Creativity is rewarding... but occasionally it gets out of hand and runs amok. That is the case tonight. The more I do on this layout,  the farther I get from satisfaction.  However, I am racing the clock and a body that is telling me it's time to prepare for bed before I fall asleep in this chair.

Therefore, I am using it as is in now in the blog with the hope of starting over again at a later time. It was a great picture, but I'm not sure that is still evident after all the 'work' I've done with it.

I'm pretty tired right now. Our life group saw a video that brought tears to my heart. Then we had a spirited discussion. I am drained.

But thankfully, earlier today, when I found something on youtube I had wanted to hear again, I noted  the link to it here.  It is really interesting and worth listening to these 33 years later.  It is still very true and we need to hear a little common sense now and then.

Phil Donahue and Milton Friedman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-o0kD9f6wo .

I haven't changed the layout a lot, but I'm more satisfied  with it now:

Good Boy

It is a joy to tell you that Caleb is a good boy.  What more  could a parent, or a grandparent want? He listens well, he is aware of the rules. Just remember, this is his gramma writing. And of course my grandchildren are the most wonderful in the world...just as are yours.

Today I had a strange thing happen. I am ready to prosecute.  Very first thing this morning I got a call which immediately started out "The FBI"....about home burglaries. I hung up as is my practice. I've been told that is not polite, but it is a machine!  I'm just saving them time, since I will not bite. I won't buy over the telephone. I don't really even like the telephone.  Anyway, I got several more calls from the same place this morning...at least 7. And even more strange, they were coming from different places, at least different things popped up on my phone.  It must be a new way to skirt the law.  Have they been taking lessons from our president? 

 How in the world do they think they will make a sale by totally annoying a possible customer? Now with that said...I wonder if there was another aim...was it really to sell me a product or service or to find out when I would answer the phone or something else? Perhaps the purpose is to cause one to unplug the phone out of exasperation. The world is pretty frustrating  right now, even without such interruptions.

Okay, now that I've ranted,  I  want to say something positive. 

It Can't Get Any Better Than This (Taken from Back to the Bible)

A popular magazine carries a section in which it offers its readers the opportunity to send pictures of their part of the country and tell why they think it's the best. Month after month, people send in beautiful photos from all over the United States, and invariably someone will comment about their particular area, "It can't get any better than this."

This is what Christ has done for us. Through His blood He has cleansed us from our sins. The past is forgiven. Through His Word we have the wisdom to live day by day. And through His Spirit we have the power to be His witnesses wherever we are. Through His resurrection we have the assurance that we, too, shall be raised beyond the grave to spend eternity in heaven. Everything is taken care of—past, present and future.

Have you thanked Jesus yet today for meeting your every need? There is nothing that can be added to what He has done and will do for you. It just can't get any better than this.

 

" I have been crucified with Christ; it is
no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave Himself for me."[Galatians 2:20]

Is Gramma Nuts?

Yes, that is me acting silly on the horse. We had a good time that day at Cedar Point. The brief story of the carrousels is on the layout. I certainly enjoyed myself with the triplets. And no, I didn't win.  Maybe next time!

Keep the faith. "Nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37.

Smile Wins My Heart

“Smile and the world smiles with you. Knock and you go alone.

For the cheerful grin will let you in where the kicker is never known.

Growl and the way looks dreary. Laugh and the path is bright.

For the welcome smile brings sunshine, while a frown shuts out the light.

Sing and the world's harmonious. Grumble and things go wrong, yet, all the time you're out of rhyme with the busy bustling throng.

Kick and there's trouble brewing. Whistle and life's skies will no longer be gray.

And the world's in tune like a day in June and the sorrow will melt away.”

The Bible says that “A merry heart does good like a medicine.” Proverbs 17:22. Also in Luke 6:38, we read, “What we give will be given back to us.” When you give a smile, you will receive a smile. When you give of what is great expense to you, your reward will be great. Your father in Heaven will see to that.


I received this in an email. Supposedly they are the words of the Rev. Paul Killingsworth, pastor at Yuma First Assembly.


My cares are always lightened when I see a loving smile. And this little grandson of mine certainly has that smile. It is pure joy.

