buh bye....sniff sniff......just kidding

well......this will be the LAST blog before we HIT THE ROAD!!!.......i haven't been home for almost 4 years! i am somewhat emotional about it.....my parents are there and i miss them terribly.......and my dearest and best friends on the face of this earth are there.....and i have mixed emotions about seeing them! i am DYING to see them.......but am worried about being "too emotional".........but whatever......i trust it will be a great trip......both the ROAD and the fellowship and activities there!
we will be spending the first 4-5 days in Forest City with my parents.....it should be rather "kicked back" and relaxing........i am looking forward to it......i know my Dad will make us laugh our insides out......and MOM will be cooking wonderful food........there goes that idea about dieting.....
then the last 4-5 days we will be in DesMoines.......where Heidi and kids will go ONE way and I the OTHER.........the first Fri. nite there is a SLEEPOVER with 3 of my friends i went to college with!.....oh boy........it could be a HOOT.......i am worried about getting NO sleep........i don't exactly FUNCTION without sleep......
i am keeping a little schedule to get all my "peeps" in!.......
Beth....BTW!...........thanks for the suggestion........but do you know what would happen IF we stopped along the way????????? OH MY GOODNESS!........A.....we would spend all our money...B........we would NEVER get there at all........but GREAT idea if we had another week!!! :).......of course we would need a LOT more money!!!....and quite frankly sista......that "aint" gonna happen.... ha ha
so ADIOS for now.....i promise to tell all the "best" stories that will be written in the next 2 weeks!
sandi lou lou

very random, favorite pics i love

if the music annoys you...find the very tiny megaphone and you can turn it off!

Getting Ready for the Trip

Well fellow bloggers........i am about to embark on a VERY long trip, along with my daughter, Heidi and her children, (my grandchildren) Carter and Ava! Isn't that exciting? i mean really? i mean i THINK it is exciting.........oh.........i HOPE it will be exciting......the trip, i mean........i mean the actual traveling part of the TRIP...............the part where we are all together in the car......ALL EIGHTEEN PLUS HOURS of the STINKIN TRIP!........WHAT are we doing???????? WHAT is wrong with us???????? Do we think we are SUPER WOMAN????........I mean.........truthfully.......how are two kids going to stay strapped into a car seat for 18 hours????????.........well, i might be exaggerating on the 18 hours.........then again i might NOT be.......i need to check the map........anyway..........TEN hours would be grueling.........and i KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is WAY MORE than 10 hours!
PLUS! i will be traveling with my daughter.........and i hate to tell ya, but neither of us are exactly GREAT with traveling directions!......ummmmmmmmm HELLOOOOOOOOO....remember Heidi when you tried to make it to Pittsburgh???..........now i am really scaring myself.......i am getting the last minute heebie jeebies......oh boy.....will we even make it at all????

WELL, folks........i guess it remains to be seen.......we may have some REAL interesting blogging for yall!.......but in the mean time........PLEEZE pleeze PRAY for us, ok???????? Don't you feel the need????
We will be leaving around 5am this coming Sat. morning........and our GOAL is to go ALL the way to Forest City, Iowa! That is where my parents are and where we will spend our first 4 to 5 days.........so..........stay tuned......this story might be a COMEDY , it might be a DRAMA, it might be a FRIGHT show, but i KNOW it will NOT be BORING!

PS.......i just checked the map.......they say MORE than 16 hours.......guess what that means for US???????? oh yea baby.......add at LEAST 2 more hours for potty stops......oh boy..........i was SOOOOO hoping i was wrong about the 18 hours........

The story without pictures!

