Annabelle

I have good looking grandkids.. Annabelle played dress up.. and then took this picture of David. She did very well I think.

Games and Legos

When the Blair kids came on Friday afternoon, we had a tea party and then played some games..Paul is really good at putting those Legos together- he made that machine in the middle and then showed Papa and me how he could make a zipline that actually functions. David brought Legos too. We played Pizza shop on the kitchen table..he has a bus and bus stop too. Those guys love their Legos! I played Minotaurus (a Lego game) with David and Daniel. Fun times!

Tea Party

Tea parties are fun for grammas and grandkids.. We ladies like our china cups and teapot. The boys like the Star Wars mugs for their tea. I made at least 4 pots of tea.

More snow forecast..

God's Order

God's order may be observed in the hatching of eggs.
For example :-the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
-those of the canary in 14 days;
-those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
-The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
-those of the mallard in 35 days
-The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days;
-The gestation period of a dog is 63 days.
-The gestation period of a human is 280 days, (40 x 7).
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)
The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life.
If you try to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure.
Only the One Who made the brain and the heart can successfully guide them to a profitable end.
God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.
The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made.
God ordered that this animal would have a huge body, and for this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.
The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.
How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!
God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of fruit, vegetable, and grain seed sections and segments, as well as in the number of seeds/grains.
-Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundred fold - all even numbers.
God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed! Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence. Only the God-planned safe life is successful.
Only the life given over to the care of the Lord is fulfilled.

Genealogy

Family history is a passion for me I suppose. I have so much information and it's like putting a puzzle together piece by piece. Trouble is, the pieces are filling my 'office' to nearly capacity and I need to find a work space to put some of this together. It has been quite a few years since I sorted out , pitched, and put the histories in binders. Now, there are binders with data waiting to be put in other binders... forevermore.

Hubby bought me an update for my family tree maker software, and it came with 6 months of Ancestry.com. WOW. So while the snow is flying, I'm warm and cozy sitting in front of my computer searching for details of our families.. and adding my own notes.

The infamous "BRICK WALL" has been present for a long time.. as long as I've had an interest in family history. It involves only one person in the history.. Wendell's maternal great grandfather. Information is sketchy and more like obscure. His grandfather was Oren Scott Grove born 23 May 1865 in Perry Twp Jefferson County PA. He died November 25, 1955 in Butler County PA. I have visited the Rehobeth Cemetery in Armstrong County PA where he is buried. Besides his immediate family whose names are familiar, there is another headstone beside his that reads "Nancy Grove Smith~1835-1911" I have to assume this is his mother, but who was his father?

I checked the census records. The Federal census of 1870 revealed something interesting.. Nancy is living with her parents Jacob and Elizabeth Grove with 2 5 yr old children- Oran Neel and Mary C Neel. This HAS to be our family.. but who is Neel? Oren Scott was a twin. His twin sister was Mary Catherine Grove (Myers). So why were the childrens' surname listed as Neel? And who was Nancy's husband? Or was she married? Lots of unanswered questions.

Snow snow snow!!

It started a little after lunch. Snow.. it's normally a 4 letter word in my vocabulary. But today, it's heavenly~ beautiful!

It's coating everything it lands on, including our KIA. That's okay. I got the warnings over the weekend, and yesterday I ventured out alone to the grocery store and picked up some bread, milk, fruit, coffee, eggs, and pork chops to tide us over for the next few days till this stuff stops. Let it snow! I have nowhere to go!

Wendell got me a Family Tree Maker update and 6 mos of Ancestry .com for Christmas. I love days like this that I dare NOT venture outside any farther than the back porch to check on our little kitty Thomas. I've been spending hours uploading to Ancestry and to my blogs. I need to get this history out and to others who desire to know about our 'roots'. I've learned a few things along the way, and actually, have gained more information as I was perusing the Imm and Blair sides of our family. Fascinating!

Knowing this storm was coming, I discussed with hubby the fact that Thomas' box faces east because most storms come from the west. But today is different.. it's coming form the east and if we didn't do something quickly, he would end up with a box of snow rather than shelter. So we now have his box sheltered with an opening facing south that he can just bearly get in. He doesn't seem to mind it at all. I was concerned that he might try finding somewhere else, but he does like his box.

After purchasing a gallon of milk yesterday, we couldn't fit the old milk in the refrig~ just a bit over a cup left. So I poured it into a dish and gave it to Thomas. Oh.. you would think I gave him a royal feast! He LOVES milk! He has it nearly gone now. He saved some last evening and it froze solid. I caught him early this morning trying to lick the ice milk. So I brought it inside to thaw, and now there is just a tiny bit left in the dish~ frozen, I might add.

He is safe and warm inside his box where the snow can't get in no matter what, and he can bearly get inside himself.

Gonna watch some TV I think..

New Posting Imm 101

I have added obituaries to the Imm 101 blog for anyone who is interested.

Menagerie

We have owls. I know this, because I talk to them most nights when I go out to check on Thomas' water dish which is normally frozen and needs a refill. It is curious to me that they 'talk' back. I try to mimic their hoots and then they come closer. I usually can't see them, though some early mornings, I see them fly between trees ~ an awesome sight. They are fearfully and perfectly made.

Wendell and I have noted that the deer are perhaps less active, but they are still about our home. The tracks are unmistakeable. They have an area under the big oak tree all stomped down as if they held a party the night before. It makes a difference when there is snow. I have a small bowl of birdseed on the little hutch behind the house, and it's kind of humorous to watch the deer come up to the hutch, take a step up on a board, and feed there. Food must be scarce.

Not only that, but Thomas has been up there too. Wendell spotted him this morning atop the hutch seemingly feeding at the dish I'd put out yesterday with bacon fat laden with bird seed. Thomas *loves* birds!

