Thankful Thursday

I'm not a kid anymore, I am mature, have been here a long while but sometime when I take my precious grandboy Harrison out in restaurants and places, often elderly people make the meanest faces! I never want to be those people. Harrison is a great child. He is two which means yes he can have a melt down but we usually have a grand time and he uses good manners and often flirts with waitresses. He is quite a little man.

When I was so sick a few weeks ago I missed our trek to Pueblo and a visit with my sister. Noelle, our oldest daughter, took Harrison along and she told him at the local cemetery  "This grave belongs to "Ma's" parents." He patted their headstone for me. Look at that sweet face!

Harrison by my BFF Grandmother's grave. He would be her 3 times great grandson. What a joy he would be for her. When you explain things to him, he understands and I have told him my grandmother lost her eyesight so she could not see. He would take her hand and help her around. He is a good little boy. That smile is too much for my heart . I love this boy a lot.

The world is a wild and crazy place. I will stick by Christ. He has not left me behind and I don't think he will. I Am hopeful bloggers wh sailed off to social media will return. The political stink over there is too much to handle. You can judge and then tell others not to judge you. What a mess we have created with "our" personal opinions which solve nothing and certainly do not make anything better. I love blogging.

Princess Sassy Pants said it best today. Kindness is very affordable, everywhere can use it, it is free and comes from the heart.

A  B I G smile from our grandboy Brody Edward. Oh what a joy this child is. His facial expressions melt my heart. A beautiful child who loves car rides with mom and dad. A joy in our lives. Kindness is easy to spread and you will feel better too. THank you for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend.

Wordless Wenesday

Memorial Day 2018 and More

A long luxurious weekend. But for those who fight all over the world for freedom, they don't get such a perk! Please remember all who served, all who gave the ultimate sacrifice and their loved ones as well.

A patriotic pup to celebrate all our military all over the world. Please visit Sandee at Aw...Mondays and see what's going on there.

Blue Monday has a big hello from a fine feline wanting to say Happy Memorial Day and thank all those who have served, who are serving and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to all.

A very appropriate Memorial Day quote to share with Annie at Sparks.

Love is..makes me smile and this one is especially sweet. We live in an old neighborhood and many pf us still have a clothes line. I love my clothes line and use it so much during the good weather. Nothing like fresh sheets right off the line. No offense but I don't like anyone telling me that I can not hang out my American flag, paint my house a certain color, etc. Plus HOA fees? Seriously? Wow! That sounds a lot like a politician, have I got a deal for you....

I had to post a dual Maxine. She is silly.

She has no filters. Love this crazy ole gal!

There areso many veterans I personally know who served, loved ones, who lost an only son or had to deal with mental health issues after war. So I honor and thank each and everyone who served. Tomorrow in Brighton, Colorado veterans from the Vietnam War willbe honored. It has been a long time coming. THank you again to all who have served.

Please enjoy the weekend and holiday and please be safe.

It Feels Like A Heat Wave

It feels like a heat wave. Although we recently were blessed with short rain showers we really didn't have much in the way of Springtime. A gal I Know who lives a little farther North in Colorful Colorado says they may still get a snow shower or two. I hope we are past that point in our weather. I love sunshine but I dislike extreme heat. I'm like my late Auntie Ang, she would say, if I wanted to live in Arizona, I'd move there when the heat kicked up too high in the warmer months. I sure miss her and I had to chuckle at this silly corn on the cob. My lil grands always tell me, we aren't suppose to say "shut up", it's a bad word, but this just made me chuckle. I know, I need to learn to be nicer.

Maxine always has a strong opinion on things. I Have to agree with her on this one. PLus it's not summer just yet.

A perfect quote regarding the hot weather just so you know I don't hate the heat, I just like cooler weather and tonight I am enjoying a nice breeze. Always a little something to be grateful for.

Here's an oldie but a goodie - a 60's pop song by Martha and the Vandellas written by Linda Ronstadt.

Prayer is always appreciated. I continue to pray for Kenny and his phamily as they deal with a very difficult health diagnosis. Prayers for Rebecca, it makes me sad when someone so kind is so sad. Prayers for Tressa and Kraig as they await the birth of their first child any day now. Prayers for debbie and her phamily especially her brother Rich and his wife. Marsha's mom as well as Debbie's mom transitioning into new housing.  Betsy, a wonderful friend for her health to keep improving each and every day. I always ask for my own phamily to be prayered for. Lots going on but especially Nick as he gets ready for yet another job interview. Always someone needing prayer regarding health or work related issues. Lots of folks needing prayer for mental health issues too. I think we often forget and our world today doesn't like talk about mental health. It is easier to remind everyone that it is not cost effective and watch the health industry just go about their daily jobs as long as we do not mention this dreaded illness. sOrry but 32 years in the health care inductry and I have seen too much change and not for the better regarding this issue.

