Beautiful Table At Pat's

Beautiful table!!!  Nature at its best.

Thanks, Pat.

Goodbye To A Great One!

We joined the Kniveton family saying goodbye to their

beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother

today.  Her real name is Lovella Elaine Kniveton.

She was known as "Ditto"

My BFF lost her grandmother January 12th.

We know that grandma Tillie met her at the gate,

and they are together again.

It was a BEAUTIFUL service

followed by a wonderful time of trading

memories and stories.

She is loved.  She will be missed.

Update.....

It's SNOWING again!!!!!

Yeah!!!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

Got a phone call this morning at 6:00 am saying there would be a 2-hour delay

for school today.  About 1 1/2 hour later, the call came with the words we all

wanted to hear........School is Cancelled!!!!

Snow Day!

It started snowing at about 2:15 this morning (according to my dad!) and

didn't quit until about 2:00 this afternoon.

Spent the day on the chair looking out the big window and watching

the third season of "Damages".  That show ROCKS!!

Nick got the job of cleaning off the patio just because that's what

kids get asked to do!  Kyle watched his television shows in the bedroom

and oh yeah, talked on his phone.

He also cooked Walleye tonight and had mom and dad, Greg and Auntie

over for dinner.  It was fun. 

It has been announced already....at LEAST a 2-hour delay tomorrow.

Sleeping in in the morning!  YEAH! 

LOVE THE SNOW!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday (Yesterday)

Happy Birthday, Nicholas!!  17 years young.

He just loves the thought of a birthday...as any kid does!

He got a watch, Yugiho cards, baseball cards, football cards,

card holders, plastic card containers, a camaflauge shirt and pants.

Pretty lucky day!!!  Hope you have a great year.

Dear Lord

Dear Lord.  One of my favorite families is going through something really BIG right now.  I know, Lord, because I have been there just recently.  I know there is good that comes out of this and I pray that they know that too.  Be with them now, Lord, encompass them in your beauty and love.  Encompass them in your acknowledgement that you will take care of their loved one.  The call home is often met with anger and need for answers that may not come in our time....please help this transition not be like for them.  Let them instead feel your presence, feel your protection, feel the love that you have for them and for their loved one.  Let the goodbye be filled with good memories and the thoughts of "you've done what you needed to do here on earth.  Now it's time for you to do your work in heaven".  If there's an earthly good to dying, Lord....let them feel it.  Amen.

10 On The 10th

I'm already going to put in "reminders" on my phone for this one....since I am going to need them because I am terrible at trying to do something at on a "schedule" like this!  Ten thoughts on the 10th of the month!  Here gos...

1.  I am trying to get back into the mindset that NOT ALL PEOPLE are terrible!  With the whole basketball YouTube incident last week this is a very trying thing for me because we have WASTED days of listening to ugly, ugly people and their more than ugly comments.  Get over it!!  Things have happened, things have been learned, time to move on!!  So proud of our community and the choice they took to stand behind our people and not let this thing drive huge wedges between school, sports, communities, and families.  Thank you!!!

2.  Just watched the last episode of the first season of "Damages".  Unbelieveable and insane...but AWESOME!!

3.  Reading "one thousand gifts " for Wednesday group and LOVING it!  Even though it is starting out on the more desolate, untrusting, looking for the good side of life, I just know that it is going to turn out great.  God is great and I am looking forward to all that this book does to reiterate that and change my life.  Amen.

4.  Getting myself geared up for the very dreaded need to get last years' tax stuff ready for filing, FAFSA filled out and submitted, and last years' stuff boxed and put to rest.  2012 file folders ready to collect all of this years' goodies.....Get it done!!!

5.  I want to get back in the groove of taking pictures everyday.  Even if it's only 1 picture.  Shouldn't be that hard...you'd think!  I copied off "Making The Shot" from Karen Russell so now I have my inspiration and I'M GOING TO DO IT!!!  Starting tomorrow.  Hopefully!!

6.  I have been so blessed to be able to have spent so much time around my home this past month.  With Christmas Vacation and New Years it has been days of hanging out and doing a whole lotta nothing!  I have done some things like clean out some drawers, clean out junk, move things around and create a new look in rooms....those kinds of things.  It has been the best.

