Thanksgiving 2009

What an unexpected Thanksgiving this year. 2 weeks prior to the big day I found out that my whole family and a few more were coming to my place. Now, what does that entail? The host prepares the main dish and makes room for all. Not to mention going on a cleaning frenzy prior to the day! I figured around 16-20 people tops and then Wednesday evening discovered there were more coming then I realized! (We were doing our meal on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.) Now the numbers climbed up to 22-26 people! Where oh where were they all going to sit? Is the turkey going to be enough?
Well, as far as seating Chuck and I removed the two gliding-rockers out of the Living room to make room for another car table. That now gives me 8 at the main table, 8 at a long table set up in the L.R. and 4 at the small table. 20 at tables and I figured 4 could sit at the sofa and L.R. chairs. As it all turned out we had 22 people. With Kristin (my daughter) and I not sitting down right away because we were busy passing food to all, since there was not enough room to put everything at the tables, by the time we were able to sit down couple others were done eating so it all worked out well.
Our menu consisted of:
(provided by myself)
Turkey, Swedish meatballs, (because I did not think that the turkey would be enough), green bean casserole, mashed pot., dinner rolls, fruit salad and pumpkin pie cake.

(Deb, my niece)
dressing-the best in the world I must add!

(Mim, my sister-in-law)
Taco salad - no gathering is complete without her taco salad!

(Kristin, my daughter)
Yams - and they were yummy! She can cook!!

(Wally, my brother)
A tray of meat roll-ups and a tray of mixed cheeses - great for after any meal or while waiting to eat!

(Jennifer, my niece from Colorado)
Pretzels with caramel, chocolate and walnuts on top - they were so good! I need to find out how she made them!

(Larry, my oldest brother)
Pumpkin pies and cool whip - my favorite pie!

The best part of hosting is that you end up with the leftovers! Ok, just kidding, but you do get most of the left overs. Not much left this year but we sure had a great time together.
I started out the day going to the Black Friday sales at 5:00 AM. 3 stores, 2 hour wait in cashier lines total and lots of good deals! Home by 9:00 and turkey done by 9:30. (Meal was at 1:00) The day before I had the tables all set with the place settings and the fruit salad and cake made.

Here is the guest list:

Larry and Katy ( my oldest brother and his wife)
Walter (better know as Wally, my next to the oldest brother)
Jen ( Wally's oldest daughter who lives in Colorado)
Keith and Deb ( Wally's daughter, my niece and husband)
Dustin and his girlfriend (Deb's oldest)
Tyler (Deb's youngest)
Jason South ( friend of Wally's family, was renting from my nephew R.I.P. Jason)
Norm and Mim ( my youngest brother and his wife)
Megan and Zach (Norm's oldest daughter, my niece and her husband, they live in Wisconsin)
Austin ( Norm's youngest son, my nephew )
Molly and Missy ( Norm's youngest who are twins, my nieces)
Kristin (my daughter)
Shawn and Zach ( my adorable grandsons)
Chuck ( Kristin's father)
Me

Wish the following could have been here, David (Larry's son who had to work today), Jason (my nephew who was killed in October), Tommy (Norm's oldest son), Kenny ( my son-in-law who had to get some sleep for a 12 hour shift starting at 5:00), LaMar (Florida), Omar & Josh (Virgina) and Mim and family (Oklahoma), my other brothers and sister. We missed you all!

To sum it up, I am humbled that I had the honor of hosting this gathering this year. We are so blessed! Thank you one and all for coming over and putting up with the cramped space! You are all special to me. Maybe I can post pictures later. May you all have a wonderful and blessed year. Don't forget from whom all your blessings come from. Put Him 1st in your life! I hope to see all and maybe more at Christmas!

Ever see God work through the little things....???

Well, have you? I sure have this past month. Here are just a few ways that I have seen this in my life.

