Make it Match

So what do you do with an orange pumpkin in a girly room? Why of course you paint it!
At least that is what Ava did. Looks pretty good to me. Good job Ava.

Harvest Farm

Harvest Farm has a Fall Festival that is a lot of fun for the little ones. Here are several layouts showing our grandchildren and a variety of activities at that festival.

In case you may remember, back on October 23, I posted a page from this same outing.

The farm itself has a purpose that is much needed. I've  copied the following straight from their website.

" Harvest Farm, a 100-acre farm located in Wellington, Colorado, provides the opportunity for up to 72 men to achieve self-sufficiency through the New Life Program. For many men coming out of homelessness and addiction, the Farm’s fresh air, rural environment, unique work therapy opportunities, and location away from the city’s temptations provide an ideal place to refocus and begin anew.
Each October, the Mission hosts an annual Harvest Farm Fall Festival to invite people from the community to explore the Farm, learn about our programs, and enjoy fun fall festival activities in a family friendly environment."

In my opinion, this is a mission worthy of support.

When it comes to scrapbooking, we have to remember, it is an art, not a science. Since that is the case, an 'artist' has a lot of leeway. One person's dream, may be another's nightmare. I can't say that this layout would be either. I'm just saying that ever since I made it, I've questioned my decisions.

Tonight I finally decided to leave it the way it is, but as I drug it onto the blog, I started having second thoughts. The colors are fine. Everything goes along with the season. It is symmetrical. BUT IT JUST ISN'T RIGHT. I think I know why now.  It is just too busy. All the froufrou takes the focus off the subject!

By the time I get enough pages to make my next book, I will probably have changed this layout; but for the time being, here it is, with all my doubts. 

I couldn't do it. Here is my next try:

Sorry to say these two sisters are not able to get together much.  It makes me happy to see them both here; but it was a sad day that brought them home. Their cousin, older than Chelle yet younger than April passed away and they were here for his funeral.

This is Ashley. I don't have a Christmasy picture of her yet, but I'm hoping to have some soon. In the meantime,  I'm posting this one of her posing with her Grandmother Gayle's  dog Meggie last month.

Today was a good day for my scrapbooking. I made quite a few layouts. That is an especially good thing, because at present I'm pretty far  behind.

Our Mathmetician

Not that I understand this, but I do know that it is quite impressive. I am so not into Math, that this may as well be magic to me. I have the same puzzled mind as when someone pulls a rabbit out of a hat. I just wonder what happened? How did he do that?

I do know enough to be proud of him and pray that everything goes well for Aussie when he finishes high school this spring with an associates degree and enters college life at Vanderbilt.

One Fine Day

Our daughter April and her husband Tim drove up from Marietta to see us yesterday. It is great that they now live close enough to do that once in a while. It is a 2 hour drive, but that is so much easier than four like it has been for many years.

While they were here they wanted to see her uncle Jerry, her dad's brother, so they took us all to dinner together. It was a wonderful evening and we are now looking forward to the next visit.

Dinner was at her other uncle's restaurant, Angie's... everything from the greatest pizza ever to filet mignon.

Standing in Line

All the narrative is right here on this page. No need to write it again and besides I'm too tired.

I imagine if I were not 76 years old, this wouldn't be quite as funny.

Merry and Bright

Although my day was very long, tiring and  frustrating on the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with  our ORU group at Leo's Italian Social on Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls.  Our dinner was great, our waitress accommodating and most of all just being  together is one of the best things that can happen.

Phyllis, Sali , Becky and Jane behind Paulette and myself, we smiled as our waitress snapped this shot.

Here is the Grinch

Earlier  this month when the kids went to see Santa Claus at his workshop in Fort Collins, they ran into the Grinch, Mayor Augustus Maywho and Martha May Whovier. Not only had  they stolen Christmas, but  they were  out to steal Santa's visitors as well.

Caleb, Oliver and Julia enjoyed the meeting, but were soon ready to go  on to the workshop. It was time to tell Santa just what they wanted for Christmas.  It won't be long now until they find out what it is that Santa is  bringing them this year.

They have not been disappointed in the past; so chances are they will have a very good Christmas.

