Vinegar and Honey

We had a very dreary day going until late afternoon. By the time I got off work it was upper 60's? and great for a walk, which I did. Then I did laundry, made supper, etc, etc, etc. We have no big plans for the weekend; how about you? We have some things outside we need to get to work on...hopefully it will be a good time to do that.
Okay, so here's the weird thing...someone gave me a suggestion for our joints. I have tendonitis in my shoulder, sore knees, and stiff hips. Jon is sore in the shoulders, elbow, and ankle. We are now taking one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and one tablespoon of honey every day. We were told to drink it in a cup of hot water, but I tried that and while it's doable, no thanks. Jon tried it in a cup of my homemade spiced tea, and that we can do. We started over the weekend, and asked each other tonight whether we could tell a difference. Amazingly, we both are starting to have less pain! I'm not sure I can believe it yet, but glad to share all the details. You need to use a particular cider, and I can share the recipe for the spiced tea. Pretty weird, I admit!

Thought for the day

The sun today was a WELCOME friend. I guess that would be one of my blessings to be thankful for today. Another one would be safe travel for all of our family to and from work, shopping, while at work, wherever they've been. Of course I'm thankful for perhaps less pain for both Jon and I. How's it going out there, people?

Another Day

How was your day? Mine was pretty routine...work, lunch, work, haircut, supper (stir-fry, yum), sifting through papers, TV, texting, blogging. Got a really cute video on my phone from Kelli of Emmy's Awana awards program. Later I got a text from Tabbi that Tru made up a new rhyme..."odd God". How hilarious...it is true you know...He is unique!! We got our blood work results back from the health fair today...looks like we'll both be seeing the doctor again...ggrrrrr!!

Thought for the day

I hope that you are being more aware of your blessings and more thankful for the little things. I am trying to be more conscious of the smallest things...they make up so much of our lives...the small blessings, the inconspicuous things that contribute to our peace or well-being. Anyway, hang in there and keep your eyes open for God's mercy and goodness!

Season Finale

Chuck was completely AWESOME tonight on the season finale!!! Can't wait for next season...it will happen! Plus "24" just gets better and better. I hope your Monday night was as fun as ours! Jon got a phone call at 7:15 and I had to put the smack down---that will not be happening again!
Talked to Megan tonight, and Greg starts a 3rd round of physical therapy tomorrow...we're praying for fresh eyes and ideas and God's healing hand. This is a different medical team, so we're expecting some better progress.

Thought for the day

I'm enjoying seeing your blessings that you shared...let's try again. Look for the small things that you can be thankful for and share them!!

Good Thunderstorms!

Hey there!! We had a nice weekend...lots of rain which we needed and plenty of lightning and thunder to enjoy with it!! A good thunderstorm is one of my favorite kinds of weather. Yesterday I did some cleaning and stuff around the house and then Tabbi brought the boys over to stay overnight. We took them to Burger King and watched "Bolt" and "Open Season 2". They were really good and we had a great time. Tabbi came in the morning and we all went to church together. Today was the first meeting of our Sunday prayer group, and it seemed to go well. I'd estimate that we had 40 to 45 people there. This afternoon we went to a visitation for a little while, got groceries, then came home for supper and TV.

Thought for the day

Have a great week and keep your eyes open. Try to notice each little blessing that comes your way, and keep track! You can post them here and we'll celebrate together. Find every reason and excuse to be thankful and share your joys!!

Superman?

Jon worked late tonight grinding dyes after spending all day cutting trees...plus it was 85 degrees this afternoon. Not surprisingly, he's ready to be done. I don't know how he does it...I'm usually tired after sitting at a desk all day then doing a few chores around home. I must be a weenie. OR maybe he's actually Superman...that's it!!! This explains a lot!!!
Tonight we are trying a different TV program..."Eureka". Kelli says we'll like it, and she's pretty smart! I'll let you know how we like it later :)

Thought for the day

I think I'm too tired for a thought....you know, all that sitting at a desk and a couple of chores :)
See ya!!

It's God's Weather

Wow, I'm the energizer bunny tonight. I printed off some stuff at church for the prayer group, did 3 loads of laundry, grilled pork chops for supper, vacuumed, ran dishes, and I'm still going... Only a couple of things left and still time to blog! Okay, so not too remarkable, but more than usual for me. What I didn't get done was walk tonight or last night...naughty, naughty. Time to get back on the treadmill so to speak.

