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.

Every Picture Has a Story to Tell

I do very much love to scrapbook pictures of my family and friends, but I also do some of myself as well. Every time I publish a book, I try to make an introductory page with my own picture.  

I really have been trying to get another book to the publisher. After all, I'm quite behind. The book I'm working on includes photos that were taken back in July!  I'm dragging my feet these days. I'm getting slower and slower at this job. If I were working for someone, I would get fired!   

Generally the last page I make for the book is the introduction. That is not the case this time. All of a sudden this idea came to me for my intro page; so I stopped and made it before I forgot. I'm doing that a lot lately...the forgetting thing.  So now, I hope by the time I get the whole book together  I don't forget I have the introductory page done.