JANUARY 1, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

Christmas at our house

We had a wonderful Christmas with family on Saturday. We missed our son, Steve, and his family but they are always a part of our Christmas. Steve and Tracy live up in MN as do their children.

Vanity

I do believe God is trying to teach me a lesson on vanity. A few months ago our class had it's 50th reunion. Yes, I went the extra mile to try and loose those couple extra pounds, get my hair done and tried to take years off this ever loving body. I thought I was looking pretty good till today when we received our class reunion photo's in the mail. My first reaction was "OH MY GOSH"!!!!. This was even worse then my drivers license photo. I started laughing thinking Boy! did God want to teach me a lesson. I had to post the picture so you knew what I was talking about. Maybe those who did not attend the reunion and receive the pictures in the mail will think possibly I was recovering from a stroke and take pity on me. Oh! the pretty woman in front of me is my good friend Fran. Oh Well! That's Life. :)

Bible Study Ladies Christmas Party

Our Ladies and one husband met today at a local restaurant for the annual Christmas Party. We started with devotions, shared stories and ordered our meal. There were games played and gifts exchanged. Why is this party so special? Every person there has been touched with life tragedies that only Jesus had carried them through and came out with a stronger faith,love and devotion for Christ. Each one has a testimony to share of what God has done for them. We take this day to honor Him and give Him all the Thanks, Praise and Glory for loving us and taking the punishment for our sins. May all who read this have a Happy and Blessed Christmas.

Kyle Diving

On Saturday Grandpa and I had the privilege of seeing our grandson, Kyle, dive in competition at Hiram College. Kyle is a senior at Grove City College majoring in Molecular Biology. I wish I could tell you what the dives are in the pictures but it's to technical for me. Some of the pictures might be blurry but that's because of the speed in the dives. Kyle did fantastic and received high scores. Yes he won but unfortunately Hiram did not have any divers to go against him.
Kyle's Dad and other grandparents were there along with Debbie our daughter-in-law and Michael our grandson whom you met in a previous blog. I can tell you what impressed me the very most is the divers held hands and prayed before the meet started.

Festive

One of our girls from the birthday get togethers invited us to her house for a Christmas lunch. I wish I could say this was my house but I can't. Dora was complete with her holiday decorations. She had three large Christmas trees each with a different theme and some small trees set around for ambiance. The table was set with it's best Christmas attire. She served homemade vegetable beef soup, homemade scones and the most incredible tea I have ever drank. We all brought cookies to share which topped off the lunch. After lunch we took a drive to Sunrise Farms to shop and just admire the beautiful Christmas decorations. We had a wonderful afternoon and I thank Dora for her most gracious invite. She is the Hostess with the Mostess.

We Are Blessed

Friday evening I went to Stow Cornerstone Church to see our granddaughter, Tori, perform in concert. Brent Vernon and his dummy, Sam, were the featured artist for the evening and Tori performed during the concert. Tori sang one song with her voice teacher accompanying her on the piano and the second song Tori played at the keyboard and sang "Power of the Cross". The picture is of Tori and her voice teacher, Angie.
Our second blessing was when our son, Steve, came in on Saturday from MN to spend some time with us. Steve is working in PA this week and took advantage of the weekend to visit with us. We relaxed, drank coffee and tried to catch up with families. On Sunday afternoon, Kathy, Tim and Tori came to visit with Steve. All I can say is it was fun,fun,fun. The picture is of Steve talking to his wife Tracy on the phone.
Another blessing this weekend was Kyle diving in an invitational swimming and diving meet at Grove City College. Kyle took a first place on the one and three meter diving events. Congratulations Kyle!

My friend Eric

Why is Eric my friend and so special to me? Eric has a form of Autism called Asperger's Syndrome which has a symptom of impairment in social interaction. Eric is 13 and in 7th grade. I've known Eric probably 5 or 6 years from church. Every Sunday before Sunday School starts Eric always comes in to say "Hello Mrs. Belden" and brings along something to share whether it's a book,or one of his favorite hobbies and even food. Eric has been very excited since he joined the wrestling team and shares what he has learned through the week. Today was his first match with two other schools. I just had to go see him wrestle. I was so impressed by his strength and knowledge of the game. No he didn't win but he scored points and didn't get pinned. His victory is what he has accomplished in such a short time. I am so proud of him that I just had to share it with you.

Thanksgiving

It wouldn't be right if I didn't share a little about our days of Thanks. Thursday Grandpa and I had a quiet dinner for two. In the evening Tim, Kathy, Kyle, Kasey, Jared (Kasey's boyfriend) and Tori came for leftovers and dessert. They introduced me to a new card game called Dutch Blitz. Well it was new to me. You have to be fast and coordinated to play which I'm neither. The winner had to accumulate 75 points. I ended up with minus 54. I guess that tells the story about how good I was. I did have fun and it was worth every minus point I got.

