Fall Fun and Health Issues

 Amber and I took the kids to our local Pumpkin Patch the last Saturday of September. We all had a blast! The kids could have happily spent all day. Archer rode the little mini-train a couple of times. Kacey was a little too scared to try it. They loved playing in the dried corn tubs. There were also games that they played, as well as little houses to play in. At one point Kacey saw an Adirondack chair next to a food truck. She made a beeline for it and settled herself in nicely…just like she does in mine. LOL! I love being able to take the kids to stuff like that and watch them have fun!

Kacey crawled in the train but got out before it departed.

The next weekend we enjoyed a quick trip to Paris to celebrate Shepherd’s birthday. We gave him his present first thing…a small air hockey table. After he and Jesse assembled it, they immediately started playing. Things got a little rowdy! Ha! After supper we spent the evening relaxing on the front porch watching the kiddos play. Such a perfect night! The weather was just right, and we didn’t even have to worry with mosquitos. We visited and played with the kids Saturday morning, enjoyed a nice lunch that Mandy fixed us, then headed home. Lovely!

Sheila was scheduled for surgery the next Monday morning, so we headed to the hospital first thing. Dennis stayed until he was able to see her after she had awakened from the anesthesia and was settled in her room. I spent the night so Matt could go home to be with Nam. Even though she was in some pain (although not too severe), we were able to enjoy our visit that evening. We stayed up talking until after midnight. She was released around noon the next day. Surgery went well, everything checked out ok, and her recovery has been good.

After we got home from the hospital, Dennis and I both came down with a nasty cold. We felt bad for a good 2 weeks. Ricky’s family also had it during the same time. We are pretty much over it now and able to get back to a normal schedule. We didn’t get much of anything done for those 2 weeks though!

Dennis went bowhunting Monday and killed his first deer of the season…a nice big fat doe. All I had left in the freezer was 2 packages of jerky meat and 1 package of hamburger, so I was very thankful to see more meat come in! I had made up a double batch of jerky on Sunday. I just love how good the house smells when I’m drying it. I have just enough meat left to make up another double batch right before Thanksgiving. My boys (and others) love to snack on venison jerky!

Yesterday I took Amber and the kids to the FW Zoo. The weather was perfect! We had such a good time. Kacey is finally old enough to really enjoy the zoo. We rode the carousel, and she did so well…sitting up on her horse like a big girl. The kids enjoyed the petting zoo and “brushing” the goats. They loved playing in the playhouse area. I think they could have stayed there all day. Archer really liked the snake house and even petted a snake. Kacey was pretty much freaked out by it and was ready to leave! We ended the day with a trip to the gift shop, where I let the kids each pick out a stuffed animal. Kacey made a beeline for everything pink and ended up with a rainbow colored lion cub. Archer took much longer making up his mind. He really wanted something that could fly, but he couldn't decide what. He finally opted for the CUTEST bat. He is very soft and cuddly and has amazing wings! Fun day!

Kacey loved riding piggyback, but hasn't quite learned to hang on well.

Worn out little guy hugging his bat

Tired little girl with her colorful lion cub

While I was down with my cold I was able to crochet a shawl using Tunisian crochet. It took a little while to get the technique down but worked up nicely once I got the hang of it. It will be nice for the cooler temperatures that we are supposed to start getting this next week.

Yes, it has pockets!

I hope you are all enjoy this beautiful fall weather that has finally arrived and are able to spend it with loved ones!

Mt 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Hello, Autumn, my old friend!

 It doesn't really feel like fall yet, but it is officially here...and the forecast shows a cooling trend for the rest of the week. Bring it on! I went ahead and put out my fall decorations over the weekend. I'm always happy to enter into this season!

Things have been really busy over the past month! We began by celebrating Matt's birthday on Aug.16. It was nice to have him and Sheila and Nam over to celebrate. The following week I started suffering with my annual Labor Day sinus stuff. Happens every year in late Aug/early Sept. I finally broke down on Saturday morning and went to Urgent Care to get some antibiotics and prednisone. That REALLY helped. I had a busy week the next week getting ready for Labor Day weekend. The prednisone gave me the extra "oomph" needed to get everything done! Melissa and Jared's family came and stayed with us for the whole long weekend. They were such a joy to have in our home! We loved visiting with them and everyone else who gathered over the weekend at Lake Mineral Wells State Park. We also loved having all of the visitors with us at Eastside on Sunday morning. We actually had a pretty full house! It was great!

