Ending 2008...beginning 2009!

Contemplating a new year....

The years just seem to be speeding by...I notice it more every year! As I get older, I realize that it is good to reevaluate my life knowing that time is short. It is disappointing to look back and be sorry for lack of accomplishment some years and lack of spiritual growth as well. I don't want my life to be wasteful of the strength and energy that the Lord has given me while I still have it! It is so easy to be self-absorbed instead of Christ-centered! The beginning of a new year is a great time to look to the future and see myself where I want to be this time next year. Goals are important...I intend to set some important ones this year and depend on God to see me through accomplishing them for his glory.

Life Characteristics that I want in my life:

Humility (or lack of pride)- in my marriage, my family relationships, and my friendships

Servant's Heart- this is a big problem for me! I am too self-centered and need to serve others more!

Discipline- I go back and forth from being very disciplined to absolutely being a slouch!

Love- I want to really love other people more - more than I love myself! That is really hard!

These are the things I will pray for and with the Lord's help will make progress on this year.

Practical Goals for the Year:

Memorize the rest of Colossians

Memorize Romans 8 ( our whole small group is working on this passage)

Memorize Ephesians

Read through the Bible

Get involved in a special ministry at Cornerstone ( I have an idea for this one!)

Intentionally begin and end my days with God

Be more hospitable (have at least one family a month over to our home)

Have my sewing machine cleaned and running so I can sew some projects.

Take off bathroom wallpaper and paint and redecorate the bathroom

Paint the other rooms in the house

Cultivate at least one friendship

Communicate with my family more (especially the ones who don't live nearby!)

Get the web cam up and running and use it!

Spend more time with my grandchildren!

Be diligent in taking my vitamins

Go to bed earlier

Watch less television

Find an exercise plan that I can keep up with!

Be more thankful.

Don't complain!

That seems like a lot of goals, but I have a whole year to work on them. It is kind of exciting to look forward to accomplishing them! I also know that with every intention that is godly, Satan will work to thwart the plans. I guess I just have to expect that and watch for it. We were reading in the Psalms on Sunday morning in church and I came across some verses that I want to be my prayer this year:     

  Psalm 119: 33-37  

 "Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word."

Awesome verses!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

CHRISTMAS  2008

Christmas was fun and busy this year. Shari and Mark and Esme' were staying with us from Sunday morning until Christmas morning when they went to Mark's parents. We had a great time with them. Esme' is four months now and just the sweetest thing! She is very smiley in the mornings! Shelley, Matthew, and Nolan came to visit us and we went to visit them. We even babysat for Nolan for about an hour while Shelley took Matthew to the doctor. We made meals, went out to eat, went shopping, and just hung out at our house. 

Christmas Eve we all went to Sandy and Ken's for our traditional night with the O'Brien family. Ron and Barb could not make it because Ron is recupperating from open heart surgery last week. He is doing well, but since it was so cold and it would be late, he decided it would be better not to go out yet. So we missed them, but two of Sandy's sons were there as well as her mom and brother and his wife. We always have a great time of appetizers and food and then play a game exchanging $10. gifts.

This is Shelley sitting in the kitchen with some appetizers.

Mark and Shari got to see Nolan quite a bit this week. He is only three weeks old, so this is his first Christmas also. He sleeps most of the time, but we did get a peek at his eyes a couple of times. He is so precious!

I will really miss our sweet little granddaughter! It was so great to have her with us for several days and get to spend time with her and get to know her! I was very sad when they left on Christmas day. But there are other grandparents and relatives who want to spend time with her also. :(   (Can't blame them!!)

I got to hold Esme' while she slept on Christmas Eve. What a precious baby!

Shari fed her and then took over holding her while she slept. That was a very comfy chair!

Here is a picture of Melissa, Robbie's wife sitting with Shelley while she fed Nolan. Melissa and Rob have a little girl just a bit older than Esme'. Kate is about 5 1/2 months old.

We pick up Great Grandpa every year to come to our Christmas Eve gathering. He had never seen Nolan until that night. Here he is with Esme' and Shari. We did take Grandpa out to eat with Shari and Mark earlier in the week, so he had seen her once before. He is in a nursing home now, but Barb, Ken, and Terry take turns visiting and taking him out a few times a week.

Kalen was home for Christmas. He is Barb and Ron's son and attends Northern University in the upper peninsula. He's used to the snow!!

This is Kristin, Ron and Barb's daughter. She works in the medical field and is going back to school in the fall to study to become a physician's assistant.

Here is "Grandpa Ken" holding little Kate. She is a beautiful baby and he is very proud of her. Her other grandparents, Pam and Barry, were sharing her for the night. Cheryl is the other  "grandmother".

CHRISTMAS DAY

Terry and I took part of the the dinner to Shelley and Bob's, and Shelley made the rest of the dinner. We had a nice time visiting, eating, and opening presents with Matthew, Shelley, and Bob, and Nolan BUT....I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!!!!!!!! :(  :(  How could that happen? I have no clue! I intentionally put it in my purse that morning. But I must have taken it out to get to something else and not realized that I hadn't put it back. I was very mad at myself. Shelley and Bob will share some pictures, but I don't have any yet. 