Grandpa and I were invited to have a Thanksgiving dinner at John, Debbie, Erica and Michael's home. Debbie's Mom was suppose to be there also but on Thursday night she was taken to the hospital with chest pains. They did a heart Cath on her and said she had a very weak heart. They were told she would be in the hospital till Monday. John and Deb were up all night Thursday and didn't get home till Friday morning. They still proceeded to have a complete Thanksgiving dinner for us. The pictures I took were of the bookcase John made for their den and Michael giving me a pose while relaxing across the bed and I was able to see the Big Jesus in person. It is amazing to see.

John's Scroll Art Projects

Today I am the Happy Mother: Our son, John, has developed skills in woodworking using the scroll saw. These are just a few of his work projects. The items are made out of all natural wood with no artificial coloring. I have not seen the Big Jesus in person but John sent it by email for us to view. The clock was made for his wife, Debbie, the car was a Christmas present to his Dad and the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, was my Christmas present in 2008 and hangs proudly in our living room.
We have been blessed as recipients of John's hobby and love for woodworking.

Congratulations to Bud and Rose Whitney on their 70th Wedding Anniversary. Grandpa and I were honored to be invited to their Anniversary reception. Rose and Bud were as charming and in love as they were 70 years ago. What an inspiration to those of us who know them. The pictures are as follows:
ROSE AND BUD
Rose, Bud and Becky (their daughter and our good friend)
The Anniversary Cake
Memory Pictures
Rose's Bridal Gown (she paid $17.00 for it 70 years ago)

Looking forward to their 75th Anniversary.

Memories

I thought I would share some stories of interest to those that read this blog. The first one that came to mind is when I was staying at Tim and Kathy's house while they were on vacation. My job was to pick up Kyle at school and bring him home. Welllll! The day I went to pick him up I wasn't quite sure where I was to go. I did find him alright and was driving back home when I pulled up behind a school bus. I did stop because the red lights were flashing and the stop sign out. I waited and waited and nothing was happening except the kids in the back of the bus was waving me on to go around. I did just that and kids were walking in front of the bus and crossing the street. The bus driver blew his Horn and gave me a dirty look. Kyle, bless his heart didn't say anything except kind words to me like "That's OK Grandma". I knew he had to be embarrassed with the kids laughing on the bus. Now he is a senior in college and this story is a "Remember When" tale of terrors.

Happy Birthday Jessica Nov. 15, 2009

Today is our granddaughter Jessica's birthday. She says she is 21+1. Jessica is our son, Steve's, daughter and lives in MN. We wish her the best birthday ever.

Birthday celebrations

Yesterday, my friends, Becky, Fran, and Dora took me out for lunch and a day of shopping. When I got home Grandpa and I headed off to celebrate my Aunt's 85th birthday at the VFW. If I survive to be 85 I hope I look and feel as good as my Aunt Sue. She is a survivor of Ovarian Cancer. Happy Birthday Aunt Sue.

Shopping

Shopping was crazy!!!! Parking lots were full, stores busy, long lines at registers. Grandpa said we need to have a lot of patience today and he was right. It didn't stop me from filling my cart up with goodies. I'm afraid there are to many to mention and a few surprises along the way. We had a good time and had lunch at Wendy's. We sat by a window and kept watch of our car with all the treasures we had purchased. If there was an economy problem you sure could have fooled me.

Shopping and Veteran's Day

Today Grandpa and I are off to shop at Kohls. Our ad we received in the mail had a 30 percent off all items plus a $10.00 coupon to use. We have a few other places we plan on shopping at so maybe tomorrow I might have some interesting items to share with you.

We honor today all our Veterans who fought for us and who are fighting for us now. Freedom is not cheap. Happy Veterans Day to my Uncle Sam who fought in World War Two.

Happy Birthday to "Me"

Had a wonderful birthday with many cards, gifts and phone calls on Friday. Saturday we were invited to the Grubb's house for a chili supper and cake. Grandma had so much fun laughing and enjoying the birthday party. It sure makes getting older easier when your so loved.
In the pictures are Tori and Grandma plus Tori, Grandma and Kathy.

Trick or Treat

Living out in the country we don't get trick or treaters very often but this year we had the pleasure of having John Travolta and Olivia Newton John come to our door. What a surprise!!!! I must say they looked a little like our neighbors Dan and Sandi. I would have loved to hear them sing but they had other places to go. Maybe next year.

