Denver Broncos Blues/Blue Monday/Aw...Monday/Love is.../Blogaversary Giveaway Winner/

Looking good in blue! Brock Osweiler had his first NFL start and win on his 25th birthday November 22, 2015! We love our Denver Broncos so whoever starts is going to be fine! We need to win more games! Manning is excellent on so many levels but I wonder about his health and his age. I hate to see him try to outdo Brett Favre. There is a time to step down and I think his time is coming. Plus he has guided Brock for the past few years and Brock is ready to take over the reigns. I am always going to love my Orange and Blue!

I think Brock will develop into a fine QB. He needs the experience, he has been quite patience sitting on the bench all these years. I may have some more blue here today but visit Sally and all the lovely blue shares too.

Noelle and Trek, 2009. The grass was green, the weather sunny and warm.

February 3, 2012, we had a whooper of a snow storm but Trek didn't mind! He was having fun trying to catch snowflakes! He has always been a favorite furry friend of mine although he belongs to Noelle and Roger. I like to visit my friend Trek, he likes me to visit because he knows I am the bearer of good gifts, "snacks" such as peanut butter and bacon treats or steak and cheese. Trek has enjoyed the good life. He is an excellent watch dog and he is a kind pet. He is a great addition to Sandee and the gang over at Aw...Monday. Please join us there too.

My honey is miserable, he has a really bad cold and the problem with him and colds are that they turn into bronchitis and then he will have to visit his doctor and have a couple breathing treatments to feel better. Since the weather here is bitter cold with snow it certainly doesn't help him.

It has been a fun month, but November went by so quickly. Thanksgiving came and went and we enjoyed the many blessings we were given. I wish I could give every single person here a gift for being so kind and visiting me here. My honey isn't feeling 100 percent but he drew a name from all the comments we received since I announced the blogaversary giveaway and the winner is......Danice. If you will send me your address I will get your surprise package out as soon as possible.  Congratulations to you! Danice and I are going to be doing an ornament giveaway with our friend Brenda so check in December 1 thru the 7th and enter the ornament giveaway. My dear friend Cheri in Ohio made the pretty ornie I am giving away and she is one of the sweetest ladies you would ever want to meet.

With Brock Osweiler at the helm, Denver beat the Patriots 24-30! The Patriots had been unbeaten and I believe the Panthers  are the only undeated team in the NFL. One of the favorite Pats players "the Gronk" was injured during the game. Between the bitter cold, the snow flying and the high altitude he looked truly miserable. There have been a lot of injuries in the NFL and I wish all of the players a speedy recovery including some of our Bronco players. You never want to see people injured. Congrats to Brock and the Denver Bronco's on a good game.

Warm Heart Wednesday

Many grateful moments this week and always something to warm the heart.

Michael is a crack up, he wanted to see what the dogs were up to! He is the most expressive little fellow. Love, love , love that we could all be together yesterday even if the winter weather kept us close to home. Nick enjoyed the snow because he has not seen any this year in Kansas.

Siblings all together on a cold and snowy Thanksgiving 2015.

This face is the reason why Michael has that expressive face too! Jayden was helping me decorate cupcakes with the horn of plenty (cornucopia) and some pilgrim hats. We never too a picture! But he decided to decorate one with a black olive and cherry tomato too. This child has a very creative heart.
Our Thanksgiving had a full house, the house was warm and the food delicious. Always fun to to enjoy phamily and especially fun to share with the little ones. Addy was here and we never got around to taking more photos. I am waiting for her to return this weekend so she can help me decorate more of those cupcakes. We choose names for the Secret Santa gift exchange and I am going to have fun shopping for my Secret Santa. Thanksgiving is a tie to reflect on the many blessings we have in our lives. These are some of mine and they warm my heart. Please visit Jenny and share your warm hearts there too.

Aw...Monday/Blue Monday/Love is.../Phamily

This is an older photo, we have new furniture now and of course, this one has a favorite spot on it too! I call him "Lazy Kitty" but he has gone through some name changes. When he was a kitten we assumed the owner of his mom was correct saying he was a girl. We named him Tiger Lily, as he has the coloring for a tiger and Lily was a sweet name! LOL! He was deemed a man cat by the vet! So he became Mr. Kitty because people called him various names like "Kitty", "Mickey" and our oldest son was still living at home and said call him "Mr. Kitty". He thinks he rules the world so be it, that is his name!

He was color coordinated with our summer comforter set. We have to throw a thin blanket on the bed because so many animals parade through that we don't want the good comforters to get ruined! He looked good with the peach pillow shams behind him.