Snowy Weather

This is perfect weather for this time of year.  However, here in OH, we have yet to get a ground covering snow. Any that has fallen melted as soon as it hit. But in Colorado, there was snow on the ground on Halloween! And they've had a LOT more since then.

I love this picture of Oliver in this costume (Chewbaca) that his mom made for him. It works great  for that cold snow.

His older  brother and little sister were just as cute, but not quite as warm. 🙂😉

I've not made Halloween layouts yet, but you must see how very cute they were for Trick or Treat.



                                    

Julia was Doc McStuffins, Oliver was Chewbacca and Caleb was an Ewok.

Life Group Dinner

It  is wonderful when friends can get together and study the word of God. We learn a lot and we bond.  Part of our evening is given to eating and talking about what is on our minds. We have a lot in common, so there is always very interesting conversation, many times about the news.

As you can see our meals served casually on Corelle dishes.The food is simple, or I should say simply great. Each person volunteers to bring something for the dinner and it always ends up very tasty. This time you can see the entree was baked rigatoni. We had salad and fruit and Italian bread. So good, and I didn't even get a shot of the dessert. It was delicious as well.

The following is what is written on the layout itself:

Almost Every Tuesday night our
life group meets at  our house.
We meet and eat and discuss the
latest news before we study God’s
word together.
We are more than friends, we are
brothers and sisters in the Lord
and we truly love one another.
Everyone brings something to share.
Just look at my plate. And
of course there is desert as well.
I bet you wish you could meet with us.
Well, we do as well, but the house only
holds so many people.
Sorry. Maybe you can start your own
Bible study. 10/29/19

Oliver is Six

Yesterday was Oliver's 6th birthday. He was able to choose exactly what he wanted and that was a chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream icing.

It was on Tuesday, a school day, so his mom took him a special meal at lunch time with a very big hamburger.

Happy Birthday Oliver. We love you very, very much.

A piece of Art work?

This is pretty amazing picture. I will write what is in the small boxes here, so that you can read them easier. It is important.  The picture alone could be  misunderstood and very disturbing as well.

Ashley: I'm a pice of artwork? Someone put me in a museum.

The next pages show the reason for this bizarre hair..

She tried to find a hairdo for her film project for school.

They would be filming her play, "Alexis Eclipse". 10/7/19

Senior Pictures

Ashley's Senior Pictures came out well. Here are three of 500 pictures. Well, maybe not quite that many. But,  there was no shortage of photos taken; making it very hard to pick a few.

Remember how expensive senior pictures used to be. Now that everyone carries a camera everywhere they go, and take pictures  constantly, so that we don't need any more pictures, these studio pictures are even more expensive and they take many more than they once did.

Can you now imagine having three graduates at the same time? As with the triplets? Im not  sure, they are not up for a go fund me account.  Just a joke, but ... We are just getting started. College comes next. Thank God for good scholarships.

Last One Home

Julia's brothers are both in school this year, leaving only Julia and her mom home now. Although  I'm sure Julia misses her brothers quite a bit, she and her mom seem to be making the best of it.

Senior Year

The triplets are in their Senior Year now. It won't be long until graduation...at least I feel that way. Even though it will  seem longer to them, it will still go too fast.

This picture is of Mason.  He is photogenic.  I love that smile.

He has already been accepted to an instate college for next year.

How is the world can time go so fast???

The Pine Tree Barn

The Pine Tree Barn is a family business that has done well in Wooster, Ohio. It is a quality furniture store and features lovely gifts and more. It is a pleasant drive from our home. I don't get there very often; but this year, I've been twice, about a week apart in November. This  picture was taken on the first trip. I was with my ORU ( Opinions R US)  girlfriends.

We always fit lunch in as well at their Granary Restaurant in the same barn. It offers  fine luncheon cuisine. I personally love their French onion soup and their muffins.

While eating one can view the lakes, Christmas tree farm and the Killbuck Valley.

School

School started for Caleb and Oliver in late August on the 27th. Since it was Oliver's  very first day of school, I added the layout of him  at recess.

Ava Played in the Leaves

Ava had a big time playing the  this huge pile of leaves in her back yard at the end of September.  I'm not sure how they had so many, so soon, but the did!

