Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year - 2009!

From all of us
to all of you...
Happy New Year!!
May God bless you!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas 2008

From our house
to your house....
We wish you a very
Merry Christmas
and a
blessed New Year!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Just a little snow!

We were blessed with a beautiful snow storm today!
Probably about a foot of snow.


This was not a fun walk out to the mailbox!
Looking at it is great - driving not so much -
but especially not fun walking in it!
Good cardio workout though - so
I shouldn't complain!

A look up Jewell Road to the north.

This is one of the evergreens back by
the pond - love the look of the snow
weighing them down!

Sunday, December 07, 2008

A Visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus

We were so blessed to have
Santa and Mrs. Claus stop
by and visit with us tonight.


Here are Megan, Karsten & Sydney
doing a group sit with Santa.
They had already sat with Santa
and told him something they would
like to receive on Christmas morning.
Santa read the kiddies a story too -
it was about the First Christmas.
They heard the story of Jesus' birth
and were told that Santa is not
the reason for Christmas.
Not that they understood yet -
but they will!

This is Dave, Kim & Karsten with Santa & Mrs. Claus.

Michelle, Mark, Kaitlyn & Sydney with
Santa & Mrs. Claus.



Rich, Kari, Megan & Charlotte
enjoy sitting with Santa & Mrs. Claus too.

The kids were excited to see Santa -
and even gave him some carrots to feed
Rudolph and the other reindeers.
Santa & Mrs. Claus led us in a song -
Santa Claus is coming to town.
Later they led us in a round of
Happy Birthday to Kaitlyn too.

Santa brought each of them some pj's and
a little toy. These little ones are so
blessed!!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn - Dec. 2

Happy 1st Birthday to Kaitlyn!


What a cutie she is!



Here is Kaitlyn posing with
big sister Sydney.

Cannot believe a year has passed
since Kaitlyn was born!
Kaitlyn just spent her first night away
from mommy and daddy this past weekend.
What a trooper she was - woke about 1 a.m.
and grandpa went to rescue her. She was
looking at him like what are you doing with me??
When she saw grandma she jumped for me!
After a few minutes she was ready to go back
to bed. Good thing - grandma needs
her beauty sleep! ;-)
We are all looking forward to the
family gathering in honor of Kaitlyn's
big day - and won't she be surprised
when Santa and Mrs. Claus join in her party!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a great Thanksgiving this has been!
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner
with all our kids and grandkids.
We are so very blessed!
As Thanksgiving Day draws to a close
I'd like to remind everyone to try make
a difference in someone's life.
There are so many people hurting
today - physically, emotionally,
spiritually, financially - the
list goes on and on.
We have an opportunity at our church
to assist folks in our area in providing
their kids with a few Christmas gifts.
As I attend gymnastics with our
granddaughters Megan & Sydney I
see a list there of families they are
trying to assist - heartbreaking stories!
Maybe you can do a little to help
someone out! If you want to
help someone and don't know of
anyone - please give me a shout and
I will try to direct you - we do know
some single mom's and also some
single dad's who could use a helping
hand. And of course the Tree in
our church for helping with some
local families too.
We thank God for our many blessings,
and we hope that our attemps to bless
others is pleasing in His sight!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Friday, November 21, 2008

39 Years!

Russ and I were married
39 years ago today!
Wow, I really am
amazed at how fast those years
have gone by!
Yes, we were "babies" when
we got married - just
18 and 20 years old!
I asked him recently if he
wanted to do a cruise for
our 40th anniversary
(I figure why wait for 50 -
my folks did and then mom
passed away just 4 months too early).
He said no. Not in the greatest
mood that day I guess because
who in their right mind would
say no to a cruise!! ;-)
I told him then that the celebration
planning was now in his court.
Ha ha - we will see what happens
next year!
He has been as special to me
as I have been to him -
God Blessed us both and
we are grateful!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Ho, Ho, Ho!
You know Who is coming soon!
We are quite excited that both
Santa and his wife will be
coming to visit with the
grandkids early next month!
Hope they enjoy this visit as
much as their parents did
when they were kiddies!

