Gifts and Expectations

Santa came and left LOTS of presents for Caleb. Being only 10 months old last Christmas, it was not such a big thing for him.  But he certainly figured out quickly what it was about this year.  It seems the tall red presents caught his eye first. He sure made a beeline for that vacuum cleaner.  I wonder if he will ever be that excited about a vacuum cleaner again. It sure did it for him this year. Mama might not need to clean the carpet for months.

While we are here, you should notice the stockings Beth and John knitted.  They are pretty special. I sure wish I had been there to watch him open all his gifts and dig into his stocking.  

Cleb's birthday is coming up VERY soon and we hope to do some face time with him then. Maybe we'll get to see him open the little things we sent.  It is so much fun to see the delight in a little one's eyes. Let's hope that his delight never fades because he is expecting too much.

Life should be about relationships and not about things.  Materialism has ruined many people in this fine nation.  They have come to expect that they will always get anything they want and even without any effort of their own parts. It is a very sad thing and will mean our demise as a country some day.  I'm praying that we come to grips with this issue, repent and turn our lives back to focusing on God instead of things.  God help us.

Now that I've finished Christmas, on to January... oh, February!  What happened to those 31 days. Time flies when your blogging!

Is It Still Christmas?

This finishes my Christmas pictures of the triplets.  Tomorrow, I hope to finish the pictures I have of Caleb's Christmas. I'd like to put these on during the Christmas season, but I can't make the layouts that quickly and still enjoy the celebration.  Besides, I end up with more layouts than there are days in the season.

I'd also like to help put a finish on the ignorance our schools are causing our young people.  We send our children to school to learn the truth of history, because it repeats itself.  Instead, they are encouraged to be envious of their fellow man. Envy is still a sin...and it is one of the deadly sins mentioned often in the Bible.

In Romans 1:29, envy is equated with murder.

Proverbs14:30 says, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."


Let's not envy, nor teach our kids to; but let's keep Christmas love in our hearts all year.

The Clock Strikes...

Chelle and Greg let the triplets stay up until midnight for their first New Year celebration ever.  That's right, they've probably wanted to their whole lives, but now at the ripe old age of nine, they did it. 

 Oh!, I just realized I forgot confetti.  What is a New Year's Eve without it?  Maybe I'm better off omitting it.  They might expect it next year...in the house.  I'll just leave it off, but wouldn't that just give this layout a big boost?

The clock just keeps ticking away the time left for President Obama to occupy the oval office in Washington...the one where he feels free to rest his feet on the desk...the one  given by Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

And as the clock ticked and the judge and others waited for the president and his attorney to show up in a GA court for  an eligibility case brought against him there, he was far away from the state in campaign mode.  

Supposedly, if he is deemed ineligible because he is not a Natural born US citizen,( and the proof is well documented)  his name would not be permitted on their ballot in the fall.  

The two ended up no shows. 

Of course it is just a court of law and they are up against a man who ignores the law.

As far as I know, those in the office of president are not above the law. I think he may be confusing the presidency with a dictatorship.

Crafty One

There are two ways to use the word crafty. In this case, it means Chelle is skillful, clever.

Then there is the other meaning: marked by subtlety and guile as in < a crafty scheme> like those in Washington we hear about almost daily.

Business, Morality and Conservatives

Two days of fall in a row. I will be back to winter  tomorrow.  I'm working on that already. But for now, this is another picture that was made by a professional photographer November 18th that wasn't completed and delivered until January. Sorry about those Christmas presents.  That's a poor business practice and most of the pictures were not that good either. My daughter had to give them a boost with Photoshop Elements.  It is a cute pose, however and we are glad to finally have the files.

I'm really excited that Chelle is toying with PSE. She's working with actions now, so it may not be long until she is showing up her mother.

I mentioned yesterday that Rush had taken up for Newt. I have now seen the evidence that Newt and Reagan were close. Newt is a Conservative  and has been a conservative all along. Mitt Romney is now saying he is...that is what the people are wanting, but he is not. He claims to be, yet his actions show otherwise.  He has a long record of voting for Democrats....not conservative ones either. His health care plan in Massachusetts is a liberal example.

