Saturday, August 18, 2012
Truman Lake with Kevin and Cory
After we met them at their campsite, we drove over to the dam to do some sight seeing. Here, the guys are watching the BIG fish that live right below the dam.
Cory has a really nice camera that she bought while working for a professional photography firm, so she was trying to catch some good pictures of the fish and any other 'animals' or 'nature shots' she saw.
After some time spent at the visitor center/lookout above the dam we drove back to their camp for some rest time and a really great meal. It was a cool day, especially in the shade, and the camp was NOT full since it was early in the week. We had a relaxing, enjoyable day!
Their screen tent over their table.
Kevin let me borrow his new chair that Cory had gotten him for Father's Day. It reclined a little or a lot, and I had a nice nap in it and rested my 'new knee' from all the walking activity at the dam.
Busy preparing dinner.
Kevin did the most of the cooking over the fire, and Cory prepared her part at the table, or in the trailer It was VERY good!
Monday, July 23, 2012
One more photo from the State Fair
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Grieving Over Things That YOU Can't Change...
If you have kids, you can probably relate to that title...maybe even if you don't have kids.
It just gets frustrating, sometimes, seeing your kids struggle with life issues and you can not FIX things for them. If only they would learn to depend on HIS guidance and help! Did they not notice the struggles their Dad and I went through? And how when we tried to "Do it ourselves" it was NEVER as good as when we relied on Him to provide for our needs.
When I look again at my title...I realize that I am still learning that lesson...AGAIN! I cannot fix their needs, only God can! But I can pray! Pray for the one who just lost his job, for the one whose children seem to be rejecting God and living their lives for 'self', for the one who remains 'stuck' at his job instead of advancing, for the one who desperately needs to realize again that GOD LOVES HIM, for the one who is running away from what God has asked him to do/become, and the one who wants to serve the Lord but lets every excuse and reason take them 'off the path'. I would LOVE to see my kids totally committed to God. I MUST pray more for them!!!
Lord, help me 'get busy' with my prayer life!
I had a lot of other things to say when I started blogging today, but God has shown me during this process of putting words on the screen that He has things to say to me, and maybe through me. Thank You, God!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Get Away Weekend
Three friends and I --we call ourselves The Fab Four-- have been going together to scrapbooking crops and other events for several years. We usually try to get together for a week end in Branson in the Spring, too. This year, we didn't plan a Branson trip because we usually stay in condos where Ron and I are members, and this year we are using nearly all of our 'points' for a trip with our kids and their spouses to celebrate our 50th anniversary in August. We were all 4 disappointed to not be able to go on our annual adventure/gab fest/relax together/ get away.
Melissa, an RN who works in hospice care, had to go to Springfield to take a state EXAM at the end of March. It was for two or more days of testing so she was researching places to stay on one of those 'discount' internet sites and found a place with 2 beds, a couch that made a bed, and a kitchen for a 'reasonable' amount. She discussed it with Pansy and they decided to make a reservation for all of us on the weekend we would normally be going to Branson. Then they talked to me, and I talked to Earline and we were ALL able to go on THAT weekend. [I think it was "A GOD THING!"] We had a really good time. Melissa had to see an eye specialist the morning we left so her eyes were dilated the first day and she didn't feel the best for a while either. We ate an early dinner at the Heritage cafeteria and then we went to see "The Lucky One" at the movie theater. [based on a Nicholas Sparks novel] We loved it, and [based on the reaction from the rest of the audience] so will almost anyone! We made a trip by Target on our way back to the motel for some 'snacks' and other supplies and spent the rest of the evening 'catching up' with each other.
The next morning, after continental breakfast at the motel, we hauled our scrapping stuff into the room and set it up for 'work'. Melissa knew she would be having trouble after her eye appointment so she picked up some plastic canvas, a needle, and some yarn when we went to Hobby Lobby the day before and worked on a project [with lots of stops to rest her eyes] while the rest of us worked on our 'scrap' projects. We fixed huge sandwiches, and chips etc. for lunch and kept right on 'working' till around 2:30 P or so. Then we took a break to go to Mardels Christian bookstore. We could see Mardel's and Hobby Lobby from our front window as we were only a block off of Battlefield. We spent an enjoyable hour or two wandering around exploring that huge store! Afterwards, we drove out to Cheddars restaurant for our dinner. None of us had ever been to a Cheddars before, but I had been given a really great reccommendation for them from several friends so we decided to try them out We were all very impressed! The food was great, ample portions, good variety on the menu, reasonable prices, and our waitress was excellent, too. We went back to our room and our 'projects' until about 10 P when we packed stuff away and headed to bed.