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Baby, it is getting cold....

Fall is here - that is acceptable news
Winter is coming - brrr...I am not ready!
Got a call today from friends in the UP of
Michigan. They were expecting a half
a foot of snow today with more tonight
and more tomorrow. Yuk! Just
not ready for those thoughts!
Went to dinner this evening with
friends Laura and Gaylon.
Afterwards we went back to their
house to continue our chatfest.
Laura has been off on medical
leave and is back now working
parttime. While off she took up
her old hobby of knitting and crocheting.
How cool - she made a scarf for me!
No one has ever made me a scarf!!
I love it and look forward to wearing it!
Another old friend was in town this
past week - Jill. I didn't get to see her
though. She was in town for the funeral
of her former mother-in-law.
Will have to catch up with you next
time Jill!
We will be going to the Pistons game
Sunday evening. Maybe we will
get some pictures of Hooper! ;-)
Sure won't be getting any of Sydney's
favorite player - Chauncie Billups!
She calls all of the players Chauncie!
Maybe she will start calling them
all Iverson now. lol

Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween 2008

Thought you would enjoy
seeing our 5 little goblins!


This is our good witch Megan.

This is our Minnie Mouse Sydney.

This is Karsten the scary bat.

Kaitlyn is dressed as a little kitty cat.

And little Charlotte wonders what
all this is about! She has on her
1st Halloween suit.
The kiddies all went to see Grandpa
at work - they had to see if he had any
special treats for them! And
of course he did - thanks to Grandma!
This evening they all enjoyed a little
trick or treating fun - and
it was the best weather I can remember
for Halloween! As the evening began it
was about 70 degrees here!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

It is Time To Vote!

I have agonized over posting
this - and then decided
if it can be in my yard
then it can be on my blog!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Law of the Garbage Truck



A little analogy for you...
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped
out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded and
just missed the other car by inches!
The driver of the other car whipped his head
around and started yelling at us. My taxi
driver just smiled and waved at the guy.
And I mean, he was really friendly!
So I asked, "Why did you just do that?
That guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"
Then is when my taxi driver taught
me what I now call
"The law of the Garbage Truck".
He explained that many people are like
garbage trucks - they run around full of garbage,
full of frustration, full of anger,
and full of disappointments. As their
garbage piles up, they need a place
to dump it and sometimes they'll
dump it on you.
Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave and
wish them well and move on. Don't take
their garbage and spread it to
other people at work, at home, or on
the streets. The bottom line is
that successful people do not
let garbage trucks take over their day!
Life is too short to wake up in the
morning with regrets, so
"Love and pray for the people
who treat you right and
love and pray for the ones who don't."
Life is 10% what you make it
and 90% how you take it!
What a great philosophy!
Addition to original post:
Check out the comment section -
Please read the comment from Chris -
had no idea of this web site or that
it is actually a true story! I had received
the story on an email and thought I would
share. Glad she commented - the site
she talks about is great!
Another of the comments is from my
sister - who works for a
different garbage company than the
one pictured! If she sends me
a picture then I will post hers! ;-)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Utica H.S. Homecoming Parade

Friday, October 17 was
the Homecoming Parade for
Utica High School.
For many years, Jeremy Norris has
been part of our family.
Now he is attending high school and in
the marching band!
We thought we should go see
him play and march!

Jeremy is the nice tall guy in the row in
front of the cymbals. If you
look at the front door of the house
he is just to the left and has the
saxophone in his hand.
I remember when he was 6 weeks old
and we began babysitting after
Wanda returned to work!
He was so tiny - and now so tall!
Michelle holds Kaitlyn's hands while
the loud fire/police cars begin the parade.


