled recupe, which is the way it should be spelled, I get no mention in English at all.  It is a French word, that I can not decipher.

We need to keep the congressmen on task and focused.  They have a major task ahed of them.  Let them know how you feel and pray for them daily.

Ham, Ham, Ham

Ham times three. Each one of the triplets delights in entertaining.  They were born to put on a show.  That is one reason they enjoy their karaoke machine we gave them for Christmas.  They also like to sing.

I first got the idea when one of my friends told about some children playing with an old karaoke player.  I thought that sounded pretty good and set out to find a used one.  But I was surprised to see how inexpensive they are.  Now the music that goes with them, however, can run into money in quantity.  So if it keeps  their interest, that will give us gift ideas for another special day.

The title of our page, Skype Karaoke Hams reminds us that Chelle called us before Christmas day so we could Skype as they opened this complete surprise.  Later she took these photographs of their show.

What a surprise!  How very novel... congressmen actually read the Constitution our loud during their sessions today.  Oh that they had read it years ago.  It is sad to think that many of them had no idea what it said or cared.   Education has been so lacking in our schools for many years and it shows.  No only is the Constitution itself not taught, but a respect for it has been lacking.  Thus some of the ignorant legislation that has passed over the past decade or so.  It is refreshing to hear from men and women who are taking their offices in the House seriously and heeding the will of the people over the rants and raves of a few socialists.  I pray that there will be those who are members of the Democratic Party who are awakened in time to help bring our country back to its rightful status again.  We no longer need cowards who give in to the heavy handed methods or arm twisting that have been going on in Congress.

Stand up men and women.  Look the executive in the eye and say, I will do the right thing. I am not afraid of you.

More Happening on the Ice

Click to read the layout.

Ice Hockey on the Lake

Posting late.   Had some type of trouble, evidently with my server, last night.  In a hurry.  You can read the layout if you click, or double click...whatever, and choose the extra large size.  That is a good new feature of blogspot this year.

One For the Money and Two for the Show

We had a lot of fun with our older grandchildren on Christmas day.  We did miss Leah, who was in North Carolina.  But Brandon, Brittanie and Lauren kept us entertained.

I'm always  a little squeamish about finding the right presents. I know sometimes young adults just want cash or gift cards; but it makes me feel good to find something I think they will like.  The girls did like their purses and put on a show with them.  Brandon is saving up for a purchase, so it is a good thing we just gave him money.  He enjoyed the show as well.

Speaking of shows, I hope you are watching Glenn Beck, listening to Rush Limbaugh and the Quinn and Rose show.

If you haven't tuned in and have heard or read all kinds of bad things about them, don't believe it. Listen  for yourselves.  More and more people do everyday and stay.  Entertaining, yes.  Informative, you betcha.

First Gift From Gramma

Caleb was so serious about his job of opening a gift.  He tore off a small piece of the paper, studied it closely, then attempted to put it back where it had been. Soon he got the idea though and tore the paper off like a pro.  When he found the puzzle, it didn't take him long to discover that if he just opened the box, he didn't have to work so hard to get each shape in its hole.

For such a happy fellow, he certainly was serious on Christmas.

And we must be serious as well when it comes to supporting our new Congress.  I got a call from the Tea Party tonight asking me to keep our congressman accountable.  No problem. I'll be diligent.  I pray you will be also.

A LIttle Bird Told Me

Ashley just became aware of the saying, 'a little bird told me', over the Christmas break.  I thought it went well with this picture  and her inquisitive look.

A little bird didn't have to tell me that the  Republicans in Congress have big plans for the new session of Congress starting  Wednesday.  Hallelujah!  Right away they want to repeal Obama's health care catastrophe.  They have pledged to do it before his State of the Union address later this month.

 I pray this will come to pass as they have promised.  I'll be cheering them along with the Tea Party.  The 'Healthcare' fiasco  needs to be stopped before too much damage is done. I pray they can keep the best health care in the world from being relegated to a third world system.

Praise God for their response to the American people who didn't want this bill in the first place and who, by the time it was actually read, got an even worse deal than they had been told.

Keep positive and pray that our God in heaven heeds our cry for the return of freedom.

Make Music

It's a  joy being a grandmother.  I am thrilled to hear the cute comments they make and see in pictures the cute things they do.  The only thing better would be to see them with my  own eyes and hear them with my own ears and squeeze them with my own arms.  I need to be so many places at the same time.  But since that is an impossibility, I will just have to be satisfied seeing pictures and Skype and reading facebook and email.  Thank God for those blessings.

We need to stay alert and make sure that these pleasures are preserved, that no entity decides that our freedom needs to be impinged so that these 'staying together' methods are not taken away in the quiet of the night or during a storm of threats.

One place we need to keep watch is on the president while Congress is not in session.  He has been very aggressive and has gone over their heads using the excuse that they were not available at the time. He  makes executive decisions that are not truly his to make.  When Congress opposes him, as does the majority of Americans, and he can't twist enough arms, he just works around them.  That must stop.

Happy New Year

Haven't made a layout for the new year yet, so here we are in Christmas mode. Ron and I wish you a very Happy New Year.

  Do not trust in men who make mistakes, but in the Creator who is perfect and knows all our needs.  May you trust in God to bless you,  keep you safe and  get you though the rough times.