Welll.......i am just really bummed.......the missing cord to my camera is not readily available in any logical store.......if EVEN it is available at all........waaaaaaa........yes, i am STILL crying........but.......i will tell you WHAT was on it, in the event i never see it on this blog.....which is likely! Whenever Hopie spends time with me....it is always FUN filled and busy.....we spent a lot of time doing a sticker book about Horton Hears a Who........she loved it and was very intent on getting it finished. ...the pics on my camera show us at our little park ......she is pushing her baby.......BRUNO.....(a baby cabbage patch.....i got it for her for her birthday.........AT HER request.......and she loves him!)..........so he is swinging away as she pushes him........of course it is MUCH cuter to see it than for me to tell you about it........then the other pics are of Hope and Pap Pap playing a little musical instrument......somewhat like a zylophone.....(sp???)..........he taught her some simple songs and she picked right up on them!!!!......yes, it is installed at our park....i know! weird, huh? but the kids love it!
later in the day we watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoons.......and we learned how to burp Bruno........top, top,.....bottom, bottom, ,...middle, middle, middle.....(repeat)....THEN...........BURP!......and it really works.......seriously!.......Bruno burped!!! (or was that Pap Pap?)......hmmmmmmmmm.......all set to music, of course.........AGAIN.........MUCH is lost in the translation in this blog.......but TRUST me........it was adorable!
Sorry , what could have been so CUTE and PRECIOUS....IF ONLY I HAD A CORD FOR MY CAMERA!............oh well.......that's how the ball bounces sometimes, huh?.....................so....i must continue with my thievery of pictures..........and miss out on my own initiative of any pics!..........waaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........still me...............still crying...............

camera/Hopie pics UPDATE

BTW.........Larry , my hubby, DID try to get our little videos and pics of Hopie,( the sweetest child on earth,.......well ONE of FOUR of the sweetest lil children on earth,)..........onto my blog........only to find out we did not have the right cord to make the transaction.........so off to Walmart tonite to try to purchase a cord.......and if I can't........I guess my hand me down camera is NO GOOD!....waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....that is me , CRYING.

Revolution by Joe Stowell

The following is a devotion written by Joe Stowell....I thought it was so thought provoking and certainly "provoked" my thoughts today.....Jesus really was a REVOLUTIONIST!!!! I must admit....I TOO often feel like Charlie Brown........I can't even get my deck chair unfolded!




Join the Revolution
“I am the way…” John 14:6
In one of my all-time favorite Peanuts cartoons, Charlie Brown is standing on the deck of a cruise ship with a rather disheartened look on his face clutching his unfolded deck chair. Lucy, who always seems to have it all together, has already unfolded her deck chair and is waxing eloquently about life. She says to Charlie that some people set the deck chairs of life to look at all that has gone by, others set their deck chairs to look at all that is in the here and now, and that still others position their chairs to look at all that is ahead. To which Charlie responds, “I can’t even get my deck chair unfolded.”
My guess is that we’ve all had days when we feel more like Charlie Brown than Lucy. Down deep inside—sometimes way down deep inside—there is this nagging feeling that we don’t quite have life figured out. That when we are really honest with ourselves, life isn’t all we thought it would be. Shouldn’t there be something more than the endless to-do lists? And, why does the pressure to perform and prosper make us feel like the proverbial donkey chasing the carrot dangling forever in front of us? And why is it that when we take life by the throat and pull off a smashing success, it quickly morphs into a mere memory as life trudges on?
Want something more—something different? Then pack up your bags and enlist yourself as a Person of the Way. Join the revolution! The revolution headed by the world’s greatest revolutionary, Jesus. I’m not sure what you think about when the thought of Jesus crosses your mind, but my guess is that the word revolutionary rarely surfaces. Yet that is exactly who He is! Missing the point that Jesus came to spark a revolution in this upside-down world—a revolution to take upside-down people and turn them right side up—is to miss the very heart of why He came and to miss the point of life as it is intended to be.
Jesus’ arrival on our planet was an invasion from another world to overthrow the ruthless regime of King Beelzebub and to set earthbound captives free. But the revolution doesn’t stop there. It’s about freeing us sin slaves from the grip of hell in every aspect of our lives. It’s about setting up a whole new way of thinking and living, about giving freed captives a life of purpose and significance. And I don’t mean that it is a revolution whose end game is to get you to go to church more, to keep more rules, or to get busy doing more jobs for God. We already have too many who are on that bandwagon yet have no clue about the revolution. This revolution is about changing the way we think, act, and react and then raising the torch and taking the way into every aspect of our lives—into every encounter, every relationship, every responsibility, and every commodity we own.
If you see yourself as a follower of Jesus, but you still think about your money like everyone else; react to your offenders like everyone else; think about your career like everyone else; live with “you” at the center of your universe like everyone else; think about sex like everyone else; find life to be an endless string of random unfulfilling events like everyone else, then one thing is clear: You have missed the revolution.