He and Leo dislike each other intensely. He was staring down Leo. Since the dog is a giant crybaby when I am watching him he started to whimper and walked away. An 18 lb. kitty can rile a 75 lb. dog! It is funny.

Final cat photo. I know I mentioned the Secret Santa Exchange and this is another gift I received. I can not figure out who it is from but someone knows I love cats, teapots and needed a sweet cozy! This cat cozy fits purrrrrrfectly......on my elephant teapot Rebekah bought for me last year. No I am not a Republican, laugh out loud! Just a true animal lover. So much for those nasty "scam" scares that snopes.com sent across the web about our gift exchange!

Rebekah and I saw this fellow at the Denver Zoo this past Thursday. He gave us the trunk up wave as we shot this photo. He loved Rebekah and walked back and forth in front of her until a group of screaming schoolkids ran up to the fence! Then he left for safer  shelter! Stop by Sandee and smile for a while! Say Aw...Monday!

 

I love these flowers, although they are silk, sitting in the baskets of this bicycle at the Denver Zoo. The blue ones are especially pretty. So tell Sally you saw them here along with these blue fish:

This guy had some huge toofers in his head! He might need braces! But he loved swimming in that crystal clear blue water!

This guy said "Tell Sally hello, cause we know she loves the blue fish!"

When I was a kid I loved the song "You Are My Sunshine" and I still love it today. These two are cute together. After the New Year you might want to check in to see if I am having a Love is....giveaway. There are some cute little books filled with these cartoon characters!

Nick and Hannah ran together at his pre school Field Day. Oh goodness, where did time go? Nick does not remember his hiking boots but he was still picking up the pace with them! I should have known then he was going to run many races in his life. Hannah was quiet and demure. Today she is bold and very beautiful. She teachs pre -schoolers so you have to be on your game or those little kiddos will take advantage of you! She has a good handle on her classroom and enjoys teaching these tots.

Noelle wore blue in this photo and she and Hannah are smiling in the sunshine!

Roxanne was still with us in 2011. She and Hannah were soulmates, I swear!

Nick (481) had his final XC race as a team member with these fantastic fellows. Coach Bailey (far right) really trained them up properly. He cares for the whole person and not those fast legs alone! Nick took 250 as an individual in the 8k hitting 27:23 as his time. He outran 75 other runners and out of 36 teams the KWU Coyotes took 33. You have to realize these guys ran against elite Division 1 schools. I love Nick's blue shoes.

These guys were honord to meet Reggie McAfee. Mr. McAfee was the first African American to break the 4 minute mile. What an honor each one had to meet this amazing man. You will still see blue in these photos too.

As I end this lengthy post please pray that Nick and Louis have safe travels as they leave Kansas and come home tomorrow.  Pray for my niece Jessica who lost  her Papaw this weekend. Pray for Baby Mayah as she continues to heal and get better each day.  Pray for our military who are away from their loved ones this holiday week and pray for our world, filled with so much sadness and violence. We need our leaders to come together and stop the violence and quit being so judgemental of some groups and letting violence  grow with others. Too much political correctness is destroying all of us.

Pink Saturday: Run Fast Nick!

I was looking back to my first Pink Saturday post. It was November 8, 2009! A long while ago. November 21, 2015,  Nick will run in his first college Nationals Cross Country meet. If I could be wisked away to North Carolina to watch him run I would be thrilled. But I am here in Colorado and he running his race as I write this. I never tire of Nick's love for pink and share a favorite photo where he ran in the state championship XC at Sterling, Kansas last November 2014.

I love his pink  compression socks. I need them too, I suffer from the same foot ailment as Peyton Manning and these expensive socks really give a person the relief they need to get their job done.

Nick was so young in middle school when Coach O'Shea approached us regarding Nick running for him at Thornton HS. was that yesterday, really? Under the guidance of this terrific coach Nick learned so much about the sport and although today he is so much more mature and runs for the real purpose of running, he learned so much as a youngster under this man's guidance. Without him Nick would not have earned that college scholarship and today runs at Kansas Wesleyan U in Salina, Kansas.  Nick had lots of headaches back then and he had a surgery most women my age would want, he had a bit of a droopy or lazy eye lid and with the help of Dr. Robert Fante rid himself of those nasty headaches and his eyesight was opened up to seeing his future vision much more clearly.

To say how proud we are of Nick would be an understatement! He has done great things and under Coach Brent Bailey's careful Nick has become the runner he needed to be and he set his priorities in the correct order. He is involved with a bible study group and attends church each week. His choice in friends makes a momma's heart sing.

As Nick's college running for Cross Country winds down I want to say this one's for Pre.