Thought for the day

Are you enjoying spring? You better, because it's supposed to feel like summer for a day or two before the weekend when it's supposed to cool off again. I hope we get more spring...70's and sun would suit me fine. Then I remember again that I'm doing my pet peeve...complaining about the weather. God's in charge, and I'm perfectly okay with "letting" Him do it His way. How generous of me!!!??? Maybe not!

Monday Night

Another fun Monday night..."Chuck" was the best yet with a preview for next week that looks like a great season finale! FINALE....NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On "24" Jack is dying of chemical exposure, Tony is now showing up as the bad guy, more twists and turns than you can keep track of!

Thought for the day

We are working on plans for the prayer group and it's a powerful reminder of how easy it is to not pray. You can think about prayer, plan for prayer, learn about prayer....but you must actually pray! If nothing else, this new project will motivate me to do live out what I believe. But I'm sure God has bigger plans than just that!

New Opportunity

Hi there!! It's the weekend! Tomorrow Jon and Trever are planning on turkey hunting, so hopefully the weather will cooperate. I need to do some serious cleaning this weekend and beyond that we don't really have any plans. I hope all of you have a great weekend...stay safe and well!

Thought for the day

We've been approached with an opportunity to lead a prayer time that will serve as an opening for the adult Sunday school classes at church. We took about a week talking it over and praying about it, and we've agreed to do it. It will only be about 15 minutes, and we will have the flexibility to pick topics and arrange the group as we like. We are asking for your prayer for us. This is new for us, but it is the thing we feel called to...praying with and for people. We just want it to be about God, not "our thing". Again, please pray for us in this.

Seasons

These are some more pix from our weekend...I know...I'm obsessed with my kids and grandkids. It's true. I don't know what to say. Oh well, there are worse vices...I don't think I'm even going to try to reform. You'll just have to live with it. Emmy and Bria got to see the baby chicks that came to my office last Thursday morning. They were pretty intruigued, but weren't too sure they wanted to hold them themselves. They liked giving them names...There was Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Gramasaurus, Bria, Emmy, some of the daycare kids, and on and on. Very cute, of course.

Thought for the day

I hope you are enjoying the coming of spring as much as I am. It seems like it was a long winter, and as much as I love weather stuff I am ready for some sun and warmth. I've gotten to walk outside after work a couple of days this week, and it feels great. The trees are starting to bud as if they're making up for lost time. As you know, I love the change of seasons and the weather patterns and the changes especially in the trees. It always reminds me that our lives have seasons, too, and we are wise to recognize them when we can. It's not something we HAVE TO DO, but is sometimes helpful when we can see that God may be doing something new in our lives. There are seasons of rest, activity, growth, quietness, vitality, peace and so on. Where are you?

Grandparents' Day

This is a video was taken at grandparent's day at our grandson's school. They sang such cute songs and it was really nice. We got to go to his classroom, meet his teacher, and then take him and his brother for an outing. It was great fun.

Thought for the day

We never know what we unleash when we pray in earnest. We may not always see the outcome we are looking for, but God works out His purposes in many ways and in His time and works as we pray. There are mysteries in the life of prayer, but don't worry about getting those answers before you pray; just pray, pray, and don't stop praying.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone...it's 9:00 p.m. Easter Sunday. We had a wonderful weekend...Jon, Kelli, Bria, and Emmy arrived Wednesday night and spent Thursday and Friday with his parents. Greg and Megan came on Saturday morning and we all met Tabbi, Tre, and Tru at the zoo for the day. It was really perfect...sunny, comfortable, calm...that is, the weather was calm. The group was very active and had a great time. With all the out of towners staying here till today, Trever, Tabbi, Tre, and Tru all came over here today, and after church we had a big brunch complete with Jon's biscuits and gravy. Around 2:00 they started filtering their way back out of here and had all left around maybe 3:30. I hope you had a great weekend, too.

Thought for the day

It is such a blessing to see all our kids together again. Greg missed Christmas here, so it's been almost 2 years since they were all together at the same time. They had a really good time I think, but it can't compare to the deeper joy we had in seeing them together. Is that how God feels when we enjoy the company of any of His other children? Whether they are in our family or in His there must be joy for Him when we love each other.

