This is my painting that I created. I'm not really talented and it was really easy.


Click here to create your own painting.

I found this here. You can click above and paint your own! Let me know if you do, so I can see what you have created.

A little of this and a little of that.....

So this is a picture of Amber in her cheer leading uniform. I drove up to Muskegon Saturday accompanied by another grand daughter, Emily, to see Amber cheer at her first game. They didn't do bad for first timers. You could tell Amber was a little nervous in the beginning but as she spent more time in front of the crowd she became more comfortable with it. Emily and I had a good time chatting on the way there and back too. This is the first time in a long, long time that Em and I have been able to spend time alone together. Em is 15 and is a cheer leader for her schools Jr. Varsity team....she's been cheering for at least 3 years now and is very good!

On the way home, our youngest son, Jeremy called my cell and asked me to watch his 1-year old son, Ty for a while the same evening while Jeremy played in a softball game and his wife, Heidi and son Trenten, went to watch. He screamed when daddy first left, but settled down and then we had some fun. I took this photo of him after his bath when they came to pick him up.....this is one of his favorite things to do....balance in a standing position in dad's hand! And the smile on his face shows just how much he likes doing this.....isn't he a cutie too?

And Sunday evening I took this picture of my flowers still blooming in my yard. These are the ones I so painstakingly dragged the hoses to in order to keep them watered during our severe drought earlier this year. I guess it paid off!

No Words Needed!

I received this as an e-mail and the description states that archaeologists have found the bones of the first politician! 'Nuff said!

A Proud 'Mema'

How I wish I had a photo to go along with this post, but all I have is a picture of the poster they made at the end of last year. My grandson, Steve, plays electric guitar, in the band (Big Dodee Roo and the Raptors) that he is in. I went to watch and hear him for his last gig of the summer before they all start college. It was Wednesday evening at the Wayland Hotel (bar and grill). Yes, my husband went on 2nd shift Monday for the first time in a few years and already on Wednesday I was hanging out in a bar! LOL......

I don't frequent bars as a rule as I am really not a drinker. I've been known to have a couple drinks, but never when I have to drive and not since I have been on meds for my heart and HBP. If I drink at all, it is at home and at the most, one mixed drink. Wish I could drink wine or beer but I really don't like either of them! Jeremy turned me on to Root Beer and Vanilla Vodka and that tastes pretty much like a root beer float to me and not much at all like an alcoholic drink! So, I dare not have more than one b/c I really like the taste of them........I don't want to become a lush!

But I digress, back to the band....they are actually pretty darn good! They play a lot of songs from the days when I listened to the radio and quite a few originals. They were collecting money so they can produce an album. They have been doing gigs for most of this past year......well, ever since the high school talent show where they began this journey! I hope they are successful and can remain unchanged.

Good luck guys!

On the right side of my blog, I have stated that I am the grandmother of 14. That isn't quite true.

Actually, I am the grandmother of 15. We had a grandson who was still born on August 11, 2001. He was not a full term baby and his death inside the womb was totally unexpected and unexplained. We found out the day before she had to deliver him that he no longer had a heartbeat. She went through labor and delivery and left the hospital without a baby! It was and is still a very sad thing.

At first, the parents didn't want any one else at the hospital. They later changed their minds and asked both sets of grandparents to the hospital....if they wanted to come and hold him. I did. As difficult as it was, I just had to go and hold this stillborn grandson. I wanted the chance to be with him, even if he couldn't know that I was there and holding him. I know, it doesn't really make any sense to me any more now than it did then, but I don't regret going. It was something I just had to do!

"An Angel in the Book of Life wrote down Owen's birth, and whispered as she
closed it, 'too beautiful for Earth'."

We had a private graveside service for Owen, and we were allowed by the cemetery to bury him on top of the vault in the same spot as my first husband.....his grandfather. It offers us some comfort knowing that we didn't have to leave Owen there alone.

From left to right: Hunter, Nate, Alissa, Amber holding Boo (aka Harley)! Those of you who are familiar with my family will recognize Hunter, Amber and Boo from previous pictures. The other two are of my sons new friend's children. They were all staying here Saturday night and they all get along great. When I got them, they had already spent five days together and still weren't sick of each other!
This is Boo. She will be 4 in October and she is a very loving little girl.....with a stubborn streak to match her daddy's! She likes to be in the same room with me ALL.THE.TIME. when her daddy isn't here!!!



And this is what Amber created out of her magnetics kit while watching television this evening! She is in bed sleeping and so is hubby. Even the dog has gone to bed for the night. I still am waiting for the washing machine to quit so I can put the clothes in the dryer before heading to bed. And Drew is coming in the morning....I can't believe I'm still up, it's 11:38 PM......I gotta get some sleep.....night all!

This first photo of Amber was taken just before we left Thursday morning for her orthodontist appointment. As you can see from this picture, she has a full set of braces on her top teeth but not her bottom ones yet......


.....that's what this morning's appointment is for....the full set of bottoms. I did give her ibuprofen before we left the house and I'm thinking it was a pretty good thing to do and was told by the gals in the office there to 'piggy-back' the ibuprofen every 3 - 3 ½ hours for greatest pain control and comfort for her. I tried to get a picture of her after she had her full set of bottom ones on too, but it was too painful and she had nothing to smile about. It is now Saturday and she is finally able and WILLING to smile....she has something to smile about.....no need to take anymore ibuprofen! Hooray.....so without any further ado, here is Miss Amber smiling once again:
Okay, the smile is not an actual smile....it is more of a forced smile so you all can see the braces on her bottom teeth!

It always creeps up on me........

......August 1! Every year, it's always the same. I wake up and after having my coffee I glance at the calendar and realize that it needs to be changed and it is my late hubs birthday. He would have turned 66 today! He's been gone 32 years....my youngest was only 2 at the time and the oldest was 7.

His birthday used to sneak up on me then too. I think it's because it was the first day of the month and until I turned that page on the calendar it always seemed like I had so much more time before the new month would begin.It always seemed like I would have more time with you too, but that wasn't too be.

This is the first year since the kids were older that one or all of them has not called to remind me that today was their Dad's birthday. Children grow up, time passes, life's get busier and seemingly more pressing issues get in the way of things we should remember. I'm doing fine. I have remarried a man you would like and be friends with. So I will quietly remember you, Dave, on this your 66 birthday and wish you a Happy Birthday up in heaven with the angels by your side and with our gradson Owen in your arms, in the company of your Savior. I'm sure the celebration you are having up there is greater than any celebration I could have ever given you, no matter how many birthdays you would have had in this world! I love you and Happy Heavenly Birthday!