By the way, our leaves are still falling. It just doesn't seem to end with all these oak trees.

Thanksgiving 2019

I have to say, our Thanksgiving was great.  It was a pleasant drive down to our daughter's home in Marietta. The day before, the weather had been hazardous  with wind gusts up to 50 mph, but it was very nice Thanksgiving day.

April and her husband Tim had their sons Jarod and Mark there with their wives and the grandchildren who were lots of fun.

The  food was especially yummy and I didn't have to cook a thing. I thought it would make me feel bad that I hadn't contributed, but actually I really appreciated the day off.  It was a blessing  to see our family doing so well.

The sad thing is, although  I wasn't working, I didn't get many pictures at all. I really don't know what has happened to me, the one who generally took zillions of photos wherever I went. Lately,  I've just not stepped up to the plate, but truly just didn't even think of taking pictures. Oh, I did get a few. While I generally would have taken at least 100, I took maybe 6 and all of them were of four out of 14 of us. It is just crazy.

I will make a layout soon, I hope with those few pictures.  But now, I want to post something and I decided to use a layout I made in August of a trip Jarod, Hope and their 4 children made to Europe.
Here it is:

The four children who are all in the second picture are from top to bottom Sam, Ryan, Reagan and Quinn.

It was great visiting with them all yesterday and hope it isn't too long before we can see them again.

Big Snow

Yesterday I posted pictures of our grandchildren suffering in the heat of Fort Collins in early June...as much as kids can suffer with large ice cream cones. This time, I've done a layout of them as they worked on a snow fort since God sent them 14-16 inches of snow. Looks like they can adapt well! And look even their dog, Rado, is into this fun.

Hot and Cold

I read there were 14 inches of snow today in Ft Collins, Colorado.  I also saw  pictures of our grandchildren building a snow fort in their front yard.  I don't have a layout yet, so I'm posting pictures made  in early June this year  of them suffering from an extra hot 87 degree day also in Fort Collins.

Football Hall of Fame Memories

The main thing  I remember about the Football Hall of Fame is the size of the football players.

When Caleb was  there, he was able to show the mammoth size of those players. Look as he stands inside a mold showing how large  just their lower bodies are.  And  the other picture shows the size of their hands.

My Friend Maggie

From the day she was shave,  her hair started growing. It wasn't long until she looked  like these pictures. While her hair was still shot, she was still very pretty. She didn't look like a Havanese, but to me she still looked really cute.  

Her hair has continued to grow and now that we've had some family cold weather, she is just fine. I'll post a more recent  picture soon.

Trouble with the Last Layout

I have no idea why this happened. Nothing like that has ever happened before as I posted a layout, but the last part is jumbled.  I tried to fix it three times to no avail. So just ignore that part. The story is, she has lost a lot of weight and gained confidence and we are very proud of her.

Turkey Trim Challenge

This is a picture of our daughter Chelle. The story that goes  with this is absolutely amazing. Since the print on the layout is so small,  I will copy it here.

I was challenged by my health coach to celebrate my Health journey with the "Turkey Trim Challenge" I am entering the holidays having lost A LOT of lbs...and MORE importantly having gained confidence! These turkeys weigh the same amount I've lost this year; and I had to get 2 strangers to take my picture because the first person only captures 3 turkeys. Wow? I'm surprised at how heavy they were!
It you have goals you would like to reach, then don't wait for the New Year? Reach out and I will connect you?

<-----------apparently a="" be="" but="" can="" compliant="" have="" i="" lost="" lot="" more="" p="" say="" tell="" that="" to="" ve="" you=""> (Maybe even more impressive, I put on makeup to go to Walmart.)

More of the Same

It's not that I don't have enough pictures to work with these days, it is just that this picture gave me a chance to get really silly. Yes, I posted it last night, but I've had more fun with it today, so here we go:

First of all, I finished what I had started yesterday:

But then I had even more fun:

I Do Cook, But Not That Much

I guess I'm just desperate to post something tonight. This is about our Life Group which we really love. I do not have the time to finish this; but I'm posting it now, hoping to come back and finish it tomorrow  or at least the next day.

Where Did The Time Go?

