Spring 2009

My friend Gretchen reminded me I needed to blog and she was right. It has been awhile. Mom spent Mother's day and night here with us and we had a great time! My Bible study and Wonderful Wednesdays have kept me busy and Mark was in Wednesday small group too! They both end this week. I am reading Christian fiction now and am currently reading Karen Kingsbury's, "Redemption". The poodles are great. Mark and I celebrated 19 years of marriage on the 28th and the weekend before, we went to Basswood Resort near KC. They had an awesome accessible cabin and while we did not fish, we spent time with Peggy and Don. The Lord arranged for me to meet Peggie at Women of Faith this Spring. She and her husband both have Cerebral Palsy and no children. They are from the KC area. I think we will be meeting with them again. I hope so as we have a lot to talk about. Like me, she used to work in the field of helping those with disabilities in administrative roles. She is a stay at home wife now. Otherwise, we are enjoying the outside and I am trying to be in the pool at least once per week. Hope all is well with everyone!

Just January

Not much to report. Things are pretty routine, which is good. I am reading three different books (two for study groups and one on my own). We had the poodles hair cut last week and we bought them coats to keep them warm. We really have been blessed with a milder winter than last year.

Josh

On Christmas morning, Mark's nephew was found dead. Mark and I were in route to Cameron when we found out, in the afternoon. We know he had asthma but the autopsy results will take a few more weeks. Josh was only 17 and was the youngest of 3 brothers. The funeral was Monday after Christmas. It was packed and many young people were there. Please pray for his friends and his family.
I try to keep busy with scrap booking and work around here. Small group begins tonight and I hope Home Builders starts next Tuesday morning. Thankful that the weather has not been bad.

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.