Pacifier iPhone

It doesn't take long to develop a relationship with an iPhone.  It is the Twenty First Century Pacifier.

By the way, this all boy fellow isn't intimidated by pink.

The triplets didn't have anything so fancy as an iPhone to keep them satisfied. Times were hard back when they were the age of Caleb now.  My, that was 8 long years ago...in the old days.  They turned 10 today.  Happy Birthday Ashley, Aussie and Mason!  

Can You Read?

As I've said before, Caleb loves his PaPa, but occasionally he and I have a few moments  together that make my heart fly.  Here we are in Civic Center Park in Ft Collins. He was in a posing mood, so he sat still for a few pictures. 

I like the way my page turned out. I decided to scan some of my clothing to make digital 'papers' some time ago. I've not used many, but this one caught my eye today. The one with the salmon color was a shirt I had at one time. Not only do I like the design, but the texture pleases me as well.

My title  today, Can You Read? was chosen because I think that anyone who can read, should read the following book by Edward Klein.

The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House exploded onto the New York Times best-seller list — and was #1 for SIX weeks in a row!

And while you are reading, you might run over to a local Chick-Fil-A and support their business, which has been attacked by those who would shove their lifestyle down the throats of the rest of us. Why do you think they can't just keep it to themselves? What is their purpose for raising such a fuss?  Could they just choose to eat elsewhere?

We are to live at peace with all men when it is possible.  But it is hard to live at peace with people who will not have peace, but want dominance.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. Matt 22:37-38

Look Alike

I had not noticed the resemblance before, but in this picture, Chelle looks just like her grandmother (my mother) did at her age. And it was also natural to see Grandma Curly behind a camera.  

I'm anxious for Chelle to see this because they had a very special relationship. Chelle is much like her grandmother in many ways.  All these things skipped a generation.  

Praise God for families.  His plan for a mother, father, children, grandparents, aunts , uncles and cousins gives a child security and a feel for who they are.  

PaPa's Boy

I am apologetic for railing to post a blog layout last night.  Not that it makes or breaks your day, but it weighs heavily on me, since I promised myself I would blog each day this year.

The situation  was this: I had to choose between saving 70% on my book by meeting a midnight deadline, or publishing a blog post. It wasn't really a hard decision to make when pressed for time. About 5 days ago, I received word that a sale was on at My Publisher and the deadline was midnight July 23. I had way more than the 100 pages I needed to make my book, but there had been activity after activity since April, I had jumped from one to another without adequately covering each thing.  So in order to have my books chronological, I had to go back and fill in the blanks with layouts. So in just a few days, I had to make about 20 pages. I sat at the computer most of that time...other than when  I was at church or  Curves, and the few hours I slept each night.

I have lots of extra layouts now, many I'll never publish here.  Tonight I've chosen these pictures of Ron and our grand baby boy, Caleb. I was completely honest here. No matter how joyful it makes me feel to see the two of them having so much fun together, I still have a little twinge of jealousy going on in my head.  But  Caleb is partial to his PaPa and I cannot compete.  Really, it is okay. I love both of them!

May God bless you with a loving, forgiving attitude. Forgiving others is the best medicine around. Holding a grudge hurts a person worse than it hurts the one who is disliked.    Let it go. Ask God to help you.

Iridescent

When  we had all gotten ready to go to Naturealm, Ashley came out dressed in the cutest tights I had ever seen. She looked striking in them.  

When I started working on this layout, I tried to fine some papers, etc that would look good with her tights. I came up with a new collection I have from Scrapgirls by Ange Campbell, called Iridescence. I think it coordinates well with her  outfit.

I need to start doing this blog earlier in the day, not that I have spare time then, but by this time of night, my brain starts to fall asleep. And tonight is no exception. I could nod off sitting right here in my chair. 

Instead, I believe I'll drop everything and head down to our basement with the cat, knowing that she needs her sleep.  Maybe I'll talk myself into going to bed early.

Posing Mood

Caleb was in a posing mood the day I got these great pictures. He was also enjoying the big rocks and the shade at Civic Center Park in Ft Collins.  