We left Shel and Bob's around 5:00 because they were going to visit Bob's brother and family that night. Terry and I decided to go to a movie and it was kind of fun with just the two of us. We saw a movie about one of the attempts made on Hitler's life during World War II by people in the German army that were close to the inner circle. There were actually 15 attempts on his life that failed. This one happened about a month before he killed himself. It was an interesting movie and I ate TOO MUCH popcorn!

Christmastime!

I love this time of the year! I guess that there is just so much activity that is hard to get bored or lonely. There is so much beauty all around and the beautiful snow just puts the finishing touch on everything.

This is a picture of our Christmas tree this year. The tree is aging and is not as good looking as it used to be, so I just took a close up which makes it look wonderful! :)

Last Saturday was our annual church staff party at Bob and Cathi's home. We always have a wonderful time together. We all contribute to the wonderful meal and then we usually have some type of activity for the rest of the evening. Lately our youth intern has been in charge of an activity or game to get us all interacting. Kevin, this year's intern, did a great job of planning a fun game for us to play in teams. This is a picture of Terry and Jim, husband of Bob's assistant.

This is Jan, Bob's assistant and Dena, our Youth Pastor's wife in front of the beautiful fireplace in Bob and Cathi's family room.

Last night Terry and I were able to go down to the Fox Theatre in Detroit with some friends to see the live play, "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin. It is just so beautiful at the Fox. Before the play, we got to eat upstairs behind the box seats and had a really great meal together. We were overlooking the main entrance hall and got to view all the beautiful decorations and carolers and a choir singing Christmas carols.

This is Sandy and Ken, Terry's brother, by the beautiful tree in the entrance hall.

The decorations were just gorgeous and of course, all of the gold and carvings are awesome there. The play was done just beautifully and had elaborate sets that were changed often. The actors and actresses did a great job also. It was one of the better done plays I have ever seen. So it was a very fun night - very Christmasy, with good food and friends!

 

These are some pictures of the inside of the theatre.

This morning we woke up to this beautiful scene. We had our own white Christmas! :) It has been snowing since about 6:00 this morning and we have about eight inches so far by our house. Terry and I got to drive in it early this morning because I had an appointment at Troy Beaumont. It was an adventure driving in the snowstorm and kind of fun!

This is what it looked like outside our home this morning. Isn't it beautiful?

We are looking forward to this week. Our daughter, son-in-law and four month old granddaughter are heading this way tonight from Tennessee to spend the Christmas holiday at home. AND we have another new grandchild born at the beginning of December - Nolan. So we are looking forward to a nice Christmas spent we our daughters, their husbands, and our three grandchildren. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas, too, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The verse on this picture is too small to read, but here it is:

John 1: 10-12

"He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God."

PRAISE THE LORD!

Time with the New Baby

Today we got to spend some time with Nolan and with Matthew. I finally got to see his eyes open! I can't seem to get my eyes to stay open during flash pictures, though! 

Matthew got this present from his Mom and Dad when they got home from the doctor with the baby today. He loves watching the Snoopy Christmas and this plays the same song. He was happy with it! It is hard having a new brother!

But Matthew does seem to like him and be gentle with him.

I like this picture of Nolan peacefully sleeping in his car carrier. They had come in from seeing the doctor and he slept on!

NOLAN OLIVER is Born!!

Last Friday morning, December 5, 2008, Shelley went to Beaumont in Grosse Pointe to be induced. She was now four or five days late because she was due to have the baby on Dec. 1. I was at their house at 6:00 in the morning to stay with Matthew. I was so excited!  - both to spend time with Matthew and for the new baby to be born. 

Matthew got up that morning early and we played together the whole morning. We learned to play a game on the computer with two cars that race. He loved it and wanted to "practice" by himself for a long time before we actually "raced." He would have played that game all day if I had let him!

We also went downstairs where Matthew has quite an extensive wooden train layout. Some of it is on a train table, and some of it is on the floor. He loves to lay out track by himself and is very creative. One thing that he always loves to do is play "air show" with me. He actually has an older cousin who was part of the Thunderbirds for many years. He got to see a couple of air shows then and still remembers them. 

So we lined up his many airplanes and put wooden people in the audience and carried on an airshow for almost an hour! He loves to pretend and really gets into flying all of the planes and helicopters. I had a great time with him this weekend while the baby was being born.

Later Friday afternoon Shelley called with the news that the baby had been born and that it was a boy! I didn't tell Matthew anything. He was taking a nap for almost three hours that day and Shelley and Bob wanted to surprise him when we took him to the hospital. So we told him that we had a surprise for him and when Terry got done with work, we headed for the hospital.

On the way there, Matthew asked where we were going. We told him it was a surprise, but he asked if we were going to the hospital. Terry and I just looked at each other and laughed. He is so smart! Then he asked if Mommy had the baby. We said to just wait and see. He got to walk into Shelley's room first and see his new brother, Nolan Oliver. Nolan weighed 6 lbs. and 12 oz. and was 21 " long. He has lots of dark hair, long fingers and feet and a very clear complexion. I think he looks a lot like Matthew, but different, too.

