I woke up feeling ill this morning.. really ill. I went to bed sick too. A nasty belly ache from what I think was the ice cream I indulged in earlier that evening. I'm lactose intolerant, and foolishly figured I could eat that ice cream without any repercussions.. I was wrong. So this morning I had this brief period of panic thinking it was a gall bladder attack, and I'd have to go to the hospital for treatment.. and me, with no health insurance yet. So as I sipped on my ginger ale, I prayed that this would not be the case. It was when Wendell got up and I told him my dilemma, he suggested it was more likely the ice cream. Ah, yes.. the ice cream.
8. Thankfulness~ it's good to give thanks unto the Lord, so the Psalmist says. Boy, am I ever! I'm so thankful this was just indiscretion on my part for eating something I actually KNOW will make me physically ill for 12-24 hours till it leaves my body. Thank you Lord for keeping me well now. Lesson learned~ use Lactaid before any dairy.
Thankfulness extends into so much of my life, and I can't help but be joyful for the blessings therein. I have a wonderful bunch of kids and have been given 10 grandchildren who are all unique and interesting and beautiful. Awesome.
We have a home that has brought us a quiet contentment with being who we are and where we are. We have little income monetarily, but it doesn't matter.. we are happy, there is enough to pay the few bills we have, and then some groceries to keep us fed. We have a warm home not just from the gas furnace and 2 little electric heaters, but there is a certain warmth about our living space that draws me into it when I've been out and about.
It's home.
Reliable transportation is another thing for which I'm thankful. Our little Honda was reliable and got us through a blizzard last year, but Wendell felt we needed something much moreso as in 4WD.. so we got the KIA this year. I keep wondering if we will be able to make all the payments on it, but so far, the money has been there for us. It's not as fuel efficient as the Honda, but it gets us where we need to go. We don't go a lot of places and stay home a lot, but it's there and ready when we want to travel.

It's here! 1-1-11.. How fun is that?! I stayed up to ring in the new year with Wendell. Times Square on TV watching the ball drop.. 4-3-2-1- HAPPY NEW YEAR! Over a million people there for the celebration.

Actually, I prefer to be at home on NY eve.. traffic concerns me.

I was impressed to see Amy's FB post that said Annabelle, soon to be 4 yrs old, made it to midnight to welcome the new year.

4. Family... wow.. they all are such a blessing to Wendell and me. In fact, each one fills a different shaped spot in our hearts making each one very special. They are thoughtful, kind, warm, loving, generous, and I don't know what I'd do without them.

We've lost some precious members- Irene Divelbiss and Uncle Bob Imm.

5. Friends.. I have met new friends on FB this past year. When I joined , I was among a small bunch of people I knew and I played the games. Things are changing.. I now have 217 people who have requested to be on my facebook (most of them anyway) and have become close friends with several. I found a lot of my family there too. Of late, things have become so busy that I haven't been playing the games. I don't miss it.

I continue the old friendships I've had over the years. Technology makes it easy to stay in touch almost daily.

I am blessed with friends and thankful for each one.

6. Home~ oh, this one is a great blessing. As of December 21st, 2010, we have been 'at home' in our new place. We both agree that *this place* is really home to us.. never have we felt as content anywhere we have lived. I love the spaciousness.. we can have 15 of us together and not have to bump into another person (unless we want to). I'm still trying to decide what to do with family history.. and will be needing to find a table to use as a work area to put the books together as they should be.. but it's a never ending hobby.. what can I say?

The addition of a new back porch extension was a super de duper good choice. We sit out back and watch birds, coons, deer, and other wildlife. 2 nights ago we watched a solo deer step up onto the little cage and stretch upwards to get to birdseed which was atop it. Wendell said early last evening, that one deer brought 2 friends and they were planning on dinner there, but he walked out the door, and they ran.