Sunday morning we had the van packed up by 8:15A and ate breakfast, again, at the motel office. The church we decided to visit was only 4 or 5 blocks away and they had a 9 AM 'traditional' service. We were about 10 minutes early for the service, but we were made to feel very welcome with several people coming up to introduce themselves. The service was very worshipful- the music was great-, and the sermon was lively and biblical. All in all...a great experience.
After service, we headed back toward home with a stop in Buffalo for lunch buffet.
It was a great time together! Thank you Melissa for coming up with a plan for us to get together!
Melissa, an RN who works in hospice care, had to go to Springfield to take a state EXAM at the end of March. It was for two or more days of testing so she was researching places to stay on one of those 'discount' internet sites and found a place with 2 beds, a couch that made a bed, and a kitchen for a 'reasonable' amount. She discussed it with Pansy and they decided to make a reservation for all of us on the weekend we would normally be going to Branson. Then they talked to me, and I talked to Earline and we were ALL able to go on THAT weekend. [I think it was "A GOD THING!"] We had a really good time. Melissa had to see an eye specialist the morning we left so her eyes were dilated the first day and she didn't feel the best for a while either. We ate an early dinner at the Heritage cafeteria and then we went to see "The Lucky One" at the movie theater. [based on a Nicholas Sparks novel] We loved it, and [based on the reaction from the rest of the audience] so will almost anyone! We made a trip by Target on our way back to the motel for some 'snacks' and other supplies and spent the rest of the evening 'catching up' with each other.
The next morning, after continental breakfast at the motel, we hauled our scrapping stuff into the room and set it up for 'work'. Melissa knew she would be having trouble after her eye appointment so she picked up some plastic canvas, a needle, and some yarn when we went to Hobby Lobby the day before and worked on a project [with lots of stops to rest her eyes] while the rest of us worked on our 'scrap' projects. We fixed huge sandwiches, and chips etc. for lunch and kept right on 'working' till around 2:30 P or so. Then we took a break to go to Mardels Christian bookstore. We could see Mardel's and Hobby Lobby from our front window as we were only a block off of Battlefield. We spent an enjoyable hour or two wandering around exploring that huge store! Afterwards, we drove out to Cheddars restaurant for our dinner. None of us had ever been to a Cheddars before, but I had been given a really great reccommendation for them from several friends so we decided to try them out We were all very impressed! The food was great, ample portions, good variety on the menu, reasonable prices, and our waitress was excellent, too. We went back to our room and our 'projects' until about 10 P when we packed stuff away and headed to bed.
Sunday morning we had the van packed up by 8:15A and ate breakfast, again, at the motel office. The church we decided to visit was only 4 or 5 blocks away and they had a 9 AM 'traditional' service. We were about 10 minutes early for the service, but we were made to feel very welcome with several people coming up to introduce themselves. The service was very worshipful- the music was great-, and the sermon was lively and biblical. All in all...a great experience.
After service, we headed back toward home with a stop in Buffalo for lunch buffet.
It was a great time together! Thank you Melissa for coming up with a plan for us to get together!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Time Marches on....
My goodness, I did not realize how LONG it had been since I last posted!
There have been some significant 'happenings' in our family in this past year.
In September, Melissa and Dillon became the parents of a baby girl -Scarlett Marie. She has beautiful dark brown eyes and LOTS of black hair. She is a very pleasant, happy baby!
Dakota--Kevin and Cory's youngest son-- was married in November, on 11/11/11 to be exact!. He married Kasey, a girl he dated off and on since they were in high school together. They chose to have a small 'family' wedding out by the pond at Kevin and Cory's house, followed by "Brunch" with those present. Early in December they had a reception at Kevin and Cory's with friends and other relatives attending.
We had a different sort of Thanksgiving with our kids this year, too. Kris and Karl had given 'gift certificates' to all of us on Christmas 2010 to the restaurant Karl works at hoping we could all have a special evening together. As November rolled around, we realized that we still had not been able to plan that time together. A suggestion was made that we could do that a little before Thanksgiving and then everyone could spend all of Thanksgiving day with their 'other' side of the family. We were able to work it all out and had a WONDERFUL time together! Karl works at an UPSCALE restaurant in Columbia---a very FINE dining establishment. Great food!