Defeating National Health care is as important to this election as are making jobs and improving the economy.  We cannot afford to give up that issue, by naming Mitt as our nominee.  

We need a spiritual revival in this nation.  Morality will improve our chances or turning things around. We have gone the way of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you don't know those cities...God destroyed them because of their wickedness.  If you happen to open your eyes, you'll see it all around us.

 God is good. He sent us a savior so that we could see how he wants us to live.  Read the bible, forget PC and stick to your convictions.

Piles of Autumn Smiles

Okay, I know I'm behind. It is no longer Fall.  But I just got this picture and it cheered me today to see the triplets laying in the beautifully colored leaves with big, big smiles while seeing ugly gray fog out my window.

Somethings just make me smile. And one is when I hear someone pick a fight and strike out. This happened when Mitt Romney claimed that Newt was a strong critic of Ronald Reagan. 

Generally I just hear bits and pieces of Rush as I go about my daily business. Now I know why he was talking about Newt on his show yesterday. I heard him say that Newt was a big supporter of Reagan and a consistent conservative. 

Today, I read on Newsmax.com that Mike Reagan issued a statement lambasting Mitt and his supporters.

"I am deeply disturbed that supporters of Mitt Romney are claiming that Newt Gingrich is not a true Reaganite and are even claiming that Newt was a strong critic of my father.

"Recently I endorsed Newt Gingrich for president because I believe that Newt is the only Republican candidate who has both consistently backed the conservative policies that my father championed and the only Republican that will continue to implement his vision.

"It surprises me that Mitt Romney and his supporters would raise this issue - when Mitt by his own admission voted for Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale who opposed my father, and later supported liberal Democrat Paul Tsongas for president.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney's achievement was the most socialistic healthcare plan in the nation up until that time.

"Say what you want about Newt Gingrich but when he was speaker of the House he surrounded himself with Reagan conservatives and implemented a Ronald Reagan program of low taxes and restrained federal spending.

"Newt's  conservative program created a high economic boom and balanced the budget for the first time in more than a generation."

He concluded: "I would take Gingrich's record any day over Mitt Romney's"

May God bless us with the truth and the spirit to understand when we hear it.

Boomin' Fun

I don't know where they got that big, big drum for Caleb, but he is having BIG fun with it.

Obama pulled the plug on construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. 

Now it is time to pull the plug on him!

I have a countdown calendar that keeps track of the days until he is out of there.  Sorry to say, as of midnight tonight, he has 360 days left.  Our ship has been leaking so fast, I'm afraid we may not be able to stay afloat that long.

Pray the Lord takes pity on us and saves our land.

Our Stars

We sure are proud of our little stars. They surely got a good taste of acing while doing 14 performances of The Miracle of 34th Street  this Christmas season.

I love these pictures of them in character.

Chelle reminded me of the photo effect, Old Photo today when she sent me the picture of Mason with that filter.  She had found a site online that had 40 free photo effects for PSE. (Photoshop Elements)

I thought about getting them, and still may if they work on a MAC. Not that I need more than I have. I rarely use them, although I probably should. It would make a lot of pictures much more interesting.

Interesting.  That is the word our son used to describe the president's speech tonight.  To me it was as well .When I passed by the TV and heard him talking like a Republican, saying he believed in small government, I looked up, saw his face and about fell on mine.  If he wants a small government, he is certainly going about it the wrong way. It is the same way he says he wants more jobs, but fills his time off the golf course killing jobs in the US.  

I understand that later though he went into his main rhetoric, which is redistribution  of wealth.

Redo

If this looks vaguely familiar, it is because it is a redo of a layout I made in the spring of last year.
 I've been working on a big project today, for which I needed another layout. So I quickly came up with this one.  Love to do layouts of the girlfriends.  Times with them produce wonderful memories...those moments cover the gamut from spiritual to silly, from serious to outlandish, from tears to laughter.

God has blessed me richly with the friendship of these 'girls'.

Are You in There?

Ashley loves tigers. So for Christmas she was given a tiger hat...by her Gramma.  Don't think she'll be cold in it. She should be as warm as a tiger cub's tummy.

Speaking of warm. I'm a little warm right now... about to boil.

