tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59223422311731611342024-03-13T13:11:42.745-04:00StewMama SaysSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.comBlogger847125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-60334645966226589022020-11-18T11:23:00.002-05:002020-11-18T11:31:51.385-05:00A Slice of the Hodgepodge<div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Hello friends. In case you can't tell, that's a nod to the better-late-than-never and oh so different just-completed Masters tournament. But everything in 2020 seems to be different, am I right?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I'm here for the Hodgepodge today, and thankful to Joyce for continuing to offer the opportunity to think and to blog as we are able. (Some days I'm more able than others!)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Here are her questions and my answers for your reading pleasure. Ha! Be sure to <a href="http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/">click over to her blog</a> and see what everyone else has to say.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrJLVhVde87WrF_JZbrt4j_0j67C-QX-KPkg3a2zzD8tNcSrACmMobwpbcCWMjaCIq2exqclixeoRAxdzUU9lG97qtBvCiIL_nYelpkeKQpCw-ROG91hOumYiavfQYQFogA-q8FkMPHA/s273/hodgepodge-button.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrJLVhVde87WrF_JZbrt4j_0j67C-QX-KPkg3a2zzD8tNcSrACmMobwpbcCWMjaCIq2exqclixeoRAxdzUU9lG97qtBvCiIL_nYelpkeKQpCw-ROG91hOumYiavfQYQFogA-q8FkMPHA/s0/hodgepodge-button.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><i style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">1. It's Mickey Mouse's birthday (November 18)...happy birthday Mickey! He reads here, right? Have you ever been to Disney, any of the parks at all? Are you a Disney superfan or something less than that? They're open right now so tell us, would you go if you had the time/money/a free trip?</i></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I have been to Disney World in Florida a few times - a couple times as a child, once with our kids, and most recently this past January (which seems like about 10 years ago!) with 2 of my daughters-in-law and 2 grandkids.</span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">This fuzzy photo is my parents, my 2 brothers, and me, circa 1970 or so.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBeiQzYl3F55LSuJlSpiWv9nbvOainmr_q21WBJIAs3DxK3esxUFhNHwKlFUr4wsA0luqXSnBkQr2q1LStfi-hIDOdJIjwMcwJXV1HW1cIDAF-P4hkxUdd0KlBzRjdhxt6lrzdYIlwP0/s408/Scan+100.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBeiQzYl3F55LSuJlSpiWv9nbvOainmr_q21WBJIAs3DxK3esxUFhNHwKlFUr4wsA0luqXSnBkQr2q1LStfi-hIDOdJIjwMcwJXV1HW1cIDAF-P4hkxUdd0KlBzRjdhxt6lrzdYIlwP0/s320/Scan+100.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Fast forward to 1993, with Jim and our 5. Matching shirts weren't as easy to come by back then, so I painted their sweatshirts. Matching was our thing. And it also allowed us to keep track of everyone more easily.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIE0ypS5w3M2w6yaJ6LHLXZIxBfT3Uaurhi3YRAwcpXlyUxWTvkSjTXjW67XhUMsncf30-dJYvKO3qMdD2ahK9bejyoTf3FYmRrlTz0L4zRZK37O1P_6j-zAv-wFgEf6QFzetT0zBMEU/s1200/Scan+130.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIE0ypS5w3M2w6yaJ6LHLXZIxBfT3Uaurhi3YRAwcpXlyUxWTvkSjTXjW67XhUMsncf30-dJYvKO3qMdD2ahK9bejyoTf3FYmRrlTz0L4zRZK37O1P_6j-zAv-wFgEf6QFzetT0zBMEU/s320/Scan+130.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">And finally, this past January, with Darci and Haleigh celebrating our January birthdays. Haleigh turned 10, and Darci and I a bit older. Ha!</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAAM7k1oXem5t-I9GZPzBbdQp1DnJozZo4g8IbJKVUiyKA24cSqbwcDUCLVnpV33afmUcMubVkQR-omi6EvTqGpDDe6cLGsJTEuH3K9wrfEaLBmsINhVrhJEfJCPmPLF6L5kYMZf5Hv0/s2048/183070DE-A3FE-4535-A898-8D8FAA3AD69D.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1639" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAAM7k1oXem5t-I9GZPzBbdQp1DnJozZo4g8IbJKVUiyKA24cSqbwcDUCLVnpV33afmUcMubVkQR-omi6EvTqGpDDe6cLGsJTEuH3K9wrfEaLBmsINhVrhJEfJCPmPLF6L5kYMZf5Hv0/s320/183070DE-A3FE-4535-A898-8D8FAA3AD69D.JPG" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Courtney and little S came along on the trip as well, even though it wasn't their birthday month. S was not so sure about an unexpected encounter with a Stormtrooper! If you look closely though, you can see that S is wearing the same sweatshirt that his daddy wore. Yes, I save everything.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SAzX2vthifJlUWuK4F7UPvBtlMfd_rYN9AEH6V4LYOqODcCgc8on9XBFJlZOcaVZVt_ATVJTABJ5YIubAl36hQ3I95DyNrOYoiddTVdT9XEab14y3zV4hf4JQRn5ODsNm5hZuMLVd-o/s2048/IMG_4257.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1539" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SAzX2vthifJlUWuK4F7UPvBtlMfd_rYN9AEH6V4LYOqODcCgc8on9XBFJlZOcaVZVt_ATVJTABJ5YIubAl36hQ3I95DyNrOYoiddTVdT9XEab14y3zV4hf4JQRn5ODsNm5hZuMLVd-o/s320/IMG_4257.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I would not call me a superfan of the Disney parks, although I have kids and grandkids who definitely fall into that category, and seeing it with them is a treat. It is a magical place, full of fantasy, fun, and fatigued feet (at least for this granny)!</span><br /><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>2. Your favorite place to go when you want to be quiet as a church mouse? Would those who know you well describe you as more churchmouse or perhaps more like mighty mouse? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">This is the place I go to be quiet. Of course, I also love it when it is filled with the laughter and shouts of grandchildren. I'm more of a churchmouse. Or maybe mighty mouse incognito?</span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5zeAn5yW3wYmfJFy7sWZZQQw1MYONP_5k4spzI7QbM64LxnNWqi2MniLpzgSqME7cjlNN0liHYt7aVXrFtwIk5DwIwGU5nNAjZ4gHx-R8Xtr1veMnaKfygUw0Is48myZY3nxY7MwYDU/s2048/IMG_6067.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5zeAn5yW3wYmfJFy7sWZZQQw1MYONP_5k4spzI7QbM64LxnNWqi2MniLpzgSqME7cjlNN0liHYt7aVXrFtwIk5DwIwGU5nNAjZ4gHx-R8Xtr1veMnaKfygUw0Is48myZY3nxY7MwYDU/s320/IMG_6067.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>3. The day before Mickey's birthday happens to be National Homemade Bread Day. Did/will you celebrate? Do you bake your own bread? Last time you had hot out-of-the-oven homemade bread? What's your favorite kind of bread? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I love bread. All kinds. I do not make my own bread because, well, it would make it way too easy to eat bread all day every day. My mother-in-law had a bread machine and shared bread far and wide. One of our favorite stories is when she gave us a fresh loaf to take home, but said it was still too warm for her to slice (she had a slicer that she used for perfect slicing). A loaf of warm bread, 5 kids, 1 mom... let's just say the bread did not make it home with us that day, but was happily consumed in chunks in the car.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">My favorite bread might have to be bread pudding souffle from Commander's Palace in New Orleans. That counts, right?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3acuAXomcGnRBTwPbuahsTqXrAJThAO4snU5a2EqM2FKLxji4KkR3VNLVIqTUhQDQfPo3rhDUF5EoqROgeSWTlycdcd4lz4u6pbFxayDkBWyW35Jyb5plNLxpmBLmnGrk6u99W0TEnw/s2048/IMG_7579.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3acuAXomcGnRBTwPbuahsTqXrAJThAO4snU5a2EqM2FKLxji4KkR3VNLVIqTUhQDQfPo3rhDUF5EoqROgeSWTlycdcd4lz4u6pbFxayDkBWyW35Jyb5plNLxpmBLmnGrk6u99W0TEnw/s320/IMG_7579.JPG" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>4. What's something you might say is 'the greatest thing since sliced bread'? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Our local food pantry is called 'Bread of Life', and I have been volunteering there for a few years now. They have t-shirts with this on the back, so the first thing I thought of was the importance of seeing a need and taking care of our neighbors. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Jeremiah 29:7 says:</span></div><div><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">"And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare."</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfxapKP6FdBGBt1zDa_htAUWLXmn7s5DzOV05aG4USCYxkpOU4msVwYANESPZOBuzQOCVIaljUx-tGzm3gTVOMojpIi3qgsCAyPaR4Tg-ibXY2vY5r54X8nvh_Gvn802HXU7YHC4LL4g/s456/IMG_6353.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfxapKP6FdBGBt1zDa_htAUWLXmn7s5DzOV05aG4USCYxkpOU4msVwYANESPZOBuzQOCVIaljUx-tGzm3gTVOMojpIi3qgsCAyPaR4Tg-ibXY2vY5r54X8nvh_Gvn802HXU7YHC4LL4g/s320/IMG_6353.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">And loving our neighbors is the greatest thing since sliced bread. For sure.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>5. Let's keep the gratitude theme we started last week rolling on through November. Share with us five little things you're grateful for today. Small blessings. One catch-they all must start with the letter T. Gotta keep us thinking, right? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Hot <b>tea</b> on a chilly morning </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><b>Tires</b> on my car </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><b>Teachers</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">A Thanksgiving <b>trivia</b> game </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Beef <b>tenderloin </b>for Thanksgiving</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>6. Insert your own random thought here. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">These two are engaged! After a few years of dating, they made it official in August, and are planning a wedding for next fall. So happy for Jonathan and Abby, and we will love having her as an 'official' member of the family.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0taVAxcoAxIuvxqIztNt9G2DdShSVRyAjISqwFYhYJ81RkLLux-gIQESLrTyqKg7mrb_JLp8OclgP1Ndra3rm-T6KDeibb-kR6JNWExaqVcSw38aNbZhaWMNWA0oVm7JAN2geDPr8G0/s2048/Stewart_Davis_10.4.20-401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0taVAxcoAxIuvxqIztNt9G2DdShSVRyAjISqwFYhYJ81RkLLux-gIQESLrTyqKg7mrb_JLp8OclgP1Ndra3rm-T6KDeibb-kR6JNWExaqVcSw38aNbZhaWMNWA0oVm7JAN2geDPr8G0/s320/Stewart_Davis_10.4.20-401.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Happy Wednesday all!</span></div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-61934473927684274182020-05-13T15:07:00.000-04:002020-05-13T15:07:12.403-04:00Hugs for the Hodgepodge<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Welcome to Wednesday and another edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. It has been a nice way for me to ease back into blogging, and I appreciate Joyce for faithfully providing questions to encourage us to think and to write. Be sure to click on her button below to visit her blog.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/" rel="nofollow"> <img alt="From this Side of the Pond" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBfgRWo4EHI6TZzkwazIEs9CiP7vF0yDQCh31UPTNgqUhsMl3RwYHSOBy2bHNhHE9e0x8za8XPXNmh9Aamfeq7zQ-1i1aCc0zh083DQVjqUo16b_JxY1MlXtv0eL05l8K3XX3j3axwA/s1600/hodgepodge-button.png" width="273" /> </a> </div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Now for her questions and my answers:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">1. Ever played the game Farkle? Are you a risk taker? In games only or also in life?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>I played Farkle for the first time on my first trip to Haiti in 2007. It wasn't my favorite game, as I don't really like math, and I'm not a risk taker. I volunteered to be the scorekeeper while watching the action. That year, on our last day in Haiti, there was a hurricane which caused flooding, mudslides, and delayed flights out of the country. After climbing up the mountain in the mud (because the road was impassable), washing our feet, finding a ride to the airport, and changing into dry clothes in the airport restroom, we passed the time in line for our flight by playing Farkle on our 'luggage table.' Well, the rest of the group played Farkle. It looks like I was keeping tabs on what flights would actually be leaving that day. Turns out, our flight was not leaving, and we spent an extra night in Port au Prince.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqB4zM6O6Bs2R_3sSL3sItGJIb3CFYTMT-crsIo_g08kcddXRlLsh5ZWn2bNNafAG_DJ8QR9b-ALT-3EfBpjNZzZ_T3hIM-FbAhhLh6Ocz_nUOb18zuGuSvY0_OtBiJPln4IoWy58q8k/s1600/img_0481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqB4zM6O6Bs2R_3sSL3sItGJIb3CFYTMT-crsIo_g08kcddXRlLsh5ZWn2bNNafAG_DJ8QR9b-ALT-3EfBpjNZzZ_T3hIM-FbAhhLh6Ocz_nUOb18zuGuSvY0_OtBiJPln4IoWy58q8k/s320/img_0481.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>As for being a risk taker? Do you remember the show "Deal or No Deal?" I would say "Deal" every time. ;)</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">2. What's your favorite thing about your yard or whatever outdoor space you may have?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>We got these chairs assembled last weekend, and set up this little spot at the lake. I think it will be an enjoyable place to relax, and I'm ready for some warmer weather!</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">3. Tell us about the most interesting building you've seen or been in.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Greenbrier, located in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia is a National Historic Landmark and an amazing resort that has been welcoming guests from around the world since 1778. It has hosted 27 presidents, countless celebrities, and my Saints held their training camp there a few years ago.</span></i><br />
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<i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But the interesting thing about the building is what you don't see. "Hidden in plain sight" is the now declassified U.S. government relocation facility for Congress. This once top secret facility, The Bunker, is carved into the mountain under the West Virginia Wing of the hotel. It is now open for tours, and provides a fascinating look at the Cold War fallout shelter which remained fully operational and a secret for more than 30 years. Construction began in 1958, and it is said that even the company building it had no idea what they were helping to create. To think that it was stocked and ready for immediate occupancy at a moment's notice - <b>for 30 years</b> - is almost incomprehensible.</i><br />
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<i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From the <a href="https://www.greenbrier.com/Activities-Events/Bunker-Tours-(10).aspx" target="_blank">Greenbrier website</a>, a list of some of the features of The Bunker:</i><br />
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<li>Four entrances; three to The Greenbrier's grounds and one to the main building</li>
<li>25-ton blast door that opens with only 50 lbs. of pressure</li>
<li>Decontamination chambers</li>
<li>18 dormitories, designed to accommodate over 1,100 people</li>
<li>Power plant with purification equipment and three 25,000-gallon water storage tanks</li>
<li>Three 14,000-gallon diesel fuel storage tanks</li>
<li>Communications area, including television production area and audio recording booths</li>
<li>Clinic with 12 hospital beds, medical and dental operating rooms</li>
<li>Laboratory</li>
<li>Pharmacy</li>
<li>Intensive care unit</li>
<li>Cafeteria</li>
<li>Meeting rooms for the House and Senate, the Governor's Hall and Mountaineer room</li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>It is a truly interesting and amazing tour, especially for those who enjoy history.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">4. In this current season of social distancing, what's something you've come to realize you take for granted in more ordinary times? Do you think you'll make a conscious effort to appreciate whatever that 'it' is once normal life resumes?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>I'm missing quite a few things that I have previously taken for granted... gathering with our family, worshiping together in our sanctuary, eating in a restaurant (there has been WAY more cooking going on here than usual). We also had a couple of trips canceled, and I missed March Madness and the Masters.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>What I hope to appreciate more, and not take for granted are <b>hugs</b> - Hello hugs, goodbye hugs, birthday hugs, joyful hugs, hugs of comfort, hugs of friendship, and the exuberant hugs of our grandchildren when they run to me with open arms.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Group hug!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">5. Share a favorite song with a springtime flower in the lyrics somewhere.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>On a recent visit to my son and daughter-in-law and family (outdoors, with proper social distancing), I noticed lily of the valley growing near their porch. It always reminds me of the sweet song from Brownie, Girl Scout, and summer camp days:</i></span><br />