We had Christmas afternoon and evening at Karen and Chris house. It was a little crowded, but we had a great time together! It is always fun to see the little ones playing together, and the big guys had a good time 'playing' and singing together on the 'rock band' game they played on the TV. Our traditional Christmas meal is very 'non-traditional' to most people, but it is one we like. Everyone brings a part of it and we put it all out--meats, cheeses, crackers and chips, several kinds of dip, a 'relish' plate, and a veggie plate, etc , and any cookies/candy you want to contribute. People 'go back' any time, for more, as they want to go.
In late January, Dakota and Kasey became the parents of Mila Ann [say Me lah]- a beautiful blonde baby girl.
She has quite a bit of hair, too, but it was so blonde at first that it was hard to tell how much she had unless you were holding her. She is growing and meeting all of her 'milestones'---cooing and oohing-- and happy! So now, Kevin and Cory have 3 grand daughters, and we have 3 great grand daughters!
But I am not finished with the Birth Announcements. On February 27th, Kirk and Stacy became the parents of Charleigh Reese. She was born on her big brother- Bostin's- 10th birthday. He got to choose her middle name from a list of names they were considering. Emily- the big sister- will be 5 in May. Charleigh [say Char lee] has a lot of dark brown hair, but it seems to be getting lighter. She is a very pleasant, happy baby too. Already making 'O's with her mouth and smiling!
So, now we have 12 grandchildren! And, we don't expect there to be any more. Now we will just wait for more GREAT grands! --- but not for a while!! LOL
There have been some significant 'happenings' in our family in this past year.
In September, Melissa and Dillon became the parents of a baby girl -Scarlett Marie. She has beautiful dark brown eyes and LOTS of black hair. She is a very pleasant, happy baby!
Dakota--Kevin and Cory's youngest son-- was married in November, on 11/11/11 to be exact!. He married Kasey, a girl he dated off and on since they were in high school together. They chose to have a small 'family' wedding out by the pond at Kevin and Cory's house, followed by "Brunch" with those present. Early in December they had a reception at Kevin and Cory's with friends and other relatives attending.
We had a different sort of Thanksgiving with our kids this year, too. Kris and Karl had given 'gift certificates' to all of us on Christmas 2010 to the restaurant Karl works at hoping we could all have a special evening together. As November rolled around, we realized that we still had not been able to plan that time together. A suggestion was made that we could do that a little before Thanksgiving and then everyone could spend all of Thanksgiving day with their 'other' side of the family. We were able to work it all out and had a WONDERFUL time together! Karl works at an UPSCALE restaurant in Columbia---a very FINE dining establishment. Great food!
We had Christmas afternoon and evening at Karen and Chris house. It was a little crowded, but we had a great time together! It is always fun to see the little ones playing together, and the big guys had a good time 'playing' and singing together on the 'rock band' game they played on the TV. Our traditional Christmas meal is very 'non-traditional' to most people, but it is one we like. Everyone brings a part of it and we put it all out--meats, cheeses, crackers and chips, several kinds of dip, a 'relish' plate, and a veggie plate, etc , and any cookies/candy you want to contribute. People 'go back' any time, for more, as they want to go.
In late January, Dakota and Kasey became the parents of Mila Ann [say Me lah]- a beautiful blonde baby girl.
She has quite a bit of hair, too, but it was so blonde at first that it was hard to tell how much she had unless you were holding her. She is growing and meeting all of her 'milestones'---cooing and oohing-- and happy! So now, Kevin and Cory have 3 grand daughters, and we have 3 great grand daughters!
But I am not finished with the Birth Announcements. On February 27th, Kirk and Stacy became the parents of Charleigh Reese. She was born on her big brother- Bostin's- 10th birthday. He got to choose her middle name from a list of names they were considering. Emily- the big sister- will be 5 in May. Charleigh [say Char lee] has a lot of dark brown hair, but it seems to be getting lighter. She is a very pleasant, happy baby too. Already making 'O's with her mouth and smiling!
So, now we have 12 grandchildren! And, we don't expect there to be any more. Now we will just wait for more GREAT grands! --- but not for a while!! LOL
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thank You , God!