Being 75 isn't as easy as I would like it to be. Many times  I wonder why  I haven't done one thing or another. Then I realize, I work only about 1/4 as fast as I did just a couple years ago.
Tonight I'm posting more summer pictures. It is not that I don't have any later ones, but I haven't gotten around to making layouts yet.

Keep those pictures coming though. Even if I don't get them into layouts right away, I still enjoy them so much...and who knows, maybe this is how I can spend my time in heaven. That would be fine with me. I could make layouts to my heart's content, with no deadlines. and no computer problems.

One of the things we like to do most  here at Portage Lakes is to get out on the water.

Lightning bugs are a big attraction here for a couple of months each year. Even though we don't have a many as we once  did, they are still fun for the kids.

Football of Fame

While  John and his family were here in early August, John and Caleb went to see the football Hall of Fall, just a short trip from our home.   It was something they really enjoyed. The rest of us stayed home and enjoyed the backyard. I really don't care much for  football, but I do  get a kick out of seeing our kids get their thrills there. It is something that Caleb 'has always wanted to see' and John had not been there since he was a little  guy himself.   All I remember about that trip with  John many years ago was the size of the football players rings. They looked like my bracelets.  I'm not sure  these guys even saw them.  But then they saw much that we didn't see those many years ago.

Memories on the Lake

At the top we have pictures of Oliver helping Grampa drive the boat. They are on Turkeyfoot Lake heading toward the house we built the year before our son John, Oliver's Daddy, was born. John lived there until he went away to college in 1998 and when he came home in the summers. He got married a few years before we moved from there in 2004.  It was a lovely place to live and play. The house across the 'road' from the lake faced the setting sun...that you see in the top photo. 

I still miss that house. We had built it like the house we moved from in Boston. 

We made many happy memories there; but recently I've appreciating the fact that I no longer have to carry groceries from the garage up to the main floor.

Bubbles

  

When our little ones come to visit, one of the things they like  is a  bubble bath. Oliver and Julia had plenty of  bubbles!  Julia was the first in this time. She had bubbles galore. But, when it was Oliver's time, he  must  have used the rest of the bubblebath. Just look at all that foam!  They both had a good time, and  I'm sure they'll  remember this for a while.

Sweater Weather

Maggie had never wanted to wear a sweater, but here she is with a Christmas sweater we got her several years ago. Today, the weather is perfect for something like this; however Maggie will no longer wear it. Her hair has now grown out sufficiently that she no longer  needs it.

There is a story to this, that I've not mentioned. Back in the summer, I had trouble grooming her.  It took too long and my back was giving me lots of trouble. She needed combed daily because of her long, thick hair. She got so tangled that I was too embarrassed to take her to her groomer. So I took her to her doctor to see what could be done about it. I left her there and a few hours later got a call from his office. The lady who was  doing the work said, "We will have to take it short". She was talking  about her  hair. I thought by that, they meant maybe 2 inches long...but when I went to pick her up. I didn't recognize her. She had been shaved. So she went from a long haired Havanese to what looked like a short haired terrier. She was traumatized as well. This  picture was taken 4 days later. It wasn't cold out, but it seemed to make her more comfortable, much like a baby wrapped tightly in a blanket.

Her hair has now grown out enough that she is comfortable (but still less than two inches long) and even on a cooler day with freezing temperatures, she does not need a sweater.

O H I O

Copying from the layout at the top you will see that I love to be silly with the kids. I just don't get to see them often enough.

" I was bragging that I could still swing my leg up onto the kitchen counter. So of course they wanted to show me they could do that as well. It was FUN. But best of all,  one thing leads to another and check out the next page...

Next they had to show me they could stand up on the counter and they would all be taller than I am. And the very best part, the grand finale... We spelled out O H I O. They were all born in Colorado, but they are keeping their family roots here in Ohio.

Tram at Hawk's Nest

The layout at the top shows Beth and little Julia anticipating the tram ride from Hawk's Nest State Park, down 750 feet to the New River below, where they boarded a jet boat.

The second layout shows the absolute glee on their faces while they ride down, down, down to the river. John, Kim, April, Caleb and Oliver were also there for the ride.