7.  Ready for Kyle to be done with his work in Quincy.  He has been working at getting a newly purchased building renovated and ready to be opened.  He has been home on the weekends but I am ready to have him here and working closer to home.

8.  Enjoying time spent looking and gaining some ideas from my magazines.  I have Country Living, Cottages and Bungalows, Living and Sunset.  It is so fun getting something besides bills in the mail. 

9.  Worked on getting the Running Start transcripts put into the computer today.  The time is now for all the seniors to get applications into colleges and scholarships filled out and sent in.  We have been sending out transcripts like crazy to all sorts of colleges, near and far, for CHS seniors!  So excited for them when they come into the office screaming "I've been accepted!!!" 

10.  Been writing in a journal this year....so far.  Been enjoying it....so far.

Miscellaneous

During the Break the kids all came over for dinner...chicken and rice!

I made them pose for a picture for me JUST BECAUSE!!

They didn't give me too much guff.

We played Jenga afterwards.

It was low-key and fun.

What else has been going on around here?  Not much.  Literally. Not much!

It's Tuesday and school starts again tomorrow.  I guess one good thing about it is that

it's not a FULL week.....just 3 days!

We watched the movie "The Warrior" the other day....Wow!  It was really good.

I would definitely recommend it.  Nick Nolte was in it and that is really it

for 'stars'.  It was an intense show, with lots of parts that I had to hide my head

because it is a show about a Mixed Martial Arts tournament (and I'm the type of

person that doesn't really like all the violence that I associate fighting with). 

 I know, I know...MMA??Jennifer liking THAT?? 

This was my first reaction also when Briar suggested that we

watch it.  He said that it wasn't like what I thought is was going to be so I said

OK.  Glad I did.  Go watch it!

For the life of me I don't know why, but these last couple of nights I have not been

sleeping worth a darn, or I guess I haven't been sleeping lots.  I go to bed and

lay there, wishing I were asleep, watching the clock, wishing I were asleep, watching

the clock some more, the pattern continues.  I haven't gone to sleep prior to 1:00 AM

and I am not liking it.  I don't sleep in late, been up by 8:00.  This might had an 

adverse affect on my back-to-work schedule so I'm not sure what that will

be like....UGH!  It's already past 11:00 right now...doesn't look too promising!

I am all ready for Wednesday group tomorrow.  Dinner is ready to be heated up

and the table is set.  The house is picked up, notice I didn't say 'cleaned up'....

I didn't do a complete overhaul!  I will be able to get by though.

Went by and saw grandpa today.  LOVE that man!  He had just gotten done

ironing his shirts.  He has been battling a cold for about a week or so but he seems to

be on the mend.  I hope so!  Lousy colds!!!  He looked great though and was pretty 

chipper.  We had a nice visit and I left him in time to get ready to go to lunch.

Had to run around and do some errands while I was in town.  Paxton started back to

school today and called me in a panic because her biology class wasn't the correct one

so she had to drop it and pick up another couple of classes.  She will get the right

biology class next quarter.  She is taking 20 credits this quarter...seems like a lot to me but

hopefully she will keep on top of her classes!  AND get World History done also!!

She is killing me with this class.....a slow and painful kind of death...and she loves that!

OK.  I am going to sign off for now and see if I can get to sleep.

3 days into the new year already!  Time is flying by!!!! 

New Year!!

HELLO 2012!!

Bradley is back at work in Missouri at Whiteman AFB, Briar is getting ready to

go back to school Tuesday, Paxton is ready for school again on Tuesday also,

and Nicholas starts back on Wednesday.  Kyle is going back to Quincy tomorrow

for the week, getting Commercial Tire ready to open the second week of January.

Today I watched a couple episodes of "Hoarders, Buried Alive" and let me tell

you something.....I went through some drawers around here and THREW
STUFF AWAY!!  That show is a reality check for the amount of crap one can

accumulate in a single house.  My goal for this coming year is not to accumulate

junk in the house; when something new comes in...something old goes out!

Anyways, this vacation has been a good one.  A relaxing one.  A don't leave

home kind of one.  A good one.  Ready for the new year.  Can't believe it's here!

Can't wait to make it a great one!