The next weekend, Stephen's family came and spent the night. It was so good to have them here! The kids are all growing up so fast. We don't get to spend nearly enough time with them.

The following Friday, Amber brought the kids over early and left them so she could work on another sculptured cowboy boot cake. It is hard for her to do such an involved project with 2 little ones to care for. We went ahead and kept them overnight so Rick and Amber could enjoy a date night. As always, the kids were so good, and we had a lot of fun with them. Their parents came after lunch on Saturday to get them and spent the afternoon visiting. I love having them so close!

Ricky had to go out of state for work this week, so Amber and the kids came over yesterday to go to church with us and have a sleepover. They spent all day today, too. As well as enjoying our time with the kiddos, I really enjoyed getting to visit with Amber last night after everyone else went to bed. It is rare for us to have one on one time! We barely made it to bed before midnight. Thankfully the kids didn't wake up too early this morning!

Dennis' cataract surgeries both ended up being very successful, and he is really enjoying his much improved eyesight. He can see better than he's been able to for MANY years! It makes me look forward to having mine done next year. I'm hoping for as favorable results as he has had.

Dennis finished up the men's restroom at church and has started working on the women's. He got everything demo'ed and is making good progress putting up the new sheetrock. Our (very) old building isn't easy to work on...nothing is square or level, and there are holes everywhere. It should really look and function so much better when he's done remodeling it!

I wish that I had thought to take a "before" picture. The difference is remarkable!

I haven't done much handwork lately. I was so busy getting ready for company and having company that I just wasn't really in the mood to get ambitious with my crafting. I haven't touched my linen stitch (knitted) hand towel in weeks. It is so slow going and gives my old, arthritic hands a hard time. I did try out a new kind of crochet, Tunisian crochet. It took me a couple of false starts, but I finally figured it out and made a hot pad. I love how it worked up! I'd originally plan to use it for a dishcloth, but it is thicker than I like to use for that purpose (doesn't dry quickly enough, so it can sour easily). But I love the thickness and texture as a hot pad. When I got my fall decorations out, I decided to replace the stems in my crocheted pumpkins with crocheted ones (instead of the cinnamon sticks that I'd originally used). The kids like having soft toys to play with and throw, and I was worried that the sticks might hurt someone...besides the fact that they like to pull them out. So I crocheted up some stems and sewed them on. They were a hit! Crocheting also bothers my hands, but I bought some compression (fingerless) gloves to wear when working. I still have to rest my hands occasionally, but the gloves definitely do help.

Tunisian crocheted hot pad

We have a local farmer's market that is open 2 Saturdays a month "in season". It had been quite a while since I'd checked it out, so I went Saturday. I was much more impressed with it than times past when I'd gone. I got a free-range chicken, some fresh eggs, some local mushrooms and honey, and a couple of other small items. So far, I've only tried the pioppino mushrooms. I'd never even heard of them before. I put them in the boeuf Bourguignon that I cooked for supper tonight. Amber and Dennis seemed to like them. They pretty much tasted like regular mushrooms to me, just a little firmer in texture. I'd like to try out some of the other varieties that they had. I'm really looking forward to cooking the chicken and eggs that I bought. I love being able to buy fresh, local produce.

This coming Saturday is the opening of our local pumpkin patch for the season. Amber is planning to bring the kids, so we can go together. The last time we took Archer to it was 2 years ago. (Last year we took him to the one at Clark Gardens.) I'm excited to see both him and Kacey enjoying the activities they have planned! Life is so much fun with littles!

The following weekend, we plan to go to Paris to celebrate Shepherd's birthday. October starts our busy birthday season. We have Shepherd, Dennis, Mandy and Stephen in October. Then we have Archer, Nam, Kacey and Amber in November. The last 3 months of the year can get quite festive and full!

Take care, enjoy the changing colors of autumn and cooler temperatures, and remember to give thanks in everything!

