Swimming at the YMCA

Today was a swim day at the YMCA ,but there is a kids swim meet this week end so the water was just too cold to stay in very long.
I did laps for 1/2 hour and came back home.
I guess I will return next month and it should return to normal.
today was sunny so the solar heater is working and it is soo warm in the kitchen.
I have a dessert for supper in the oven so it is so cozy in the kitchen right now.
I feel like a cat curled up in front of the fireplace.
Speaking of cats, Don and I decided to start feeding two stray kittens who might have frozen to death without our help.
Now there are three kittens eating and it is a long time until spring. What have we started?
Just add cat food to the grocery list.
Maybe they are angels also. Give us old folks something else to care for besides ourselves.
Happy winter.

Just an ordinary day

Today is just an ordinary day. Some days are great and some are not so good. But each day carries enough worry for one day.
Lay your worries at the feet of Jesus. He will handle all your problems today. He is in control. We only think we are the ones in control.
We can really only plan one day at a time . For tomorrow we may be called home to heaven.
I am at an age where many friends my age are dying and we say he or she were too young to die. Life is so short. We must enjoy the moment for it may never come our way again.
Thank you Jesus for the love of a good man. May we be blessed with many years together and my they be truely happy years serving you Jesus.
Guide our path and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for your sake.
Just another ordinary day. Thank God for each ordinary day of life to live for his glory.

Cold but Sunny

Today is cold ,zero , but Sunny.
Sometimes life is cold , dead, but sunny with the promise of tomorrow and a new day to start new in Christ.
It's all about you Jesus.
It is not about me. I am insanificant . I am just the vessel and Jesus is the oil that must be poured out to heal others. The healing balm of life.
Unless I am broken and poured out I can not help others.
Jesus was broken on the cross of Calvary for my sins and the sins of the world . He is our righteousness. Only because of his sacrifice on the cross can anyone come before a holy God and say I am righteous because of the shed blood of Christ.
It is never too late to turn your life to Jesus.
Come sinner repent and be made whole by the blood of the lamb.

Mom To Moms

Today is Mom to Moms at church. I volunteer to babysit in the baby to 3 year olds room.
I play more with the 2-3 year olds.
It is a long 3 hours but a very rewarding three hours.
The children are so precious. Thier moms get a chance to fellowship and learn about becoming great mothers and the children are well cared for while the moms get a rest from thier children.
I also enjoy the fellowship with the other babysitters. Betty and Ann are my best friends in Osky.
This is my outreach into the community.
I sew quilts for the moms to be and now am known as the quilt lady.
I really do look forward to seeing the children twice a month.
Thy are little darlings and we can send them home after a couple of hours of play.
Upward and onward.

IT's a new day and a new Era

Well the party is over and now the new president must get down to business and he and congress must get down to business.
America is in a heap of trouble. It did not get that way overnight and it will take some time for it to get better.
People need to learn to be a saving nation and not spend every dime they have on stuff.
America has too much stuff.
Help America to get on its knees and honor God and trust Him to knoow what is best for the nation
We serve a mighty God and he wants what is good for us if we will just trust him more.
All the Pomp and Glory are over now grit and hard work must be done to accomplish what needs to get this nation moving in the right direction again,.

I hope they were not empty promises in the campain.

Obama Mania

President Obama was sworn into office today.
Over 2,000,000 citizens from every state in the nation were there to witness history in the making.
Former President Bush and Laura left in Style and Grace. I wish them well in retirement and hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoy my retirement.
Party today Mr President as tomorrow the weight of the world will be upon your shoulders.
I wish you and your family a pleasant stay in the White House.
May God continue to Bless America!

Entertaining

Today is ladies bible study and I am on the committee so I have to take cookies and help with the organizational meeting.
Don is bringing home a friend from work from west Chicago for supper tonight. I am fixing a beef arm roast and potatoes and gravy plus pecan pie for dessert.
I love to entertain and cook.
My house is clean because the house cleaner came yesterday.
I am glad Don has a friend to bring home. I want our home to be a haven of rest at the end of the day.