Just read about the EPA threatening the North Dakota Oil Boom. It seems they could stop the boom that has nearly eliminated unemployment in N.D.  The state is now producing almost as much oil as Ecuador, which is a member of OPEC. But the EPA is not happy...are they ever happy with progress?  

While the state has 18,000 well paying jobs looking for workers, and Obama is looking for jobs on the golf course, the EPA is contemplating banning franking. That ban would  shut down the whole business because so many of those wells are using that procedure.  

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Christmas Train

Was there ever a male who didn't like trains?  Our Caleb surely was surprised and excited when he saw what Santa ( ('m not sure ) had brought him.  It's  a nice wooden track with a sturdy train.

I have another train here (I think) that was his dad's when he was a boy. I'll have to find it.  Later, Caleb can graduate to it...if it still works well.

Newt Gingerich won the primary in South Carolina today.  Interesting turn around. I believe it is the result of the news media smearing him using an ex-wife.   He put them solidly in their place.  He told them it was despicable because what she said  had been proven  was untrue.  He also said that because the reporters dig up everything and sensationalize it against all who run for office, many good men refrain from serving their country in this way. He also related that everyone there had had pain in their lives .  No one was exempt. It seems people relate to that.

Even though I don't remember if he mentioned this...it is a one sided thing.  They are jumping all over every Republican, but not doing the same with Democrats.  For example, they are acting like Romney is a total jerk for having succeeded in business and making a lot of money.  Where were they when John Kerry ran for the president as a Democrat ?  He was the very richest ever to run. Forbes.com estimated his worth at $1 billion.  That is much, much  more than Mitt's $202 million.

As you can tell, I really don't KNOW much tonight, am guessing a lot, but I do know that the Lord is my savior and he can be yours as well if you accept Him and believe what He said is true.  Once you truly believe,  you will find out about Him and follow Him.

A Sunday Christmas

I should be finished with Christmas, but I'm not.  A lot of pictures are taken at that time, and I hate to miss making memories with them.  So here we go with the triplets at church on Christmas morning.

In my opinion,  we should skip Sundays for Christmas and just go on to Monday.  But I guess we'll just have to put up with it once every seven years.

The first time the triplets had a Sunday celebration was when they were  two. I doubt it made any difference to them then.  The next time they will be 16. I doubt it will be much of an issue then either.  They will probably be anxious to get to church and see their friends to show off and compare gifts. Then when they are 23...well you can relate to all the rest...staying up late to prepare for Santa's trip down the chimney...

Not that it is a trial to have Christmas on Sunday, just a little inconvenient sometimes.

But there are many trials in this life.
James 1:2-3
Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

So whenever you are tested with a trial remember to take hold or it and work through it with the help of your father in heaven...and you will grow in strength.

All in Fun

Christmas was a lot of fun at Aussie's house.  This was on Christmas Eve and Aussie had just opened a book from Gramma. The title, How To Be A Genius.   Aussie has a great self esteem and thinks he is already a genius, I suppose, because he then made a joking comment to his dad about catching up with him. Of course Greg was quick to respond that he was a punk.  It was all in fun and Mom got these pictures to capture the moment.

Well, I saw most of another debate again tonight.  I know that most of them would make a superior president and all would be better than what we have now.

I'm praying that we are able to choose the very best from among them before long. I'm anxious to start campaigning against the liberals, rather than hearing our own contestants railing against each other.

I'm not sure whose idea it was to have so many debates.  It has helped ...for those of us who really watched...to see what each person believes. It is evident that all want a constitutional government built on freedom, as opposed to the liberals who have taken over the Democratic Party and hope to rule over us.

To restore what we have had in the past, that far surpassed the rest of the world, we need to return to God, for it is He who gave us inalienable rights.

Work Ethic

For being less than two years old, Caleb has a very good work ethic. We hope it continues to grow along with him. Here he is after insisting that he shovel the driveway.  We have a video as well.  I hope that when he is really old enough to do the job, he will still want to do it.  

I know the layout would be better without the dog, but in years to come, I want Caleb to remember the way his dog kept watch over him. That is a worthwhile memory.

May our God in heaven watch over each one of you.