Words to ponder.

Enjoy your weekend. My sweet hubby has a nice 4 day weekend coming up and I am hopeful he will get through his workday tomorrow safely. Take care everyone.

Tuesday Fun Post

This is something I have been very good at during my lifetime.  Attending Catholic school didn't help. The older I got the more trouble I got into for talking. Once an old nun named sister Mary Rita asked me I thought perhaps I were a mother hen! I did enjoy a quiet moment in the office of my counselor, an old priest who just smiled and held his head in his hands! Father Everett Chandler. That is second to what I am really good at. Remembering names and faces. visit Sandee and share something silly today.

Here is tiny Thor. He is a fierce warrior of the worlds. He has a wagging tail that is so happy when you left him run outside. We have some huge black birds in our area so we have to keep an extra close eye on these pups. Angela who use to host Tuesday Show and Tails recently lost her mom. I will remind her to stop by for a smile. She is another blogger I miss terribly over here. She got into her phamily ancestry and social media. I have had a few rough times but I love blogging. I wish she would come back too.

When we tried Blue Apron we were impressed with the meals they sent us. This one was a favorite and still is for me. Green Chili Spicy Pork chops  with summer squash and quinoa. Truly it is not that spice even with the addition of a jalapeno pepper chopping finely into the topping. It is delcious and filling. You can find the recipe at Blue Apron. Now I am really getting hungry.

Please remember Jene in your prayers. She is having multiple retinal tears in her eyes and it is very scary and frustrating. My favorite grandma lost her sight in the 1960's due to detached retina. I have been told I could lose my sight from it as well. so I take extra special care of my eyes. They are a valuable tool in our lives. Please pray for Debbie G and her phamily. They have been tossed and turned in the storms of lives and yet their faith never wavers. Pray for health and peace for Debbie and her siblings. Pray for Ken another blogging buddies brother. Someone is always needing an extra prayer. I enjoy prayer time and my list grows longer each day. Rebecca, another kind heart blogger lost her momon Christmas Eve 2017 and it is difficult her for living without her mom. Her late father was a Nazerene pastor and two days ago a plane carrying 10 Nazerene pastors and their spouses perished in a plane crash in Cuba, leaving ten young children orphaned. Thank you in advance for all your prayers.

God is good even when we do not understand why he allows such tragedy . Thank you for stopping by.

Good Monday

I have been gone so long I wasn't sure I could get back into the swing of things. We were dealing with puppy woes, coughs and other life issues and I was happy, getting ready to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary on May 3rd. I was sick to the point, I did not get out of my bed until last Saturday. I thought I had food poisoning but this virus was not going away. I had never experienced anything like it and I went through neurosurgery not once or twice but three times. Anyway, I am trying to get better and shared this photo of Lulu. She is a joyful little girl and can brighten anyones day. I hope Aw...Mondays will take me and my lateness today.

Saying hello to Blue Monday and sharing a Scripture that gives me great comfort in difficult situations and helps me not be troubled by the things of this world. God's got this, I need to remind myself of this daily.

Annie at McGruffy's Reader and Sparks moved to wordpress and it is by invitation only. I still want to share a favorite quote. If you caught any of the Royal Wedding this weekend, I felt happy for the newlywed couple but also grateful that the American preacher spoke about love. Without love nothing will change in this world. No matter how hard you protest or give your personal opinion. We are sadly lacking in love. It is everywhere. I was very shocked, a wonderful woman I have known for years, made a very derogatory comment about the royal wedding. It is not everyone's thing but being kind should be your top priority as a Christian. I was very sad.

Love is certainly not easy, it should be, but often it is not. This Love is... sums it up very nicely. I wish life were this simple.

When I was small my grandmother use to say the lightening and thunder were God's way of showing us He was unhappy with us. We have had some crazy thunder storms and rain and cold and very dreary days. Finally getting some warmth. We are always under some sort of weather watch.

I had a hard time dealing with being so sick.  But my son-in-law Roger and our son Nick had this same horrible thing. The newlywed Rebekah had it briefly but she got better quickly. Ah....youth.

Some words to reflect. I am going to restart all my Alphabet Days in June and pray that I can get through them without conflict. I hope everyone has a beautiful week and thank you for sticking by me.

B is For...

I will continue my Alphabet Day post. "B" might not seem like a fantastic choice to everyone but I choose "babies". We have lots of babies in this crazy phamily. I am very much my father's daughter. He loved phamily, he adored children and he truly loved babies. When my dad was  a teen, my dad's older sister, Auntie Gela, told me a story that he came home, crying. When my grandmother asked him why he said the neighbor baby died. She said you aren't related to him ,why are you so sad? My dad answered because I love babies! I love babies too. I had lots of children so I always felt like I was very good at the job. My mother use to say God blessed me with healthy children who were beautiful and a good husband and I should always be grateful for those gifts. Even today I remember her words and am grateful and happy. The google image is an Anne Geddes baby, I remember seeing her baby photos all over labor and delivery rooms for a while.

