Here we are at Thankful Thursday again! There are so many things to be thankful for and today I would just like to put a few out there.....

1. Puppies, kittens, rainbows, puffy white clouds and sweet smelling flowers. (This is for my great friend Sam) Long story!!!! see her blog from yesterday!

2. I am thankful that I do have a job to go to and that I do get paid for showing up. I am glad that I can pay my bills and have a house that I can do "projects" and that I can enjoy the blessings that I have received. Doesn't mean that it is always pleasant, but I want to be thankful today.

3. I am thankful today that my dear LarBear got nominated for Employee of the Quarter! He didn't get it, but it's OK, he still got a good attaboy!! He is such a hard worker and he really deserved the award. One of these times he will get rewarded!

4. I am thankful for Washington State. I really do love it here. It's never too hot and it's never really too cold. We really don't have as much rain as people think! I love the mountains and all the water. It is so green and beautiful!

5. I am thankful for my church. I am so blessed to have a church that I can go and learn about God and I can be refreshed after having really hard weeks at work. It is also a place that I feel safe. I love to sing and I really enjoy our choir. It is also a place that when I am sick or going through really hard stuff, there are people there who care and who will pray with me. I love that.

I learn so many great things that I hadn't known before and it seems that I am reminded of God's great love and mercy just when I need to hear it the most.

6. I am thankful for summer fruit! It just seems right to have all that fruit in the summer time. Not to mention all the veggies from the garden. Well, not my garden, but my daughters! I had fresh lettuce and peas from her very first garden! It was so yummy!! Good job Angela!

Shoes for orphans!

http://www.thejoyfm.com//Article.asp?id=811773

This is a great cause if anyone wants to get some ladies involved in helping collect shoes for these precious little ones. It would be fun to help make a difference in their lives, even if it's just a pair of shoes. We take this as such a little thing, but to them it is a really big deal. I would like to see some of our work ladies do this and send a nice package to Florida.

We are so quick to collect a TON of shoes for ourselves, but they may not even have 1 pair of shoes. That is so sad.

This is the station that my son is on in the afternoons in Florida.

Let me know if you do this or maybe you could put a "shout out" on your blogs!

Do it for the kids!!!

Puppy Due Date Today!

This is Maggie, my daughters female that is DUE TODAY!

This picture does not show how big she is now, but last night we went to visit them and I got to feel the puppies moving! I also got to listen to their heart beats.

Angela is all geared up with everything all set to go. I asked her if she has had any urge to clean her whole house yet...

So we wait to get the call. Blake asked me if they call us in the middle of the night will we come right down.... hmmmmmm I had to think about that one about.... 2 seconds.... No, I don't think so sweetie, we live an hour and a half away and I think we will wait until the puppies are all here!

Bring on the puppies!!!

Camping in Leavenworth Saturday

Leavenworth, WA....

SHOPPING SHOPPING SHOPPING

Horse and buggy rides

Then off to the Resort.........

It was so beautiful and peaceful there. I love the sound of the rushing water by the river!

This spot didn't have as much white water as I like, but it was still beautiful.

LarBear and our other friends and my brother went rafting in a large boat. My brother does not swim and he was on the back of the boat thinking he was pretty secure there. LarBear had told him not to worry that he would take care of him. Well, Lar ended up in the front of the boat and they were trying to get into a cave and all of a sudden Lar caught a glimpse of my brother in the drink!!!!! He said he was panicking!! They got him in the boat just fine, but it was pretty scary for a while! It was a good life jacket and the guide had told them if they fall out, just sit and wait for them to get to you. Well, he wasn't waiting for NO ONE!!! They had a great time.

I was back at the town with my migraine and went to go shopping and only made it into two stores and I just couldn't do it. THAT WAS REALLY SAD THAT I COULDN'T SHOP!!! Went back to the camp and slept. It was still very relaxing.

After LarBear got back to the camp, I wanted to go to the spa. He had had enough water for one day, so I went in by myself. He sat there and read the paper while I was in there so it was fine.