In the Park

I never thought of going to the park in the winter, but that might be because I'm a cold natured female and live in northeastern Ohio

But Caleb enjoyed his little adventure. He gets along well with sticks and stones...does not yet  suspect that they break bones.

Opinion:  Last night's debate was great. I'm really getting to know each of these men and seeing their strengths and weaknesses. Newt certainly hit the mark this time when he stood his own against an accusation that he was racist.  He explained why anyone would appreciate a job where he/she could make some money.  He said, only elitists think that work is a bad thing.   There was a standing ovation. 

May God again bless this nation and give us good honest work to do.

Drink, Steal, Swear and Lie

A Family Christmas Photo

Greg, Chelle, Mason, Ashley and Aussie took some time before the hurried day to take some pictures. I'm glad they did.

Because I"m very tired, it is another night with no inspiration. Yes, I'm keeping up, but one eye is closed and I"m leaning. Don't worry. I'm leaning to the right.  Hope you are here tomorrow.

Matching Outfits

Chelle, the craft happy seamstress, sat up one night and sewed Ashley an outfit  to match her doll Julie's.
Well, I made that up.  I'm not sure when she made it, but she does have a habit of working into the wee hours.

Could she have gotten that from her mother?  You betcha.

In the Kitchen

Caleb is now joining Mason in a  desire to cook.  He likes to help with anything and everything in the kitchen. Here he is stirring his mom's homemade pasta sauce. I'm glad he is careful.

We need to be careful as well, not only in the kitchen, but in this big thing called life.
From Jim Chilton's blog:  "Don't be fooled by the world's security system.  Our greatest asset as we
face numerous foes is the Name of Jesus."

Caught

This squirrel is taking food from the birds.  They have had this feeder to themselves for years. I've always wondered why it wasn't robbed before.  The other one is emptied almost as fast as I fill it. I had decided it was just because this one is so close to the house and this window.  However as I sat here early in the morning, I glanced up and there he was.  Actually this is the fifth picture I took of him before I rapped on the window and he skedaddled.  The first pic shows him upside down, perpendicular to the ground below, his tail straight up in the air.  It would have been a great picture, had he been on this side of the feeder.     Later in the afternoon, there he was again!  This time I rapped. I rapped. I rapped again and nothing. He just kept eating. So I ran outside barking like a dog.  You should have seen him jump.  He left that feeder swinging and throwing seed all over the place.  Guess I'll have to get a real dog.

Our cat, Chipper has been known to eat squirrels, but she isn't interested in going out when it is cold.  She settles for a mix of dry with a smidgeon of canned food. Guess it isn't so bad.

When all was quiet again, I found out Ron was talking on the phone through my dogspeak.  Glad it was just a neighbor on the other end who already knows I'm crazy.

This world is not my home.

In John 14:2 Jesus said,
"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?"


John 14:3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.


This world is NOT my home, nor yours.  There is a better place waiting.

Radio Flyer Scooter

Radio Flyer was best know for it's little red wagon. I didn't even know until this year that they make other riding toys...like this red scooter.  As big as Caleb's smile is, I think the 'flyer' may be a little large for him yet.  Maybe by summer he'll be 'tooling' around on it.

Blessed  are the poor in spirit:  Read  the fifth chapter of Matthew. If you don't have a Bible, you can go to www.biblegateway.com  and type in Matthew 5 or any other scripture you would like to read and it will pop up for you. And better yet, there is a  sound icon that when clicked reads it to you.

Listen to the Bible

I'm reaching back to Greenfield Village in September of 2011 for this one. It is a new one I've made in a new size.

I've been busy the last few days, totally remaking pages for a book. I've changed them from 12x12 to 3324x2575 pixels. What a job. If I didn't like My Publisher books so well, I would never go to all that trouble.  For some reason the 12x12's pages were cut short in my last book.  This new size is supposed to be fool proof.  I'll be the fool, if this doesn't work...for spending so much time and anguishing over the project.

I spent the much of my morning reading and thinking about Ezekiel 36 and how it equates with the world as it is today.  Scary, but comforting as well. 

If you don't have a Bible, you can go to www.biblegateway.com  and type in Ezekiel 36 or any other scripture you would like to read and it will pop up for you. And better yet, there is a  sound icon that when clicked reads it to you.