HOPE

Here is my sweet little Hope! My next blog will be about our day together after church on Sunday! We had a FABULOUS day of fun and activity........I usually nap and lounge.....what a switch! But what a GOOD switch!........you see I have a hand me down camera that I just learned to "in-part" use.......so we took pics of Hope and a video.......but guess what? Because I am QUITE illiterate when it comes to anything labeled "Technical".......I haven't learned how to get it from my camera to this blog!.........sooooooooooooooooo...........Larry says it is easy.......but he keeps forgetting to show me how!.......sooooooooooooo .........I will wait for my darling husband........and so will YOU!
(ps....i can hear you asking.......how have i gotten any pictures into my blog without a camera? i am a picture thief.....i have confessed this in earlier blogs......and Heidi and Hollie take LOTS of pictures......and I STEAL them.........unabashashedly.........right off their blogs sometimes!!!.........sooo bad, I know.........I am working on that problem........blame Larry......)

The starching story

please read the first 2 Grandma stories before this one! as i mentioned earlier.......my Grandma starched her doilies. i was greatly intrigued by this process and definitely wanted to learn how it was done! After washing the doilies she would dip them in a strong liquid starch solution,....then on a discarded peice of cardboard, big enough for the doily to be stretched out.......she would stretch and pin the doily on and leave it to completely dry......when the doily was dry she removed the pins and the doily was beautifully shaped and stiff as the cardboard itself! my Grandma then put the doilies back on their proper shelves and they were good for several more months.......all that starch definitely repelled dust and dirt!
i kept that little trick under my bonnet and several years later in my own home i had a twice a year ritual of starching.........well...let's just say just about anything i could get my hot little hands on!!!! i absolutely loved the process and still do.........i just haven't had doilies around for a LONG time! but i still have them tucked away, just in case that might "return" to popularity! i do love to display old aprons, however, and when i get an inkling i get them starched to the nines too! that process is just a little different....after dipping them in starch........you have to let them drip dry........then you have to "moisten" them with water......in my Grandma's day we had an old pop bottle with a spout.......(sure wish i had one now! ).......we got them lightly moistened...then we rolled them up in a nice, tight roll.....then put them in a plastic bag for about a day........when we took them out to iron they were just perfect and as the iron got out the wrinkles they turned into the most wonderful, stiff, starched, crisp apron you have ever seen! WOW.....you young things are really missing out on TRUE fun!!!
i have to tell on my MOM here for a minute........when we did the "sprinkling clothes" step....(that's what we called it)........sometimes there wasn't time to get them ironed......and if they stayed in the bag too long they would surely mildew.......so once in a while my MOM put the whole bag in the freezer!....when i was young.....i didn't understand the mildew thing......and absolutely could NOT figure out why she put our clothes in the freezer!
i must admit......spray starch is definitely more convenient!........but you haven't LIVED if you haven't STARCHED...the REAL way!!!

a little distraction from my Grandma

i got this as an email from my cousin.......it is hilarious.......but you HAVE to read it aloud!!!! have fun!




Why Computers Sometimes Crash! by Dr. Seuss.
(Read this to yourself aloud - it's great!)
If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port, and the bus is interrupted at a very last resort, and the access of the memory makes your floppy disk abort, then the socket packet pocket has an error to report. If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash, and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash, and your data is corrupted cause the index doesn't hash, then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash! If the label on the cable on the table at your house, says the network is connected to the button on your mouse, but your packets want to tunnel to another protocol, that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall. And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss, so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse; then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang, 'cuz sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang. When the copy on your floppy's getting sloppy in the disk, and the macrocode instructions is causing unnecessary risk, then you'll have to flash the memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM, and then quickly turn off thecomputer and be sure to tell your Mom!

My Grandma

This is a picture of my Grandma Thomson......my Dad's mother! I am not sure but I am assuming she was at a picnic....or perhpas a Sunday after church potluck or something......but what I find somewhat humorous is her wearing of a hat, with dishes in her hands and an apron on!!!!
I always thought of her as a VERY strong woman, someone whom I was somewhat afraid of.....and certainly respectful of!!!! As I grew older, I remember asking my parents if I was her favorite grandchild!!! I was told....NO!....she had many grandchildren and I was told that she dared NOT to play any favorites! I remember always secretly HOPING I might have been her favorite anyway!!! When in actuality and now as I look back........I am quite sure I was NOT a favorite and that my Mom and Dad were right all along.......she loved ALL her grandkids equally!!!! Nevertheless......I probably did many an antic to gain her favor! (or so I thought...my "antics" probably caused my wish certain death)
I loved the house she lived in and still every once in a great while I have a dream about that house! It was one block from the church we attended and I LOVED walking to her house from church! I always thought it was a very beautiful house with a beautiful yard and it was SO close to uptown.
You see, I lived in the country with dirt roads and NO stores......but when I was at Grandma's......we could actually walk UP town to the DIME store and walk home again!!! ( and YES.....actually have only one DIME and come home with treats galore!) There was also a SIDEWALK one block up from her house, in the event our parents let us bring roller skates, or perhaps our bike! WOW! What a treat that was!!!!
I was always totally "enthralled" with what she had in her back yard.....this is a crack up because as recent as 2 weeks ago have heard this concept re-circulated as being "earth-friendly"........she had a huge old washing machine which collected the RAIN WATER!.......I could NEVER understand it.......but was always interested in it.......and always looking into it......finding every bug known to mankind floating, dead, in it!!!.........and she DID use it.........on her wash day, and to water her plants!!!.......I guess it really is true..........what once was OLD, will become NEW again!!!...I am quite sure she disposed of the dead bugs before using it for wash water.........
One of the things I loved at her house and especially on the mornings after spending the night.......was her toast in the morning.......she had a wonderful mixture in it's own container of honey and peanut butter.......the perfect blend.......and I adored it!!(she did not buy it that way.......I think she was the inventor of it and knew the perfect recipe for it!..:) ) I really didn't think anyone else in the world had EVER done such a thing and looked forward to it with great anticipation!
One of the other things I loved that she did was........she loved going to garage sales.......and she was a careful buyer.......she would always have 2 to 3 sets of curtains to change out every so many months! I absolutely was so intrigued by the idea, and remember thinking she must really have a LOT of money to be able to have SO many sets of curtains!!! Of course she had them starched to the nines......which also GREATLY intrigued my young mind!

We had many a wonderful family reunions at her home........and I had so much fun with my cousins!

Her first husband passed away and she re-married a man named Walter Thompson.......we always just called him "Walter"........I, also, was quite scared of him! Once in a while he would actually pay attention to me and make me laugh......but mostly I was afraid of him and wondered why my Grandma picked him out!......sorry if you are related to him and reading this.......but I am just telling you how I felt as a little girl! :)..........anyway........he did some interesting things.......one of them being.........raising WORMS in his basement!!!! The day I went down to see those worms has always stayed in my memory!!! I just could NOT believe it and wondered how in the world my Grandma put up with such a thing!!! However, he did take time to explain it to me and how they live in his boxes of black dirt! He explained to me they were for his fishing, which he enjoyed and did a lot!.......But I have never forgotten that they had worms in their basement and believe me.....I have had some funky dreams over THAT too!!!

My last story for tonite is one which takes place AFTER I had graduated from High School and had had one year of Bible College under my belt.........my Dad proposed the idea to me that my Grandma needed someone to help her with spring cleaning and general household chores for the summer and that she would pay me !.....and should I accept, I would live with her during the week! Of course I thought that was the BOMB because I had never lived in "town" before........and never had that much "freedom"..........

Oh how WRONG I was.........first of all there was NO FREEDOM.........and I really did not get to enjoy the close proximity of any stores!........Let me preface this by saying.........in the END........and to this day, I was thankful to have been there.........but in the actual interment of the stay........well.....let's just say NOT SO MUCH!

I soon found a whole new way of life and found out how spoiled my MOM made me........I had never even known what it was like to work so hard!....and just let me tell you........I DID work hard on our farm..........it sure seemed like it!........