Today I will end with this and you will know why I know Nick is running his race with his priorities set straight:

Philippians 3:7-14New American Standard Bible (NASB)

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss [a]in view of the surpassing value of [b]knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, [c]for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and [d]the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 [e]in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on [f]so that I may lay hold of that [g]for which also I was laid hold of byChrist Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to whatlies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Run fast Nick, run the best race of your college career. Whenever I can watch Nick run I make sure he sees me throw him a peace sign with a kiss. 

Join Beverly and some pinks today.

WARM HEART WEDNESDAY

Ms. Jenny is trying a different party after all the seasons of Alphabe Thursday. I love to take photos of the sunrising and setting and watching God at work in nature. So here is my Wednesday share:

Leftover snow and a pink tinted sky, who could ask for anything more? This was Wednesday November 18, 2015.

Yesterday I was heading to the Dollar Tree for some Red Bird Peppermint Pillows. Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? I was at the stop`light at Irma and 120th Avenue when I noticed an older lady gesturing for me to roll my window down. She said she was new in the area and could I tell her how to get to Kohls? Since it is a few miles up the road I gave her directions and she smiled and thanked me and drove off. Made my day. A small kindness on both sides. Always makes me know there is goodness in the world

Now I want to end this Warm  Heart Wednesday with a funny:

I had to share this from my niece Karla's friend Edna. Is she a character or what?

Nick is very excited about being at XC Nationals this year. KWU has not been there since 1978! Wow! Love these in the school purple. Please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers. I wish all runners their best run ever for 2015!

Louis is such a modest young man, he will make an excellent law enforcement officer. He is humble and kind. Something we never hear enough of about the law. My silly son is on your right with his blue shoes! His facial expression is priceless. My wish is that they all run like the wind and everyone excels at Nationals.

Although Pre was from my generation, he is still considered one of the greatest runners in Track and Field. His life was cut short in a tragic car accident but his life lives through each and every runner today. His words are true. I hope you visit Ms. Jenny and say hi even though I am a day late.

THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD/BLUE MONDAY/AW...MONDAY/LOVE IS...

Fun Mother Quotes

• “My mother's menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.” - Buddy Hackett
•  “I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them.” - Phyllis Diller
• "Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going." - Phyllis Diller
• "We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up." - Phyllis Diller
• "Poverty is hereditary - you get it from your children." - Phyllis Diller
• “I asked my mom if I was a gifted child... she said “they certainly wouldn't have paid for me.” – Unknown
• “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?” - Milton Berle
• “I know how to do anything - I'm a Mom.” - Roseanne Barr
• “A suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car for ever after” – Peter De Vries
• “All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.” - Oscar Wilde
• “It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.” - The Golden Girls
• “If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylum would be filled with mothers.” - Edgar Watson Howe
•  “The mother of three notoriously unruly youngsters was asked whether or not she'd have children if she had it to do over again. ‘Yes’, she replied ‘but not the same ones.’” - David Finkelstein
• “Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.” - Lisa Alther
• “Mothers of teenagers know why animals eat their young” – Unknown
• "Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble."- Dennis Fakes
• "Raising a kid is part joy and part guerilla warfare." - Ed Asner
• "Children are gleeful barbarians." - Joseph Morgenstern
• "The hand that rocks the cradle usually is attached to someone who isn't getting enough sleep." - John Fiebig
• "I'd like to be the ideal mother, but I'm too busy raising my kids." - Unknown
• "Child rearing myth #1: Labour ends when the baby is born." - Unknown
• "Children are a great comfort in your old age. And they help you reach it faster, too." - Lionel Kaufman
• “My mother tried to kill me when I was a baby. She denied it. She said she thought the plastic bag would keep me fresh.” – Bob Monkhouse
• 
  
  

Household Chores Quotes

• “Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard” – Unknown
• “I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.” - Roseanne Barr
• “My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.” - Erma Bombeck
• “By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacation-less class.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
• “The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.” – Calvin Trillin
• "It is amazing how quickly the kids learn the operation of the DVD, yet are unable to understand the vacuum cleaner." - Etienne Marchal

Some fun today ,with all the sadness in our world, I thought a light-hearted look at raising children was in order. You will notice some blue and I hope Sally does too.

Smokey was visiting the vet in September. He wore his blue leash and my hubby wore his blue jeans to the appointment. Visit Sandee at Aw.....Monday too. Lots of smiles there.

Love is...just says it all. Enjoy your week, remember to be kind, say your prayers and smile.

"Z"ipping Through Life/ Pink Saturday/Everyday Living

I am a bit tardy for the final installation of Alphabe Thursday and feeling a bit sad. But Ms. Jenny says Mr. Jenny told her to try a different something so she will be back. She has chronic pain and it makes her life unbearable some days and makes those of us who have been here with her sad.