Just a Unit

In less than 1.5 years I'll become just a unit. I'd rather be a cat in the care of a loving 'master'.

When I am a Unit (party speak for useless),  I will no longer have to make health decisions, they will be made on my behalf. If at that time, I need emergency care, it will be taken before the board for approval.  

I could embark on a plan now to become utterly useful to mankind, but even if I did, I'm sure that being a Republican voter would make me dispensable. 

For those of you who remember in the Jimmy Carter days standing in long lines to buy gasoline on even or odd days, you know about rationing.  You know when you ran out of gas on the wrong day it was tough luck.  You went without. You also know the overwhelming vote that got  rid of that administration.

This time it is much more important that gas...it is our lives.  Don't get tired yet. Keep alert. Vote for less government.  Vote GOP.

This is a good reason to fast and pray.

What's New at the UN?

While you were decorating a tree, baking cookies , at the mall or shopping Wal -Mart sales,  your government has been quietly wrapping up a Christmas gift for you and me...adoption of UN resolution 16/18  developed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation  (formerly called Organization of Islamic Conferences), the confederacy of 56 Islamic states.

Resolution 16/18 seeks to limit speech that is viewed as "discriminatory" or which involves the 'defamation of religion", specifically that which can be viewed as "incitement to imminent violence".

 Hillary Clinton and Obama are both pushing this international resolution, supposedly a Human Rights  issue that will evidently override the free speech clause in or own Constitution.


Now isn't that just wonderful?


Well no it is not. I will tell you what is wonderful...being a grandmother with a blog where I can brag all I want about the kids and show off my pictures.  Today, you see Ashley.  I love the flowers that are much like the ones on her shirt.  And of course, Gramma loves that little smile.
We could use more of those today.


May God bless every step you take tomorrow.

Togetherness

While we in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, April got out a puzzle so that she and I could have some special time together.  She is very thoughtful and I suppose was the reason I took the time to do a puzzle this week.  Thank you, April.  You are so sweet.

I seem to have a few people who read my trivial posts.  Once in a while someone will tell me he/ she has been reading. Occasionally (rarely) someone  comments on a post, generally speaking, it is my youngest daughter, Chelle.  I have actually had a friend tell me she would like to comment, but doesn't know how. I just want to know, Is it that hard?  I do have a system in place that allows me to read comments before they are published, only because at one time I got spammed.  But I really think it doesn't make it any more difficult.

All this to say. It is encouraging to see that someone cares to check out my ramblings and/ or my layouts.
Otherwise I'm just holding myself to this just because...  I don't believe in giving up on a project.
Oh, I like to make the layouts which I publish in my books. And boy do I like to express my opinion!

January Tradition

During the years I was a stay at home mother of kids in school (at least 20 of them)  I worked a jigsaw puzzle every January. It was a good time.  All the hoopla of the Christmas season was over, the tree put away, the kids back in school.  The house was quiet, there was no yard work to do and it was my chance to relax.  I always liked the puzzles with 1,000 pieces.  I would dump the box out on either the pool table or the dining room table and go into a world of my own...until the kids came home to help.  I would work after they went to bed or while they watched TV.

But in 1998, my youngest went away to college, my mother got very ill and I opted to spend my free time with her. I'm so very glad I did.  Although her memory was getting poor, she still knew how to play Scrabble and occasionally would beat me.  Every day when I went to visit, she would perk up and dad would quickly leave to catch his breath.  He was her caretaker and it had become a hard job.  He never complained, but he did relish that break each day.  When she was buried  late that same year, my mother-in-law  was diagnosed with a quick spreading cancer and died within six weeks.  Things were never the same for some reason. I never did puzzles even though I would buy them occasionally.  

This year, with a closet stuffed with unopened puzzles, I brought one out, since I wasn't feeling well.  But I wasn't up to a challenge. I grabbed a 500 piece one that seemed fairly easy with it's large print and bigger pieces.  However, it did tease my brain a little.  The pieces were not the conventional cut, but very different. One couldn't search for a familiar shape. It would turn out to require two  pieces for what seemed like one space.  But all in all, it was relaxing. I did it fairly quickly.   And so with the snow outside, it was warm and spring like with these flowers in the dining room.