Missouri has had some trying days this week with weather! Thank you, Lord for keeping our family safe.
Last Sunday was our oldest grandson's wedding. It was a simple, but beautiful, wedding. Dillon and Melissa chose some really cool music. Nothing at all" traditional"! They are Beatles fans, so there was some of that [the parents and grandparents went down the aisle to "When I'm 64!"] and some other groups that I should remember the name but I can't. Mostly I liked it because it was SO THEM!
Good friends from Webb City, Missouri came to help with the wedding. Daryl officiated as minister, and his wife Karrie was the wedding co-ordinator. They were on their way home Sunday evening and learned that the Tornado had struck Joplin. Webb City is just North of Joplin. It took them a couple of hours to go the distance it usually takes 8 to 10 minutes to cover because they had to go back roads around road blocks, etc. to reach their home. They had no damage there, but Karrie works for the hospital that was NOT hit in the tornado, and I am sure she has had a busy week! Their son did not come to Sedalia with them, but he was safe, too.
On Tuesday we went to hear Erika sing in her talent show at Heber Hunt. She was beautiful and sang so sweetly!
Wednesday morning we were taking our time with breakfast, and thinking about what we might do for the day when Karen called to say that there was a tornado warning out for Sedalia and Pettis County. We decided that it would probably be prudent to get dressed and head for the basement. We changed the TV to a local station, grabbed the radio and our flashlights, and some batteries for back up, and our books :) as we headed down the stairs. Ended up spending the rest of the morning and almost all of the afternoon down there.
When the tornado hit the South edge of Sedalia, it was VERY close to the new high school. [Jacob , Karen's son, was at the high school.] Then it tore a path through a couple of trailer parks and a sub-division before lifting about a half block from the middle school.[ Madison, Karen's oldest daughter, was at the middle school.] If it had remained on that course, it is very likely that it would have hit the hospital area, too. It did come down Northeast of the Beaman community in Northeast Pettis county and tore up trees and out buildings.
There were no deaths, and only about 15, or so, people injured--with minor injuries. There is several million dollars of damage left behind, but everyone is SO thankful that there were no deaths or major injuries!
Just want to say, once again," Thank You, God!"
Last Sunday was our oldest grandson's wedding. It was a simple, but beautiful, wedding. Dillon and Melissa chose some really cool music. Nothing at all" traditional"! They are Beatles fans, so there was some of that [the parents and grandparents went down the aisle to "When I'm 64!"] and some other groups that I should remember the name but I can't. Mostly I liked it because it was SO THEM!
Good friends from Webb City, Missouri came to help with the wedding. Daryl officiated as minister, and his wife Karrie was the wedding co-ordinator. They were on their way home Sunday evening and learned that the Tornado had struck Joplin. Webb City is just North of Joplin. It took them a couple of hours to go the distance it usually takes 8 to 10 minutes to cover because they had to go back roads around road blocks, etc. to reach their home. They had no damage there, but Karrie works for the hospital that was NOT hit in the tornado, and I am sure she has had a busy week! Their son did not come to Sedalia with them, but he was safe, too.
On Tuesday we went to hear Erika sing in her talent show at Heber Hunt. She was beautiful and sang so sweetly!
Wednesday morning we were taking our time with breakfast, and thinking about what we might do for the day when Karen called to say that there was a tornado warning out for Sedalia and Pettis County. We decided that it would probably be prudent to get dressed and head for the basement. We changed the TV to a local station, grabbed the radio and our flashlights, and some batteries for back up, and our books :) as we headed down the stairs. Ended up spending the rest of the morning and almost all of the afternoon down there.
When the tornado hit the South edge of Sedalia, it was VERY close to the new high school. [Jacob , Karen's son, was at the high school.] Then it tore a path through a couple of trailer parks and a sub-division before lifting about a half block from the middle school.[ Madison, Karen's oldest daughter, was at the middle school.] If it had remained on that course, it is very likely that it would have hit the hospital area, too. It did come down Northeast of the Beaman community in Northeast Pettis county and tore up trees and out buildings.
There were no deaths, and only about 15, or so, people injured--with minor injuries. There is several million dollars of damage left behind, but everyone is SO thankful that there were no deaths or major injuries!
Just want to say, once again," Thank You, God!"
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