1. Had another water pipe leaking in the basement. Actually, it was at the turn off valve. City says I must call a plumber. Not their problem. Plumber????$$$$$ Well, the neighbor man, Dan, came over to take a look at it. "Won't be difficult to replace this", he says. So 2 days later he replaced it for me! Much, much cheaper then a plumber!

2. A few days later he offered to replace the missing shingles on my garage roof. They had come off in February's wind storm. Not only will he do the labor at a fraction of the cost but also will use left over shingles he has! Wow!

3. My car was diagnosed a few weeks ago to have to have the tie rods and ball joints replaced. Terrible rubbing sound when turning real sharp. Well, the last couple weeks we (Chuck & I) have not heard this anymore. Took it for a real workout in a parking lot and still sounds good. I am believing that God took care of this also!

4. I am having a peace in the evenings that I never thought I would have at this stage of my life. Those who know me know what I am referring to. I can definitely tell that people have been praying for me. This is a God thing!!!!

5. There has been times that I was really feeling down and low and behold, the phone rings. One of my 'girlie' friends are on the other end!

So that is a few of my happenings. What are yours? Care to share?

Friday 13

First of all let me say this, I am not at all superstitious about this combination. As I checked in on my email this morning I seen this write up on Yahoo news and as I was reading it I figured I would post it on here. Why not? It has some interesting thoughts which may get you to wondering or even give you a laugh for the day. Who knows.....

5 Facts About Friday the 13th

LiveScience StaffLiveScience.com livescience Stafflivescience.com – Thu Mar 12, 12:30 pm ET
If Friday the 13th is unlucky, then 2009 is an unusually unlucky year. This week's Friday the 13th is one of three to endure this year.
The first came last month. The next is in November. Such a rare triple-threat occurs only once every 11 years. ( My imput here: My daughter and I just checked this out, in 2012 there are also 3 Friday 13. January, April and July have them. Now that calculates to 3 years from now....)

The origin of the link between bad luck and Friday the 13th is murky. The whole thing might date to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune. In modern times, the superstition permeates society.

Here are five of our favorite Friday-the-13th facts:
1. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.
2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.
3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.
4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

Pythagorean legacy
Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.
"You can trace it all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number,'" says Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and author of "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved" (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything around them, Livio said.
In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology, scientists say.
"People are subconsciously drawn towards specific numbers because they know that they need the experiences, attributes or lessons associated with them, that are contained within their potential," says professional numerologist Sonia Ducie. "Numerology can 'make sense' of an individual's life (health, career, relationships, situations and issues) by recognizing which number cycle they are in, and by giving them clarity."
However, mathematicians dismiss numerology, saying it lacks any scientific merit.
"I don't endorse this at all," Livio said, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said.
Top 10 Conspiracy Theories
News and Information about Superstitions
Urban Legends Debunked
Original Story: 5 Facts About Friday the 13th

As I said before, this is not my thoughts but an article I read. How true can all this be anyway, after all I proved one thing wrong about this happening once in 11 years!

Any comments on this??

Just wondering....

I have been spoiled by this great weather these last few days. Friday and Saturday around 64 degrees and great walking weather! Today however it has been very rainy and windy. Actually started last night witha tremendous downpour! It came down so hard that it about drowned out Pastor Mark Beesons voice.

Now for my wondering....when will it stay warm and sunny? March in like a lamb will it go out like a lion? Hope not!

"How can it go from Winter to Summer in one day?"

If you attend GCC this past weekend (2-7/8-09) you may have heard Rob Wegner open the service with this question that one of his daughters asked him Saturday.

Here we have had 32+ days with snow on the ground and many days in the single digit temperatures. Then - walla- come Feb. 6th the temperature begin to rise. On the 7th (Saturday) the temperature rises to the low 50's and the ground changes from white to green. It does seem to have gone from winter to summer in one day. I must say that I am definitely enjoying the sunshine and warmer temps.

