First Sledding.

The weather forecast is calling for a little snow tonight, but  I doubt it. We've probably had all the snow that counts for this season. So here we are looking back on January 13 when Ava went  sledding for the first time.  It was a beautiful snow ands perfect for making snow angels, and sledding.

Snowflakes

Paulette does a fantastic job with the bulletin boards at church. She is very creative and she has the right tools to do professional looking work. This board says: “A snowflake is one of God’s most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together.”

It just so happened that we (V and me)  were both dressed in our cheetah prints  when we met in front of that snowflake display. 

To make sure you know, Velma and I are NOT snowflakes. We stick together all right... on the right. We are conservative all the way, strong women, not swayed by liberal trivia. 

I had been wanting a picture of Brandon with his lady friend Hannah and her cute son. I am certainly not disappointed.  They are a very handsome couple and the Florida backdrop is wonderfully sunny as well. Sending my best wishes to you all.

Huh?

Well I've studied this face for quite a while now and  I've got no answer. What is this attitude you've taken, Mason? I do like your haircut. But your look...? What are you thinking?
1.  "Is this the way to look cool or what?"
2.   "I don't appreciate your attitude, so I'm copping my own."
3.  "Should I go back to this barber again?
4.  " Sharp look, but would  I pay this much again?"
5.  "I really don't think you should  mess with me."
6.  "Don't  touch a hair on my head."
7.  "Who stole my coffee?"

Happy With Photo

I  don't know how many of  us there are who  hunger for pictures of our grown grandchildren the way I do.  I know they have very busy lives, so I understand. But, I surely would like to get more pictures of them.  This is the latest one  I came across of Lauren and  her  Pat. I absolutely love it and had lots of fun turning it into a layout.  

I am so thankful for  Photoshop Elements which does everything I want  to do with my photos. I like the results when  I use blenders, but don't do it often enough. 

I just wish I were not losing the ability to remember  all the techniques I've learned over the years.

I also wish I could work as quickly as  I  once  did.

Sorry about all the I's. Sounds very self centered. I'm on a pity party  tonight, when I really should be showing concern for the future of all the young people, who have been confused by teachers who had an agenda.

Words With Friends Friend

My mouse died tonight and  I'm handicapped without him. I surely do miss him. He makes my work so much easier.

Judy is my Words With Friends competitor. She is the only one with whom I play. It takes a lot of time, but  I really like to play with her.  I like the rest of you as well, but  I just don't have  time to play with everyone. And she lets me win sometimes.

Marrowbone Lake

Aussie gets to visit  new places while he is practicing his driving skills. This day, he had driven to Joelton,  Tennessee. He really wasn't very  impressed. His comment was "It is the second ugliest  body of water I've ever seen." When  asked the ugliest, his humor showed in this answer, 'The pool at the Econolodge." Sure does tug at my imagination and make me want to stay  miles away from that inexpensive motel.

Last Month Birthday

Last month the few of us ORU members who were still in Ohio met to celebrate a birthday at the Cheesecake Factory. Sad we didn't have more present, but we had a good time anyway. The star for the day was  Phyllis...the beautiful blond on the left in the top photo.

Girlfriend Day

    We at ORU are a busy bunch, but we will still make any excuse to get together. Today we had a legitimate reason for  going to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We were celebrating the birthday of one of our own...Sali. She is the one on your far left with the red hair. 

     I'm the shorty in front, where I always have to stand just because I am short. I really need to concentrate on getting taller, but here at ORU with all our expertise, we do not have an expert in that; although all the rest of them seem to have mastered it some how. 

Actually I'm not the only short one, but the other height handicapped one is leaving on a cruise tomorrow and just couldn't pull herself away from packing long enough to eat cheesecake.  I think we ate enough to make up for her absence however. 

I do believe they  appreciate our business there. They don't even have any objection to taking our picture. They humor  us that way...probably realizing how important we think we are to the world.

Happy Birthday, Sali.

Love That Icing

This is a blessed little girl. Not only does she have a Momma home with her, but her mom is a great cook. Her mother is also a teacher. Who could ask for more? Well, yes of course...and her daddy goes to work and earns a living so that all this can be so.

Julia and her brothers are not only learning to choose good things to eat; but they are also learning a lot about cooking. Occasionally they all help make delicious things. On this day, Julia, in the kitchen with her mother, did what all kids want to do, lick the spoons, etc. Can you tell she REALLY likes  the icing for this cake?  I would tell you the flavor, but I forgot to ask. We can just imagine our own favorite right now.

Competition

Caleb started out the new year playing Rummikub with his dad.  I'm getting a little anxious thinking of the competition he will give me when I see him next time. I really need to practice playing this game.  I need to seek out a friend to play with, so I will be able to compete. It was bad  enough to have triplets who are wanting to beat me ... and of course my own kids still keep me one my toes.

Now the younger ones are after  me as well.

I know this sounds like I think I should win all the time. Well I do try, but it just doesn't happen that way. We are a hard game playing family, so the competition is tough.

Christmas and Magic

I love the humor. The Greene triplets are fun to have around. Humor  is one of their attributes. And then comes the magic. Not sure what that is about, but when  I hold one of those Rubik cubes,  I think it would take magic to work one. I just  don't get it! And then Aussie sets out to work it in just a few seconds. How many does he have? Well, I believe he got 10 for Christmas, but that is far fewer than the total.

Nintendo Switch

I got Caleb a game for Christmas to go with another present he was getting...Nintendo Switch. As you can see in the top layout, both of the boys were delighted to get  the gifts.  In the second layout, It looks as if they all are tuned into it.  Praying it is a good activity that will not take up more than a healthy amount of time. I certainly don't want it to get in the way of Caleb's reading. I'm happy he is such an avid reader. He loves his books.

