BOB,

Happy Birthday!

Bob

Brother, Son, Husband, Daddy

Good natured, patient

kind, loving

Son-in-law

A poet I'm NOT!  :)

Technology is Wonderful!

Seeing Esme' and Shari twice in one week!

What fun to come home yesterday and find that Shari had left me a video message on tokbox!

I just can't believe I am going to get to see Esme' as often as I want! :)  This is how they look on my computer screen.

Shari said that they were getting a snowstorm in Knoxville and already had about an inch of snow. (Very unusual for them!) Well I am glad to spread the joy around!!

Isn't she sweet? This just made my week!

Tuesday Night at Cheli's

Tuesday night was a relaxing night out with the grandkids and Shel and Bob....

Cheli's is a sports restaurant partly owned by Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings. It is close by our house and it has become a favorite restaurant of ours. It has lots of TV screens and the guys like watching the basketball, hockey, and football games there. Not that we are there that often! This particular night the screens were all showing the Red Wings game that was going on. What we didn't know was that every time the Red Wings would score, a LOUD buzzer/horn would go off in the restaurant and everyone would cheer/ hold their ears. Did I say it was LOUD??? It was deafening!! There is no warning when it will go off because it goes off as soon as a goal is scored. We weren't prepared for it and, needless to say, neither were Matthew or Nolan. Matthew was scared to death and cried and then covered his ears the rest of our time there. Poor Matthew! Nolan was peacefully sleeping in his car seat when the horn went off. His eyes stayed closed but his whole face changed and his lip puckered up like he was going to cry and then he just fell back to sleep!

Terry holding Nolan

Here is Nolan peacefully sleeping with noise going on all around him! The place was packed and noisy and every TV (about 50 of them) were on full blast! Other than the loudness of the night, it was fun, relaxing (for me) and always a joy to be with Shelley, Bob, Matthew, and Nolan!

We Finally Figured Out How to Use Our Web Cam!

Web Cams are wonderful when you haven't seen your grandchild for over a month...

It was awesome! Shari was in Knoxville and I in Clinton Township, and we were talking on the phone trying to figure out how to get our web cams to work so we could see each other. We ended up leaving Skype and using Tokbox instead. All of the sudden Shari popped up on my computer! She has to wear earphones and hold a little microphone, so holding Esme' was awkward. Esme' had just awakened from her long nap and she was so cute. She kept staring at the computer screen. I was waving to her and throwing her kisses. She was so cute and getting so big! The talking was a tiny bit delayed and at times the picture of the other person would freeze for a couple of seconds, but it was so worth it! :) I can't wait to use it with Shari again and to try it with other people, too.

EIGHTY - NINE!

Happy Birthday!

Thursday, January 15, Dad (Grandpa or Great-Grandpa to some) turned eighty-nine. It was a very frigid day in the Detroit area. Many schools were closed because of the cold.We had gotten lots of snow in the previous week and it was so cold that it didn't melt at all. Icicles and hills of snow were everywhere and also slick roads. It was so cold that we kept the birthday celebration small. The little kids like Matthew and Nolan weren't going out in this cold weather! 

Dad looked great! We took him to a chinese restaurant on Jefferson near the nursing home at three in the afternoon - sort of a lunch/dinner. It was just immediate family this time.

Here we have Terry, Sandy, Ken, Dad, and Barb. I had to go around the table for another picture to get everyone in.

Here are Terry, Sandy, Barb, Ron (who had open heart surgery four weeks ago) and Aunt Shirley. I am the one in the mirror who is taking the picture! We had a nice time together eating chinese food, eating birthday cake (chocolate!) and reading our fortunes. We don't get together enough and it was fun to just have a relaxing meal and get to catch up on things. Dad got some clothes for presents and lots of cards. These birthdays seem to come along faster each year - it seems like yesterday that I was blogging about Dad's 88th birthday!

A Quiet, Relaxing Beginning to 2009

A Railroad Town!

It has been a nice, quiet, and relaxing week after the crazy, busy holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas! Terry has been home much of the week. He worked Monday and has had the rest of the week at home. He took some vacation time this week. We spent New Year's Eve with friends and had dinner with Shelley and Bob and the kids on New Year's night. Other than that, we have been home. 

After Thanksgiving, Terry bought an "N" gage train and decided to build a set for it. Our grandson, Matthew, has LOVED trains almost from the day he was born! Who knows what makes people have a passion for certain things! But trains have been a passion with him for his three years. That got Terry interested in owning a train so that he could play with Matthew with it and someday it could be Matthew's. Someday he will be old enough to be responsible with it. So...Terry began planning our train set. By the way, notice what is being used to hold the track down! :)

These pictures are backwards (you would think I could get pictures in the right order by now after blogging for a year, but no!) Terry bought several train magazines to learn how to build mountains and lakes and roads, etc. It is far from finished, but he has made good progress on it this week. I think it is relaxing for him, and that it good. I have been able to do some of it with him, but for the most part, he has done it on his own.

It has pretty much taken up our kitchen table for the past week. :(  If it isn't one thing, it's another! I haven't minded so far, though, because it has been fun seeing it come together.

This was the very beginning of a mountain with a tunnel going through it. 

We have bought several buildings for the set. Most of them had to be put together like a model car. All of the pieces had to be punched out and glued together. We worked together on these and now they probably will need to be painted, which I may end up doing.

Everything had to be laid out and layers of styrofoam glued on ready to be carved. I will add more pictures to show our progress. I have no idea where we will put this whole setup!! The only room we have is in our small basement which is now a disaster area. That is a bit of an incentive to clean it up, so that will be our next project!  :)

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!