I had the hot tub to myself!!! Loved it!!!

Check out my curtains... I made all new curtains for the 4 windows. They worked out really well. That is the color I am going to have the outside design work done and an awning in the aqua and white stripe. It is very vintage looking.

Miracle on Highway 90

We were traveling back from camping at Leavenworth WA and pulling our '63 Shasta trailer...

All of a sudden the trailer was swaying back and forth wildly! It was SO scary!!! LarBear was freaking.... we slowed down and pulled off the road. We thought we maybe had a flat tire or a sway bar broke, I had to explain to LarBear what a sway bar was!! We looked everything over and everything looked fine. I called my brother, the trailer king, and asked him if he had had that happen with any of the trailers he had pulled. He did. He said what you do is speed up and it will correct the unbalance of the winds. He said that the wind on one side and the wind on the other side made it go off balance and could have even been the big semi's wind from one side pushing it against the wind from the other side. It didn't happen again, but we learned what to do if it happens.

Thankful Thursday!

I am thankful for my daughter and husband and Blake and Riley! They bless my life every day. I have the greatest daughter anyone could want. She is my very best friend in the world and I love spending time with her and talking to her. I love to camp and shop with her. I love to laugh together. I love watching her make her dad laugh until he can't breath and he makes this noise that makes us all laugh and we know that we have done good to get him to laugh like that. Angela is the best at getting him to laugh. Blake and Riley love their grandma and I love being with them. They are the light of my life!

I am thankful for my son Jason (Jayar, his radio name) and his family (Florida) I miss them so much. I love sharing life with them and I love getting my hugs from Jason. Christina is a joy to have as a friend and daughter and I love to be with them. Now, those girls, what can I say they are just the cutest most precious grandkids! It melts my heart when I hear them say grandma!!! Kansas is 5 and Ysabella is 2. They are precious! I love how Jason plays with his girls...
Here is Jason playing Pretty Pretty Princess and he had all the jewelry on! Priceless!!!

Kansas McKayla (5)

You are so precious and I love you so much! I love to hear you sing and even talk on the radio!
You are sweet and I miss you so much!

Ysabella London, you are the cutest little girl, and I can't wait to see you again. You melt my heart and your sweet voice talking to me on the phone warms my heart. I love you so much!

I have the best grandkids ever!

I am very blessed!!

I am also very thankful for my oldest son, Jeremy (Illinois) I miss you so very much! I love my hugs and talks with you. I love that you call me just to say hello and I love you! I love how we laugh to gether and how we love to go do things "spontaneously" I love your photography talent and I love watching you be daddy! I love how you are so forgiving. I love that you are easy going and enjoy the simple things of life.

You are such a hard worker and you have a tender heart.

I love your wife, Angela. I have to admit it is confusing to have two Angela's! We always have to ask, "which Angela"!!!!!

Your kids! I love them all.... I miss them all.

Tylor, Rutger and Lily! I miss their hugs and kisses!! I love talking to them on the phone and I loved when Rutger told me that we can move there and have a house nearby so he could always come see me and spend the night. They are all so precious.

Connor and Sharon, the twins! I am thankful for you too. All grown up and graduated! Wow! I hope we can see you again soon!

So, there you all have it....... as you can see "I LOVE MY KIDS AND GRANDKIDS"

THEY ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND THEY ARE WHAT BRINGS JOY TO MY HEART!