I'm cutting this short tonight because I have been on the computer most of the day and I'm actually tired of it. There is a another book deadline upon me and I don't want to miss it. It is a whopping 70% off at My Publisher until this Monday night. I've already scheduled some fun between now and midnight the 23rd, so it will be tough.  

Must get some sleep so that I can be my joyful self tomorrow.  Good night and God bless...as Red Skelton used to say as he ended his TV show. Whatever happened to the good old days??? They've turned into the Bad New Days.  

Hurry Up/ Catch Up

So far, we've had a wonderful and busy year. We had special event after special event until I had pictures piling up all over. I even lost a file of 241 pictures from April 27 when we were in CO because I misnamed  it..left out a couple of punctuation marks.  

There is a special on at My Publisher that I don't want to miss, so I'm trying really hard to get up to date with my layouts.  It was pleasant finding the pictures, but it sure is putting me more behind that I thought I was.  Looks like I'll be sitting at this computer nonstop for 2 or 3 days. Meanwhile my email is piling up, so if one of you wonders why your inbox is not being hit by me...that is the reason.  

Love this action shot of Caleb, I took  in April in CO.  

Speaking of Colorado, I'm sure you have all heard of the terrible act by a very disturbed man who shot movie theater patrons during the newest Bat Man movie.

Many are trying to say that we need to make it illegal to have guns. Well if we should do that. Only outlaws will have guns.  And we surely do have plenty of them these days.  

I received an email with a good point today. It is poor quality, but if you click to make it larger, I believe you will be able to read it just fine.

May God bless you all with a very nice weekend.

The End is Near

The saying is, you are as old as you feel. I've  taken that a bit further and say, "You are as old as you want to be".  Sometimes, we might not feel really young, but we want to do something youngish anyway.  I had been wanting to go to Cedar Point for quite some time, so when I was able to take the triplets, I was elated. Now a certain member of our family doesn't want to be young and hasn't for at least 20 years, so I need the kids for an excuse to go out and play a little.  We left him home.

Just this month I first got the news that the Space Spiral and the Disaster Transport are in their last season and will then be removed from the park to make way for a new winged roller coaster. Read more here .

I feel privileged to say I  rode the Space Spiral Tower in its last season.  Greg and the triplets also climbed aboard the Disaster Transport. If I had known at the time that it would be gone after this year, I would have ridden it as well.

When I was much younger I feared the sky ride, but was able to free myself of that phobia by making myself do it a few times. It is the best way to get an overview of where everything in the park is located.

Greg, the kids and I were in that 'basket'.  Chelle was the photographer.

I didn't ride Ocean Motion, but got lots of pictures, none of which are worthy of a scrapbook page.

Well now you know that the END IS NEAR for the two rides at the park. I'm hoping and praying that the end is near for Barak Obama's presidency and the do nothing (but bad) Democrats in congress. That will not happen if we don't get out the vote.  If you are considering not voting because you don't really like either presidential candidate, think about this:  We have seen what Obama has done. Things just keep getting worse.  He is spending us into oblivion. We must have a change.  This time we need a change for the better.  We MUST vote him out.

Rummy-O

Chelle and I love to play 'board' games. We have played Rummy-0 since she was a young girl.  We both consider ourselves to be pros, well maybe not that, but we are very good at this game.  It can get complicated and late at night, when we finally find time to  sit down at the table with it, our brains are  sometimes a little less that agile. But, we thoroughly enjoy racking our brains as we find new combinations of numbers which will allow us to go out...lay down  all our tiles. 

This year, Ashley has shown an interest in learning OUR game. A mother-daughter game turned into a 3 generation game. For a short while, it was a little slow, but Ashley caught on and she made me look like a snail. Her hands flew and the tiles found new places so quickly that I was dumbfounded. After all, this had become a big thing  to us and this little girl was playing so much faster than we could think.  She got so good that she even beat us at one round.  Our egos were deflated a bit, but we were proud as can be of her.

We used to be proud  of cars made in the US. And we still can be of some, but the make that 'belongs to the people' GM (Government Motors) is making a car now that can be the laughing stock of the whole world. 