As of January.. I think~ Thomas, the cat, has been with us for a year. I think we are sissifying him, as he now greets us every morning on the deck looking for food and drink. He spends his days sleeping in a cardboard box wedged into a plastic tub layed on it's side. It has a towel on the bottom of the box and then a fleece blanket for warmth.. and he obviously loves it. When the snow came down heavy, I noticed it was blowing into part of his box, so I covered most of the entrance with an old pillowcase, and now it's warm, dry and private too. On Christmas day, we gave him a special canned cat food dinner and he LOVED it! So for NY dinner today, he's getting another one. Thomas rarely leaves the back porch any more~ though he does go to the birdseed area to stalk the birds. He normally sleeps all day, eats, and takes care of business, and then back to the deck. We have created a sissy tomcat. He even has a new catnip mouse in his box from Carlow and Cricket , and he LOVES them too. I gave him his first play toy mouse on Christmas day.. he promptly picked it up in his mouth and placed it in his water dish.. go figure?! The one from the Z's cats that has catnip, he picked up and dropped it off the porch.. so I picked it up for him and hung it on his box. Next thing I know, he's got both toys inside the box with him, and his paws wrapped around them. He's purring a lot more lately.

7. Seasons~ Don't you just LOVE how God brings us seasons in order? He says in His word that He will do that till the end. I don't have to fear 'global warming' as unbelievers don't grasp what God has told us. We can expect the weather and seasons to change like clockwork.. as sure as summer follows spring.. every year. Everything in order. Surely 'the spacious heavens declare the glory of our God' and 'the firmament displays his handiwork'. As I think about my childhood, we had much worse winters.. and since I've been wife to Wendell, I can remember at least 3 blizzards~ and we lived through them just fine. Sometimes we have cold winters, sometimes mild ones. The mild ones are dangerous because the viruses don't die off like they do when we get a good deep freeze.

I wonder why our esteemed leaders think they can legislate the weather.. 'For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.'

"To tell the Christ-rejecter that God loves him is to cauterize his conscience as well as to afford him a sense of security in his sins. The fact is, the love of God is a truth for the saints only, and to present it to the enemies of God is to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs. " - A.W. Pink

Just thinking about how very blessed I am, and my family too.
God has been merciful to us over this past year, provided our needs daily without fail.
1. Health.. not just my own, but Wendell too. I'm so thankful that I haven't had to add any more meds to my short med list, and neither has Wendell. In fact, Novartis is helping him by giving him his insulin at no cost now, which took a huge financial burden from us.
2. Health Insurance.. thankful that my old CPAP tried to play tricks on me so that I now have a brand new machine which will hopefully last me another 8 years. If not, I now have a back-up machine. My health insurance paid for this new one~ something I wouldn't have been able to do easily in the near future. I got my blood work done 'under the wire' today and also covered by my insurance. As of midnight tonight, I have NO health coverage. I have a plan though..
3. This year brought us new transportation- the KIA~ nice 4WD vehicle. Sometimes I miss my little Honda, but the KIA is nice, drives easily, and Wendell loves it, so that's enough for me.
More later.. next year as a matter of fact..

Christmas 2010

The Ugly Ornament Contest..

Looks like a submarine, eh?

It's Vulhop's winner this year..

yeah, it's an ugly for sure.

Zombeck's entry..it won cutest..

Not sure it's really 'cute', but

it's another winner..

This one is my entry .. I don't know..

I think it's pretty ugly..


Actually, this one looks more ugly to me
than ANY of the entries.. a Zombeck
offering..

And mine.. I bought this at Kohl's (?)
for 50 cents.. It was marked $8.. I
took it to the cashier and said "I'll give
you 50 cents for this ugly thing, no more..
take it or leave it".. they took it.


Joyce brought Apples to Apples..
It was the hit of the evening..

These are Amy's pictures from Christmas Day

at their house..

Annabelle

David

Paul, Annabelle, Joyce

Yoda.. Yoda?

P3

Maybe the Grinch? I see some resemblance..