90 minutes in Heaven

I am not one to sit down and read a book all the way through, but yesterday LarBear got a book in the mail that he had ordered. It is called "90 days in Heaven"
I could not put it down. I read the whole thing! It was awesome! It is about a man that was killed in a car accident and another man came to the scene that was a minister and he felt God wanted him to go to the car with the tarp over it and pray for the person in it. The EMT's told him repeatedly that the man in there was dead. He insisted and finally was allowed to go. He prayed a very intense prayer for healing of internal injuries and for there to be no brain damage. After some time he began to sing a song called What a friend we have in Jesus. All of a sudden the "dead man" began to sing with him! He climbed out of the trunk of the car, which was the only way he could get in. He told the EMT's to come quick because the man was alive.... it took a lot of persistence for him to get them to recheck him.
The man was so mangled, but lived and he tells about his very painful road to recovery and his 90 minutes in Heaven. That part was so amazing how he saw so many people there that he knew that came to greet him. He tells of the peace brightness of Heaven and the beautiful colors that were more intense colors than we can't even imagine here on earth. He then describes the sounds of the angels wings and the sound of thousands of worship songs being sung all at one time and yet able to distinguish each one. He described his grandmother that had a hunchback and her face was all wrinkled at age 90 something. He saw her and she was standing up straight and no wrinkles. She had no teeth, but now had beautiful teeth and radiant white. Her smile was beautiful and she glowed with joy and peace.
Another thing that he mentioned was how all these people that came to greet him had in some way been an encouragement or influence in his life to come to know God and they somehow had been summoned to greet him and welcome him to Heaven.
I loved this book and recommend it to everyone to read.

Momma Mia it's Monday!

Here it is a Monday again! Why is it that the weekends always go by so fast? It takes a while to get back in the groove of doing our work. I try to be very upbeat and cheerful but I am finding that the older I get the harder it is to get up on a Monday morning and get into my work.
We had a great weekend together, went to see 2 movies... Momma Mia was AWESOME.... it is SOOOOO funny. You don't see musicals very often anymore and this was just such a fun movie. The place was packed with a LOT of women! I don't remember when I have been to a movie when there was SO much laughter!!

LarBear and Nail Polish?

This morning I was getting ready for work and got my favorite Hot Pink nail polish out to do my nails. After trying feverishly to get the cap off, I took it in to my manly husband to open, but what I said to him made his eyes get big and the look on his face was priceless. "Can you open this for me, you were the last one to use it!!!!" I had to explain to him that he WAS the last one to use it when he painted my toenails for me last month!! See, I wasn't kidding when I said that HE used it last and put the cap on as tight as lug nut!! Wanna get away honey?

Today I am thankful for Weight Watcher ice cream treats in the middle of the day when you have not had a very positive day!

I am thankful that I can rise above anything that pulls me down and I choose to do that, and know that I am valuable no matter what happens. It's not the end of the world if someone makes a mistake and everything can be fixed. It's a good feeling to be able to let it go.

I am thankful that it is nice out again today, and that it is my Friday!!!! Yeah for 3 day weekends! I know.... "bragger" .......

Zip it!

I was sitting at the nail shop the day before my knee surgery and my husband walked in. The first thing I see is that his pants were unzipped!! Trying not to embarrass him, I tried to motion to him with my eyes and head nod. He came in to tell me the surgery center needed me to call them right away. I didn't have my phone so he left to go get my phone. I thought he had gotten the message as he sort of acted like he was trying to hide as he backed out of the building, (which was funny in itself)..... After a bit he walked in again, STILL WITH THE ZIP DOWN!! This time I whispered it to him. He was so embarrassed!! He thought that I was telling him that he was too dirty to come in the nail shop!!!! Poor LarBear!!!

A Child's View of Thunderstorms

A little girl walked to and from school daily.
Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school.
As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with lightning.
The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she feared the electrical storm might harm her child.
Full of concern, the mother quickly
got into her car and drove
along the route to her child's school.
As she did, she saw her little girl walking along.
At each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up, and smile.
Another and another flash of lighting followed quickly and with each, the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.
When the mother's car drew up beside the child, she lowered the window and called to her
"What are you doing?"
The child answered,
"I am trying to look pretty because God keeps taking my picture."

May God bless you today and everyday
as you face the storms that come your way.