The Chevy Volt cost GM ( that's us) $750 million.  With that price paid for development and production, the car should cost over $100.000, but the sticker price is $41,000 for that baby.  That's no small piece of change, you know...especially now that our economy has been thrown into the dumpster.  But it still is less than 1/2 what it would take to break even.  Forget about a profit...of course the government doesn't need to make a profit...if they need money (or just want it) they just raise our taxes.  

We need to shake things up in Washington...elect none of the Democrats nor any of the few Republicans who are spending our money like there is no tomorrow...or there might actually be no tomorrow.

Dream Big

She'll be 10 in a few days, then only 6 more years until she can actually drive, Daddy. So do hold on tight.

Did everyone who earns a living in a business you started yourself feel that slap our president gave you on Friday evening while speaking in Roanoke, VA?  I quote, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else make it happen."  All of you out there who did start a business know  the sacrifice of long hours, time and energy . And I doubt many of you did it without risking everything you had financially. And most of you who know people who have started businesses know how hard they struggled for years to make it happen.  But not our president. Poor fellow evidently never knew anyone who began a business from nothing.  Is he talking about Affirmative Action?  Because I never heard of that helping a young businessman, at least none who succeeded.  

The government can not start and build business...look at the Post Office, for example.  However, they can very well prevent business from doing well by taxing them to death. And of course, killing businesses, kills jobs. Does anyone have any idea why that wouldn't be a plain as big ears on the side of a man's  head?

Calypso

These picture were taken May 30th at Cedar Point. I don't want to be an 'old' grandmother, so I rode as many rides as I thought would not be too hard on my aging  body. I've always liked this one. So I jumped right in a car.  However, about 2/3 of the way through, I was wondering why I  did it.  When the ride ended and I walked to a nearby bench, the kids ran around to the entrance and bounded back up on that platform and ran to other cars. Since the park was not busy that early in the season, they had no competition and rode over and over again, I think at least 5 times.

Not only am I trying to work with my older photos first, but I wanted to use my newest collection  from www.scrapgirls.com. It is Visionsary by Amanda Fraijo-Tobin. I love the artistic feel and bright colors.

 I installed some new styles today as well, but alas, I couldn't use them on this layout. It's too bad because, if I don't use supplies  soon after purchasing them, I often forget that I have them.  I have too much.  I certainly no longer need to buy anything more, but they draw me like a boy to dirt, or a girly girl to ribbon.

It's nice to know that I really don't need more papers, elements, styles, etc and that if for some reason I could no longer buy any, I could still scrapbook forever.  I don't need the web  to do my work,  but I will need electricity, so I'm hoping that we can get a president who will not kill private enterprise and competition, so that I can continue to get the electricity I need to keep our family history in scrapbook pages. I know many third world countries and others not considered that poor, have black outs regularly. That  could very well happen to us, since those in command right now don't want us to have more than the rest of the world. It is embarrassing for them and they have to apologize all the time for our country's 'wealth'. I prefer keeping our wealth and building more, while lifting the rest of the world the best we can.

Our Day at Cedar Point

The day was May 30th and it was a perfect day for the park. The weather was wonderful and it wasn't yet crowded. We had a day full of fun riding everything we wanted to ride when we wanted to ride it.

I'm in a hurry tonight. Ready to hit the bed and be done with the day.  

Right now, I'm quite  a bit bothered by  a new development concerning the U.N.World Economic and Social Survey. According to them, the needs of developing  countries are not being met, and new taxes will help fight dilemmas like 'climate change'. They suggest global taxes.  Now isn't that just what you wanted to hear right now? You don't pay enough taxes to your city, county, state, country.  Now you need to pay a world tax as well.

If we had fully dedicated American statesmen in office, I'd not think another thing about this, but knowing what is going on in our government  right now, I'm actually frightened they will get us messed up in this thing.  Not only  would we be sending our money who knows where, we would have no say in how it was spent. I say NO to a world tax.

The Littlest Cowboy

I've been on a roll, doing lots of layouts, but today everything came to a stop when I mentioned to my husband that my font keeper had eaten all my fonts AGAIN.  Ron has been on this machine all evening trying to rectify the situation and I've had to do other things.  I've found that when I've finished my days work and don't have a computer to entertain me, I'm a mess. Tonight I had to do logic puzzles. There is no need to start a book, because I'll never take the time to finish it.  The computer creating bit, has definitely changed me from left to right brained.  But I'm still smart enough to vote for Romney in November.