 1Th 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 

Celebrations Abound

 The past couple of months have been pretty busy. We had four birthdays in October, which we celebrated at Lake Texoma. We rented a house on the lake and spent two nights there. It was so nice to have all of the family together. The kids had a blast playing together. They especially liked playing at the beach and in the water. I loved watching all of them enjoying each other!

A couple of days after we got back, I babysat Archer and Kacey for a couple of hours, then Amber and I took them to Clark Gardens to their pumpkin patch. Archer LOVED the toy trains! 

The first Sunday in November, Dennis was invited to speak at the Hurst congregation. It had been quite a while since our last visit there. We really enjoyed seeing everyone and eating lunch together. We don't get out much on Lord's Day, since our congregation is so small. Although we always miss our little group, it was nice to visit with and fellowship with such a nice group.

The next weekend was Highway's meeting. Laura and her two youngest girls came down and stayed with us, as did Bella. We really enjoyed having the four of them here! Those three girls are such sweet young ladies. I love having young people around! We also enjoyed seeing everyone else at the meeting on Friday night and Saturday. Since we'd been away the previous Sunday, we really felt like we needed to be at Eastside on Sunday. (I had also developed a UTI and needed to come home and rest.)

Our 47th anniversary was on Nov. 19. We ate lunch at Cheddar's, which was a nice treat. Then we went to Weatherford Lake and hiked the boardwalk. Afterwards we spent a couple of hours visiting with Ricky's family. When we got back to Mineral Wells, it was close to suppertime. Since we'd had a big lunch, we decided to just go get ice cream at Braum's instead of eating supper. It was a very nice day!

We celebrated Archer's 3rd birthday on the 23rd. I made a Paw Patrol cake for him, and we went to Rick and Amber's for the party. It was just us and Charles, Linda and Troy. Archer was so excited! We all really enjoyed the day. Rick and Amber gave him a bike. He spent most of the afternoon outside learning to ride it. He did really well! Troy was so good at working with him and helping him. Dennis made him a wooden shotgun, which Archer had been patiently waiting for. He was so happy to finally get it!

The next day, we had Sheila's family over to celebrate Nam's 11th birthday. These boys are growing up so fast! I fixed his favorite meal (fried deer steaks and mashed potatoes). I really enjoyed reminiscing with him about all of the fun times that we've shared over the past 7 years. 

Since this was our "off year" for Thanksgiving, our celebration on Thursday was small...just us and Ricky's family. It was nice though. As usual, Kacey amazed us all with her appetite! That girl was born to eat. She'll eat almost anything, too. She was definitely a fan of Thanksgiving dinner! I love babies' first Thanksgivings!

Two days later, the whole family gathered at Rick and Amber's to celebrate Kacey's 1st birthday. Amber did a great job with the cake and decorations. Everything was so cute! Kacey LOVED her smash cake and pretty much ate the whole thing. All of the kids played so well together and everyone had a great time. With 4 birthdays in October and 4 in November (within a week of Thanksgiving), we've had a lot of celebrating going on!

I've just been working on small projects lately...a few gifts and some crocheted ornaments to attach to Christmas presents. I also made myself a new bible cover. My old one was really OLD! It was my mom's and I started using it after she passed away (18 years ago). I don't know how long she'd had it. My new one is more "fitted" and doesn't have a zipper, which was important to me. I also made a pen holder/page marker.

Well, after many attempts, I gave up on trying to make frozen yogurt bars. I never could get the right flavor and texture. So I found something else that I enjoy almost as much...sorbet. I found a simple recipe and have made it several times using frozen peaches and mangoes, and frozen mixed berries. Since it is mostly fruit, I don't feel too guilty having it for a snack. And it is really yummy!

I have spent the last 4 weeks in a boot. I went to the podiatrist a couple of months ago. He started me out on NSAIDS, icing and stretches...as well as wearing heel inserts...to try to treat the pain I'd been having. Doing that for a couple of weeks didn't help, so he ordered an MRI. The MRI didn't show any damage to my Achille's tendon...just inflammation in the sheath where the tendon meets the bone. I've continued the NSAIDs and icing my heel, as well as wearing the boot to facilitate healing. I'm hoping I can discontinue the boot this week. It is definitely feeling better!