I am trying a new configuration for my layouts...in order to conform better with the pages in MyPublisher books.  It should make it easier to submit my books for publication.

Something needs to be easier, so I can spend even more time concerned about the future of our fine country.

 It is my opinion that I must end this blog on an upturn, yet we cannot drop our guard.  Don't know at present what can be done by us.  But I do know God loves his people and will hear their  united voice. Please pray for our safety and protection.

Tired of Change

I  told you I'm crazy with a camera. I even take pictures of myself in the mirror at times.

This is me in a scarf my friend Teresa picked up while we were at the Pine Tree Barn and told me I should buy it.  Well I did, and I'm glad. I like the way it looks...and it's nice and warm.

Today I made an unanticipated trip to the hospital and snapped a couple of pictures to prove I was there...not that I would have to or anything.  They are still in my camera though. I've been busy trying to get a book ready for publication... again. Hopefully this time, all systems will be go and it will actually turn out well like all 19 of the others that came before it.

Why do systems have to change, especially when it is for worse instead of better?  Guess there is a lot of that going on now and all of it much more important that making picture books.

By the way, just so you can sleep well tonight, our president is giving our defense technology to Russia. Isn't he nice?  He sure knows how to make other countries like us.

While we are playing around in an attempt to find a candidate to run against him, he is dedicated to finishing off our country before we can even have that election.  He's working around Congress again... making appointments that would never get past them....and SHOULDN'T.

PRAY!

Panda Bikes

Here in Ohio, we generally put away our bicycles before winter hits, but it some areas, die hard cyclers ride all year long.  Colorado is one of those places...at least around Ft. Collins where Panda makes their  terrific bamboo bicycles.  They are made of bamboo,  are very strong and resilient, and really put a zing in biking. I've noticed a lot of pride in their owners. Many of them delight in having people stop them to take a better look at their  rides.  Check them out Panda Bicycles. And while you are there, take a look at  some of the biking gear, shirts, etc that are available.

Season's First Snow

It wasn't much, but yesterday, we got our first snow of the season. We've been waiting what seems like a long time for it here at the lakes.  Many of our friends just 15 miles north have had several ground coverings this winter.  We are thankful to get a new white layer today to keep it clean.  Still not much, but, in my opinion,  beautiful just the same.

The Perfect Gift

From the smile on his face one would think this was the perfect gift. And I like to think he will enjoy it immensely.  In this world of computer gaming, it is a joy to have a grandson who likes to play Monopoly as well as his digi games.  I just wish I could run down there any time I wanted and play a game with him.  Of course, he would beat me...but togetherness is big with grandmothers.

A perfect gift for me right now would be the perfect candidate to win in Iowa.  But Iowa  doesn't really matter as much as one would think.  After all, Ronald Reagan didn't win the Iowa Primary.

May God guide your steps in 2012.

365 Project

There are many people who have accepted the challenge of taking a picture every day. I don't need that challenge because I take pictures all the time. I can't help it. The camera is just too handy now that I can carry one with me every where I go.

My challenge is to post a new digital layout every day of the year.  Last year my plan was to do the same. I didn't tell anyone, I just tried.  However, I fell short. I only managed  to make it on 353 of the days...some days I had more than one, but I still fell short.

This year I am challenging myself to put a layout on this blog every day...365 layouts by the end of the year.

I am enjoying the books I've published the last few years using layouts I've made for the blog.  In my opinion, I can do it.  But now, with 20 minutes left in the day, I've found that my computer will not bring up my work.  You know, I have patience with people. I can make excuses for them, but I really get aggravated with computers. In my book, there is no excuse for their little bugs. It is amazing I still fool with them. But I take blood pressure meds and go right back to my desk.

Hallelujah, I'm married to a geek.  I'm using that in a good way. He's a sociable geek. When he awakes in the morning, I'll drag him in here to fix my problem.

So check back tomorrow for today's layout and then tomorrow night for a new one.

Guess I'm becoming a bit of a geek myself. I figured a way around the problem and have added the layout...and before the clock struck 12:00. Hurray!