The very first morning there........Grandma woke me promptly at 4AM!!!....Oh yea, that's what I said.........I thought she was mistaken........but NO.........she had NOT looked at the clock wrong.......I must admit that my "attitude" changed THAT day..........oh my goodness........what has my DAD gotten me into?????........she gave me about 15 minutes to be downstairs for devotions and breakfast.........and I guess I made it.......I have no recollection of NOT being there!.......this is where that "being scared and being respectful" came in real handy!..........

and so it went EVERY day I was there.........she absolutely cracked me up the way she did devotions.......she always used Daily Bread..........and would read the story first then start into the Scriptures........but must have had her eye on the clock........because often she would not finish the Scripture reading.........and that just drove me nuts!!!..........I always thought......if she was going to leave something out...........it should NOT be the Scriptures!..........then we had breakfast which was usually oatmeal and toast..........and by 5:30 or so....we were ready to DIG into the work!

Who KNEW a Grandma who had no kids around anymore would have so much work to do?..........the first task on Mondays was washday........and hanging clothes on the line.........(thankfully, I liked that job).........I have a vague memory that the goal was to have them dryed on the line and back off the line and neatly folded by 9AM!!!............WOW

The other BIG tasks we accomplished that summer was a TOTAL cleaning of the ENTIRE house........every nook, cranny and corner.......and I kid you not!.........we wiped, dusted, washed, and shined absolutely EVERYTHING in the house!

I was in a constant state of shock, although obeying to the best of my ability!..........then I would go home on weekends and cry about how bad my Grandma is treating me!!! Seriously!!!

Let me just tell you........I had NO better teacher in the world on how to clean the house and do the washing!...........

I will continue this story next time with a story about STARCHING!.......

over and out for now

My Grandma Thompson

The Lady on the right...with the hat on is my Dad's mother! My dad sent me this picture and I love it! Of course both these ladies are gone now, but I have VIVID memories of my Grandma! Next time I sit down to blog I will tell you ONE story about HER and ME! :)......til later.........

Going to work today

Is this picture of Ava not hilarious???? Now, I am not really sure why she looks so "downtrodden" .......she was on her way to Hope's FUN birthday party........however I did find out after the fact that she was not feeling well and had a bad cough.......WHATEVER her problem was that night........I just want to say that her "LOOK" is exactly how I feel today, needing to go to WORK!!......and basically is how I feel EVERY day going to work! Since Michael's changed their entire program and re-structured, I have lost my teaching position there, only to gain "menial" tasks. YES! I KNOW I KNOW!!!.....do EVERYTHING to the glory of GOD........and I am trying........but sometimes my weakness prevails.........I am PRAYING and hoping for God to open another door for me!!!!

This is my motto for the day..........and you think I don't really mean it?????????

The Weekend Part 3

For Mother's Day this year we decided to NOT fight the resaurant crowds so we grilled at Heidi's. We DID however buy STEAKS.......yum yum, it has been a LONG time since I have had one!!! We all brought food and enjoyed a leisure LATE lunch. These pics are of the kids enjoying the day in Heidi's backyard.........and YES.......painting their toenails and fingernails.......and YES........sweet little Carter is painting Hopie's fingernails !!! They are the sweetest cousins!!!
We had a fun, family time on Sunday, with no pressures........it gave us time to laugh and enjoy one another's company! It was a GREAT MOTHER"S DAY for me! I am so fortunate to live close to all my kids! What a blessing!

The Weekend Part 2

Nee Nee and Pap Pap with Ava
Craig's parents with Ava
Mommy and Daddy with Ava
Hannah and Josh with Ava........Josh.........always a kidder
Robin with Ava

Here she is, in all her little glory........sooooo cute!!! She did so good! I have to admit the recital was a little hilarious.......to say the least...many of the darling girls were "stage struck" and it caused a lot of giggles(amongst those of us in the audience, that is)........but AVA did sooo well and she tried SOOO hard! Of COURSE we, the family, thought she was the BEST!!!

The Weekend Part 1

More random pics from the birthday party!

Hopie had lots of fun opening presents and eating her birthday cake!

We had a great picnic supper followed by entertainment of the CLOWN variety......with the star of the show being Hope's Daddy.......Peter...........he made quite an entrance, along with his other clown companions........the kids loved it......except for Addie and Ava........they ran straight to adult arms for safety!

Friday night started with Hope's 7 year old birthday party! It was at her Mimommy's house and as we drove up the street the first thing we saw was a REAL carnival ride!!! Woohoo!!! What a treat for those kids!

Ava's First Ballet Recital

Here are a couple pics from Ava's recital this morning! What a dolly cakes she was! More blogging to come on this event, as well as the busy weekend activities!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!