Sydney was excited to go to a parade!
You rarely see Sydney outside without her
sunglasses on! Miss Hollywood!
Karsten was thrilled to see all
the bands playing and the Army
truck too!
Michelle, Laura, Wanda and Karla



L Laura, Gaylon, Wanda (and Tommy who
was still at work) and Russ & I
have been friends for many years. We all met in
our days at Dequindre Road Baptist Church.


Sydney and Karsten enjoyed going
to the parade and getting so much candy!!
And a flag to wave from a soldier and
new sunglasses too!

We all had a great time - and it was
a pleasure to see Jeremy all grown up!

What a Pain!!!

We are being audited by the
IRS for the profit sharing program
we provide for our employees.
Grrrrrrrr!!!!
Have several calls into the IRS - do
you think they can respond??
NO!!
I have told them repeatedly that I am
not available for tomorrow and give
options for another date -
but no response. Guess the auditor
will get a surprise if she shows up!
I have spent the morning printing -
more than 300 pages so far -
the documents that they are requesting.
We know that all is fine with this -
we just give the wage detail and how much
we have decided to invest for the employees
to another company to do the final
reports and investing.
Just a big pain!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Recipe Exchange

I have had several requestes recently
to do "Recipe Exchanges". I have
not taken part in them - hate to put my
other friends emails out there in
web-land where they could be hit
with too many virus'!
So, thought I would stop sounding like
a big party-pooper and list a
recipe here instead!
This is a recipe given to me by Karen, my stepmother.
She knows I am a big chocoholic and
served this to Russ and I when we were in FL last
February. Immediately we began deciding
it needed a little more chocolate - so this
recipe is hers with a little more chocolate!
Chocolate Cream Desert
1 1/2 sticks cold butter
1 pkg. Chocolate cake mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
4 cups whipped topping divided
4 1/2 cups cold milk
3 pkgs chocolate pudding mix - INSTANT
2 tbs. chocolate curls - optional (or grated for ease!)
In a large bowl, cut the butter into the
cake mix until the mixture resembles coarse
crumbs. Add the egg and mix well.
Press into a greased 13x9x2 baking dish and bake
at 350 degrees 15 to 18 minutes, or until set.
Cool completely in the dish on a wire rack.
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese on medium
speed until fluffy. Add confectioners sugar and beat
until smooth. Fold in about a cup of whipped topping.
Carefully spread over the cooked cake mix crust.
Cover and refrigerate until set.
In a large bowl, combine the milk and pudding mixes
by whisking with a wire whisk for 2 minutes.
Let stand for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Spread over the cream cheese layer. Top
with remaining whipped topping.
Garnish with chocolate curls or grated chocolate.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.
Not a hard recipe - just a little time consuming since
you have to wait between each step.
Very rich - and yummy!!

Monday, October 06, 2008

Run and do!

The last weekend in September Russ and I took
off for the U.P. to meet up with 3 other couples.
As we traveled we got a call from Michelle and Mark.
They were enroute to Houghton Lake to get
their new boat settled into the cottage.
They hired a retired man with a big trailer
to come from Houghton Lake to Port Huron
to transport the boat. We ran into them at
a Wendy's along I-69.
This is their new boat.
After a quick bite to eat we continued on to the U.P.
When we got into Mackinaw City the temperature
dropped from 82 to 52 and the fog was
so thick you couldn't see past 20 feet in front
of you. We missed the beautiful scenery of going
over the bridge - but when we returned it was beautiful and sunny!


This picture was taken by the Tahquanemonon Falls.
We had hiked about a mile and then climbed up and down
tons of steep stairs - and surprise of all, I could
still breathe!! haha



One of the partners of each of the couples that
we met went to elementary school with Russ.
This is Russ, Pam and Leonard.
Melodye didn't make it down the last set of stairs.

