Rainy day and grandkids...

"Some people feel the rain.  Others just get wet."  -Bob Marley

Rainy day.  Wet day.  Cold day.  I woke this morning to the sound of pitter patter upon the roof.  No, it was not tiny reindeer hooves, but rain.  And fog.  I wanted to go out to get some photos of the fog, but it was raining very hard, and besides, it was cold.  Call me a fair weather photographer this morning.  I opted for inside photos instead.  The autumn colors are fantastic here.

lovely site from the front porch.

Boys exploring together.  

Looking at the rain from a window. (Sawyer)

More window gazing. (Tate)

Can you see my amazing man blurred in the background?  He makes my heart pitter patter.  No need for rain there.  

Rainy days are so good to: read a book, bake something, do a craft, take a nap, watch a movie, and enjoy family.  Happy rainy day…it is supposed to turn to snow tomorrow.

Our 32nd Anniversary...

Wisdom for marriage.  Found on Pinterest.  I absolutely thought this said it all...

The 32nd year of marriage…It is hard to believe it has been that long, because it seems like yesterday.  I cannot image my life without Warren.  He is truly the best, but it has not always been that way.  We had to work on our marriage, and well…us.  Now we are perfect…well, almost.  Our marriage is a success because of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  He is the glue that helped us stay together…no matter what.  

32 years…with this man.  I am blessed.  He is too, of course.

Right now we are with Jordan and Luke.   They helped us celebrate our anniversary by putting together a surprise anniversary fondue party for the 4 of us.  We had sparkling apple cider by Martinelli's, and lots of sweet goodies to dip in this wonderful chocolate ganache .  It was very tasty, fun, and I am sure no calories at all.  If I remember right, there are no calories in holiday, birthday, and anniversary food.  Right?  Tell me it is so.  I want it to be so.  Please let it be so.

The fondue spread.  Yum!

The chocolate ganache was divine.  

Look at all this stuff… chocolate truffle cake, marshmallows, rice crispy treats, pound cake, nutter butter cookies, raspberry cheesecake, regular cheesecake, and bananas.  More yums.  

Awesome husband.  

Awesome, almost perfect couple.  

Luke suggested we give him our credit card number, so he could book us a romantic getaway for the weekend.  Aren't we told not to give out that kind of information? Well, it sounded good to me.  I think we can trust Luke.  When I mentioned it to Warren,  he thought it sounded like a good idea. Then I thought about it, I decided that while it seemed like a great idea, it was actually not.  We have not seen our grids since May.  How could we come all this way, only to leave? So we suggested they (Luke and Jordan) plan a weekend get away, let us babysit, and we can have our "getaway" at their house.  Everyone thought that was a winning idea.  That is exactly what we are doing.  Look at these cute guys.

Awesome grandkid…Tate

More awesomeness…Sawyer is carrying his car, and "raffie"

Tateness...

"Saw-dog"

"Love falls to earth, rises from the ground, pools around the afflicted.  Love pulls people back to their feet.  Bodies and souls are fed.  Bones and lives heal, new blades of grass grow from charred soil.  The sun rises." -Anne Lamott, from her book, Help, Thanks, and Wow: the Three Essential Prayers.

A little bit of everything...

"Enjoy the little things, for one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things." -Robert Brault

Our little Maggie has been enjoying the fall weather.  One day it was raining outside, and I thought for sure she would run right back in.  I was wrong.  I called, and called her.  No response.  I finally spotted her in a cozy spot in the backyard. She was just looking as me like I was crazy.  She was quite content where she was...and she was dry.  Smart cat.

She found a nice dry spot to enjoy the rain, and the falling leaves.  Why would she want to come in?

When she finally did come in, she found another perfect spot to relax...my sewing bag.

Snuggled down in my sewing project bag.  It was stuffed to the brim, but she managed to wiggle her body in there quite nicely, and settled down for a long, winter's "cat" nap.   Hmmm.  That sort of reminds me of The Night before Christmas. 

Can you believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner?  When my gkids came over, we made turkeys.  The best kind of turkeys... made from cookies, and candy.  Yum.

My gkids made these all by themselves.  I think they did a very nice job.  

It was a miracle that we had any materials left to make the turkeys... they ate up a lot of the supplies.

Gobble, gobble say the turkeys.  Gobble, gobble say my gkid's tummies.

After all the turkeys were made, and the supplies were adequately eaten, my g-daughter played us her Christmas song on the piano.  I sang along, which made her laugh, and my hubby to cover his ears.

A star in the making.  She plays so beautifully.  My singing, on the other hand,  was a different story.

Our Extension Department has a yearly Christmas event where they demonstrate ideas for Christmas.  They have a gift/recipe section, crafts, and sewing projects.  I liked the craft, and sewing projects the best.  Here are a few of the wreaths they demonstrated how to make.

I want to make a wreath like this!

Not quite in focus, but the idea is there.