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<pre class="wp-block-verse" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">White Coral Bells upon a slender stalk
Lily of the Valley deck my garden walk
Oh don't you wish that you could hear them ring?
That can only happen when the fairies sing</em></pre>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">6. Insert your own random thought here.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Have you heard? <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/05/12/hamilton-film-starring-original-cast-to-be-released-a-year-early-on-disney/" target="_blank">Hamilton THE MOVIE</a> is going to be released on Disney+ on July 3! Filmed over three performances in July 2016 at the Richard Rogers Theater in NYC, the movie features Lin Manuel Miranda and the original Broadway cast. The plan was for it to be released to movie theaters in October 2021, but we will now have the 'best seat in the house' even sooner! No need to 'wait for it'!</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><i>In case you can't tell, I'm a huge Hamilton fan, and have had the opportunity to see it and share it a few times now, including an unforgettable performance in Puerto Rico with Lin Manuel Miranda reprising his role of Alexander Hamilton. It. Was. Amazing.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><i>With theaters dark until fall, you should not throw away your shot! It's an unforgettable show, and I can't wait to see it on the big screen. Or at least on my tv screen.</i></span><br />
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<br />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-15555901137840667192020-05-06T13:30:00.000-04:002020-05-06T13:30:24.400-04:00Cinco de Hodgepodge<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wednesday brings us to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. It's nice to have something to remind us what day it is! Thanks to Joyce for providing the questions. Be sure to click on the button below to pay her a visit, and say hello to the other Hodgepodgers as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are her questions and my answers:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">1. Question day this week lands on Cinco de Mayo. Are/were tacos on your Tuesday night menu? Hard shell, soft shell or just gimme all the tacos? Are you even a fan of Mexican food? Do you like your salsa mild, spicy, or somewhere in between? Margaritas-Frozen, on the rocks, or no thank you? Have you ever been to Mexico?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>We have a favorite local Mexican restaurant in our little town that we have missed so much during the weeks of staying home. Because of high numbers of COVID-19 in our town, restaurants were closed completely for a time. They are open again, for carry out only, and we were pleased to enjoy our favorite meal once again last night for Cinco de Mayo. It took about an hour for me to get through on the phone to place our order, and the car line was lengthy as I approached the pick-up window, but it moved quickly and efficiently. We even got take out margaritas! Yum! On the rocks, with salt is our preference.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Along with our entrees, we got some tacos (since it was Tuesday), and the meal included chips and our favorite hot salsa. I have been to Mexico, but only for a brief visit across the border while visiting Arizona. We also stopped at Cozumel on a cruise, but we chose to stay on board the ship that day.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Yesterday would have been my father-in-law's 101st birthday. I love this picture of him celebrating with 3 of his great granddaughters at our Mexican restaurant for his 95th. We miss him!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">2. What's something you </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;"><b>may</b></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;"> do this month?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I <b>may</b> finish up some of the closet cleaning projects I started. Why does it seem that one project leads to another, and then there is more of a mess than when you started? Hopefully I can get everything donated, disposed of, and/or put away sometime soon!</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">3. Tell us what's happening in your state or town as far as restaurants/salons/parks/beaches/businesses opening up. How do you feel about it? Are you out and about or hunkered down? Do you wear a mask?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>In my state of Indiana, the governor has laid out a detailed plan for opening up. I think it seems cautious and reasonable, and it is also subject to change if necessary. I have an appointment for our little dog with the groomer next week, and an appointment for a haircut of my own the following week. At the salon, we will wear masks, gloves, and disposable capes as precautions. A haircut would be nice, but if things change between now and then, and I'm not comfortable going, it won't be the end of the world. We have had a few outdoor socially distanced visits with our kids and grandkids, including taking some walks 'together apart.'</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">4. Mother nature, everybody and their mother, mom jeans, like mother like daughter, soccer mom, mother hen, mother lode, necessity is the mother of invention, stay-at-home mom...pick one and tell us how it applies to your life right now.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>In anticipation of Mother's Day this Sunday, here is a photo of my mom and me in 1960 (yes, I'm that old). It was probably taken on Easter Sunday. I am blessed to have my mom (and my dad) living just across town. I want to wish my mom a happy Mother's Day, and a gentle reminder to <b>stay at home, Mom</b>! (see what I did there?)</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">5. April showers bring May flowers...what's blooming in your yard or garden today?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Do dandelions count? I do have lilacs that are just beginning to bloom (ahh, the smell), </i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOz2FVhquGUzDzVqGAn_ZdUdG5aC4Qey8sNiVsmjNrjpKaHUJ1iMojA3SfYNtipDqI1MfqWfWtSw4dswbnJ_qVtmKckm0aYywPBxQ0l0F1mAJzHZH87FV488Q3L9aJTMJrcw4icUK5E2U/s1600/IMG_4756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOz2FVhquGUzDzVqGAn_ZdUdG5aC4Qey8sNiVsmjNrjpKaHUJ1iMojA3SfYNtipDqI1MfqWfWtSw4dswbnJ_qVtmKckm0aYywPBxQ0l0F1mAJzHZH87FV488Q3L9aJTMJrcw4icUK5E2U/s320/IMG_4756.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>and peonies (Indiana state flower, and one of my favorites) that were planted here by Jim's grandma,</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qsSoiK0QhLQ5rK-MiAuZR3gqP9HGBf1vzkqnlE8D9-6PM7HkO_S2jiIxXbXj-_fIJkLAx64U1KBAtHleaTlRlG3zV2ozZQf4X4Cm-y2poYydySFJtNlFjjiw4y29Opc56QCDldthNbo/s1600/IMG_4759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qsSoiK0QhLQ5rK-MiAuZR3gqP9HGBf1vzkqnlE8D9-6PM7HkO_S2jiIxXbXj-_fIJkLAx64U1KBAtHleaTlRlG3zV2ozZQf4X4Cm-y2poYydySFJtNlFjjiw4y29Opc56QCDldthNbo/s320/IMG_4759.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>and when I delivered groceries to my mom and dad, this dogwood tree is blooming at the end of their driveway. It's another favorite of mine, and I like the <a href="https://www.compellingtruth.org/legend-dogwood.html" target="_blank">legend</a> that goes with it.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">6. Insert your own random thought here.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Granddaughter Ella Kate celebrated her ninth birthday on Monday, Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you! Love you (and your #9 jersey)!</span></i><br />