This is me holding Nolan. It is not the best picture of me - but I had been playing with Matthew all day and I guess I have an excuse! Shelley actually looks better and she was the one who had just gone through labor and delivery! Isn't the baby sweet? We are so thankful that Shelley had a relatively quick delivery and that the baby is healthy and so perfect.

Here is the four of them. Don't they look happy?

Shelley and Bob got to bring Nolan home on Sunday morning. They picked up Matthew at Cornerstone because he was still with us until then. We can't wait to actually spend some time with the new little one! More pictures will be coming this week.

Thanksgiving - Part 2

The real Thanksgiving Day was spent at our house with Shari and Mark and Esme; my sister, Carol and her husband, Don, and son Dylan; and my mom and her husband Roy. Shari and Esme had spent about ten days with us by then, and our son-in-law, Mark had come from Tennessee the day before. My sister, Don, Mom and Roy, and Dylan came late morning. Shelley and Bob and Matthew were also here until it was time to eat. Then they left to go to Bob's parents house.

This is a picture of Terry and me holding Esme. 

Below is a nice picture of Mom and Roy in our family room.

We started out with all kinds of appetizers in the family room. Thanksgiving is always kind of a crazy day for me. I enjoy the company, but the meal is so much work - especially actually getting all that food on the table and getting everyone around it! I loved having part of my family here. I always enjoy being with my sister. Don loves babies, so he just took over holding Esme that day. I am so thankful that everyone could be here with us!  Shari and Mark and Esme had to leave late afternoon to go to Mark's family's house. We are very blessed to have had them this year for Thanksgiving! 

This shows Dylan and Shelley (cousins). Shelley is about nine months along at this time and we were eagerly awaiting a new baby!

Here is our daughter, Shari, holding her nephew Matthew and daughter Esme. We miss them both so much. We found out that they are coming home again for Christmas! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving - we have so much to thank the Lord for!  Having our family for Thanksgiving was a great blessing!

Thanksgiving - Part I - Thanksgiving at Dad's

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on! I'll begin with Thanksgiving at Dad's house the Sunday before the actual Thanksgiving Day. We got to have dinner with Dad; Ken and Sandy; Barb, Ron, and Kristin; Rob, Melissa, and Kate; Shelley, Bob, and Matthew; and Shari and Esme. Ron and Barb made a couple of great kinds of lasagne and then we all pitched in with other food.

Here is Kristin with Rob and Kate (four months). Dad is sitting in his chair. He was at home for the day. He now lives at a nursing home in St. Clair Shores. 

The younger generation sat at this table and the "older generation" which includes Terry and me  :(  sat with Dad at another table. We had not been together in quite awhile and had a good time visiting and playing with Matthew, Kate, and Esme.

Below is a picture of "Grandpa Ken" with his granddaughter, Kate. Isn't she beautiful?

We were missing lots of people at this gathering and we did miss them, but it was a fun time and we were thankful to spend time with this side of the family for a special day. We were so blessed to have Shari and Esme with us. Shari hadn't been home for Thanksgiving for about six years! I think that I failed to get any pictures of Esme on this day. The poor girl was probably sick of pictures by then anyway!! 

We're Done! Yea!

(Except for refinishing the floor - an AFTER Christmas job!)

Done by Thanksgiving??!!

Not only is our kitchen a mess, but so is our living room! Much of our stuff from the kitchen is thrown in there to make more room to work in the kitchen while we do a little remodeling. Nothing major - WE THOUGHT!

When we started the project of taking down our kitchen wallpaper at the end of September, I JOKED that I HOPED we'd have the kitchen painted and our floor refinished by Thanksgiving! Now it's coming back to haunt me - only three and a half weeks until Thanksgiving and now Shari and Esme' are coming a week and a half early!  :)  :(  Oh no!  

We are so happy to have them coming early so we get to spend some time with them, but we surely need to rush this job which is taking way longer than I expected. The wallpaper had been up for twenty years and did not come off easily. Then about 1/16 " of hard paste was left on the walls when the paper came off. That was even harder to get off and Terry hurt his neck and back scraping it off!! It took about a week and a half for him to be able to get back to working on the kitchen after going to the chiropractor about four or five times! :)

This is the state of our kitchen now. We actually have a gray primer on all of the walls! Yea! The ceiling needs to be painted yet and then I can paint the rest. I  am painting the top half a pretty gold color and the bottom half cream. Then we have to work on the floor which is trashed. It needs to be sanded, restained, and tung oiled. We have our work cut out for us!

I can't wait to get the house back together. A week or so with everything a mess is O.K., but it is now getting old and much too close to Thanksgiving. Speaking of Thanksgiving, we are so blessed to be having my sister and her husband, my nephew Dylan, our daughter Shari and son-in-law Mark, baby Esme, our daughter Shelley and son-in-law Bob, our grandson, Matthew, and my mom and her husband Roy all joining us for Thanksgiving! (Shelley is actually due to have her baby the week of Thanksgiving, so it could turn out to be interesting!) We will have a houseful and it will be fun. So we better get to work!! Happy Thanksgiving!