Remembering Bob

Today we are remembering our good friend and neighbor Bob Maynard. Bob passed away Thursday, October 29, 2009. Bob had esophagus cancer which he survived the surgery but his battle was with infections 6 weeks following his surgery. As you can see in the picture Bob and Grandpa were good friends. They would spend many a morning with a cup of coffee solving all the world problems. Bob was a very caring man who tried to please everyone he met. We were always blessed with his delicious pies. My personal favorite was his strawberry. Bob was 80 years old. This picture was taken on his 80th birthday. Bob will be missed not only by us but all who knew him.

51 Years

When you think it couldn't get any better, It Does. Grandpa and I have had 51 wonderful years together and looking forward to many more.

Our son, Steve, and wife Tracy surprised us with a dinner reservation at our favorite hometown restaurant, Cals. There was a table reserved and a gift card waiting for us. Grandpa and I enjoyed the evening out.

Baby Shower

I was invited to my cousin's daughter, Annette''s baby shower. This is her first baby and they tell us it's going to be a boy. The first picture is Annette opening up her gifts.

The second picture is my cousin, Maryann, with her granddaughter Anna. I just thought this was an adorable picture and wanted to put it on the blog.

Now for the interesting part of the day. The shower was probably 10 miles from home. The invitation gave written directions from Garrettsville to the shower. I also have a GPS. Wellllll, Grandpa said it's pretty easy to get there so I didn't take the GPS. Grandpa gave me different directions from what the invitation had. You guessed it I couldn't figure out where the heck I was. I called Grandpa in a panic since I was already twenty minutes late. He tried to help by telling me to go back and try and find the place. I ended up going into a store and asking how to get to this address. I was so close maybe a half mile from it. I finally arrived late of course and hugged my cousin Maryann, who is in the second picture, and my jacket got caught in her earring. I couldn't move and we had 3 different people helping get us apart. After that greeting nobody wanted to hug me. :( The baby shower got underway and was beautiful as a shower can be. Fun games (no I didn't win any prize), excellent food and delicious cake. Annette received many beautiful gifts. Oh yes, the house was in full decorations for Halloween AND I found my way back home. Hurrah!

Yesterday I spent a nice afternoon with two good friends, Becky and Fran. Tea, cookies and good conversation made the afternoon go fast. Hope to do it again sometime.

Today I have a bible study this morning and swimming this afternoon. Sewing whenever I can work it in. Sorry but no pictures of Grandma in her bathing suit. :)

Tomorrow I will be attending a memorial service for one of our men at the church and helping with the dinner. It's always hard to see a family mourn but it's part of the healing.

Hope you all are enjoying these beautiful Fall days. The colors are warm and beautiful.

The picture is of our red bush in the front yard.

Erica's LSAT score

I copied our granddaughter, Erica's, post to my blog to boast a little on her accomplishment with the LSAT score.

I got my LSAT score back, and I got a 161. That puts me in the 84th percentile. It's not a perfect score, but my goal was to get at least 160, so that's good. With this score and my GPA, I have a reasonable shot of getting into almost any law school I might want to go to (with the exception of Ivy League schools). Honestly...I'm soooooo excited about that score. I called my parents at almost midnight last night when I got the e-mail.

grandma said...
Oh Erica, we are so proud of you. Congratulations on your LSAT score. Grandparents are allowed to boast and that we will.
October 17, 2009 6:40 PM
October 17, 2009 6:41 PM

MMMMM DELICIOUS

Today is going to be a pretty hard day to top. Grandpa and I arrived at Kathy and Tim's house around 10 o'clock this morning. Kathy was busy preparing a delightful brunch for us. Kathy's menu' was Ham' N Eggs Brunch Braid along with Orange Cranberry Bread, grape freezer jam and warm cooked apples, juice and coffee. I totally apologize for not taking the picture before it was served. Grandma sat down and as soon as prayer was over I was feeding my face. I remembered the camera after we were done.

What a joy to visit with Kasey, her boyfriend Jared and another surprise was Tori didn't have school today so she was able to be with us. God knew what he was doing when he made families. Lots of love and laughter around the table.

Grandpa and I came home and it wasn't long before our doorbell was ringing and who should it be but our little Amish girl with a plate of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. Of course we had to have some while she sat and visited with us a short while.

I was so impressed with Kathy making a new recipe that I decided I wanted something new for our supper. Our Amish neighbors had a cookbook made up with their favorite recipes which we were happy recipients of. I found a recipe which I had all the ingredients and made Meatballs and Gravy. It may sound simple which it was but OHHHH was it good. I put them over buttered noodles and made enough for leftovers. Smart plan don't you think?

The only thing that could make this day more perfect is if I had a little fairy come in and clean the kitchen. Well! no fairy showed up so I better get busy.