I can't help to think that Christ can make such a change in our lives if we only let Him. We can become cold and hide under the covers (snow) and not let our life impact others. How often do we tend to dwell or only see the things that affect us but do not see the hurt in the people around us? The song Does Anybody Hear Her, by Casting Crowns, has really made it come clear to me how I tend to not really 'hear' the hurt and pain of others. (By the way, Trace Rorie did a great job on this song this weekend.) Maybe we (I) need to be more sensitive and really hear what people around us are saying. Maybe we (I) need to keep our mind and eyes upon Jesus more so that He can show us when people are crying out to us for help. Maybe when people are speaking to us we are not really listening with our heart so we miss what is being said without words. Does this make sense to you? Let God change you (me) so that we can be there for others.

Get out from under the covers and the cold and let the light and warmth of Jesus shine through you to impact others. Isn't this what followers of Christ should be doing? I sure could use more help on fine tuning my heart and mind to really 'hearing' others. How about you?

Friendships

The other Friday evening I had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with some wonderful christian ladies. We had one of our girlie nights. We met through a GCC small group and are the only original ones left from 5 years ago. Even though our personal lives have changed (one got married) we still have many things in common. We help each other in what ever struggles we may be going through. We are always are there for each other. We pray for and lift each other up. We laugh with each other. We cry with each other. We encourage each other. We love each other. And one of these days we may even stop talking long enough to watch a movie together...haha!

Beth, Carol and Janette, I thank God for you and pray that our friendship may grow stronger and closer even when we are sitting in our rocking chairs many years down the way! I love doing life with these 3 lovely ladies!

When is our next girlie night!?!?!?!

Janette, the married one!

Praise God

For those that have read the previous post you know about my home repair blues. Well, during the time that we had that very, frigid, cold snap of 19 below I thought I had more $$$ going away. Woke up and the water faucets were not providing a stream of water. Basically just a drizzle and then they completely stopped! Oh no, now what? Only thought was that the water pipes froze. I kept praying all morning that what ever it was that it was not going to cost me mega bucks to fix the problem.
We put heaters down in the basement to create more heat on the pipes. After many hours and buckets of melting snow to at least wash our hands, dishes and flushing the toilet we still were not getting a drip. Finally I figured I may need to go and get some electric heat tape to put around the pipes. Before I left to do that I checked the heaters again. Good thing I did! There now was water spraying out from under the water meter! I yanked the heaters out from the standing water. That was a dumb move! Thank God nothing happened to me. I ran to the neighbors and he came over to shut the water supply off. I knew with my weak wrist that I was not going to be able to do it. Because of the location of the water leak I figured it must be the water company responsibility. At least I was hoping that would be the case. 1.1/2 hours later they were out and sure enough there was a problem with the meter and once that was replaced we had water! Thank you Jesus for taking care of me!
Needless to say that was not a very pleasant day. Glad that I was home when it happened. My ex come over and helped get the water mess cleaned up.
Praise God for his provisions in my life at this time. Snow(to melt), neighbor (to assist in my need), and an ex (who was willing to help clean up the mess)!

Home repairs....ugh :(

Have you ever noticed that just when you feel you can't stretch your pay check any farther that is when the unexpected comes up and you must take care of it? Once again that is happening to me. Here is how it started:

Call from my daughter to me at work....

D: Mom, when I got home today the garage door would not open. It is making a vibrating sound when I push the button on the opener.

Me: Oh no. You mean to say that it opened ok when you left but now....

D: That's right. Later on Kenny tried it and it made the same noise.

Me: Guess we will need to have your dad check it when he comes over.

D: Yea, I guess. Maybe you should just call the place that replaced the springs a couple of months ago.

Me: I really don't want to do that.

Well, her dad was over but never bothered to look at it. He told her that I should just have that same place come out. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ signs fly through my head. Why now when times are so tough? I looked at it myself and thought it may be a simple do it yourself problem but who would do it?

Next day I made that dreaded call and 5 hours later they are out. After about 1 minute he knew the problem. The gears stripped because of the faulty springs from before. They have had many replacements of that nature and are currently out of the part needed to fix it. Looks like Tuesday I will be out of mucho bucks :(

Thanks for letting me vent!