Beth takes Caleb to a farm class and he has discovered horses.  One day this week he got to ride a  big horse for the first time.  These are pictures of that occasion with Buzz.

Chic-fil-a Eat More Chikin

If you've been here before, you know that I am a scrapbooker and my idea of a good blog page includes a layout.  However, this is so cute that I can't wait even a day to make a layout. The 'kids'  made this picture today at Chic-fil-a. There was some type of deal that if you dress up as a cow, you could eat free.
Well that was a price Chelle was willing to pay, so she gathered the family, then she, Greg and the kids  dressed in bovine clothing with  little signs around their necks like the one the restaurant cow wears.    I've heard of singing for one's supper, but this 'takes the cake', so to speak.

Chelle is very creative and she had a lot of fun with this little project. It's a good thing that most families would never make that much effort or the chain could have gone out of business today.  Let's see. two 'adults' and the triplets...that makes 5 free meals!

I bet your day wasn't this exciting.  If it was, let me know. Maybe you belong in a blog.

Cruisin'

I still have lots of Cedar Point pictures for layouts. We had great fun and I'm enjoying the photos, reliving each one.

 Yesterday, I did a layout that really pleased me, but I messed up and saved another one on top of it. I think, perhaps I could have rescued that older file had I known what I was doing, but alas, I did not and screwed it up even worse. Now it is gone into never never land and I've had to redo it...to no avail. I couldn't even find some of the embellishments I'd used before.  Oh well, as they say, "Live and learn".   I should have used that one today, but my heart is not in it. Maybe later, I'll make it more pleasing to my eye.

It was interesting  to hear that Mitt Romney told the NAACP the same thing he's told everyone else, unlike many untrustworthy politicians, who tell one group one thing and another something completely different, knowing what they want to hear.  Honesty is so refreshing right now and I hope they appreciate that. Trustworthiness is one of the biggest things some of us look for when voting.

Yes, he plans to throw out the national health care  plan. He told us why. It certainly makes sense. We don't want to end up like Greece or any of the European countries whose economies are in the tank right now. We need to do things differently and quit spending ourselves into a big hole.

We want jobs so that we can afford our own health care, where we can choose our own doctors and make decisions without getting the approval of a committee of people somewhere who know nothing about medicine.

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe from an overreaching government.

Kayaking

I was elated when I found this on our granddaughter Lauren's Facebook page. The color is so vivid. I don't know where the pictures were taken.  Hopefully she will check out the blog soon and give us some info.  No last names please.

Our electricity was out when we got home, so its been a 'different' kind of evening around here. Of course my computer was not working, but surprisingly some of  our lights worked, so did the refrigerator and the big TV.  Since we'd been warned before we got home that our next door neighbor didn't have power, we knew to call the electric company. We had to wait a while for the truck to pull up to the pole out front...yes, we are deprived.  Our wires are not underground.  But then I suppose that made it easier to do the repair  work. But then perhaps we wouldn't need it fixed if they were underground.  Who knows?

I learned something new. I didn't know that there are three lines coming into the house, one ground wire ( no surprise), and there are two others, for two phases of electricity. It is possible that only one phase is damaged and the other half works. It only took me 69 years to learn that and if it hadn't happened to us, I would probably never have known.  Okay, is there anything else I don't know?  :)

Life's Little Moments

 Some of our activities are planned as learning experiences. Some are planned to take advantage of nature's beauty. Some  are planned just for shooting photos.  But life's little unplanned moments offer us memories that can last a lifetime...especially when they are captured by a camera. This little game of catch is one of those  times.

Our God has provided us in this country many pleasurable  moments.  But we can not live in the past.  We must keep our nation free for the little ones who are still growing.

If your child's love of God, true family and this nation is being undermined at school, perhaps it is time to consider home schooling.  You still have time to get a plan together by fall.  It might be an especially productive endeavor if you are no longer in the work force. There are many very good organizations out there to help you be successful.