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<br />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-84726041196587389722020-04-29T13:12:00.000-04:002020-04-29T13:12:51.535-04:00A Super-Dee-Duper Hodgepodge<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's Wednesday, so I thought I would see if I could put together some answers for Joyce's famous Wednesday Hodgepodge questions. She asks the questions, and we do our best to answer them, linking back to her blog to share the fun. Click on the button below to visit Joyce, and the other WH participants.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/" rel="nofollow"> <img alt="From this Side of the Pond" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBfgRWo4EHI6TZzkwazIEs9CiP7vF0yDQCh31UPTNgqUhsMl3RwYHSOBy2bHNhHE9e0x8za8XPXNmh9Aamfeq7zQ-1i1aCc0zh083DQVjqUo16b_JxY1MlXtv0eL05l8K3XX3j3axwA/s1600/hodgepodge-button.png" width="273" /> </a> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And now, her thought provoking questions, and my answers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>1. Expect the unexpected on From This Side of the Pond. Here's my x-ray question...when was the last time you felt like Superman? What's your superpower? Explain.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Unexpected indeed. I thought an x-ray question would have to do with broken bones, and raising five kids definitely provided multiple opportunities for broken bone stories!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0N4bf_5SrslaUzoQI1SHiMVN3U0T1Qlzs5BshVJVOqQFjCL4WLxko7TAsLquYTfbdgSJA_zmc-WAUWNVP9YDZfueTu8fSZP4DhSwU5NGoswalfYGGOZ2kl0C-iirHkreGSA_oe1vPNo/s1600/Scan+84.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1525" data-original-width="1600" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0N4bf_5SrslaUzoQI1SHiMVN3U0T1Qlzs5BshVJVOqQFjCL4WLxko7TAsLquYTfbdgSJA_zmc-WAUWNVP9YDZfueTu8fSZP4DhSwU5NGoswalfYGGOZ2kl0C-iirHkreGSA_oe1vPNo/s320/Scan+84.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">But back to the actual question. The last time I felt like Superman? At the Superdome, of course. It's always SUPER at the Superdome! Who Dat!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Not sure I have a superpower, but I am an enthusiastic <i>superfan</i>, ever grateful, ever true to my Boilermakers (Boiler Up!), and to my Saints (Who Dat!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2. Are you a fan of the 'superhero' type movies? If so what's your favorite?</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I am not a huge fan of 'superhero' movies, and I can't think of many I have even watched.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I have watched this one though, so it is my favorite.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTUmwVdwa3JrCmcKvEFvXAraJ0qaIzacaDxxS6ynwVuWZ3URtuaGpTxm-unoFBERuDOBiB5HmI_INhGWjhe_tImB3eBrzGUnRF_-ICh_wuQjMwDRQt7jafaj1zAzBXUEUBufeANaiyyc/s1600/the-incredibles-poster-artwork-craig-t-nelson-holly-hunter-samuel-l-jackson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTUmwVdwa3JrCmcKvEFvXAraJ0qaIzacaDxxS6ynwVuWZ3URtuaGpTxm-unoFBERuDOBiB5HmI_INhGWjhe_tImB3eBrzGUnRF_-ICh_wuQjMwDRQt7jafaj1zAzBXUEUBufeANaiyyc/s320/the-incredibles-poster-artwork-craig-t-nelson-holly-hunter-samuel-l-jackson.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">You just gotta love a superhero family. And gems like this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRVlzAmgBnS5hST5Mf39N_31jGsEp1EMrn-I5fNJb69idwuO_U1CvXyi0UvSnOxNI83XBzH4OPX444NXujq8PEOvEiNrwMD2WYY2P3yuYiodmyzj020m-jfZScJ7JITk5P2NlBlqQqs8/s1600/f556765383974f1598cc42820ed8f596--craft-quotes-book-jacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRVlzAmgBnS5hST5Mf39N_31jGsEp1EMrn-I5fNJb69idwuO_U1CvXyi0UvSnOxNI83XBzH4OPX444NXujq8PEOvEiNrwMD2WYY2P3yuYiodmyzj020m-jfZScJ7JITk5P2NlBlqQqs8/s320/f556765383974f1598cc42820ed8f596--craft-quotes-book-jacket.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>3. Have you postponed or cancelled a trip to the dentist in recent weeks, and if so when do you think you'll feel comfortable going back? How about other routine medical procedures?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">No dentist appointments scheduled, so none cancelled. And I'm never comfortable going to the dentist. Or the doctor for that matter. I pretty much avoid it if at all possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>4. What's something that makes you feel youthful? Something that makes you feel '<i>not</i> so youthful'? Tell us why.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">What makes me feel youthful? My grandchildren? A Zoom call with my high school friends? We haven't changed a bit! Lol. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Not so youthful? I don't know? My grandchildren? Getting up in the morning? Lol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>5. I feel compelled to include some sort of corona related question in the HP these days. What's the strangest thing you've seen in relation to the virus? Something that really struck you as odd, made you stop and think, 'Dorothy we're not in Kansas anymore?'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I'm not going out, so I haven't really seen anything strange in person, but seeing the empty streets of New York and New Orleans is definitely eerie and strange. Will we get back to busy crowded streets again?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>6. Insert your own random thought here.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">My friend <a href="https://www.katiepeslis.com/" target="_blank">Katie Peslis</a> is a wonderful singer who has recorded a Karen Carpenter tribute album that is just fabulous. If you are a fan of the Carpenters, you will definitely want to check it out. She can also sing like any Disney princess you've ever heard. Katie has been doing 'Quarantunes' each day during this COVID-19 pandemic, and posting them on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/katiepeslis/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/katiepeslis/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. I love them all, but a recent favorite is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/katiepeslis/videos/687942788625876/" target="_blank">here, on the 'Top of the World</a>'. She has the voice of an angel, and besides that, she is adorable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Have a great Wednesday!</span><br />
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<br />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-63465787156045620352020-04-15T09:45:00.000-04:002020-04-15T09:45:32.288-04:00So Ya Gotta Hodgepodge 'Til Tomorrow<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Back in my old blogging days, I regularly participated in Joyce's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Joyce took a break from the Hodgepodge for a bit, and recently brought it back for both her old and some new participants. It's always fun to answer the questions, and share our posts. While I'm very rusty at this blogging thing these days, I thought I would give it a go today. Thanks Joyce for bringing us together!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Here are her questions and my answers:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">1. In Monday’s post I mentioned I would incorporate the word I was given for letter K into this week’s questions. That word was karaoke. On a scale of 1-10 how excited would you be to find out there was karaoke happening at your next gathering/outing with friends? 10=gimme that microphone!, and 1=I suddenly remembered there’s somewhere else I need to be. Have you ever actually done karaoke? If you had to perform karaoke what would be your ‘go-to’song?