THANK YOU VETERANS

My grandma Steblay's cousin Frances who lost her only child, son Bruce Pavlin in World War II. 

My husbands father was also in WWII in USN but he was a survivor and he was at Pearl Harbor. His younger brother served eight years.

Kathleen P. "Kathy" O'Gane is my friend. She was in the U.S. Navy in the 1970's. Her sister Marlene and late brother Michael were also in the US Navy and if I am not mistaken Kathy's dad, Buckley "Buck" O'Gane was also a Navy man. Thank you for your service Veterans.

 "It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. "Author Unknown

My nieces, Karla and Holly, who lost their dad Bob Hoffert last February 2014, often speak of his time in Vietnam. They always say they will never know the demons that tortured him.

My uncle Tom Binder was in the Army Air Corp. Uncle Edward "Munson" Trontel was an Army man. My Uncle Sam Cosimano served in the U.S. Army as does his youngest daughter Juliane's son Julian. Please pray for Julian during these troubling times in our world as well as all Vets. My hubby's cousin Carolyn served as a nurse in Desert Storm leaving her husband and children stateside while she served our country. His Uncle Virgil was a pilot during WWII. 

Please share any of our BoJon relatives here too with me. I am honored to honor our Veterans.

"This nation will remind the land  of the free only as long as it is the home of the brave." Elmer Davis

My cousins Sissy and Kristi lost her dad Jesse when they were very young. He served the US Army at Vietnam and perished from complications from Agent Orange.

My late brother-in-law Gary Ricklefs was an Army man too.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

John McCray May, 1915

 My Tata Rose sent her husband off to war in the first World War. Did you know all the Pechek men, six of them, served in various military service and they returned home. Brother Inky was at the Death March in Bataan in April 1942. He was there along with "Tiddles" Mramor and his brother Felix.  Tiddles passed away nearing his 100th birthday and always told me, "War, is a terrible thing." His brother could never get past the horrors of it all and took his own life when he returned home.

Please come over and share your stories with me Thank you.

While you are here, leave that comment so you are entered in my giveaway ending November 29th. Thank you 

BLOGAVERSARY GIVEAWAY/BLUE MONDAY/ AW...MONDAY/LOVE IS.../

So much happening in my life that I let my blogaversary slip my mind. I am celebrating six years of wonderful blogging with all of you, the best friends a girl could have. I am going to do a giveaway. So I hope you will like surprises! All I ask is that you leave a comment. I am going to let the giveaway run from today, Sunday, November 8, 2015 to  Sunday November 29, 2016 and it will give you lots of opportunity to visit and leave your comments so you will have more chances to be the big winner! All I ask is that you leave a comment when you visit. I am an old fashioned girl and I will draw a winner the old fashion way by letting my hubby draw the winner on Sunday November 29th.

You might receive one item or two or even three. Who knows! I will let you keep guessing. Enjoy the surprise! Kind of like a little holiday cheer before Christmas comes our way.

A good friend of mine Barb encouraged me to blog when Rebekah's little dog Tinkerbell got ill and was diagnosed with liver cancer. Although she passed away in May 2010 I was overwhelmed bythe kind folks I met. I was taken by the friendships I made and enjoyed the "journey or journal as some would say. Many bloggers tells me they consider this their journal and even turn their blog pages into a blog book so they will have a wonderful memory of this to share with their phamilies. I now have encouraged Barb to keep blogging and get back into it. She has had lots of phamily issues and health problems so she really got away from her blog. Her blog is so sweet and the title so clever so I imagine you have already guessed that she loves her pets! I f you know Barb here or at Face Book (Barbara Shobe Boyack) encourage her to get back into blogging.

I enjoy some social media sites. I often spend too much time pinning at pinterest when I remember clearly saying that I would never get involved in such a silly project! I like FaceBook because I can visit with phamily and friends who are far away but I dislike the meanness over politics
 and other unpleasant topics. A wonderful blogger  Theresa that shares her beautiful blog with many wonderful photos of her beautiful ranch in Texas has told me that she avoids social media because it is cutting and cruel and I must admit it can be just that!

