Merry Christmas

Since my last post was before we had the dog contest, I must say we did not win but had fun. We lost our Sheltie recently. They really are not sure but think she had a tumor. She got very big and could not walk. Otherwise, we are attending a small group and I plan to get back into Tuesday morning study in January. Mark got ready to put the Christmas village up but he decided he was not going to have the time or energy. The tree is up and the house is decorated beautifully, thanks to Mark. We are waiting to schedule a time for my family's side to have Christmas in Chillicothe. We had last Saturday scheduled but the weather was not to be good for returning on Sunday. So, we will reschedule when the schedules and weather allow. We are to have Mark's side tomorrow evening and his brother from Branson is supposed to be in town and we have not seen them in a long time. We still enjoy our new addition tremendously and I am much more content with our home since we built on. Have a blessed Christmas from our house to yours!!~

a birthday and an upcoming contest

I turned 43 on Wednesday. We basically celebrated last Saturday with a trip to KC where we saw the awesome movie Fireproof, had lunch and did some shopping. We are preparing for the local Canine Costume Contest and so this has been a busy week. We had not realized that we were behind on the poodles shots and so we have have had two trips to the vet this week. The pictures are of the dogs and their costumes but we are waiting on a Uncle Sam Costume for Mark to arrive that I bought on e-bay, for him to wear. Mom and aunt Shelly are supposed to visit in the morning and have lunch with us but they will not be attending the contest. I am involved in a Dee Brestin Bible study on Tuesday morning and a Wednesday night small group. We are loving this weather.

Delany is almost a year old

Aunt Kim had already gotten a little musical animal toy for her. Uncle Mark and Aunt Shelly and I went together on it. We spent Friday night at mom's and after we ate her delicious home cooked meal, my sister brought Delaney in to see us while her big brother and daddy went to the local football game. Since we have been in Chillicothe two weeks in a row and we plan to stay home the next few weekends, we probably won't make it to her birthday party in a week or so. Because of this, we gave her the gift early. She really liked the cow. She is walking now but not well enough to stay up long without falling. On Saturday, we went to an event at the local park and had lunch with friends. I am excited that Bible study starts in the morning and we are doing a book on contentment by Dee Brestin, out of the book of Ecclesiastes. I am ready for the structure of a fall routine!

Labor Day weekend

Mark and I and all of my siblings spent Saturday and Sunday night in Chillicothe where we visited, swam and on Sunday, we put dad's ashes in the cemetery at Breckenridge, Missouri. The pastor who did the funeral and his wife were there and when they got in town, they stopped at a convenient store to ask directions to the cemetery. It was there that he met Galen Parker. Galen ask who he was and etc. It just so happens that dad was a very good high school friend of Galen's and he had just been visited dad about a month prior to the accident. The plan was to have it be family only but Galen being there was an act of God, I believe, because he talked to us about dad's school days and showed us where the home place was because it had been too long for anyone to remember. The Holy Spirit was so obvious at the service and the pastor did a wonderful service. This is the picture of all of us kids on dad's side.

Treat time

Mark feeding Lacie ice cream for her 4th birtday.

Thank-you

To those who prayed for my mom! It seems that she is much better now that she has resumed her fluid pill and I think her blood pressure is back to normal. She got established with a medical doctor who thinks that was the problem. For mom to step inside the office of a doctor, nowadays, is a huge step for her. Praise God she went. Lacie is four years old today!

Concern for my mom

Mom was having trouble with high eye pressure and now we learned she is having high blood pressure. She is to go to the doctor in the morning and she has not been to a doctor for a long time (despite being a two time cancer survivor). We are praying for her and I am trying to remain calm. This is the weekend that we am spending with my siblings on dad's side and burying dad's ashes. Dusty got his stitches out today. He got cut at the groomer and had three stitches. He is fine. I have help with mopping and sweeping from a lady volunteer now every two weeks and it helps so much. We have a new lead pastor and we think he is doing a great job and seems to be God's provision that we prayed for. Please keep mom in your prayers!

A little crazy

It has been a little hectic lately. Mark's car required some major work about a month ago. Last week, he lost a lens from his glasses and so he went ahead and had them checked and got new lenses in the same frame. This week, we had to have a new motor put in our central air unit. I had a bad case of the 24 hour flu yesterday and am basically well now. Mom is coming for a visit tomorrow and my awesome husband did the household chores that I have not been able to get done, after work tonight! Last night, I was flipping channels and got to see the Steven Curtis Chapman family talk about life since the loss of their five year old daughter. They were so "real" about their pain and anguish and yet their love for God, Jesus and the Bible was so very obvious. I was so touched by them! Pastor Jason is the new lead pastor at CCC now and I am excited to get into the fall and Tuesday morning Bible study. I have been doing some freelance writing for textbroker.com to earn a little extra money. Hope all is well with everyone.

Time to Blog!

I can't believe I used to blog so often. Anyway, all is well. We had VBS over the weekend and that included six hours on Saturday and a swim party last night. A good time was had by all! Our new senior pastor is coming this Sunday and I am excited about that. I am reading a book called Velvet Elvis and doing things that I can around the house. Mark volunteered to work at his job Saturday, as they are extra busy. We went to eat at Olive Garden Saturday evening and did some Wal-Mart shopping. I got a call from a very good friend of mine, Karen Lang, Saturday afternoon, from Europe. I have started doing some freelance writing for hire but have not earned much yet. I think it takes time and the right opportunity. I enjoy it. On Labor day weekend, we are to gather for the burying of dad's ashes. Not much else to say except all the dogs are fine and Dusty is still chewing things he should not. Hope my blog friends are well!

Been awhile!

We have kept busy this summer. Last weekend we went to Chillicothe and spent time with my mom and my aunt. Mom fixed a wonderful meal and my sister, her husband and the kids ate with us. It is hard to believe that Delaney is nine months old. Her picture is above. We had taken some of Colton but they are blurry (worse than the one above of mom and Laney). Mark had Thursday and Friday off and last night we "vacationed" at the Ramada Inn here where they just built a new aquatics park. We swam in the lazy river and had a good time. We had dinner at Denny's and just relaxed. Today, we grocery shopped and made home made ice cream. Aldi's had strawberries for .99 cents per pound and I froze four pounds and used a fifth to go along with the bananas for the ice cream. All of the dogs are fine. Dusty wants me to pet him constantly when I have free hands. We have a new pastor coming to CCC. I am hopeful for the future and seeing some new and exciting things happen for the Lord. Hope every one is having a great summer.

Flowers

Finally got some pics of the beautiful flowers. The hanging basket has Gerber daises that we got for $ 4.00 at Wal-Mart Friday night. The rest are a potpourri of things Mark planted (annual and perennials). The weekend was a little rough because it was the first Father's Day without my dad but we managed to find some joy along the way. I am planning on attending a retreat with a Beth Moore study this weekend and am looking forward to doing that with ladies from a church other than the one we attend and the chance to meet new people. Weather seems to be improving. Have a great week.

Summer weather

The weather has been wild. Please pray for those affected by flooding. I thought tonight was to be calm and quiet (as opposed to last night) but then I learn that we are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Just as Mark was leaving for work this morning, we lost lights and there was a fairly strong storm. The lights were restored in about an hour so it was no biggie. The search team at central has chosen a pastor for us to hear and vote on and so he is to preach this Sunday, have a meet and greet Sunday night and we vote the 22nd. I am anxious to hear him. I am still container gardening but nothing really has much blooming going on. I still need to take some pictures. We have a car in the shop and so I have not been out during the day much which is saving on gas. Hoping for a restful night.

It has been awhile!

Not much to blog about except to say that we are keeping busy. I have kind of developed an interest in flowers (which Mark already had) so I an trying some container gardening. I bought some generic bleeding hearts and Mark put then in a hanging basket and I bought some Cale Lillis and he potted them. The Lilly's are not doing so well. I am learning that you have to place certain plants certain places, depending on their need for sunlight. This can be tricky!! We purchased a dwarf Lilac bush and Mark got it planted. Pictures of some of the plants Mark planted in prior years are above and I will try to get some of this years on soon. Memorial weekend, we went to the Flower's farm on Sunday. We got to see several friends from the Flowers, Farmer and Blessing families that we had not seen for awhile and it was so fun! It was close by and so we came to town and picked up the poodles so they could go and hang out on the farm with us. We all came home rather tired. On Monday, we had a 16th birthday party for our great niece Chelsea. It was fun too.

Our 18th anniversary

We celebrated 18 years of marriage last Monday. Mark took the day off and we had our pictures taken at JC Penny's, had lunch at the Red Lobster and saw the movie "Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed". The photographer was very nice and we were happy with them. This coming weekend is booked with the Mother-Daughter banquet Friday night and then I am supposed to help with a friend's daughter's graduation reception at church from 5-7 Saturday and so we went ahead and did Mother's Day a week early. Mom came here and we went to church and then we took her to lunch to a family style restaurant in Savannah, Mo.. We had a good time. Mark's mom is supposed to be out of town Sunday and so we took her out Sunday night. (needless to say, I did not eat much). Otherwise, I still have to keep a watchful eye on Dusty. Yesterday, he tore up a phone book. Being one now has not meant he is out of puppy stage yet. That onry little!

We did the last lesson in our Home builders. Tuesday morning class and it was a review yesterday. We had Carol Davidson as the instructor and I learned so much about the Word of God! That is a brief rundown of Hubbard Happenings. God Bless!!

Hail storm

I arrived home about 3:15 yesterday and Paul (who is replacing fence in the back yard) had decided to quit for the day, as it was starting to rain. Shortly after that, it rained much harder and the wind picked up and began to blow. Then the hail was next and the pictures tell that story. Not everywhere in town got hail but just a few blocks. Otherwise, our 18th anniversary is next Monday. Not sure if we are going anywhere with gas prices the way they are but Weston, MO. does have a flea market this weekend and so we might spend part of a day there. I do want to see the movie "Expelled: No intelligence Allowed".

a very special day!!

Delaney Ann was officially adopted around 9:30 a.m. this morning. Her older brother Colton was there as well as my mom and aunt and other family. Her birth certificate was even changed to list my sister and brother -in-law as the birth parents (Mark and I have some qualms about that) but it is such a wonderful thing to have had things go so smoothly. We went to mom's this weekend and celebrated the adoption and Colton's 10th birthday (both a little early) Saturday night. Mom cooked an awesome meal! Above are pictures from the weekend. One is of Colton and Delaney and the other is Colton with his birthday gifts from uncle Mark and I.

Concert fun

We attended a concert tonight with Avalon, Micahel English and a couple of other groups. It was awesome! We are not basketball fans so the Final Four was not going to keep us home. Other than that the last two Saturdays, we have gone to garage sales. Lexie got a haircut (actually the Sheltie got shaved) and today Dusty got a hair cut. Thanks to all who prayed for my half siblings mom, Pam, as her EKG showed a healthy heart which was not at all what the previous one had said. Praise the Lord! Mark is waiting for the grass he planted to grow. I am tired from a big day. Hope to sleep really good!

Dusty turns one year old

Dusty had a birthday on Easter. My sister gave me a recipe for dog cookies so on Saturday I made some because I knew Sunday, we had plans. I had not worked with dough in awhile and realized what I had not missed. It was worth it because all of the dogs seem to like them a lot. Mark had been anxious to plant grass seed and especially in the back yard where all the construction was and he did that on Saturday. On Sunday, after church, we went to Hometown Buffet in KC with Mark's mom and Ike and it was awesome. They had grilled sirloin steak that was so tender. I have been dealing with a head cold for several days (or allergies?). Above is a picture of Dusty with his birthday toy.

Fun in Chillicothe

We spent the weekend in Chillicothe (where I was born and raised).

Mom and Aunt Shelly got moved into their duplex there on Friday and are very pleased with it. They have much more room now. We took mom to lunch a little less than a week early because we won't be going two weeks in a row. On Saturday night we helped one of my best friends from high school along with her husband and family/friends to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of her parents at a dinner. There was a slide show and it was very nice. The pastor who baptised me (the time I was immersed) at the First Baptist Church there, was at the celebration and it was so good to see him. We usually go to church there when we are in town but he had retired and moved away but recently moved back. On the way home today, we stoped by Breckenridge, Mo. where Dad's ashes are to be buried on Labor day weekend. The tombstone is already there, beside my grandfather McLauglin. We took pictures of his High School also.

Delany Ann (above) is six months old today. Mom is going to be her new babysitter. Delany can roll herself over and is such a mommas girl!

Last weekend and some concerns

Last Saturday night was so fun! We had gift certificates from a website where I paid half price for a restaurant in Atchison, Kansas (actually outside of there). The place is called Cedar Ridge and is an old barn converted into a restaurant and I love it! Meals are served family style on Saturday night and it is awesome food! We went with the Lawhons in there 4 wheel drive truck and ended up doing some "mudding". The hilly dirt road leading to the restaurant was so muddy that we almost got stuck. Once we got there, everyone loved the food and the atmosphere and we got back out just fine

I have a concern for Pam McLaughlin. She is the mother of four of five of my half siblings and was my dad's wife for many years. She has pneumonia and is on her second round of antibiotics. They have also found that her heart is enlarged and leaking/working poorly. She is only in her early 6o's. She is to see a cardiologist on 3-17. Please pray for her and my siblings as I know this has to be very hard since we just lost Dad in November and at this point, we have no idea how bad Pam's heart is. Please pray for it to be treatable and for her full recovery.

A pleasent suprise

Friday night, as planned, we had friends from Chillicothe who came for super and an overnight stay. The guest room had only been used one other time, so far. The next morning, we had breakfast out and then went to Kansas City. We went to a discount clothing store in Platte City and then to look around at Metro North. It turned out that my sister and her family were at Metro North and so I got to see the kids for the first time since Christmas and this was such an awesome surprise to run into them. Delany had just fallen asleep in her stroller and Colton was getting a football autographed by a Kansas City Chief, in one of the sporting stores. Mom is planning to move to Chillicothe in about three weeks and there will be an extra room in their duplex so we can go and see everyone more often. Mom is going to babysit Delaney in the daytime as their Amish sitter is going on a mission trip. After the mall, we came home and warmed up Beef Burgers from Friday night and they headed home. We were able to attend church Sunday and I was able to do Bible study and lunch with the ladies today and I was glad because the weather prevented both last week.

I have not forgotten how to blog.

Just not a lot to say. Weekday routine includes chores and errands (when Mark gets home to go with me) and looking forward to something decent to watch on TV in the evening. We did go to Lee's Summit on Valentines day with Mark's mom and Ike for Mark's brothers' birthday. Mark tunred 50 on Wednesday and his brother turned 54 on Thursday. His wife fixed spaghetti and Cheesecake and that was the first time we had seen their home. We saw a movie on Saturday (Definitely, Maybe) at the theater and saw The Game Plan on video Sunday. I recommend The Game Plan highly but not Definitely Maybe. We have also had dinner out. I have not driven for some time now, due to ice and when I went shopping with a friend yesterday, took a minor fall on ice. I am fine but did not attempt Bible Study outing today and we had to miss church due to weather on Sunday.

Happy Birthday Mark

Mark turns the big 5-0 today! We had dinner at a steak house on Saturday night with his brother from Kansas city and his wife, his other sister-in-law and his mom and Ike.

How many days till spring?

Mark got to test drive the snow blower yesterday. He had a little bit of trouble getting it started but once it started, it worked good. He was out about two hours and still has to dig the cars out. We probably had 7-8 inches. I am trying to remain busy at home as I a not out in this stuff.

Plumbing problems and a prettty poodle.