Fun Ahead

I don't know if I'll be getting any posting done the next few days, but I'm sure I'll be having a good time! Jon, Kelli, and girls will get in late tonight. They'll be sleeping here but spending the next couple of days with his family. On Saturday Greg and Megan come, too, and we're all going to the zoo. On Sunday everyone's coming here for church and brunch. Sounds like a great time to me!! I still have some things to get done tonight, so I'm going to get back to work. Blessings and I'll check in soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLI!!!

This is Kelli in one of her favorite spots...with Jon! I don't get up early enough to blog before I go to work, so it seems a little late for everyone to see this, but I guess most of my posts are a day behind by the time most of you see them. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLI!!! You always have been and always will be a wonderful gift from God to all of us! And we all appreciate it when you spew milk out of your nose...gosh, it's been a LONG time since I've seen that! Being 33 makes you sound young to me, but being the mother of the 33 sounds pretty ancient! I hope you have a great day, and we'll see you tomorrow night--YAY!!

Thought for the day

When you are confronted with a new opportunity how do you respond? Does a chance to further your training, or expand your work, or try something completely new fill you with dread or anticipation, or a little of both? I usually get kind of excited at first, but very quickly my mind fills with all the things that might go wrong or be a hassle. I'm sure in the past I've missed some of those opportunities by letting the negatives overshadow the potentials. In some cases that may have been God giving wisdom and protection, but at other times it's been my own feelings of inadequacy or self-consciousness that has stopped me short. Okay, now I'm 53 (mother of 33) and it's time that I learn to step out when God (and I mean God, not someone else) leads and trust Him for the rest. I hope I'm able to know His leading and follow without allowing myself or the enemy to trip me up.

Birthdays and Funerals

As you can see we had great fun last night at Tru's birthday party at Pizza "Hunt"! That little guy know how to party! We missed Jon, Kelli, Bria, and Emmy, but hopefully will have them here by next weekend. Greg and Megan were able to come and then could just drive home again because home is only an hour and a half away!!! YAY!!!

It really poured rain here last night and was blowing hard. When we got home Jon had to go out on call. He was home for about 3 hours during the night then back out by 7:00 this morning. He called about 8:30 and still had a lot of work to do. By morning it had turned to snow, but is really letting up now.

My aunt passed away on Friday so we will be going to visitation tonight and funeral tomorrow. My cousins in Texas are driving up today and will have a little time to stretch at our house later this afternoon. Hopefully, Jon will be back to see everyone.

Thought for the day

Birthdays and funerals...beginning and end...start to finish...happy and sad... They are parts and pieces of life when we celebrate each other, and though it may seem a trivial thing sometimes to attend or observe, we really do need to celebrate one another and appreciate each other. Whether we can be there in person on a specific date isn't so much the point as appreciating each other all the time and being thankful for the people in our lives. And don't just "be thankful" in a general sense. Let people know, specifically, that you appreciate who they are and what they do. We can all use some encouragement, but start by giving it and expressing it to someone else...many someone elses.

Tenderloins and Dreams

Hey, thanks to talking to me, everybody!! Love you all! Today was a really nice weather day to enjoy before a weekend that sounds yucky...it sounds like the worst will be north of here though...that's okay with me!! Tonight we went to Elk Horn for the "best tenderloin in Iowa". Definitely a Rolaids event!
Tomorrow night we will go celebrate Tru's 5th birthday which was on the 25th. The party is at Pizza Hut in Missouri Valley...his favorite place to eat. Tonight on the phone he called it Pizza Hunt and told me to "be there or be square". What a riot!

Thought for the day

Hopes and desires are important, but we need to keep them in balance. Proverbs 14 says "hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life" and "desire realized is sweet to the soul". Yet we need to keep all things before the Lord and hold them loosely. By that I mean we need to bring those desires to the Lord and let Him refine and purify them until they reflect His heart, and then they will be in line with His will. We must give the right to change and realign our visions, our desires, and our hearts.

Hello?

Check out Kelli's blog to see Bria practicing the piano at home for the first time after her first lesson. It's awesome! Nothing new here...hope all is well with you...is anyone out there?

Thought for the day

It's feeling a little lonely out here in cyberspace!