I wanted to share a little sweet blue for Sally and share these beautiful photos of Jeremy, Brittany and Addy.

Smokey likes to be in charge of things and he has a lot of competition with Leo these days. Leo is two and Smokey is eight so Leo has a tad more energy than Smokey. The lower photo is Smokey in 2012 and he was not so snowy white around his face. Today, the upper photo he is a little older and whiter and wiser! He still loves to chill out. He is leading the pack with Leo, Stella and Bandit.  I hope you stop by and visit Sandee and everyone at Aw....Monday.

I love Love is...and this one reminded me of Smokey just a bit. He and Stella are both 8 while Bandit is 14. Love really does grow through the years.

Pink Saturday: Memories Are Made of This

I am so happy Nick loves pink and Ralph Lauren! He even has pink Ralph Lauren shoes! This photo was taken last night in Salina, Kansas where Nick attend the  Kansas Wesleyan University. Louis, his Colorado pal is on his left and Christian on his right. These three young men have formed an incredible friendship since running these past two years at KWU.

Nick had the coolest pink compression socks that he wore in the KCAC Championship at Sterling, Kansas last year. It is hard for me not to be there this year but I am with these amazing runners in spirit.

Nick has matured so much since he went off to college in the summer of 2012. He has a very close relationship with Jesus Christ and he has learned to prioritize running along with his love of the Lord Jesus. For this I am very grateful.

When Nick leaves the Wesleyans in May 2016 he will be able to finish his degree, since he changed majors and added a minor too. He will probably finish his schooling there, where he has made some incredible friends and learned so many new things. He will be able to red shirt and run independently if he chooses in 2016-17, God willing, Here are some more amazing KWU runners, Sebastian, Greg, Nick and Louis. Go Yotes, run fast and run hard.

I am very happy Nick made my participation in Beverly's Pink Saturday easy and fun today. Please pray and send all your prayers and kind thoughts to this team and all the Kansas runners.

We heard from Nick and everyone had a good run and they are heading to Nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina as a team who took second place!
 we are very proud of the Kansas Wesleyan Yotes and wish them great success at Nationals.

"Y"our Own Story

Everyone has their own story.   I want to tell you a story that belongs to a very young and very strong willed baby girl. Mayah June was born on September 28, 2015. She was born with a condition called Skeletal Dysplasia . It is the medical term which describes the condition most know as dwarfism. The term is an umbrella for a group of hundreds of conditions affecting bone and cartlidge growth. A child born with this condition with have abnormal differences in the size and shape of their legs, arms, trunk or skull. Mayah is a fighter. She is one tough little cookie! I think she will grow up and she will make a real difference in the world. But right now she is in the fight for her life. She had casts on both of her legs and somehow managed to get those off. She has fought her trach  and pulled it out of place. She has battled for her tiny life since she was born. If you are a prayer warrior, please pray.

I think about Mayah every single day. She is the grand daughter of my sweet friend Cheri in Ohio. Mayah has brothers and sisters at home waiting for her to come join them. She is a beautiful little one with dark hair and her eyes say "I am a a fighter, don't mess with me." She is like a pretty Bruce Lee, swinging into action to show the doctors and nurses who is the boss! I think back to my several surgeries and how we managed to survive. We were younger back than but we raised our children and kept going with our lives. Somehow Mayah's phamily will do this too. I just know God has a plan for this little miss.

Several years ago a friend of mine had a friend and their three year old was dying from a rare form of brain cancer. I just knew I had to do something. Several people discouraged me but the more I prayed the more God told me to move forward with this.  I recruited the help of a good blog buddy Suzanne and she and Sue finished a beautiful quilt.

