"Happy 28th Birthday, David!"

Well, this she bear produced a lion cub 28 years ago. I know bears don't usually have lion cubs, but this time it happened. The traits of a lion are that they are strong-willed, decisive, productive, leader, enthusiastic, outgoing, energetic, assertive and these all describe David to a tee. This lion cub had me running from the time he could get around on his own. One time my sewing scissors were found on the roof, and he let an expensive bird we owned out of his cage never to be seen, again! If left out in the back yard he would escape and I would often be seen running frantically to find him. He learned to ride a two wheel bike at three and would do tricks on it like the "speedway racers," he would say. It didn't take long for his bike seat to look thrashed. One time he had a loose tooth and tried to hit it out with his dad's hammer. Bee stings didn't stop him, he would just pull out the stinger and run. David was our first child to break a bone, his arm, jumping off a large boulder in our back yard. And later at 17, he shot a large nail stapler through his wrist resulting in surgery.

But, this same boy at 17 met his wife, had a home built, and had to wait a week till he was 18 to sign papers to buy the home. He is now a loving husband to Jessica, dedicated father to Olivia, Emily and Elsie, caring brother and son. His job title is pastor and teacher to a church here in the Treasure Valley and his love for the Lord and others is apparent to all.

So, when you produce a lion cub, pray for strength, keep your shoes on (you'll be running alot) and trust that the Lord will raise up a lion for Himself! Most of all, love that cub!!! I love you, David. Happy Birthday.

Love, Mom

Our Crowns

Proverbs 17:6 tells us that grandchildren are the" crown of the aged. " Friday we were able to spend time with 11 of our crowns! I babysat for David's 3 girls for the afternoon, Christy came to visit and brought her five and Amy came over with her two. In the evening we met Chad and Jessica and went with them to look at a house and then had ice cream in the park with their 4 children. At the house the cousins played with our supply of toys and enjoyed our dress up box. The girls helped me serve them all lunch, I wanted a very pregnant Christy to be able to just go home and put the kids down for a nap and get one herself without having to do lunch at home. It was good being with them, my grown daughters and their children, watching them interact with each other, laughing and talking, cousins spending time together. Then later having time with our son, Chad and his family, eating ice cream, watching the kids play, these are my joyful moments.

Love My New Washer

Well, on my last post I wrote about our need for a new washing machine. After discussing it we decided to just get a top loader model and not put out the extra money for the one I really wanted, a front loader. So, I was very pleased when Chuck came home and told me he had ordered the front loader after the salesman had told him the extra savings in water and electricity was worth the extra money in the purchase price.

I washed my first load, today, and used just a little bit of soap. The spin cycle really gets the water out and so when I went to dry the clothes in the dryer I only had to let it run for just a bit and then took them out and hung them up to finish drying. I was so intrigued that I watched through the door of the washer for awhile and was amazed at how little water it used, too. Also, it holds more clothes than the typical top loader.

I have gone through many washers in my 37 years of marriage, this one "takes the cake." I'm in love with this new appliance! I would have really appreciated it thousands of loads ago!!!

Spring Cleaning in the Summer

I've been looking around my house and it's like I have a "get rid of it" virus. I'm on a roll to get rid of unnecessary stuff. I like this one website called Flylady and she helps women to do just that. I listen to her podcasts and she has what's called a "27 fling boogie." You pick 27 things a day to declutter and that way you are not overwhelmed and eventually, depending on how much clutter you have, the job gets done.


Chuck and I tackled two of the downstairs closets and decided that one of them will be our extra pantry. We worked and worked and it feels so good to have that extra room. The unnecessary's have already been taken to a charity organization so that next step has been accomplished.


Cleaned out one of the kitchen cupboards as I have so many extra dishes that I don't need. Why does one need eight or more mixing bowls?


More than two or three pie plates, especially when I don't make pie?


Tonight it was the laundry room, got started and then discovered the washer had a leak. Chuck and our sons removed the washer and tomorrow we will have to go buy another one as this one is too old to repair. So, now I have laundry room items sitting on the table in the dining room and the door to the laundry room is sitting in the hall way. We've pretty much decided we need to replace the flooring in there, too. So, now I am feeling overwhelmed. The "27 fling boogie" was working well until the washer issue.


I'll get back on track and keep on "flinging!"

A Brother's Love Note

Recently found this note on the boy's bathroom mirror. Brothers have their own "love language."

A Birthday Celebration

Chuck surprised me with a little trip to McCall in celebration of my 55th birthday. It is so pretty there and the weather was so nice, in the 70's with clear skys.

For the first time since we've had children we just took off without having to arrange different places for the kids to go . We did call before bed and made sure they locked up and were okay, but it was so different from what I've been used to. She bears are always very protective and I'm learning to relax a little more as the cubs are all almost grown.