We had a great time visiting and seeing beautiful
scenery. On the way back to the bridge a very
pretty Michigan State trooper decided to stop
and talk to Russ. She was so nice to give him
a warning to slow down - and not to give
us a hard time since we didn't have a current
registration! He made the comment later that
it was a good thing we were in a mini-van and not
in the Spitfire. We would have probably been given
a ticket for that one! lol By the way - no he
was not going that fast!
We visited the Petoskey area on the way home. The most
beautiful colors of the trip were between the
bridge and Petoskey. Love that area!
Always good to go - and always good to get home too!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Bats in the belfry? Naw, it is just squirrels!



Craziness abounds!!
Kim and Dave have found that they
have some unwanted guests in the
eaves and attic of their house -
a group of lovely squirrels!


The pack seems to have just moved
in but are already wreaking havoc!
An exterminator was called -
who hung live traps. The first
day he caught 3.
Since then Dave has emptied
some of the traps himself. This weekend
Dave went out and purchased some
traps of his own to actually put
into the attic - Kim does not enjoy the
sound of pitter-pattering feet
over the kitchen sink!

Last week Kim found one of the squirrels
sitting on top of the cage. When he
saw her he stood up and walked into
(or squeezed into) the eave of the house.

Tonight when she got home from work the
cute little darling had moved from the south
end of the house to the north end.
Again he looked at her and walked into his
new abode - poked his head out
and seemed to chipper at her -
"Hello, now this is my house too!"

I wonder if throwing some nice smelly
moth balls into the attic would help them
decide to move on to their next
destination???

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Kaitlyn and the pumpkin

Michelle and Mark took
Sydney and Kaitlyn to
Blake's Orchard yesterday to
have cider and look at all the pumpkins.
This was Kaitlyn's first time to experience
the joys of fall at the orchard.
She did not have a joyful time however!
They had brought a blanket to put over
the straw - just in case anyone was
allergic to that!
However it seems a hard hat would have
been the thing to bring!
While the 2 girls sat on the blanket with
all the pumpkins stacked behind them -
a great photo opportunity! -
one of the pumpkins fell from
several feet up and landed on Kaitlyn's head!
Ouch!
This meant a trip to the ER - those are pretty
nice sized pumpkins and her head is
not so big!
After an exam and a CT scan it was
concluded that she didn't have
any bleeds in the brain!
However, her head does seem
to be swollen - and I am sure
she has a headache! And I just
think about her poor spine as it
had to compress with the impact!
That poor baby!
We appreciate all your prayers for
Kaitlyn that she not have any
effects from this unfortunate
accident!
Fall may not be her favorite time of the year!

Baptism for Megan & Charlotte



Rich and Kari had
Megan and Charlotte baptised
today into the Catholic Church.

The service was at St. Mary's Church in
St. Clair and a luncheon
was held right afterwards at
the St. Clair Inn.

Charlotte (8 weeks) was the youngest of all the
children being baptised today and
Megan (3 years) was the oldest.

We wish for Megan and Charlotte,
as well as for Sydney, Karsten
and Kaitlyn, that they all be
raised to know the wonderful
love of our Blessed Redeemer -
hmmm sounds like a song
doesn't it?? ;-)




Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Lord's Day - Sunday


Oh Lord, I have prepared
my house for you.
Please come into my heart
so I may spend my day
and the rest of my life
with You.
Amen.

Cooking Day!

Help me My Savior,
to brew a big kettle of
brotherly love, and
serve it with the clean
sweet bread of human kindness.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Shopping Day!



Oh God,
Give me the wisdom to shop
wisely, so I may
purchase eternal
happiness for myself and
all others, in
need of love.

Cleaning Day!



Lord Jesus,

Help me to dust out

all the many faults I

have been hiding in the

secret corners of my heart.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Mending Day!



Oh God,
Help me mend my ways
so I will not set a
bad example for others!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Ironing Day!


Dear Lord,

Help me iron out all the wrinkles

of prejudice I have collected

through the years so I

may see the beauty in others.


Monday, September 15, 2008

Wash Day!

We have a lot of work to do this week!
Today is Monday - Wash Day!
Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness
and vanity, so I may
serve You with perfect humility
all week.
Amen!