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">I'm not sure I would do it in a public forum, but possibly with family and friends, so my number would probably be a 5. My friends and I did a lot of singing in our rooms back in our college days, which sometimes included standing on a chair with a curling iron microphone, but I don't think that officially counts as karaoke. (I don't think there was even such a thing as karaoke back then. I know, I'm old.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">One of my 'go-to' songs back then was <i>Tomorrow</i>, from the musical Annie. I think it's a good song for <i>today</i> since we are all hoping the sun will come out. Tomorrow.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOHrXLKN4yPGXAD9jelJlP1dDsEhDnGKw4cJOS62IjwBb_HDSThR0hyphenhyphenLP-bgkvJVK1sTN1LvCkNgz8275ueDt55lfQztzAeGsD-rD7nfPE2ZFu-dxEmoYdyR8hgsGsm-ECH_FGY3wInY/s1600/25e1234f42e6fcc3ae4affb9b635ed7a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="156" data-original-width="236" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOHrXLKN4yPGXAD9jelJlP1dDsEhDnGKw4cJOS62IjwBb_HDSThR0hyphenhyphenLP-bgkvJVK1sTN1LvCkNgz8275ueDt55lfQztzAeGsD-rD7nfPE2ZFu-dxEmoYdyR8hgsGsm-ECH_FGY3wInY/s320/25e1234f42e6fcc3ae4affb9b635ed7a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">2. How do you listen to music these days? Favorite app or do you listen the old fashioned way? Do you have music playing often in your home? Is there still a CD player in your car?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">I use my phone for music, and sometimes Alexa. I do still have a CD player in my car, and I do still use it occasionally. I know, I'm old.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">3. The HP lands on US tax day this year. Or what used to be tax day before everything including filing your taxes was cancelled, delayed, postponed or extended. FYI- filing your taxes has not been cancelled, only delayed for a bit.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Besides staying away from anyone and everyone, what have you found taxing lately?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Too much news. Too little sports.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">4. You’re without power so no oven, and you can’t open your frig or freezer in order to keep what’s in there from spoiling. And you don’t have access to take out. What will you make us for dinner?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Peanut butter and banana sandwich? Chips?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">5. I’ve seen this exercise going around Facebook and thought it would be a good one to include in the HP...what are five things everybody seems to love and go crazy for that you personally don’t care for?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 19.8px;">To each his own, but here are mine:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 19.8px;">sushi</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 19.8px;">Starbucks</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 19.8px;">Hallmark movies</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 19.8px;">It's a Wonderful Life</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibys2YCF58HeDvL8bXHF84mKtoNGdquRgFalyA0eVTdMP46vPJx18fG8Zq0k8D6yEGwjLLXzpOYomrW8CAH05icTtPJtqLzr5L7lV7GFtv0ox2pcemi_tuyN2afc8Yd_YqtsHGKpOM7GQ/s1600/Its-A-Wonderful-Life_645x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="645" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibys2YCF58HeDvL8bXHF84mKtoNGdquRgFalyA0eVTdMP46vPJx18fG8Zq0k8D6yEGwjLLXzpOYomrW8CAH05icTtPJtqLzr5L7lV7GFtv0ox2pcemi_tuyN2afc8Yd_YqtsHGKpOM7GQ/s320/Its-A-Wonderful-Life_645x400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">6. Insert your own random thought here.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">I know that grocery shopping in the time of COVID-19 might be taxing for some. I, however, have discovered the miracle of grocery pick-up, and I may never go inside a grocery store again. We only have a few grocery options in our little town, and the one nearest to my home is Wal Mart. I have been so pleased with the ease of ordering, the check-in, and the pick-up process. I have been getting groceries for both my parents and myself, and it has made things so easy. I check in on my phone when I leave home, and the associate is literally waiting for me when I pull into the pick up spot. I open the back of the vehicle, the groceries are loaded, I thank them profusely, and I'm on my way. Safe and efficient.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px;">Have a safe day, friends.</span><br />
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<br />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-62337015605267079262020-04-08T09:05:00.001-04:002020-04-08T09:05:44.799-04:00The COVID That Didn't Steal Easter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Holy Week. 2020.</div>
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I'm dusting off the old blog to do a little documentation of the historic events (actually <i>no events</i>) our world is experiencing right now.</div>
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In the midst of a global pandemic, our lives look very different from the way we have lived prior to this serious health crisis. Social distancing, quarantine, no gathering of people, no church services, no school, no public funerals, no theater, no concerts, no sporting events.</div>
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Everything is canceled.</div>
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We won't be gathering in churches for Easter, with legions of lilies, choirs and cantatas, or singing songs in our Sunday best. Instead, we will worship online, in our homes, with those in our own households. </div>
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But this COVID-19 virus can't stop Easter from coming. </div>
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It will come, as it does, with the promise of of eternal life </div>
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for those who serve a living Savior. </div>
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He lives!</div>
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I put together a little poem to remind us that even in these dark, uncertain days, Jesus is alive and God is still with us.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt;">How the COVID Didn’t Steal Easter<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">(With apology and respect to the great Dr. Seuss)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">All the people of Christ, we loved Easter a lot,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">But a bad COVID virus, it seems, sure did not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The virus infected our folks far and near,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And required social distance when Easter was here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Some thought that Easter would be canceled too,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">But the people of Christ, we knew just what to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">We made some new plans, and we thought and we thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Easter would not be canceled, it would not!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">But what could we do to keep COVID at bay,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And still praise our Savior on this Easter Day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Because one of the things that we love is our people<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Who worship together there under our steeple.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And some of us couldn’t get out to the store<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">To buy all the things that we’ve come to adore<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">For Easter traditions with families and treats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Would Easter without these things seem incomplete?