Monday morning cleaning lady

It is monday morning and the cleaning lady , Gloria Stams is coming today to help me clean the bathrooms.
We have three full bathrooms and only two people living here but all three manage to get used.
My husband does not think I need a cleaning lady and he even cleaned the potties once to prove we did not need a cleaning lady but I persisted and I am happy to have a cleaning lady.
She only comes twice a month but I am always happy to have her come. While she is cleaning the bathrooms I try a little harder on the rest of the house and it looks good for at least one day. Cleaning is a vicious circle and a job that is never complete. It is so self defeating in my mind to clean and still need to clean.
If we were not so dirty perhaps we would not need a cleaning lady.
Life one day at a time.

sanctity of life sunday

Today is sunday and it was good to be in the house of the Lord today.
Today is Sanctitiy of Life Sunday and a lady from Kansas came to share her testimony in song and from Gods word. She had an abortion many years ago and she said you never get over the remorse and regret.
She had a lovely voice and she wanted to use it for Gods Glory.
It was a different service and I did enjoy it.
The choir sang well without any practice this week because of the cold.
I do enjoy choir and singing praises to the Lord.
This has been a long week end because itis too cold to go out and do anything. Winter has been very long this year.
and we still have two months to go.

Road to Ridgeway, Mo

Today we will travel the road to Ridgeway , Missouri to pick up a 1/4 of beef we bought from Bruce Gentry.
We will stop back at Kim's and go to one of Kolton's basketball games. I love being grandma and cheering for him and his team.
Ah! The joys of being Grandma. THe ability to make someone feel special.
Kolton will always be special to me. I was with his parents all day the day he was born. Others came just before he was born but I was there the entire day offering support and love.
Who could not believe there is a God when they witness the miracle of birth. A tiny miracle of love wrapped up in human flesh. I think it was a greater moment with God then when my own children where born.
Thank you Jesus for showing us your glory with another day of life to live and give to you.

When its Springtime in Alaska

BURR!!!!
It is so cold outside. How cold is it outside?
It is so cold that the hot water in the master bathroom is frozen and so Don is trying to thaw it out and hope it does not break the pipes.
The poor little stray kittens are hiding out trying to keep warm I am sure.
We feed them to help them survivie the long hard winter.
I may just stay in my pajamas all day. They are warm and flannel and oh so comfortable.
I have been housebound all week.
I 'll be glad when January is behind us.
Happy winter.

Quilting a past time journey

Today it is bitter cold outside with windchills way below zero. Almost too dangerous for people who have to work outside in the elements, like postal workers and construction workers. So say little prayer for them today. Lord bless them and keep them warm,
But it is a good day to work on quilts. Each quilt is unique and different.
Each takes some creative thinking. What fabrics, colors and patterns to use.
It is like a road map. Each piece fitting together perfectly and coming together like an artist painting a picture.
Today I am cleaning up my sewing room and sewing up leftover pieces to make a simple block quilt out of leftover scraps of fabric. It will be given to the church quilting group to be given to homeless in Oskaloosa.
It may not be a very pretty quilt but it will be very functional as it will provide both warmth and comfort to a lonely down on thier luck person.
There but for the grace of God goes You and me if God did not care as much as he does and I make the quilts because the Bible tells us that by entertaining strangers we have sometimes entertained angels of the Lord.
What we do for the least of these we do for the Lord.

Winter Wonderland

It has been snowing all night long and looks like it has settled in for the day. Very light and fluffy snow. So if the winds get strong it will blow around. The temps are freezing cold below zero. An artic blast of Cananian air. Winter has been long and hard this year. We are beginging to get cabin fever and long for springs soon return,
This is a good day to just sit inside by the fire and look out and admire Gods handiwork.
Sew a quilt or knit an afgan.Be thankful for a warm home and a loving husband who is still working to bring home the bacon.
I sure do love being retired.
This is the life. Amen

snow storm

Well we got plenty of snow yesterday but a blizzard never really materialized.
I think north west Iowa may have gotten more blowing snow then we did.
But we did get another 5 iches of snow so everything is blanketed in white.
It really is pretty until the polution turns it black.
Winter has been long this year. Where is the evidence of global warming?
Womens bible study today so Don is on his own for lunch.
Another day ot serve you Jesus.
May you be honored by all we say and do today.

blizzard 2009

Well there is a blizzard headed for Iowa today.
Good day to hunker down and wait it out to see what it will be.
Do my running this morning before it gets here.
Ah the joys of life in the deep freeze. Might as well enjoy it as you just get tired out fighting it.