Join me this week as I try
to be the person Jesus wants me to be!


Thursday, September 11, 2008

Ear tubes for Kaitlyn!

Kaitlyn - 9 months -
is following in Sydney's footsteps!
Kaitlyn will get ear tubes tomorrow
Friday, September 12.



What a cutie this little one is!
Rolls all over to get what she wants!




We sure pray that the surgery
goes well and the tubes do the
trick for her! She has had several
ear infections - even during the summer
months. Poor Baby!
Usually you will see big smiles on her anyway!
We always ask that you try to make
a difference in someone's life -
and this little one has sure made a
difference in ours!
PS - Does everyone out there in
blog-land know that you can click on
the pictures to make them larger??


Happy Birthday Sydney!

9/11/2001
What a terrible tragedy for out country!
We should NEVER forget that day!
Fast forward to
September 11, 2005...
What a wonderful day for our family!
Sydney was born!
We always say her birthday is September 11
and not 9/11 - we want
to never forget the bad but we also
want to celebrate the good!

Hard to believe Sydney is already 3!
She is a smart little cookie
and very adept with a camera -
trying to follow in her Mommy's footsteps!


Sydney loves to pose for the camera too!




Sydney and Kaitlyn (9 months) visited
KiddieKandids for their pictures.
Kaitlyn loves her big sister!
What little cuties they are!



Sydney enjoyed her birthday today -
and will enjoy her "Princess" themed party
on Sunday afternoon too!
Today she received a couple of presents
and lots of phone calls from aunts and uncles!
I had Sydney, Karsten & Kaitlyn today and
Kim sent cupcakes which they had
with their lunch. Then they
had yummy brownies that Michelle sent
for afternoon snack.
All these little goodies are prepared so
carefully and with so much love - Sydney
and Karsten are allergic to milk, dairy, eggs
and a few other things.
After dinner tonight though - Sydney began
welting on her face - the first
sign of an allergic reaction. That means
there was probably a cross-contemination
of something somewhere in the initial
processing of one of the ingredients.
Thankfully it was a welting and not a full
blown anaphylaxtic episode!
We are so honored to be grandparents to
5 of the most darling kiddies!!
No boasting from this grandma!! ;-)





Monday, September 08, 2008

Happy Birthday Andi!

Happy Happy Birthday!
May this be a great year for you!
Hugs to you!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Russ and his Spitfire

In the early 80's Russ bought a little
Triumph Spitfire.
Lots of fun - but you know the
English cars - drive a little and work on them
a little more.
The last time we licensed this car was about 1984 we think.
It was stored here in our garage for
many years - it was a great place to
hide Christmas gifts since it was always
undercover for protection from dust.
After we bought the property where
Contractors Connection is located now,
we moved the Spitfire there.
In the years since,
many other things
have found their way into what we
always called "the Spitfire room".
Since we decided to get the car out
and actually have some fun with it -
we had a lot of digging to do!


Here is is - already uncovered -
and wow is it dusty!!
My friend Jill, shows beautiful parts
of her home on her blog - and here
I am showing -
yikes, dust and lots of it!
But, in my defense, this is not my home! ;-)


After a good wash (ok a little rinse)
and checking on the brakes and clutch
along with replacing the battery and tires,
here Russ is, hitting the roads at last!


We drove around for awhile and then
found granddaughter Sydney at home.
We thought she might enjoy a little ride around
the block. She told her mommy that
she wanted a Barbie car too!
Grandpa said please don't call
my car a Barbie car!

We will have to take Karsten and Megan for a
little spin around the block too.
Can you imagine - Russ and I actually
had all 4 of our kids in this car with us at
one time! Before all the booster
seat laws for sure!
It is hard on my back for me to ride
the motorcycle with him
so we thought this might be a little easier.
Well it is a LITTLE easier - but
I think that a nice Camero, or Mustang
or even a Vette convertible would be
a LOT more comfortable!! ;-)