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">But COVID cannot stop the Easter sunrise,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And despite what they say, Jesus Christ, He will rise!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">COVID can’t stop it, no matter the claim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Because Easter will come, it will come just the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And COVID, with germ cells just itching to grow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Left some people thinking, how could it be so?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It comes without bunnies! It comes without jellies!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It comes without chocolate to put in our bellies!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It comes without egg hunts! It comes without ham!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It comes without gathering with the whole fam!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And even when we’re not together to sing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In our church building, we still remember one thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">That Easter, we know, doesn’t come from a store,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">That Easter, of course, means a little bit more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And what happened then? Well, the people, they say,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Found new ways to celebrate on Easter Day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">They gathered on laptops, on cell phones, and such,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">They heard the old story that blessed them so much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Of Jesus who died on that cross in that place<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">To wash us from sin and to gift us with grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">So we sing Alleluia from near and from far,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Knowing Jesus is with us wherever we are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">And because of His gift we have all that we need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #353535; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Christ is risen today, He is risen indeed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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________________</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGDAXqu-EZ9DUIgLqv-rB0PTlc5Cx4liqt22huIEZGRXtBgrCK6bBCxqRgrbA9HdMRmJ9J9pKexOPW4bx4l1Mxz2-fucVNf1xAlY0nCcT3jHTxcW8hxUipZrkmiXThg8MmXbDj0scIa0/s1600/fullsizeoutput_da53.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="730" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGDAXqu-EZ9DUIgLqv-rB0PTlc5Cx4liqt22huIEZGRXtBgrCK6bBCxqRgrbA9HdMRmJ9J9pKexOPW4bx4l1Mxz2-fucVNf1xAlY0nCcT3jHTxcW8hxUipZrkmiXThg8MmXbDj0scIa0/s320/fullsizeoutput_da53.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(A couple of vintage Easter photos for your enjoyment.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLpxLpx0yOIlBrldOlVXGzlSqvRQIzz3hQLfkussMpZsKNLfVz72hdvJ_GOnRVaJIxFr9Ly-mjzEy8LewynEo2X_Vs-lrZsTK0ae5OCWSW1sasrKwV8n2Y14-7L77pOrP0X_Nz6gbtto/s1600/fullsizeoutput_da4d.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="720" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLpxLpx0yOIlBrldOlVXGzlSqvRQIzz3hQLfkussMpZsKNLfVz72hdvJ_GOnRVaJIxFr9Ly-mjzEy8LewynEo2X_Vs-lrZsTK0ae5OCWSW1sasrKwV8n2Y14-7L77pOrP0X_Nz6gbtto/s320/fullsizeoutput_da4d.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!</div>
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He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.</div>
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He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!</div>
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You asked me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.</div>
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-83489173596162958972015-12-31T09:47:00.000-05:002016-01-01T15:08:35.852-05:00Peace on Earth<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>'Twas a few days after Christmas,</i></div>
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<i>The celebrating done.</i></div>
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<i>Time to look back on days</i></div>
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<i>Filled with family and fun.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>There were onesies, and babies,</i></div>
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<i>And selfies, and food,</i></div>
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<i>And presents, and laughter,</i></div>
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<i>And much gratitude.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>For the young and the old,</i></div>
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<i>The big and the small,</i></div>
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<i>And for little Lord Jesus,</i></div>
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<i>The best gift of all.</i></div>
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After our Christmas Eve service, we went to Nana and Boomie's for soup and birthday cake for Jesus, and then headed home for our long winter's nap in anticipation of Santa's arrival. Santa wasn't actually coming to our house until the day <i>after</i> Christmas, when all the kids arrived, but Adam and Courtney got into the Christmas Eve spirit by posing in their reindeer onesies again this year.<br />
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We had brunch on Christmas Day for those who woke up here, and those who came later, including Jim's dad, my parents, Adam and Courtney, Jon, Jennifer, Bryan, Noah, and Piper, and Andrew, Darci, Haleigh, and Ella. We had lots of good food, including Darci's homemade cinnamon rolls, peanut butter bark, and other goodies. I didn't take one picture, but someone took this selfie and shared it, thank goodness.<br />
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We had burgers and homemade mac and cheese for supper, with Becky's 'just add ice cream' treat for dessert. Yum!<br />
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Saturday was our day to have everyone together to open gifts and share our Christmas dinner. Before presents, Jim read the story of the birth of Jesus from the second chapter of Luke.<br />
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The kids opened a few things before dinner, and Haleigh was anxious to see what was in her box.<br />
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It was Julie, an American Girl doll.<br />
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Ella got an American Girl doll too, Grace.<br />
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Haleigh showed her doll to her mommy.</div>
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Piper got a stuffed dog named Piper, and the book that goes with it, called <i>Piper Was Afraid</i>.<br />
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Cayden opened (with some help) a little wooden dachshund, just like Mackey.<br />
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Noah, who loves cows, received a Hereford show steer he calls Cooper, after Matthew's 4-H steer.<br />
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As is often the case with Noah, he was a little unsure at first.<br />
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He let Uncle Andrew do a little taming before he got too close.<br />
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Granny helped, too, and soon he was leading Cooper around like a champ.<br />
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Matthew got some Star Wars gifts, including a robot he controls with his phone. This is the droid you're looking for. :)<br />
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Jennifer took some pictures of Noah and Matthew.<br />
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And some of all the little boys.<br />