Let me back up a bit here, they finished it after all the outpouring of quilters and friends in blog land pitched in and helped create the quilt. Oh the stories we heard, the tales many told. It was such a blessing and then we got the news that Shannon had passed away. Suzanne thought giving it to her parents as a "Remembrance Quilt". At first they did not wish to accept it. They were grieving and Suzanne and I felt if we kept praying they would eventually change their minds. Suzanne was pressing the quilt before she packed it to send to Sue in another city in Texas to finish with her long arm. She said her email announced "You've Got Mail" and when she read it it was from Shannon's aunt. Her aunt said the parents would like to accept the quilt. Do you know that they sent each one of us who participated a letter with a packet of Forget Me Nots and asked us to plant them in memory of Shannon? They were reeling from the fact that so many strangers wanted to give them some comfort. They were blessed by the outpouring of love they received from total strangers. Do you know I still think of Shannon and especially when I see  forget me nots?

An update on Mayah June, she has an infection in her chest. Please pray because they would like to do a surgery on her in two weeks. Her life may include a rocky road at times but the joy this little spirited child will bring can not compare to anything. Each one of us has a story to tell and I want Mayah to tell us her story someday when she is older and understands what a beautiful gift she is. Send your prayers and all the good thoughts you can muster to Mayah June and her family please.

On another sad note to end the day Jenny will no longer host  Alphabe Thursday  after this round. I am very sad, Jenny is one of the kindest people I have ever known and in November 2011 I was blessed to meet her when we traveled to the Phoenix area. This was a blessing to participate in each week although I had missed many rounds of it. But Jenny is dealing with major health issues so she has to give her full attention to finding the right treatment for her particular health issue. I think we  will all be sad and miss her leadership here but she we all want her to get better and get rid of her pain. Ms. Jenny we are going to miss you so much and this wonderful weekly fun too. PLease visit Ms. Jenny and join the "Y" is for...Alphabe Thursday fun.

"X"citing Share/

Ok, I know, I know! "X"citing is not a real "X" word but I had to do it! Please accept it Ms. Jenny! My friend Chris posted this really cool gift exchange at Face Book. She is one of the funniest people I know. Kind and funny and sweet. Plus her  son Zach and my Nick were close in age!  I was pregnant at her wedding getting to give birth any day and Zach was born the following year 1994! Chris has had some rough roads to travel just like me with job loss .Her marriage to Tim broke up a few years ago. She is in a great relationship with Sam these days! They are made for each other! So she is a real person with real friends sharing this. I hope you will join me You can e mail me and I can give you all the details. Come join in the holiday fun!  Here are the "X"citing details:

Hi Ladies! I am participating in a secret sister gift exchange which is a fun way to spread holiday cheer this year. Anyone interested in joining in? It doesn't matter where you live - you are welcome to join.
I need 6 (or more!) ladies of any age to participate in a secret sister gift exchange. You only have to buy ONE gift valued at $10 or more and send it to one secret sister and you will receive 6-36 gifts in return! Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the information!
Please don't ask to participate if you are not willing to spend the $10.Tell me in your comment if you're in, and I will send you the info! 🌿 I know not everyone will want to do this or can but please continue to leave comments. Just remember if you want to participate to tell me ASAP so I can send the info to you. Thank you

I feel like the gift can be $10-20 because it is hard to stay in that $10 box. But it depends how crafty or creative you are and what I love is that once you get your person's name there are a few items listed that they enjoy! Makes it fun!

I miss Suzanne hosting the Secret Santa Soiree! I made some terrific friends including Edna and Linda here in blog world and got lots of lovely gifts for the years I was able to participate. Please think about this and join the fun. The more people who participate the more gifts you will get! 

I am not sure if anyone outside the USA can participate. But please I hope you will join the fun   and  visit all the "X"citing Alphabe Thursday posts too. My friend  Myra is joining us, come join us too.

The Mother of the Groom/Blue Monday/Aw...Monday/Love is...

Oh My Goodness, Jeremy and Brittany are  going to get married April 30, 2016 and they are going to have a Bronco colors wedding (orange and blue). I have this beautiful classic beaded dress from 2000. I wore it to a Princess House banquet in New Orleans in August 2000. Shirley McNeff is on my left and Doris Hopelian and Shirley Taylor (former USMC) on my right, We had such fun. This pretty evening out dress is still in excellent shape and the navy blue color would be perfect. I will probably have orange shoes! It will be a truly fun experience! Sometime I get boring with navy blues, grays, browns, blacks! Since I am not working I added a few bright colors into my wardrobe. Basically I am going to be wearing leggings and tunic type of shirts. I found one shirt, that is so pretty and is like a piece of abstract art! I will have to share some photos with you soon.