I happen to have the supplies needed to make the bottom wreath, so I gave it a try.  My turned out huge.  I need to work on my wreaths a little more.  I definitely want to try to make one like the first one, which is made from burlap ribbon.

Not as good, but I will get better.  I promise.

Switching subjects again to my little lady, Jane.  She is still confused, but not so angry or hostile.  I am so glad!  I found her the cutest sweater and corduroy slacks.  She loves new clothes, and wanted to put them on right away, and have her picture taken.  

My Jane in her new outfit.

She wanted a necklace added.  

 Then she wanted a picture of all the people who take care of her.  This was hard to do with an iPhone, but she liked it.

People: left to right...Ruth, Maria, Jane, and me.

I have been trying to get caught up on some of my sewing projects, which I cannot reveal here since some are Christmas gifts.  Amber had asked me to make a Christmas stocking for their dog, Oliver.  Didn't it turn out cute?

  I think I might make Warren and I new Christmas stockings this year, I like it so much.  

Finally, this is the last week of Operation Christmas Child where shoe boxes are filled with small items, and sent overseas to needy children of other countries.  It is run by Franklin Graham's ministry, Samaritan's purse. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/.  Our church is the collection site for all the churches around here.  This year, a team from our church will travel to Denver to help sort, and get the boxes ready to ship.  

15 shoe boxes are in this box.

Going to Samaritan's Purse

A few of the boxes that are going to be shipped.  

Since I have gone to several Christmas events, am sewing Christmas items, and shopping for Christmas, I have to admit, I am excited for Christmas.  But there is Thanksgiving yet to come.  I am looking forward to that as well.  

By the way, if you did not see the special, "My Hope America", by Billy Graham, it is a must see.  It can be watched here: http://myhopewithbillygraham.org/programs/the-cross/.  Warren and I watched it two times it was so good.  There's testimony by rapper, LeCrae, and singer, Lacey Sturm.

Whew!  That is all for now.  Go watch "My Hope America," and be blessed! 

Quiet Prayer...

I don't know why all of a sudden our roses are blooming like crazy.  Obviously, they like something, and it seemed they were calling my name begging me to come out to see all their beauty...which I did, along with a pair of scissors, and my camera.  I wanted to bring some of their beauty indoors with me as well as preserve it in camera.  I think this is the roses last hurrah before winter arrives.

Since I am taking a photo artistry class right now, I decided to try some of their techniques on a photo, and add a quote that I like.

Veteran's Day, 2013

"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." -George S. Patton

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms.  It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." -G.K. Chesterton

(from images: youthedesigner.com)

(from: oldboyconservative.wordpress.com; h. rockwell)

Today is the day set aside to honor our veterans: living and dead.  I have a great love of this country, and truly am grateful for all who have fought so hard to keep it free.  I am proud to have a husband who served his country, and he tells me that he, too, is glad he served.  In fact, he tells me he might have been a lifer in the military, if they would have only given him some place he had requested.  Instead, they sent him where they wanted him to go.  He was in the Army stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky in the 101 1st Airborne.

He only had to fly in helicopters with sick patients, and he did not like it very much.  He preferred staying on the ground.  

Warren receiving his new rank medals (Major)

My veteran today.  

I went to the courthouse this morning thinking they might have something commemorating the veterans, but I think they had the parades, and parties on Saturday.  I took a picture of the new wall honoring our fallen soldiers from various wars.  This one was from the War on Terror.  Chris Sanders is the 4th name down.  He went to NMMI with my boys, his mother was Warren's nurse when he first went out on his own, and Chris was Warren's patient.  

Flag flying at the Courthouse Wall of heroes.

Flags out on Main Street.

I found a blog this morning written from a wife whose husband is about to be deployed.  It is so wonderful.  This blog is a must read.  Have your kleenix handy.  Please stop by her blog on this Veteran's Day, and send her a word of encouragement.  It is one way we can honor our veterans.

http://julieriveraphotography.com/blog/2010/08/family-halt-fort-hood-tx-family-photographer.html

Thank a Veteran today.  God Save America!

Fog...

We woke this morning to a blanket of fog gently covering our fair city.  Warren came into the bedroom exclaiming, "there's a 'hog' outside"...the term our son, Mark, used for 'fog' when he was just a little boy.  I quickly ate some breakfast, grabbed my camera, and went out to take pictures of the glorious fog before it lifted.  

I know our area is not notable for the fall colors, but I thought the colors were gorgeous.  I have always wanted to see the New England leaves turning, but I have to say, I think the colors on display here are pretty much up there.

Here are some yellow leaves...

 and here are some reddish leaves...

 back to yellow...

Now Red...

How about some orange thrown in for good measure.  It is yellow and red mixed together after all.

and some chartreuse...one of my favorite colors...

As the fog began to lift, I decided I had enough pictures, but then saw all these birds lined up on the fence.

It was a great morning for pictures.