I tried the bold letter Z so you would not soon forget this post. It seems we often "zip" through life. we get busy, we put things on the back burden and than things happen! So I am asking everyone to share a little slice of their life here with me. If you don't have a blog but Face Book please do this as well. Some of you I know personally, some of you I have met face to face  other I have not met but look forward to it hopefully one day soon! So I am updating my blog book and there is a reason behind it. Please answer these questions and you may e mail it to me here:

e mail: phamilybusiness1@aim.com

I am changing my e mail one of these days and have another one so whichever you have you may use. I check them daily. Here is my request:

Subject: Blog and Face Book Updates Please

Hi! I am updating my “blog book” and Facebook Friends info. Would you please send me your info please.

1.        Tell me your address, phone number (if you please) and if you have a blog and/or Face Book page

2.       What is your birth month and day

3.       Favorite Color

4.        Coffee or Tea

5.       Favorite Flower

6.       Do you collect anything?

7.       Do you like to read?

8.       Do you write letters and/or cards the old fashioned way?

9.       Favorite Fragrance 

10.    10. Shower or Bath person?

11.    Beach or Mountains?

12.    Favorite Vacation Spot

13.    What is your dream destination for a vacation?

I am here:

Phamilybusiness1@aim.com

Trying to change my e mail address so if you have the new one too either or will do!

My blog is http://annesphamily.blogspot.com/ Silly, I know, because you are here.

I hope you will answer these simple questions and return to me. Thank you

You can cut and paste to make this so easy!

It is always so sad when we lose someone who made us smile. Marilyn Ewing was one of those people. Marilyn, like me, was a Colorado native. She passed away in May, 2014. Her blog was here:Heart Song . I knew Marilyn through blogging and when Suzanne hosted the Secret Santa Soiree Marilyn was my "Secret Santa" one year. She sent me a wonderful package filled with all the things I loved and every night before I go to bed I drink my Sleepy Tea in the pretty tea mug she gave me. I never fail to think of her but I did not know about her untimely passing until I checked in at her blog today. You see, I had a wonderful handwritten book blog and in the past I have requested this type of info from folks. I had misplaced my blog book and although I did find out and came across the sad info about her passing, I decided I need to update all my blog friends as well as Face Book and otherwise. So anyone who wants to share with me please do. You mean the world to me. I tracked Marilyn's only child, her daughter at Face Book and am hopeful she will answer my request.

Here is my pretty tea mug. I know Marilyn is smiling down at us. She was very kind, musical and a quilter which is the reason she and Suzanne hit it off. I am the craft less one at most so I love hanging on to these talented folks. Rest in Peace sweet Marilyn.

I recently participated in a Secret Sister Gift Exchange.  People who know me really well will tell you I could care less what the two millionaires from California think! They are "snopes" and when people quote them as if they know everything, I chuckle!   Nosey roseys and rumor has it...ha! These two must have "Grinch Syndrome" because they announced it on the local news as well as a couple of the morning shows that this gift exchange was a scam! It was illegal! The post office would not look kindly on this! Oh phooey! Holy Baloney or as my favorite Christian cuss word says "Son of a Southern Baptist Preacher"! This gift exchange is totally legal. We are people who know each other and have other friends who won't know our gift recipients! We do this because we love having fun! The holiday season is quickly approaching and we all enjoy spreading a little joy. There are no illicit drugs or money laundering going on! If the post office doesn't like it, well we can use UPS or Fed Ex or better yet use Amazon Prime and your gift will go directly from the merchant to the gift recipient! A few people I know have received multiple gifts. Is that a real crime? My goodness, today is world Kindness Day and listening to the news you would never know it. So I suggest we pray and try to continue to spread a little sunshine. Besides the post office claims they are consistently in the R E D so aren't we helping them?

I received these cute two peas in a pod magnetic salt and pepper shaker set. It came all the way from New Jersey. I know the friend of the lady who sent this sweet gift to me.So if you want to do this please don't let negative people hold you back. Go for it! Have some fun and make someone else smile. Thank you EIleen! My newest Face Book friend!

As I mentioned earlier, we tend to "Z I P " through life. sometime we get too busy and miss some wonderful conversations, or moments with others. Take a breathe, smile and call someone you have been meaning to. Visit their blog, their Face Book page, invite them over for tea or coffee if you are nearby. Don't let life get too far away of you.

I hope you will visit Beverly and share some pink! Visit Ms. Jenny and share your Zzzzz's with her too. I will look forward to seeing you at Jenny's for something new and different next week. enjoy your weekend. Please remember that my giveaway is on til November 29th when we will draw a lucky winner. Leave your comment to be entered. Thank you.