I guess he had every right to dip into the bird feed, as they are constantly flying onto the back porch and down inside his shelter to eat his cat food. ! Animals are funny. This brings back the memory of down at the farm (Blairsdale) when I was feeding the animals.. the chickens ate the dog feed, the dogs ate the cat feed, and the cats ate the chicken mash. Talk about confused! No point in trying to stop them.. they are animals and do what they please as long as their tummies were full.

It is the Sabbath day, and the only Holy day commanded in Scripture. We are commanded to worship the Lord this day and to bring an offering.

It has been difficult for me to keep this commandment. I pray during the week that NOTHING will stand in my way of attending worship, but alas, I'm frail and human, and today I slept in over the 'sonic screamer' that went off early, but I must have turned off in my sleep. I do that during the week without thinking too. But today is a Holy day, and my frustration with myself is nearly unbearable. I had so much desire to be at worship. My spirit was willing, but my body was weak. My guilt is through and through. This should not have happened. I seek forgiveness.

The day is not lost however, as I have my Professor Hoffman Bible study to continue, and I shall do that today without fail.

9. Thankful for reformed churches within driving distance from our home. And for our pastors who preach from scripture each and every week. Feeding our flock is an ominous job.. pray for Vince this week.

Oh..wow. Another winter weather advisory for today through tomorrow.. 4-7" of the white stuff. Yeah.. I'm complaining again. Can't help myself.
You know, there WAS a time when I really loved this weather and looked forward to it.. that was a good many years back though. Nowadays, I look at it as .. gotta get out there and clean off the car with my new handy dandy telescoping brush made for SUVs. And that's not even before the concern that one inerrant step and my dear hubby could have a broken hip ~ or worse yet I could be on that receiving end!
Winter is not ALL bad- indeed the beauty of it is breathtaking by times, and the frigid temperatures kill off most of the viruses that are floating about. By the way , you DO use those wipes offered in stores now, don't you? They remove a lot of the viruses from the cart of the lady before you who was coughing, sneezing and had a temperature of 103*. If you didn't use the free wipe.. you too will be brewing flu viruses. Not a pleasant thought.
I find it interesting that I seem to have these rounds of physical ailments on Saturdays..that get worse Saturday night and cause me to give in to the stress on Sabbath morningn when I need to be at worship. I see it for what it is~ Satan's darts taking direct aim and hitting me squarely. This is war! I have a new determination and have been praying early in the week for no more impediments or blockades to be in my way on Sabbath morning.
Indeed, even with this latest snow advisory, I still have my determination .. but will ask you to pray for us also. For I know that God also wants us there in the morning. Perhaps not at OUR church this week, but we have the option of a shorter distance to the Gibsonia work. This one starts at 9:30am.. which means I'll be getting up super early in the morning to make sure my body is moving properly and the car is ready to go. There is one more option.. to become Methodists for the day as Alda White used to do when winter caused her to divert her travel to our church. It was a long drive from Kittanning to Upper Burrell.. much as it is for us.

These are powerful words. Do we really trust that much? Sometimes I'm actually pushed into it- cornered and no other choice than to trust the Lord will make all things good again.
This verse is so comforting to me.

Today is Thursday and I'm feeling good. I pray this will last right into the weekend. Today I have a 'todo' list. Me and my lists... I can hear you laughing now..
One of the items there is cleaning off the countertops since we had two parties here over the holidays. Every time I looked at them, I cringed and said to myself "I gotta get those counters clutter-free". Today is the day. I've been a busy bee, but taking my time and not pushing myself too hard.
The snow started falling a couple hours ago as the announcer on the radio said 'only a chance of snow flurries today and no accumulation'. I should have taken a picture of it coming down in big gorgeous fluffy flakes, and a half inch later, it's still here.
I don't mind this kind of snow. Anyway, I made a good hearty breakfast for Wendell and me, and then after the dishes were done and I got dressed finally, I took 2 big bags of burnables to the burn barrel and a huge bag of garbage to the can. I don't keep garbage around very long, but ended up emptying several waste baskets into one which made a huge package for the sanitation engineers to deal with.
Next is bacon. I got a good deal on bacon yesterday when I went for a few groceries. $2.50/lb. So I got two 2# packages and I'm cooking it as I type here. I like to cook the whole package at one time, then bag it and put it in the refrig. Most mornings, I pull out a couple pieces for us and nuke it making it dry and crisp.
Next on the agenda is cleaning out the refrigerator. Wonder what I'll find there? I haven't cleaned it out since before Christmas. Hmmmm .
We are having soup for lunch and BLTs. I splurged yesterday and bought a head of lettuce and a bunch of vined tomatoes.
Our house no longer smells of sauerkraut, but of savory bacon.
Mmmmmm!
I'm going to have to really be careful about my diet .. I got the result of my A1c done in December- 6.7 !!!! Yike! Gotta exercise and lose weight. I'm heading for Type 2 diabetes.

Today Annabelle is 4 yrs old

Okay.. so I'm a conservative talk radio junkie.. there are plenty of other things one could be.. and far worse. I confess that I enjoy Quinn and Rose in the morning followed by Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. And at 5pm every evening, I sit in front of the TV and watch/listen to another round of Glenn Beck who tells and shows me that our country is going to get worse before it gets better~ and we'd better prepare ourselves for the coming revolution. I do believe it's coming, but I pray it won't have the impact that the 'top down' people desire.
So, how would your life change if you were suddenly cast into the 1800s? Unable to buy food and supplies, could you survive? Survive without losing your life over it?
How can one prepare for these times to come when bread is projected to cost $24/loaf? And milk in excess of $50/gal?
Grocery shelves would be empty~ how would you feed your family?

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..