Celebrating 246 Years !

Happy 4th of July!

This is a beautiful, handmade quilt, 

that was given to me from a good friend 

who still lives in the Seattle area.

It needed to be quilted.

So, another good friend (here in Idaho),

volunteered to quilt the back for me.

 Now it's my turn 

to hand stich the boarder.

It's priceless to me!

~~~***~~~

Top Down!

Tom and I took a Sunday, evening drive into the country 

and drove past farm after farm.

It smelled so good.

We headed back home as the sun went behind clouds.

Big day tomorrow, 4th of July.

~~~***~~~

That's Tom behind the flag- haha

We found "our " spot along the parade route.

This is Melba, Idaho, a small town, 

with a perfct, small town parade.

Lulu, Kimmy and me

It is always well attended and everyone is so

patriotic, courteous, and friendly. 

Small Town!

To start the parade off, 

the motorcycles revved up their engines!

My favorite part!

This parade is so friendly. 

Ila and her friend, asked the horsewoman a question. 

She even stopped to answer them!

You always know when the parade is over.

~~~***~~~

After the parade we set up camp for a great view 

for the fireworks.

We had time to go home, to feed the dog and some of us, took a nap.

Then we headed back down to where we had left our "camp".

We brought our RV,

 so we can have the comfort of 

all it's facilities.

While waiting, it was a great time to play, 

snack and get caught up on life.

The kids enjoyed rolling down the hill on the blankets.

Mark is a great dad! 

More like a kid himself.

Creativity abounds while waiting

~~~***~~~

Then, right on time,

the show begins...

Then the  ooouuu's and ahhh's  can be heard all during the show.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; the people whom he has chosed for his inheritance."

Psalm 33:12

 

Prayers Please

In the next few months our family will be experiencing 

two, very, important surgeries.

Kimmy and Mark have 6 children.

Two of them will be having surgery, shortly.

Lulu is 11, soon to be 12 years old, will be having ASC,
which is a non fusion spine surgery to correct her scoliosis.
It is a new type of surgery, only been around for a couple of years.

Lulu's surgery is on April 1 and taking place in New Jersey.
Kimmy and Mark are flying back with Lulu
(and Nathan because he is still being breast feeding), for 10 days.
Tom and I will be staying in Idaho to take care of the other children.

Nathan and Lulu

Nathan ( 6 months) was born with a closed skull or Craniosynostoisis.

His specific type is called, Sagittal. 

He will be having surgery to open his scalp and repair his skull.  

Giving his brain room to grow, normally.

Nathan's surgery will be in Salt Lake City,
on June 14th.
Tom and I will be traveling to Salt Lake City,
with the family.


Prayer requests:

Lulu's surgery is a complete success.
Recovery is quick and comfortable.
Kimmy and Mark will be comforted before, during and after surgery.
Traveling to and from, will be easy.
Tom and I will be able to care and comfort the other children to their needs,
They will come home safely.

Nathan's surgery is a complete success.
Recovery is quick, that he will sleep well and be comfortable.
Kimmy and Mark will be comforted before, during and after surgery.
And that God's hand will be on all of us before, during and after wards.

~~~~****~~~~

Mistake...

 OOOPS!

This is Mark's birthday cake that I baked for him.

I almost cried when I took the cake out it's pan.

But then I remembered this

 Pintrest picture and thought.

"That's it!"

All I needed were some Kit Kats and some M &M's.

So off to the Dollar Store to get my supplies.

Several candy bars later and you'd never know!

 Results were better then I ever expected.

Happy   Birthday   Mark!

Thanksgiving 2017

 

What does it look like when you have invited

30 people over for Thanksgiving?

 

Kimmy had all the tables set up

and beautifully decorated.

 

Lulu was in charge of arranging the dessert table.

There were all kinds of delicious pies.

And a few cookies, too.

 

Patiently waiting for company.

 

 Kimmy is a perfect hostess.

 

 

 This is the "boys" table,

ranging from ages from 3 to 16.

Tom and I sat here to supervise,

making sure there were table manners.

They all were perfect! 

 

Tom and I arrived early to be

helpful and to hand out  hugs.

It was a hard job but someone had to do it!

 

 Mark reminded us to think about all our blessings

and why we celebrate

 Thanksgiving!

 

Ila May is so excited for Christmas!

 

 

The traditional Thanksgiving picture.

 

 

 

*Before*

*After*

 

The weather was beautiful

and the all the kids

enjoyed being outdoors.

One tradition they have every year,

is a scavenger hunt for the

children.

They call it, Strut The Turkey

 

 It has the kids running all around the house,

from one end to the other,

even on the balcony.

STOP...

picture time! 

In the end, when they find Strut,

 they get candy.

 

 Another tradition...

.... the second meal after everyone has left.

Papa (Tom) is sharing some pie with Isaac.

 

 Clean Up Crew

at the dessert table!

 

Who needs a dog?

 

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

This was one of my favorites!

 

 

~~~~****~~~

 

"We love because He first loved us."

 

1 John 4:19

 



Getting Things Ready

When we bought these two houses,

we needed to make them

Homes!

There are bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms with beds.

Living rooms with a couch and a few lamps.

But how do you make them a Home? 

You call your daughter for help

and head over to Costco.

We went Shopping!! 

It only took a couple of hours.

We loaded up one flat bed cart and two

regular shopping carts.

We needed two of EVERYTHING!

Two sets of pots and pans

Two sets of dishes.

Two vacuum cleaners.

Two coffee pots.

Two bundles of kitchen towels.

Two sets of brooms.

Two sets of silverware.

Two sets of glasses.

Each home sleeps 10!!

So we needed enough

towels for 20 people, plus backups!

Sheets, pillows and blankets in all sizes,

 plus backups.

Each bathroom needed a toilet brush, bath mat,

waste can and a hairdryer.

And don't forget a plunger or two.

I finally realized that between the two homes,

there are 7 bathrooms!



Shopping with Ila May, Isaac and Kimmy

was really a lot of fun!

I have NEVER shopped like that before.

People were staring at us .

One guy came up to us and asked,

 "Are you really going to buy all of that?"

  Once everything was packed in the utility trailer,

 (thanks to Mark and his outstanding packing skills!)

 we headed up to McCall.

We arrived and

 unpacked everything.

Then we unboxed all the items.

Boxes everywhere!

I also bought decorations, lamps and wall art for each home.



It has taken several trips back up, to

arrange and hang everything.

We don't mind going up.

Tom and I have fallen in love with McCall.



One of the trips we had a special helper.



Levi worked hard cleaning and helping

in every way.

His reward was being spoiled by his

grandparents!

Our last trip up was to install

all the TV's.

We are working hard to get

each home ready.

Our first guests arrive Nov, 8th.

They have rented both homes for a

family celebration.

to be continued....

 (a sneak peak inside each home)

~~~~****~~~~

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans."

Proverbs 16:3