Practical Gift

What could be more practical than a pouch for keeping teeth that have fallen out?  It will make it much easier for the tooth fairy to find the tooth and a safe place  for her to pay  him for  each tooth.

Well, I'm not sure what is going on here, but I am about to fall asleep and it isn't even midnight yet.
This is one really tired grandmother.

Oliver, I'm glad to see you receive so many cool gifts this Christmas. We all love you.

You are right if you saw this Thursday night and think it looks different now. It does. I did the last one late and was not thinking clearly. Once I had posted it, I knew it just wouldn't do, so now this morning, I redid it. Is not digital scrapbooking wonderful?

This is the first one...Just too busy, the background was the focal point and the mood wasn't right.

The Daniel Tiger Show

Julia's dad watched Mr Roger's Neighborhood on TV when he was Julia's age. Now she likes to watch a show that was modeled  for  that show. It is called the Daniel Tiger Show.  She was
very happy to open this present which was a set of figures  for that show.I love the look on her face as she studies them.

When her mother asked her which character was her favorite, she answered, 'Everyone!"

Tippy Toe Dancer

It is so much fun to see Julia in this Christmas gift. She knew what to do with the tutu right away.  She certainly wears it well. Looks like she is anxious to start ballet lessons. And thankfully, she has a grandmother who can probably work that out. (Not me, by the way.)

Julia puts on this tutu and voila (walla)  she is a tippy toe  dancer.  So sweet. Julia is our little star.

And  on a different subject, our presidents a big star in my eyes. He gave another wonderful speech tonight in Texas. There were thousands of  people there to cheer him on. I love the way he is working at putting God back at the head of this country. Things had been getting worse and worse  after taking God out of our schools, our government, our hearts etc. It is encouraging to see Him getting some respect and honor again.

Thank God for the freedom to worship him as we please.
I pray that He wins more and more hearts in the years to come.

Little Girls and Dolls

Little girls like their  dolls and this two year old knew exactly which doll she wanted for Christmas.

She described it well for Santa and she got it. This is it...the one with a purple bow! She is a happy little one.

We were talking with her on FaceTime tonight and found out she has been practicing showing three fingers. She will be three in mid March and she wants to be ready.

Rummikub

For those of you checking this on your cell phone, I'll just copy the journaling from this layout.

Oliver got some cool Duck Tales toys. Then, this is a scary thing, Caleb unwrapped a travel set of Rummikub! Now why, you ask, is that scary? Well, that is a game we play when the grandkids are here.  It gets harder and harder fo me to win.  Now I will have to try to beat Caleb as well. That is a big deal. We really work hard at our games!

That was on Christmas morning. I imagine by now he is looking forward to beating me...

Really, it is a blessing to see my grandchildren grow into bright and competitive people.It beats 

'group think' for sure.

As a child  I had a teacher who had escaped from behind the iron curtain and she taught us to think for ourselves. What a blessing that was. I thank God for her and  all the others who brought history to life.

Cotton Candy Machine

Cotton Candy is generally a summer time thing, served at fairs and amusement parks, but Santa brought  one  to this house at Christmas and this fellow enjoyed eating  it...and goofing off a bit at the same time.    His little sister enjoyed her's as well...

One of the evils plaguing our  country these days is the idea that babies can be dispensed with at will.

As our  President Trump so rightly said, "All children born and unborn are  made in the holy image of God." 

We do not have to right to murder. And it is hard to imagine how people could be so wicked as to want to  kill innocent babies.

Christmas Eve Tradition

Not only did I get pictures of these sweet ones' Christmas Eve, I got a video as well. It is difficult to get good stills from videos, but I did get a few and the best part about it is, I got to hear what they were saying. I've used that in the text for the layouts. It was heart warming for me to get to hear them talking to each other as they celebrated their Christmas Eve tradition of opening presents to  find new pajamas to wear that night while they wait for Santa to bring a lot of presents. Julia being 2 did not remember doing this before and evidently  Oliver didn't realize they do this every year, since he had to ask if they could wear their new pajamas. 

I haven't said much recently about our president, but I am quite happy that his state of the union message was well excepted by the those who watched. 

These numbers are especially good for Trump when you look at party breakdown of #SOTU viewers:

* 43% Republican (97% approve)

* 24% Democratic (30% approve)

* 30%  Independent (82% approve)

Tis the Season

Julia in her Christmas dress was on her way to see Santa with her brothers. She was  enjoying downtown Ft Collins. Standing by the big bear, she noticed the big fish in the 'pool' and she made a bee line to it. They certainly make good props for photos.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Greg took this picture of his wife and their triplets on Christmas morning. As you can see, everyone was quite happy. While their house was being restored from the mold infestation, they had a nice home in which to celebrate Christmas. And as they say,' home is where the heart is' and their heart was there with the family.

Looking For a Rainbow

Well we've had some really rough weather so far this year. Winter started very late, but it came with a bang. Back on the 8th, the weather forecasters were calling for a storm...rain storm.  I was rushed that afternoon to get some things for life group, so  I took off for the store with just a few minutes before the storm was to hit.  I managed to stay dry and got to follow this rainbow as well. Glad  I ran that little errand.

Since then we've had  heavy snow , high winds and very low temperatures. Now they are predicting highs in the 50's within a day or two.  Truly entertaining  to see all this. Happy I'm at a stage in my life that I can just stay at home when I want to do that.