We didn't get to go to the marriage seminar Friday night because were dealing with a plumbing problem and were both tired. We did get to go today and it was wonderful. While we were at the seminar, Lacie was at the spa being groomed at a new place we were trying. We were very pleased as she came out with a cute Valentine scarf on. We took pics of her and Dusty together because we had him groomed not long ago.

We are getting a van!

My sister in New Mexico who is a doctor, had a patient who lost her daughter just prior to our dad's passing. Her daughter had been in a motorcycle accident and had to be in a wheelchair. The patient had a handicapped accessible van that was her daughter's and she sold it to my sister for an extremely good price. It is a 1999 GMC Savanah with only 3500 miles on it. It is totally handicapped converted. My sister purchased it as a gift to us and will drive it up here when we have dad's memorial service on Labor Day weekend. We are so grateful! We plan to attend a marriage seminar at church this weekend with Bill and Pam Ferrel who have written many Christian marriage books such as "Women are Waffles and Men are Spaghetti". We are scheduled to be doing that Friday night and Saturday morning,

Below are pictures of Mark's mom's birthday celebration. The brother from Branson did not come up. The baby she is holding is her most recent great grand-daughter, Lilly Ann.

A weekend with family

Mark's mom is to turn 80 tomorrow and we actually have two celebrations planned. Tonight, Ike is cooking for all of us and that includes Mark and I, Ike and Mark's mom, the three grandsons she helped to raise, the oldest grandson's girlfriend and baby daughter. Saturday, his brothers from both Branson and KC along with their wives are coming to SJ and we are all surprising her by going to dinner at Red Lobster. My sister in law, Elaine is joining us there. I plan to take several pictures of the activities and make her a photo collage and share some on the blog.

My mom and aunt have decided to move back to Chillicothe in the Spring and will probably purchase a home there. They will be about 35 miles further from us but will hopefully have more room so we can spend some overnights with them and mom needs to be near her grand kids. They live in a very small apartment right now and it is hard for me to get around when I use my walker. Have a great weekend!!!

information and update

We found out that my dad had a massive stoke. If if was prior to or as a result of the accident is not able to be determined. He did have high blood sugar and high blood pressure at times and had severe headaches occasionally. He was not one to see a doctor or follow physicians orders much. I think he had the stroke and that caused the accident.

On another note, Mark and I saw a wonderful DVD last night called "Saving Sarah" and it is based on a Beverly Lewis book about a single lady who lives in the city and is given custody of her Amish nieces and nephews. It was one of the best movies I had seen in so long!! Tonight was elder's forum at church and this coming Friday, we plan to celebrate Mark's mom's 80th birthday. Lot's of things to get done this week.

Thanks for praying

Tennyson Myers is home and much better! Praise the Lord. Thanks for praying. We did errands today and visited with Mark's mom and Ike. We had Pizza Hut buffet. I am struggling with a sore throat but no fever. Friday I got out and drove myself to get a haircut. That was nice to be able to do and I did fine but at about 41 degrees there were still ice patches.I am anxious for it to go away all together!

the box

My sister sent me a box of things that she felt belonged with me that were from dad's house. Weighing in around 30 lbs., it was full of gifts that I had gotten for him, pictures of he and I and cards and letters sent to him by me or on my behalf since I was four years old. I honestly think he kept each one. I cherish dad's sentimentality! I was crying most of the time I went through it but it is a priceless box of memories. Mark's Christmas/New Year dinner for work was last night and it was good to get out of the house. I don't think I have driven since the ice storm and who knows when I can venture out alone again.

Urgent prayer request

Please pray for Tennyson Myers. He is the baby that was born premature to out friends Travis and Lindsay. He had been home and gaining weight and but has developed an infection and is being admitted to the hospital.

Dusty gets a haircut

Dusty had his hair cut today. He and Lacie are looking more alike. Mom blessed us with her home made hash today. I am enjoying my new electronic word/memory/phrase game "Say What". We played it on New Year's Eve at our friend's house and then purchased one. I start the second half of our Beth Moore study in the morning and we begin Tuesday morning studies again this week. I am ready to get busy again.