It's NY eve.. in a few hours, it will be 1/1/11 How about that!?
We have no plans to go out, but will likely spend this evening watching TV (maybe) and getting our tree and Christmas put away in a tub for next year. It was a lovely holiday season.
I'm enjoying my new jammies.. from hubby. And a subscription to Ancestry.com . WOW! Nice. I hope everyone had a good season.
Today I'm doing clean up.. slowly but surely. It's not hard, just tedious. In the mean time, I've made probably THE best chicken noodle soup of all time. It's scrumptious! I'll do that again. Even hubby loved it, and he doesn't like chicken that much.
The tree comes next.. down and put away for another year. Next year gifts will be home made.. I invite my family to do so as well. We spend so much for gifts. Now it's time to go back to old fashioned gifts.. from the heart.

Christmas Day 2010

I've had a productive Christmas day. And a quiet one. Tonite I've been wondering about whether I will be in church tomorrow.. I ache.. no... that doesn't even begin to describe it.. I'm in PAIN! My joints are aflame.. could it have been the cookie I ate before supper? I was so good all day.. Wendell too.. and as the evening has progressed, we are both aching and groaning.. WHY? Why on Saturday evening.. before the Sabbath?!

I pray I get solidly on my feet, and anyone reading this might pray for us also.. We desire to be in church in the morning and visit with our kids later in the day..

It's a most beautiful day today.. 23* and it's snowing. No complaints here for the moment at least.

Missing our Valentine family who will be home for the holidays. Will expect pictures eventually.. when things die down there.

Am wearing a new set of fleece jammies from Wendell.. sure did need them and they feel sooooooo nice!

Dec 25..
Birds coming to feed

Bird treats..

Today I finally put out some bird seed.. and the birds came.. and came... and came.....

Thomas snuggled into his fleece blanket
in his box on the back porch.


His box is under this old pillow case that
covers the opening so the snow doesn't
come in. I think he likes it.


What I found yesterday when I was
bringing the trash can back from the
road. The lid was open, and we had
some light snow.. those are cat paw prints,
and they lead back to our house! That
silly cat!



It's not a small trash can, but a very large
one that would be hard to get in and out.

It's official...

It's official.. winter is here. UGGH. Not really my favorite of seasons.. but I will try to refrain from doing too much complaining for the moment. It's not particularly bad out at the moment. Not much more than 2-3" of the 'white stuff' out there. It's 27* and comfortable. Birds are all over the place and trying to get into Thomas' food and water. So I tossed out some slices of bread for them and set out another bowl of water- but so far, not many takers. Hmmmm.
Looking forward to a family get together this weekend. Snacks and good fellowship. Very layed back.
Can't locate a good 'ugly ornament' yet for our contest. Gotta check out a couple places tomorrow when Wendell has to go out for a doctor appt. We have decided on a 'white elephant' gift exchange also- anything goes- some item from around the house, bought, or home made.. should be fun.

It's been a little over a month since I last blogged. Facebook is taking it's toll on my blog. I must try to keep contact better here.

Winter is here. It arrived with fury and though the temperatures are below freezing and there is snow on the ground, we are at home and cozy warm. Spring.. where are you?

Weather conditions have kept us from worship for several weeks, but it looks good for this weekend- no storms coming ..yet. I miss our church family and the teaching we get there when we can't get out. This is the result of aging and becoming more frail.

I thought this week that I might have an abscessed tooth. The pain was excruciating and the tooth was sensitive to both cold and hot. I sensed it also could be sinuses that are causing the problem.. so I treated it myself with a hypertonic solution of saline and swished and spit hourly or more till the pain subsided. Amazing. The pain lessened almost immediately and though I still require pain meds for my back, those pain meds also treat whatever pain might be lurking in my mouth also.

Christmas... package to the kids up north is sent.. and the local kids shopping is done. Not a lot, but a remembrance for them. Next year I want to do a 'home made Christmas'.

The weather forecast says no new storms coming our way.. happy happy day! So glad we can anticipate attending worship tomorrow~ one of our freedoms I cherish so.

Valentine visit

Gayle
Esther

Eli

making cookies..

Gayle, Eli, Isaac