Road to Leon

Saturday is Aglow in Leon and we will drive to Leon. Leon is 100 miles from Oskaloosa. So it is a sacrifice that I make each month because Aglow is important to me. Also My daughter and her family live there so it is a way to connect to them.
Mom looks forward to going each month and Don likes to go to drive and be with me.
I know it is hard for him to spend his time while I am at the meeting.
Lord I am asking you to bless this time for all of us and help me to feel free to miss if it does not work out for us to go.
LORD YOUR WILL BE DONE.

trip to the doctor

Today the road took me to visit the doctor in Pella.
He is a very nice young man. It is different when the roles are reversed and you are older then your doctor.
But he is kind to me and respectful because I'm getting older and needing his visits more often.
Pella is a nice town and always fun to visit and shop. They have a fabric store.
I have a new precription to help me sleep at night and he said to continue my healthy lifestyle.
So I will go to the YMCA for exercise this afternoon.

True Happiness

The pursuit of Happiness is an inalienable right guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence. But happiness does not just happen we must pursue it.
To be happy is a choice and we each must be responsible for our own happiness. No one else can make us happy. It helps being with someone who cares about our happiness but each must find their own happiness inside their own selves.
We can not just sit around having a pity party and wish for happiness. Notice we have to actively pursue our own happiness.
By faith I believed Don watson would make my life better and together we would find a simple and abundant life together and that is what makes me happy.
To act like children and laugh at ourselves as we travel down Lifes highway together. Some have called us crazy kids. There is no greater compliment.
Even Jesus said to have faith like a child.
Happiness that the World can not take away comes from believing in God and calling forth the Peace that only God can bring.
Without Jesus we would have no hope and without hope there would be nothing to look forward to beyond the grave.

Path of Life

Well staight is the path ahead of us today. Don and I choose this path last year and it took us 365 days to level out the hills and clear out the bramble bushes ahead. Now the course is becoming familiar and we are enjoying each new day together.
We laugh more and we still have moments when tears come to the surface but each day takes care of itself so we choose not to worry about tomorrow.
There is a curve ahead and we can only see one step ahead at a time but we know God is in control so we go where He leads us One Day at a time.
A new year a new beginning. We have the rest of our lives to enjoy together for as many days as the Lord gives to us.

Happy Anniversary

Today Don and I celebrate our first year of marriage. There have been many days up on the mountain and a few down in the valley, but God is faithful and just and we give thanks for the many blessing he provides each new day.
We look forward to many more happy years ahead.
2009 is off and running and we are trying to keep up.
Happy Anniversary Sweet heart . I still love you.

2009 Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year all.
We started the year off right by attending church and now Don is trying to fry chicken. I am staying out of his way.
It is winter in Iowa and I long for the warm sunny days we enjoyed in Florida. It was fun to runaway for a few days but really good to be back with our extended church family.
Don seems rested and ready to return to work and out from under my feet.
A new year stretchs ahead and oh the possibilites....
dreams to dream and life to live one day at a time.
Have a hapy new year.

Home Sweet Home

We arrived back home safe and sound tonighta at about 6 pm.

Mother was ready to be back home also.

I was not able to blog for the last couple of days.

So here is the rest of the story...



The teardrop made it over 3700 miles to Florida and back safely.

We enjoyed christmas eve with my kids and christmas evening with Don's mom and sister. Spent a day with my brohter in Augusta and visited Faux hole farm.

Spent two nights with my girlfriend in St Pete , Fl.

Saw the superman statue in Metropolis, Il, the arch in st louis, toured the arts district of Paducah, Ky.

WE toured Savana, Ga and St Augustine, Fl the oldest city in america.

Played on the beach in st pete and went to the st pete Pier.

We got to see Josh, Kandy's grandson.

We drove along the gulf from Biloxi, ms to new orleans and saw the distruction of Hurricane Katrina.

Don took the teardrop touring through the French Quarters in New Orleans and we ended up as the beginning of a parade and people were cheer Go Hawks.

We ate two great seafood dinners on in St Pete and one outside New Orleans.

A good time was had by all and all are glad to be home.

Until the next time our travels take us off the beaten path.