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Noah, Matthew, and Cayden.<br />
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We tried to get one of all six grandkids,<br />
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which can be tricky. At least no one is crying!<br />
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Granny even got in the picture! (Thanks to Jennifer, for the photos)<br />
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All that gift-opening and posing wears a guy out. Cayden took a little snooze in the chair, and Gumbo curled up beside him.<br />
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I tried to get a photo of everyone around the table, and it took several shots to get everyone in.<br />
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Of course, pausing from their beef tenderloin was the real challenge.<br />
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The kids got new shades, in anticipation of our trip to the beach in March. Cayden was happy to model his for us.<br />
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As we ring in a new year, </div>
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I pray that we are able to spend more time with the ones we love,</div>
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be grateful for what we have,</div>
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share kindness with others,</div>
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and be a reflection of God's love </div>
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to a world in need of peace. Amen.</div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-49726006487035492772015-12-30T12:47:00.000-05:002015-12-30T12:47:56.151-05:00For Hodgepodge Auld Lang Syne<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">It's the last Wednesday Hodgepodge of the year. I thank Joyce for faithfully hosting this meeting </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">each week, and for keeping us thinking with her challenging and entertaining questions. (I guess the readers should be the judge of the entertaining part.) With 2016 upon us, I look forward to a new year, new hope, new habits. I'm not sure what that will look like yet, but I've shared some random thoughts below in #8.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Now let's get started with her questions and my answers. Make sure to click over to visit Joyce and the others!</span></span></div>
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1. Share a favorite memory/moment from the week of Christmas.</span><br />
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I always love our Christmas Eve service. I have attended the same church for most of my life, and I remember singing as a child on Christmas Eve, and the excitement of the story, the songs, and the candlelight as we celebrated the birth of our Savior. Our sanctuary is always beautiful, and especially at Christmas.<br />
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This year, I was blessed to direct this adorable group of children as they sang (oh so enthusiastically) for the service. They sang <i>Away in a Manger</i>, and <i>Angels We Have Heard on High</i>. The great thing about directing children, is, that by the time they get on the risers, it's really out of my hands. :) At that point, they are <i>making a joyful noise to the Lord</i>. It's all good, and always appreciated by those in attendance. That's Haleigh and Ella Kate, front row on the right.<br />
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We sang the Glo-oo-ria song in honor of Gloria, my assistant director and friend, who passed away the day after Christmas. Gloria and I have attended church together since we were small children ourselves. She liked to tell the kids stories about our days in the children's choir, many years ago. We will miss her.<br />
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This is a photo of Gloria and one of our little guys who wanted to try out the piano (right before he took off out the door.) :) Rest in peace, Gloria.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">2. If someone wrote a book about your life based on the past year, what genre would it fall under? What would the title be?</span><br />
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I think it would be a memoir. There are many, many memories from the year, but adding three new family members made it a year to remember.<br />
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Courtney has already come up with a working title, so I will use it to present:<br />
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<i>The Stewart Recruiting Class of 2015.</i></div>
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Piper Jayne Davis, born to Bryan and Jennifer, March 9, 2015.</div>
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Courtney Stewart, married to Adam, March 21, 2015.</div>
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Cayden John Stewart, born to David and Shylah, September 8, 2015.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">3. What made you feel patriotic this year?</span><br />
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I have written about this before, but I always feel patriotic at Purdue games when <i><a href="http://www.purduesports.com/trads/pur-i-am-an-american.html" target="_blank">I Am An American</a></i> is read.<br />
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them across this gray October sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them, speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American.</em><br />
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My whirlwind trip to NYC with this group to see Jimmy Fallon, seems like a dream, and I would love to do it all over again.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">5. What song lyric sums up or is a reflection of your 2015?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">I am a fan of Joey + Rory, and this song is one of my favorites. Joey is an Indiana girl, and worked for the previous owner at the same vet clinic where Jennifer now works. She came to our farm years ago, with Dr. J, to treat our old mare, Teddy, who was suffering from laminitis. After taking care of the horse, we came into our kitchen to warm up, and share a bowl of soup. Joey commented on the school pictures of our kids on the kitchen wall, as she is also one of five children.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">Today, she faces a cancer diagnosis, and is currently back home in Indiana in hospice care. Her husband Rory shares their life and their story in his blog <a href="http://thislifeilive.com/" target="_blank">This Life I Live</a>. His beautiful words reflect their deep faith, their hope, and their love for God and one another.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">Rory recently wrote:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;">And so as the New Year approaches, we will continue to believe and trust that what is waiting on the other side of the deep, dark wood is something even better and more beautiful than our minds can even imagine.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">Please join me in praying for Joey and her family.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">6. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate 2015? (10=stellar) Why?</span><br />
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I'm not great with numbers, so I'll just say, there were stellar moments, some not so stellar moments, and everything in between. Life is like that. And we try, as best we can, to give thanks. In all circumstances.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">7. What part of the upcoming year are you most excited about?</span><br />