Fire Protection and PRAYERS

My brother has been a volunteer Fireman in Eastern Washington for a very long time and this past week he got a call to come to the station NOW. He has been up on Badger Mountain with a large crew fighting a raging fire now for a week. On Wednesday last week he called me from top of the mountain and said, " I need you to call anyone you can that will pray for us up here. The winds are 50 - 78 mph and blowing walls of fire from ridge to ridge and exploding all over the place. They were in big danger and he needed people to pray for their protection. Later that night a wall of fire came right in front of them so close that they could feel the blast of heat on them and was covering them with an oily black soot. All of a sudden the fire abruptly stopped and split to the right and the left and then a wall of fire behind them. It didn't jump into the inner circle AT ALL. I know that God had HIS mighty hand of protection on them. There is POWER in prayer and he saw it first hand. The next day the winds died down a lot to give them a chance to work the fire. It is still burning out of control, so we are still praying for them and all the other fires burning all over. It is such a dangerous job and I am so thankful for all of those risking their lives for the safety of people in those areas.

Antique Shopping Finds!

I found two very cool antique shops last Friday. One of them I got 3 of the Ball canning jars with the lid clamps in the aqua color, 2 quart and one pint. It would have been $26 for all three, but my friend running the shop, gave all three to me for $10! Cool!

Their shop opened up a sister shop that day so I scooted over to that one and I scored! I have been looking for an antique aqua radio for the trailer! It is a tube radio, which is hard to find these days, AND it works. At first I didn't think it did, but with the tube radios you have to let them warm up. It only has AM.... The first station I tuned into was KIXI that plays 50's style music! How perfect.

But.... check out the suitcase! It is a teal color with white trim. The inside is a dark rose color silky fabric that pulls over the clothes on one side. Beautiful shape!!! The white trim was all black. I couldn't believe how beautiful it cleaned up. There was no splits or scratches and all the hinges work. I got it for $7.00 That was a steal!!! I was pretty excited!

We are getting ready to go to a vintage trailer rally in August so these items will display nicely for my trailer. More pictures as I get my curtains made and get things done.

Just when I had lost all hope...

Well, just when I thought that LarBear is never going to like camping.... he is the one that suggested that we go camping Saturday night! My eyes lite up like a Christmas tree! I wasn't sure if we would end up going because he will suggest this and then.... blah blah blah I have so much to do.... and we would end up staying home and doing nothing. Get my hopes up and then DASH THEM TO THE GROUND! He was so proud that he was the one that thought of it and the weather was going to be beautiful! I have been working on my newest project, a vintage trailer ('63 Shasta) and was not even close to being ready to go. This was on Friday afternoon that this come up. I spent hours cleaning it up and getting in stocked with stuff and painting a few places that needed painting.

Angela and the grandson's joined us and we had a great time together. They loved the pool.

I would have enjoyed the weekend much more if my knee hadn't

been hurting so bad... oh well, it was so nice to get out of the House and get out in the sun.

Larry read a lot and relaxed! He deserved it for getting us out of the house!!! Yeah..... there is hope!

I love my new washer!!!!

It finally got here! It is a Whirlpool Duet. I had a truck load of washing to catch up on since my other washer died!

It is so easy to operate. I think even LarBear will be able to figure it out. It sets all the settings for you!!! We didn't get the dryer since our old one is still working fine. Life is good, the laundry is all caught up. I am sure that during the night a big pile of dirty clothes will show up. It happens that way you know because laundry is malignant!!! It continually grows. All you women with children say a big amen!!!!

If only the fish could talk.....

This is my son Jason (Jayar) and granddaughter Kansas in Florida. Kansas caught this Snapper and the video of this event you could see the fish opening it's mouth like it was talking. My daughter and I had all kinds of things that we were thinking we would post, not everyone would think they were funny, but we were getting crazy with our ideas.
"And I was having such a good day"
"Momma told me not to follow those shinny things on a string"
" Who's the big guy?"
"Take me to your leader" "Save me, my momma's gonna kill me"
"I want to give you a big slimy kiss cute little girl"
"Throw me back in, this heat is killing me" "Be a man, loose the glove"
"Great, now I'm going to have a scar on my lips. Do you know what that is going to do for my image?" "That's gonna leave a mark" "Down there I am a King, up here I'm just something to give you a thrill and then you will toss me like a banana peel"
"Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah....would you just throw me back, I'M DYING HERE....Toss me.."
"I'm looking for Elmo, can you help me?" "Oh for the love of blue cheese dressing, would you just let the little one hold me?" (That one was for you Sam!)
Feel free to add your own ideas of what this fish might have been saying.....

Random Thoughts on Bathroom Etiquette

At work sometimes we have what we call "Random Thoughts" .....

Here is my random thought of the day!

Why is it that the bathroom hand towel is always dirty,

if people are washing their hands?

There are only two of us living here, so I know that it's not kids.........

I know that I wash my hands all the time, so that leaves only one guilty party! I really don't think just running the water over the tips of your fingers is what I would call "washing" your hands.....

I think that two things really bother me about bathrooms, no three........... drips in front of the toilet (gross), toothpaste on the faucett and dirty hand towels.

This sign is not meant to be crude, but it cracked me up! Growing up with 5 men in the house and then having 2 sons and a husband, this sign just related to my life and my growing up!!!!

Where can I get this sign, that's what I want to know!!! LOL

Today it was good to get out of the house. I have been shut in since surgery, so it was nice to get out for a while. I took a drive up to Seabeck and sat by the water and watched the Eagles and cranes! It was so beautiful out and it felt good just relaxing in the sun.

I am so excited as tomorrow we get our new front loader washer! I have a lot of laundry to catch up on, so I will get plenty of practice on the new settings! It's a Whirlpool Duet with all the bells and whistles! We didn't get the dryer yet, but will add that later. The one thing that I am really excited for is that it has a setting that you can preset all your favorite settings. That will be LarBear's setting so that I don't have to keep telling him how to use it.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

One of my favorite patriotic songs is

God Bless America

God bless America, Land that I love. Stand beside her, And guide her, Thru the night with a light from above. From the mountains, To the prairies, To the oceans white with foam. God bless America, My home, sweet, home, God bless america, My home, sweet, home.

God Bless the USA, by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were goneI'd worked for all my life,And I had to start againwith just my children and my wife,I'd thank my lucky starsto be living here today,'Cause the flag still stands for freedomand they can't take that away. I'm proud to be an Americanwhere at least I know I'm free,And I won't forget the men who diedwho gave that right to me,And I gladly stand up next to youand defend her still today,'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this landGod Bless the U.S.A.From the lakes of Minnesotato the hills of Tennessee,Across the plains of Texasfrom sea to shining sea.From Detroit down to Houstonand New York to L.A.,There's pride in every American heartand it's time we stand and say:I'm proud to be an Americanwhere at least I know I'm free,And I won't forget the men who diedwho gave that right to me,And I gladly stand up next to youand defend her still today,'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this landGod Bless the U.S.A.

America the Beautiful Words by Katharine Lee Bates
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self the country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

Did you know: there are 8 verses to this song?

This Land Is Your Land Woody Guthrie

This land is your land, This land is my land, From California To the New York island, From the Redwood Forest, To the Gulf stream waters, This land was made for you and me. .

We went to Port Orchard to watch the fireworks. They are not the best show around but we had to keep it simple this year. We found a spot that we were able to park and put our chairs out and didn't have to walk.

Fireworks can be so dangerous on the bay as everyone is shooting off their own fireworks until the show starts. We didn't have anyone around us at all shooting off anything, so it was nice and quiet. It was good to be able to get out of the house for a bit.

I am so thankful for FREEDOM, sometimes I think we have too much freedom, but all the same we are very blessed. God HAS blessed America. It is because we were founded by Godly principles and we have the freedom to worship God without the fear of someone cutting our head off for speaking God's name. We don't have to worry about the government storming our churches and shooting everyone or setting our church on fire.

America isn't perfect, but we are still FREE. When America gets back to putting God back in it's rightful place, things will be better. we still live in a peaceful country.

We have so much to be thankful for.

(This is rather lengthy, but AWESOME)

"AMERICA AGAIN" by Carman R.I.O.T album

Verse 1: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, First Chief Justice John Jay. Names synonomous with the spirit of our country, founding fathers of the U.S.A. Over 200 years ago they shook off the chains of tyrany from Great Britain, by divine call. Citing 27 biblical violations, they wrote the Declaration of Independence, with liberty, and justice, for all. But something happened since Jefferson called the Bible the cornerstone for American liberty, then put it in our schools as a light. Or since 'Give me liberty or give me death!' Patrick Henry said, our country was founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We eleminated God from the equation of American life, thus eleminating the reason this Nation first began. From beyond the grave I hear the voices of our founding fathers plead, you need God in America, again. Of the 55 men who formed the Constitution, 52 were active members of their church. Founding fathers like Noah Webster, who wrote the first dictionary, could literally quote the Bible, chapter and verse. James Madison said, 'We've staked our future on our ability to follow the 10 Commandments, with all our heart.' These men believed you couldn't even call yourself an American, if you subvert the Word of God. In his farewell address, Washington said, 'You can't have national morality apart from Religious principal,' and it's true. Cause right now we have nearly a hundred and fifty thousand kids carrying guns to these warzones we call public schools. In the 40s and 50s student problems were chewing gum and talking, in the 90s, rape and murder are the trend. The only way this nation can even hope to last this decade, is put God in America, again!Chorus: The only hope, for America, is Jesus. The only hope, for our country, is Him. If we repent, of our ways, stand firm and say, 'We need God in America, again.'Verse 2: Abe Lincoln said, 'The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation, will be the philosophy of government in the next.' So when you eleminate the Word of God from the classroom and politics, you eleminate the nation that Word protects. America is now number one in teen pregnancy and violent crime, number one in illiteracy, drug use, and divorce. Everyday a new holocaust of 5,000 unborn die, while pornography floods our streets like open sewers. America's dead and dying hand is on the threshold of the Church, while the spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah vex us all. When it gets to teh point when peoplle would rather come out of the closet than clean it, it's the sign the Judgement of God is gonna fall. If there's ever been a time to rise up Church it's now, and as the blood-bought saints of the living God proclaim. That it's time to sound the alarm from the Church House, to the White House and say, 'We want God, in America, again!' (We need God in America, God in America again). I believe it's time America to stand up and proclaim, that 'One Nation Under God' is our demand! And send this evil lifestyle back to Satan where it came from, and let the Word of God revive our dying land! For Jesus Christ is coming back again in all His glory, and every eye shall see Him on that day. That's why a new annointing of God's power's comin on us, to boldly tell the World 'You must be saved!' Because astrology won't save you, your horoscope won't save you, the Bible says these things are all a farce. If you're born again you don't need to look to the stars for your answers, cause you can look to the very One who made those stars. History tells us time and time again, to live like there's no God makes you a fool. If you wanna see kids live right, stop handing out condoms, and start handing out the Word of God in schools!(Chorus 2X)We need God, in America(We need) God in AmericaWe need God, in America againAmerica again

GOD BLESS AMERICA AGAIN!

Operation Success

I had my knee operation yesterday and it went very well. They found a loose chip floating around in there. Now how did that "chip" get in there? I thought I hid my chips pretty well in my stomach! I guess I will have to be more careful when eating chips from now on! Those sneaky chips!

Well, the Dr fixed it all up and now I just have to recover for a week and I should be all better. Three Cheers to great Doctor's!!!!!!

Bike Accident Memory

This picture made me laugh..........
Today is 2 years since my terrible bicycle accident. I am thankful today for life and being able to walk even though still having some problems with my knee, but I am thankful for helmets that kept my head from a major injury. It has taken a long time to heal, but it could have been VERY serious.

These crash dummies should have done the test ride on my new bike.

When the handlebars came off at least they would have had the sense to let the bike slow down and THEN fall off!!! Because you see dummies are really very smart they don't think about it and panic! They just let it happen!!!