This cutie belongs to our phamily too. She is Layla Rayne and my niece Kate and her husband Jason have two older children, Ari and Zander.  My sis doesn't like photos so she showed this shot of Layla smiling which is what she does most of all. Plus snuggle. My kinda girl. She is a week younger than Brody, our grandson.

Here's a double B for you! Benjamin James, the son of our grandson Andrew and  Tarrah. He is a sweetheart. A boy who looks exactly like his sweet mom. It's funny because his two older brothers look exactly like their dad. Genetics!

The second half of my Alphabet Day is B for Boise, Idaho! I chose it simply because my life long friend Karen currently lives there and I have never been. Because I was always good in geography Karen and her husband  Chris and their daughter Katherine moved to Boise in 1990. Her older sister lived there and they liked the lay out of the city and the mountains near by. They still live there and their daughter is in Seattle, married and working for the university. Since their daughter married an only child also, they are going to move to Oregon when Karen retires.  They became really good friends with their son-in-laws parents and plan to move near them.

 A photo of the Boise River noted for water sports. Boise is the largest city in the state and also the state capital.

Before I sign off, B is also for Bucket List. I don't have a huge one but the first two letters of the Alphabet that I chose might be on my bucket list. I have another idea for my future posts on the letters C through Z!

The Merry Month of May

May is a good month. I did lose my precious TaTa Rose in May 1986, but otherwise it is a very good month. We were married in May and my favorite Uncle, (late) Louie was born in May as was my  late brother-in-law Gary.

My second blog, which I have never been able to check commenta without losing them shows my TaTa Rose with my Grandmother, her older sister (far right). Her little cottage is in the middle and her wedding photo is on the left.

Uncle Louie was my mom's older brother. He was only surviving brother having lost their dad and their 17 year old brother Tony in a gold mining accident at Victor, Colorado when my mom was 13 and Uncle Louie was 18. He survived having left for a lunch break right before the cave in.  He was a remarkable man, learned how to fly a plane and knew Colorado history backward and forward and everything in between. He was a "Wall Street Wiz" before all the slick  unflattering movies were made. He knew how to chooce a stock and when to keep it or lose it. He called his money "lucky" and always said God had been so very good to him. The more he gave away, the more that came to him. He was married to Ang, my favorite aunt. She was a strong willed woman and she always spoke her mind. She smoked and made almost all of her own clothes. She was a real fashion plate. Matching handbags and shoes and nail polish too. She was my best shopping and lunch buddy. My memories of them are  always filled with wonderful stories and laughter.

Technically these cuties came to live with us in April but my son-in-law Zach took this photo today before work. My girl Lulu (black and white) Thor in the middle and Loki. They are amazing little furry energy balls. They have so many toys, they are incredibly spoiled. Thor and Loki are the twin boys of Rebekah and Zach, the newlyweds.

In Colorado we wait until after Mother's Day to plant because in 2015 and 2016 we had snow storms on Mother's Day. We have the weirdest weather but I would not care to live anywhere else in this big ole world. The sun finds way to shine even on the gloomiest of days.

I love tea and everything associated with it. I also love hats so I am going to post a photo for my Kentucky Derby hat soon. I buy a new hat every year. This year is is green and very much reminds me of Springtime.  I would love to attend the Kentucky Derby but I like to make tea and tea tyme foods. and watch the Derby with my hubby. Last year Nick was graduating so it was the first time in forever that we missed it live. His college graduation was well worth it though.

Here is a very patriotic Derby hat. Some of these hats cost a king's ransom. My daughter Noelle has a friend who is very creative and she attends the Kentucky Derby every year and makes her own hat. I will post my hat at the end of this week.

Alphabet Day for me. Let's see if I can get through the entire alphabet. A is for adorable. Our cute and absolutely adorable grandson Brody Edward appears to be dreaming about milk.  He is so angelic and I wanted to add a second Alphabet and add a place:

A is for Arkansas. My late father-in-law was born there and lived in Arkansas until joining the Navy at age 14 by having a wicked aunt lie to get him out of her house! He and his two siblings, an older sister and younger brother were orphaned when dad was 5, his sister 7 and his brother 3. This is the Arkansas Buffalo NationalRiver. It is America's first designated  national riverf.  It flows freely for 135 miles  and is one of our country's  few remaining undimmed rivers in the lower 48. Though primarily a canoeing venue, the Buffalo River Trail  also provides a backpacking/hiking venue. I can take up a lot of space so I wanted to make this short and sweet. I have not been to Arkansas but it is on my list simply because I would like to see where my father-in-law spent his youth.