Our first stop was at a cabin retreat that our son, David, wife and family were staying. I didn't realize they were in McCall and Chuck had arranged to see them as a surprise. He pulled in front of the cabin and I could see and hear my granddaughters running to greet me. I was so pleased to see them and then we stayed for lunch and visited awhile.

One of my favorite things to do in McCall is to go to the Poderosa State Park and walk on the hiking trails. It's so wooded and the trail takes you deep in the coolness of the trees and winds around up and down. You can hear the birds calling to each other and see little chipmunks scurrying up the trees. The word "bear" entered my mind, but I kept telling myself that we would have been warned.

In the morning we had a relaxing walk by the lake and watched the boaters and skiers having fun. We remarked to one another that even though the water was cold the little kids didn't seem to notice and played and splashed anyway.

Another "first" was that we got a senior discount on the hotel room. Now that was something to ponder as only "old" people get senior discounts. It has been said that the 50's are the "youth of old age," so we're still young, right?

July Update

Like I said, before, I'm such a novice when it comes to gardening. This being the second year I know a little more than last year, but I've got alot of learning to do. My squash is doing well, I've been picking some. The picture above shows one I didn't see until it got huge and now I don't know if I'll be able to use it. Maybe I can shred it for soup. The cucumbers are doing great, I've been able to pick some and there is so many flowering and growing out of the beds. Only a small amount of pea pods flourished, but the ones that did, tasted so good that I picked them right off the vine and ate them. Next year I will be planting alot of these.

The beets didn't grow well at all, and my peppers are small. I've been picking strawberries almost everyday, and there are alot of tomatoes. I'm excited to dig up the potatoes when they are ready as the plants are growing well. In September I'll start spinach, again, for the fall. It did well for the small container it was in. Tonight Chuck is going to figure out a new watering system as the garden is getting too much water.

This garden project makes me have alot of respect for the farmer, it's harder than it looks and I would hate for my family to have to rely on me for all their food!!

Catching A Rainbow

Sunday started out hot and sunny and then in the afternoon a cloud covering with showers and wind. I enjoy a summer rain, it clears the air and a cloud covering cools the temperature down. I think 75 degree weather is perfect so when we get some rain in the summer and it cools down the 85 degree plus we are getting, I am happy. Chuck was out picking up Alex and caught a rainbow in these pictures. Thought I'd share one of "God's surprises" to his children.

Superb Brown Rice Recipe

I have found a new way to make brown rice and my family really loves it. For years we had white rice because I couldn't get my kids or husband to eat the brown rice and I didn't like it myself. Until the recipe! Now white rice is out except for the occasional spanish rice. Here it is.

You need a casserole dish with lid. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put 5 cups of water, filtered is best, 2 cups of brown rice, 1 Tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt into the casserole dish. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 75 minutes with lid on. It turns out great. Over the weekend I made a taco soup to go with it and just spooned the soup over the rice. So, if you've never really enjoyed brown rice this recipe is for you!!

"Kids Say The Funniest Things"

One of the many things that I miss about not having little children around me daily is that they say the funniest things. It seems I laughed daily at something one of mine had said. I would choose ages 3 to 5 for daily laughter. Mine are now at the ages they either laugh with me or at me. But, that can be funny, too, as some of my kids are very witty.

Well, today, I got to enjoy my five year old granddaughter's funny saying. I had taken 14 year old, Alex, across town to a party and Chloe had ridden along. After dropping Alex off I was driving us home, she was in her booster seat in the back and we were talking and then there was a lull in the conversation, after some silence Chloe pipes up and says, "Anya,(her pet name for me) are you awake?" About as funny as the time 4 or 5 year old, Alex, asked me if I had been at the first Thanksgiving!

My Stress Reliever

For our anniversary a few years back, Chuck surprised me with a tandem bike. We had stayed at a hotel that had one and enjoyed it, so he bought us one. We have had so much fun on our bike. We usually take it on the green belt and ride for a couple of hours. It is relaxing and stress relieving to me as I ride down by the river and enjoy the beauty of nature and plus exercise is good for the mind and the body. I have been teased that Chuck probably does all the work as I'm on the back, but riding a tandem bike takes both people syncronizing together to really have a good ride, not leaving the one up front tired out. It's something we can do together and makes a great date!

Couponing

My oldest daughter, Amy, told me about a website called the Krazy Coupon Lady. It's a great website that helps you with couponing and tells you what deals are going on in the different grocery stores. I was very impressed because last Monday I got 30 packages of tuna for the amazing price of only $1.50!! I went along with her and watched as she used her coupons and purchased 90 packages, 30 for her, me, and my other daughter, Christy. It takes awhile, the checker even turned her checkout light off so she can concentrate just on our purchase, but worth the wait. I was there to help with the grandkids, so if you're a mom with lots of little ones it could be stressful because of the time it takes. So, take a grandma along and coupon!!