We are really enjoying the cooler weather these past couple of weeks. Fall was really late arriving this year. The leaves are just now showing much color. I am loving the frosty nights and cool days! I love getting up in the morning and turning on the fireplace as I drink my coffee and ease into my day. 

I can't believe it is already December! Time to put away my fall decor and pull out my winter things. I got all of Stephen's family's gifts wrapped and delivered to them at the party Saturday. I'm trying to get Sheila's bunch's ready to take to them Thursday, when we go listen to Nam sing in the 5th grade choir at the NRH tree lighting ceremony. I'm still working on Ricky's family's things. Since we see them so regularly, I still have time to get their stuff together. 

In a couple of weeks is our ladies' annual viewing of "White Christmas" at the Palace Theatre in Grapevine. I have a couple of other ladies who are supposed to be going with me this year. It is always a fun night out!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! 

2Co 9:10-11 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

Fall Fun with Friends and Family (I do love alliteration)

Wow, here we are in October already! Even though the days are still plenty warm, the nights are nice and cool. Leaves are falling and there is a tiny bit of color change going on. I've got my fall decorations out, both inside and outside. Things will be pretty busy for the remainder of the year. Most of our family birthdays fall between Oct. 5 and Jan. 30, so presents are piling up in our spare room. I do love this time of year!

As most of you know, Dennis had a stent put in his right carotid artery last month. It turned out being much more blocked than the tests had indicated...90-95%! Everything went well, and he is feeling fine. He goes back next month to have an ultrasound done, and then every 6 months for the next couple of years, to make sure that scar tissue doesn't develop. 

Right after surgery

Day after surgery

In August, Diane came to spend a couple of nights. Even though I'm a 66 year old married woman, I still love sleepovers! I'm a firm believer in "girl time". We spent one day shopping our local downtown. Gina and Gwen joined us. We shopped, did lunch, went to a local ice cream shop, and enjoyed visiting with one another. It was a great day! I look forward to our next outing!

We also visited the HC congregation in August. It had been too long since our last visit there! We really enjoyed seeing everyone and catching up.

Sheila's family came for supper towards the end of the month for Matt's birthday supper. Of course, we always enjoy spending time with them! We have a hard time getting together these days, except for special occasions. I sure miss the days when we saw each other at least once a week!

We kept Archer and Kacey Labor Day Weekend and the following week...7 nights total. Rick and Amber went to Gulf Shores to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. The kids did great! We had such a good time with them. On Wednesday, we met up with Sheila at the FW Zoo. It had been raining and was nice and cool. The rain held off the whole time we were there...just a few light sprinkles. The kids had a blast! It was fun to see Archer bonding with Aunt Sheila. She's always been so good with the little ones!

We had our 5th Sunday guest speaker and potluck at Eastside this past weekend. It was our best crowd so far! Koh was our speaker, and he brought 2 of his kids with him. (Michele and Dalton couldn't come due to illness.) We had several more visitors come from the Henrietta Creek congregation. Ricky's family also came for the day. Charles and Linda also surprised us by showing up.  It was great to have a full house again! We SO enjoyed the visits and appreciate everyone who came and made the day so special!

Archer and Gwen did some real bonding

Next weekend (the 11th-13th), we are having a family get-away at Lake Texoma. I am so excited! The last time we did that was six years ago, when we all went to Lake Palestine. We'll be celebrating all of our October birthdays, but especially Stephen's 40th. I've been baking and freezing for the past couple of weeks, getting ready. I want to have everything as prepared ahead of time as possible, so we can spend all of our time visiting, playing games, and just enjoying our time together.

We've had so much going on that I haven't had a lot of time for crafting. I did do a couple of heirloom bears, made from Mom's wedding dress. I also took the plunge and cut up my wedding dress, so I'm ready to do heirloom bears for the granddaughters using it. I hope to start on Gracie's within the next week or so. I'm not in a big hurry to get Rosie and Kaycey's made yet. They won't be "playthings", but rather keepsakes, so they won't really get any pleasure from them for a few years. I'm enjoying making something special from old clothing. I've also starting cutting up and saving Dennis' old overalls, so some day I can make some kind of keepsake from them for the grands.

My bear

Sheila's bear

I hope everyone is enjoying the changing of the season and getting to spend time with loved ones. 

Ac 14:17 "Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."