The Lake House

 I've gone all the way back to May to get pictures that I hadn't yet put into layouts.  I would like to finish pages quickly enough to publish another book by the 16th.  I have LOTS of good pictures from the last couple of months that are crying out to me every day, as I scroll past them in Picasa.  Never the less, it won't happen. I do have things to do besides sit at this computer. 

These were pictures taken of our daughter, Chelle, her husband, Greg, Ashley and Mason while they were visiting the last part of May for Ron's birthday. We had just taken a ride around the lakes.

 Aussie had his head buried in a video game at the time and not only skipped the boat ride, but missed having his picture taken by me. To hear him tell it, he may have posed for enough pictures already that he'll never have to smile for a camera again.

In the news, the administration is trying to make us believe that 84,000 jobs is a great thing.  However, not only is that number much too small, leaving the unemployment percentage the same, but many of the jobs are part time and not up to par. But even worse, during the same time period 85,000 more people went on disability!  

Even though Obama says these are good numbers, he announced today, he is going to extend the Bush tax cuts one more time.  I say Bravo.  These tax cuts are the same ones that he had been blaming for the cause of our recession in the first place.  It is amazing to me that anyone believes a word he says, especially today when all we have to do is go back to the video of what he said last week, last month, last year. He just says whatever his advisers think his audience wants to hear.

Don't be deceived. He is against any tax cuts and has repeatedly raised taxes, while hiding them or in the case of the Health Care law, calling it something else.  If he is reelected, you can expect nothing but more and more taxes. 

High taxes in one of the main reasons our businesses are not able to stay here and provide the jobs we need.

May God bless you with a good night and a wonderful new morning. 

Why?

Cell phones are good for lots of things. I like that it helps us to remember to tell about some of our daily experiences. On the way to dinner with friends one day last week, we spied a homemade sign on the back of a work truck. Sitting in the back seat, I reached in my purse for my camera to get a shot, as Ron held up his iPhone.  We did not miss that one and here are the pictures to show for our speed.  

I believe if you click on the layout, it will enlarge enough to read that sign.  If not, I've spelled it out for you in the text.

Makes an Impression

Yes, ORU (Opinions R Us) makes an impression wherever we go.  We just hope it is a good one. We doubt that everyone feels as strongly as we do that we could straighten out the world, given the chance. It they did, we would have already done it!   

We know it is wrong to think more highly or oneself than we should; but we also understand that as a group, we have all the bases covered.

Thursday, five of us were blessed with time to get together to celebrate not one, but two birthdays. July was a big month for having extremely smart and talented girls who could grow into ORU recruits. :) As a matter of fact,  four out of nine members were born this month. I'm sure if we got our heads together, we could explain the reason for that.

Tonight   I got a special surprise at 9:30. Evidently some of our near neighbors hired a professional fireworks show at their home. So we had a double celebration of Independence Day this year.  As I watched, I realized that others around us were firing up as well.  Of course, none could compete with the big show.  There were hoops and applause all around the lake. I couldn't help but let off a few whopees myself.

I was feeling really satisfied July 4th, until I heard...and understood...the comment, "This could be our last celebration of freedom." I pray that does not happen.  Not only must you vote in November, but we must encourage others who love this nation to vote as well.  We could also invite those  who don't , to leave.

Heat Wave

Part of  Caleb's Farm Class this week involved a hayride.From the look of the second and third picture, I think he found out he liked it.

Fort Collins had been suffering from high heat, but it has cooled to a pleasant temperature now. It is our turn to fry. And they literally fried an egg on the sidewalk on the TV news this morning.

One could make jokes about this terrible weather and some do, but when we're in the midst of it , it's hard to laugh at them. 

We are feeling the heat from all directions...and the thermometer just measures the literal temperature. The heat that will really make us miserable is coming from Washington as they continue to add pages of regulations into the Health Scare Bill. They are making it up as they go along and they've already written more than 13,000 pages...and they are not finished.  The IRS, is hiring lots and lots of people (with your money).  They will be the ones enforcing all of these rules, since the bill is a TAX on us... the biggest tax increase ever on earth!