Here is another photo of the dress. This was taken in front of one of the indoor fountains at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. It was a brand new hotel and we were blessed to have suites to stay in at very affordable prices because we were with the Princess House convention.

How about a pretty orange Mother of the Groom dress? This one is flirty and fun!

Two piece navy blue Mother of the Groom dress. Decisions, Decisions! I will keep you posted when I decide on my dress for the big day.

Here is a Bronco Wedding cake . I thought it would fit in with the Blue Monday shares. Thanks Sally for hosting this fun day with each one of us.

Two years ago on a quiet Sunday we lost this tiny life. This was a joyful girl. She came into our lives as a rescue. Hannah's old beau Markus had found her at Christmastime in an open field. She would have been a snack for a coyote. But this girl had spunk. She was a tiny hero. She fought a hard battle with cancer and it took her life, but she went peacefully with Hannah holding her close to heart. The times we spent with this sweetheart are forever engraved on my heart. Miss you tiny dancer, Roxanne. A sweet share for Sandee and those who share their Mondays with us too.

Getting ready for the Denver Bronco game getting ready to play the Green Bay Packers. We can divide our time between the football game and the world series. Rooting hard for the guys in blue and white at Kansas City.

Von Miller and the Denver defense! Good luck Broncos!

Kansas City Royals, good luck!

More Wedding Tales/My BoJon Heritage/Baseball/Holidays

Carrie, my niece shared this with Noelle who shared it with me. Today is the wedding anniversary of John and Carrie. Weren't they a cute couple? Then there is my mom. Gosh, she was such a fashion plate. Always decked out in her wedding finest. I miss her so much. She was a wonderful woman, a terrific mom, great wife and grandma and there was no one she could not carry a conversation with .

How about a pretty pink sky to share this wedding post with? I took this last week at the RTD station where I leave my honey each morning during the work week. God paints a beautiful portrait. He is always giving us such treasures to remind us He is watching over us.

I like that this sky is similar to the photo I took yet it is so different. I love looking up into the sky at night and in the early morning.

This young BoJon pitcher is pitching in the World Series. Luke Hochevar is the son of Brian. Luke's dad grew up on the 1200 block of Mahren in Pueblo's BoJon Town, (Colorado). He was a good baseball player and his son is an excellent pitcher. It is nice to see successful BoJon's in the world.

There are three things in my life which I really love:  God, my family, and baseball.  The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit.  ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Did you know this fact about the late Yogi Berra?  He wore number 8 throughout his career and when he lost his wife in 2014 their home sold for $888,000.00. Coincidence? 

Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball.  ~Jim Murray

This is an absolute favorite photo of mine, It is my very beautiful grandmother Cecilia Kralj Steblay and two of her children, her sons, Louis (hat in his hand) and Tony (baby). I remember my Uncle Louie  telling me that his little brother was so small and weak that grandma had to give him goat's milk and he perked right up. Uncle Louie also told me he loved that big hat and wore it everywhere he went. Gosh, the memories of this BoJon Phamily makes me smile. I was raised in the best phamily by  the best parents and had the greatest grandparents and relatives a girl could ever have. 

This was a Halloween I co hosted with a long ago friend Camille (Miss Piggy). It was 1979 and my childhood friend Lynette was a clown while Camille's niece Mary was dressed up with an evening gown, hat and long gloves.

I was Kermit the Frog and Patti Hegge was a big baby. Gosh, except for Lynette , I have not seen those other gals in forever.

Leave it to Maxine to  make us laugh.

Some people go all out for Halloween.

I would make "Witch Hats" for the kids and Graveyard Pudding

I miss those days too. I hope you enjoyed this post. 

Until next time: