My baby turns 30!!

Sunday was Angela's 30th birthday! Wow, it doesn't seem possible. Saturday her husband Tory pulled off a great surprise party at Hunter's Farm. It was a great place tucked into the corn maze. We even had a fire pit with a nice warm fire. It warmed my heart to see all these friends showing how much she is loved.

I decided that I would make 30 envelopes with 30 years of JOY that she has brought to our lives. I found a scrapbook calendar with all different events and colorful pages. I was able to put things for when she was small that was funny as well as special events like graduation, first boyfriend, wedding, pregnancy etc. It took her a while to open them all, but it was fun. Some of the things was just funny memories between her and I, but it was all things to say, YOU HAVE BROUGHT JOY TO OUR HEARTS. Of course there was confetti in most of them!

Angela was wondering why everyone was avoiding her calls. I knew that she would drill me with questions! I even left my phone in the car so she wouldn't be able to call me!! Now I can talk to her again!!! Yeah!!!!

I don't do the corn maze after being traumatized last year when we could not find our way out. It was frightening. We decided that we would have food, flashlights, horn, toilet paper and numerous other things with us if we ever would enter one again!!! Our list of things we would take got a little crazy!!

Another day to be thankful!!

I am thankful today for my wonderful children and husband. I am very blessed. It is so easy to take for granted the people who mean the most to you. I don't want to do that. I hear a lot of people talk about bad situations in family circles and it makes me realize more and more how very blessed I am to have wonderful kids and a husband that would do anything in the world for me. I enjoy talking with my kids and love to hear from them. They are the light of my life.

I am thankful that I have wonderful daughter-in-laws and a great son-in-law.

I am thankful for a home that we live in. It may not be the fanciest home or have designer furniture, but it is home for us and I love it. I didn't grow up having a nice home so it makes me thankful for whatever I have. I have learned to make the best of what I have and be thankful.

I am thankful for music. I love listening to music. I love praise and worship music the most, but I like a variety as well. Lately I have been into Jazz again. I love the beautiful sounds and beats. Music just makes me feel good.

I am thankful for my brothers. Two of them came over to see me Saturday. It was great fun spending time with them and going to brunch. Really, they forgot my birthday and came to grovel!!!!

Birthday and Shoes!

We had a great time on my birthday. My youngest brother went to dinner with us and we ate really good food. Afterwards there was a SHOE store next door. It was the biggest shoe store I have ever seen. There was beautiful shoes that I would love to wear! But, with my feet feeling the way they are and the stairs that I go up and down every day, the main thing I needed was some comfortable shoes. I looked and looked and tried on shoe after shoe with only one sort-of pair that I chose. This is so not like me! Maybe this is God's way of telling me to be real. I have to take care of my feet as these are the only ones I have and I have to be smart.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Today is my birthday! I can't believe I am 55! WOW!!!

Today my boss gave me a $25 Starbucks gift card! I don't even drink coffee, but they do have very cool cups and other things to shop for, so I will find something cool!!! Wasn't that just cool? He wrote on the envelope..... You are awesome!! How awesome is that? A boss that appreciates me!!!!

Other people have put up signs at my desk and lots of good wishes. I have gotten lots of phone messages, phone calls, text messages and emails. Tonight is dinner out to Old Country Buffet. Good food. Larry got me a dozen long stem red roses. It was so sweet. He bought a separate one for me to take in to work!

I think that I am going to take off early today and go get my nails done before going to dinner.

It is Thankful Thursday!!!!

The Bible says to be thankful in all things.....

A lot of people don't understand that, but I try very hard to be grateful for things in my life. I think that God just wanted to get across to people that it is a good thing to be thankful. It's good for your health. Being critical and ungrateful effects the body as well as the mind!

1. Today I am thankful for the blessings of peace with God. I know that I am forgiven because Jesus died for my sins and I have asked Him to come into my heart and make me clean.

2. I am thankful that anyone can come to Jesus and receive Him no matter who they are. I am glad that God doesn't expect us to be perfect. I am thankful that He knows us and accepts us just as we are.

3. I am thankful that God has a sense of humor! He gives me so many good funny thoughts!

4. I am thankful that God cares about our country and will give people wisdom in voting.

5. I am thankful that even though the economy is hurting, God promises to provide my needs.

6. I am thankful for the Promise of Heaven where we can spend eternity with Jesus and give Him thanks for what He has for us. It's hard to imagine why anyone would miss Heaven on purpose. God made it so easy to choose.

7. I am thankful for America, that our country was founded on godly values. (America needs lots of prayer to get back to that, but we still have much to be thankful for here in our country)

8. I am thankful for my husband. He is awesome.

9. I am thankful for my kids and grand kids. I love them and miss them so much.

10. I am thankful for Washington state. It is such a great place to live.

Feeling Appreciated!

I love my new job! I know that I have said that more than a few times, but I am so thankful for this new position. It has so much variety and I am able to use my talents! The people are wonderful! The atmosphere is so calm and quiet! I feel free here and I feel appreciated! That is a very nice feeling! I had to work overtime last night to get a hot job in. It felt good to be a part of a team working to get a project done to make each part come together.

My boss does this really nice thing every week. They vote on an employee of the week and give them a gift card to some coffee shop. I made the award flyer this week and he loved it!

FRIDAY'S NOTES

This week has gone by so fast for me! I love that! I must remember that life outside of work is number one. Just because I spend most of my time here at work does not mean that it is the most valued time spent. I am thankful for my job don't get me wrong, but I am not really one of those "career" people that wants to do this all my life. In one week I will be turning 55, WOW and I am wanting to be home more and more all the time. I would just love to be able to live by each of my kids and just travel back and forth enjoying each of them. Work is just getting in the way, but until then I will work Monday thru Friday and be thankful for the job God has given me.

Today I brought in my bean dip and chips for the gang to enjoy. It is almost gone and it's just now lunch time! There are a lot more people at my new job to devour it. I think I made a lot of points today!!!

I really don't have a whole lot of plans for the weekend, just more catching up to do.

Proud of my son

Jeremy, my oldest son lives in Illinois and he is a night manager at a grocery store. It doesn't make enough money for them to live on and make ends meet. He has been praying for God to give him direction and open opportunities to make more money. He has a passion for taking pictures and does awesome work. Last week he told me that he went to a framing store and talked to the owner about putting a gallery in his store. It has happened, and he has already sold over $200 for his first pictures! That is without the frame, so his cost was only $5! Yesterday he sent me a text that the Mayer bought one of his pictures for $50.... God is blessing him. I am so proud of him. I just pray that it will take him by surprise and blow his socks off!!!! hmmm that would be a good picture!!!

Ummmm good cookin'

So there is this "single" guy that works next to me in my new job. Can he ever cook!!!
Today he brought in a pot of home cooked stew. It is the best I have ever tasted and I grew up on stew!! He has been eating it all day and shared it with me and a few others. He likes to cook. That is so weird to me. LarBear doesn't cook anything except hot dogs. Now ladies, I know that there might be some single gals out there that would love to have a very nice looking man that loves to cook. Wait, I better get to know him better so I can advertise him better. More on this later. I better not let him see this blog!!!

Venting about Car repairs

Why is it that when you buy a car you sign up for all these wonderful warranties and then when something goes wrong it's NEVER what you thought you signed up for. First thing they tell me is that for EACH problem there is a $90 "diagnostic" fee. How do you set up a diagnostic test for a plugged drain? Then you have to pay for the problem to be fixed and if the warranty covers it only then is the diagnostic fee waved. EEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. So, we took our car in with 3 different things for them to fix. You get the picture? Ninety dollars to just look at each problem and most of them won't be covered by the warranty. When we bought the service they made it sound like it was top of the line coverage and that there wouldn't be much that it wouldn't cover. RIGHT, that's not what they are telling me now. Now they make it sound like we got the worst one! Help me Rhonda!