We still have  a chance to stop this out of control bill...but November 6 will be our last chance to escape. The IRS will be coming to get us.  And you thought they were scary before.

As we suffer with these over the top temperatures, remember to pray for our troops wearing military uniforms  in areas of the world where the temperature rises far above the 100 degree mark. May God bless each one with whatever it takes to survive such heat.

Psalm 33:12a "Blessed is the nation where God is the Lord."

Big Bird

It's been a pleasant day here, even though the weather is anything but nice. It has been over 90 way too many days to suit me.

I just found some pictures on one of my cameras that were begging to be scrapbooked.  This is one of them, or actually a combination of two.  Since we had no one to take our picture, we shot pictures of the Welsers and they photographed us. It is wonderful to have the Adobe program for scrapbookers, PSE10, which does lots of little tricks, like combining two photos.

This morning ORU celebrated birthdays of two of our members and I shot several pictures that must be done up soon.  Meanwhile, I still have photos from May and June when the kids were here. I will catch up. I will catch up.  I will catch up.  I'm trying to instill positivity in my life...while of course, missing the grammatical mark by ending sentences in a preposition.  Okay string me up.  Oh, there I go again.

There is a bit of thrill in the air in our household.  Ron just got the computer he's been wanting for some time. We have to keep hoping that all the hope and change that has smothered us these last four years will lift in Novemeber.  Until then, anything we can do to lift our spirits and the economy can be justified.

July 4th

We did all our celebrating the 4th on the first when the fireworks were set off over the lakes. So today, while Ron attended to all his Wednesday commitments, I had a free day...no Curves on holidays.  

I've been far behind on my scrapbooking and feeling pressed.  But today, I was playing 'catch up' and did several pages with which I am happy and anxious to share.  However, since I try to just post one layout a day, there are many that never make it to the blog.

One thing I did before sitting down to the computer, was to set up the tripod and take my own picture with the page I tore out of our daily newspaper this morning. It was a full page ad for Hobby Lobby...one of my favorite stores.  Not only does it have really cool stuff (How do you like me advanced vocabulary?) but they are godly people who are also very patriotic.  Naturally any Christian who really thinks about  living God's word would be a very liberal person in their giving and doing for others and a very conservative person in their politics these days.  We must preserve our freedom to worship.  

When you enlarge this picture, you will see In God We Trust written in large red type in the middle of the page.  That made my day and also made me realize I need to go shopping at Hobby Lobby. I hope you do as well. 

Still in the news: Obamacare or is that Obama(s)care?  This is the most important topic now with the election coming up in November.  We must vote to preserve our freedom to choose our own doctors, etc.  I for one certainly do not want several bureaucrats  and lawyers standing between me and my doctor.

I do not feel like surrendering my choice and becoming a 'unit' under the control of the federal governmental, which cannot so much as run the Post Office in a responsible way...or even the DMV.

Farm Class

This farm is one of the good things about living in Ft Collins, CO. They offer a farm class for pre-schoolers that is a big hit, especially with Caleb, who takes it all in as he accompanies  the teacher from one place to another...unlike the other children who prefer to stick close to their parents.

He is an independent, confident, well coordinated little fellow...and this grandmother is very proud.

Madison Rising

It has taken me years to adjust to this house, but I think I've done it.  

We stood in the backyard overlooking the lake and watched the fireworks last night. It was the first time we  didn't go to the other end of the lakes in the boat to see them. It takes a while to get there and we were experiencing thunder showers until it was nearly too late to make it...and some of our friends decided they would just as well stay here. So we did.  Although we are usually right under the big show, the fire works were nice, even from here.

So you see, we have already begun our celebration of July 4th, Independence Day. We really should celebrate every day and work to preserve the liberty that we enjoy in this country.

I'd like you to watch this video by a rock band who has its own version of The Start Spangled Banner .here  I appreciate this band that loves their country and is not afraid to let that be known. 

God bless you all this week as you consider what freedom means to you.

Girls lIke Steiners Too

Ashley rode with her grampa on his Steiner with the new 'bucket'. Is that what that contraption on the front is? I'm not sure if she liked the tractor best or just being with her grampa. In any case,  her facial expression is one of pleasure as she and Grampa rides around the yard.