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I have a couple of trips planned, including another cruise with my besties, and a family trip to the beach.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">8. Insert your own random thought here.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">I love this video by the talented (and adorable) JJ Heller. It made me start thinking about some things I want to do <i>this year</i>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">Eat less.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">Move more.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;">Put down my phone.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Be present.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Clean a closet.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Or two.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Pray.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Learn something new.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Make dinner.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Look around.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Hug.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Close the computer.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Take a walk.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Pray some more.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Give thanks.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Show love.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">That's 16 for 16. How about you?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-10401678730379421212015-12-22T20:47:00.001-05:002015-12-22T20:47:13.445-05:00Cradled Up in the Arms of the LordSweet little Cayden John Stewart was baptized on Sunday. He wore an heirloom baptismal gown which was worn by his great-grandfather, his grandmother (me), and his dad (along with numerous uncles, cousins, and an aunt) before him. Look at that little smile.<br />
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He was one of several who were baptized at Fairborn United Methodist Church on Sunday.<br />
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His mommy and daddy presented him lovingly to the church, as the Body of Christ, for the sacrament of infant baptism. He didn't make a peep.<br />
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They listened to Pastor Aaron as he explained baptism as a gracious action of God.<br />
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Cayden was baptized first, and Pastor Aaron took him in his arms to the baptismal font.</div>
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Mommy Shylah and Daddy David joined them, and Pastor Aaron and Pastor Meghan spoke the words together...<br />
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"I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."<br />
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Such a special day, and a blessing to watch as the common element of water is used by God as a means of divine grace. Amazing grace! (And I must say that Pastor Aaron and Pastor Meghan were quite generous with the water in their baptisms. <i>Covered</i> in grace!)</div>
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After the service Cayden showed us that he was still wearing pants under that dress.<br />
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Sweet Mama Shylah and Baby Cayden.<br />
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Cayden is blessed to have a large family to surround him with love and to watch him grow in wisdom and stature as he learns of God's great love for him. There were great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins there for his special day. So loved.</div>
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May Cayden and his parents continue to know God's great love, to trust in Him, and to remember the covenant of our baptism and His provision of salvation in Jesus Christ. God is good. All the time. Amen.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVVBJUFkBrzYEckGJmp2RplRNz9KVzNwhkq-mXm905KgI3G62NZuf2yVTw1Efmy2DlFQTlt_-_zsi8jzDUdFNZEWty3RF6GmOfvIvGELywy2Sniwdf3b-MmILJjj0cSjWW9v2voC_cEc/s1600/DSC_0662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVVBJUFkBrzYEckGJmp2RplRNz9KVzNwhkq-mXm905KgI3G62NZuf2yVTw1Efmy2DlFQTlt_-_zsi8jzDUdFNZEWty3RF6GmOfvIvGELywy2Sniwdf3b-MmILJjj0cSjWW9v2voC_cEc/s400/DSC_0662.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<i>"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. </i></div>
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<i>To Him be glory, both now and forever. Amen."</i></div>
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<i>2 Peter 3:18</i></div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-70558769767384629822015-12-18T10:15:00.000-05:002015-12-18T10:15:52.922-05:00Grand Christmas FunWe returned from New Orleans, and spent the next day at Jennifer and Bryan's, where this guy was set to do some reading, with his ear band and his book bag. He's a silly boy, who loves his books. He also wore the ear band for his nap.<br />
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We spent the next couple of days with these two sweet girls, while their parents were in Chicago. They were happy to have a little ice cream for dessert.<br />
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When Matthew and Haleigh got off the bus after school on Thursday, we decorated our traditional gingerbread house. Well, okay, we have done two now, so we'll call it a tradition. :) I purchased a pre-assembled house, complete with everything needed to make a sweet looking house.</div>
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Haleigh and Ella liked the sweet tasting icing, as well.<br />
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They all worked together, each doing a section of the house. It turned out great, and will be part of our decorations for our Christmas table.<br />
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Since our trip to New Orleans was in December, it was fun to see all the beautiful Christmas trees along the way. I took a photo of the one in the Indianapolis airport, and decided to make a photo collage of some of the trees we saw on our trip. Locations below.<br />
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Indianapolis airport | Omni Royal Orleans Hotel | Lafitte's Blacksmith Shoppe</div>
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Bevolo Gas Lights | Commander's Palace | Shop in Jackson Square</div>
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Dining room at Court of Two Sisters | Courtyard at Court of Two Sisters | Jackson Square</div>
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We were a little late in getting our own tree this year. Since we had our Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I didn't want the tree up during the meal. I like to do my holidays one at a time. Then we went to New Orleans, so we had to wait until the <i>next</i> weekend to get our tree. We have been going to Bohman's Tree Farm for years, and for the last few years, have taken the grandkids along. Scheduling didn't work for them to go this year, so Jim and I had to choose the tree ourselves. We are usually fine with one of the trees they have pre-cut, but since we were late to the party, the selection was slim. That meant climbing onto the wagon and heading for the hillside to cut a tree. Just like the old days.</div>
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It was unseasonably warm, and a little muddy, but we took a walk and a look, and pretty quickly agreed on a tree. Jim got to work with the saw, and we were in business.<br />
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The tree was loaded on the wagon, along with another family's tree, and we all headed back up the hill. We only lost our tree once. Lol.<br />
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To keep the Christmas activities going, we went to the Historical Museum after church for the Christmas Open House and visit with Santa. Ella Kate and Haleigh were happy to sit on Santa's lap.<br />
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Noah was not so sure, but did manage to sit on his mommy's lap <i>beside</i> Santa. Piper was interested in that man in the red suit, but stayed safely in her daddy's arms.<br />
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We went on to Dayton on Sunday afternoon, for a visit with David and Shylah, and baby Cayden. That's quite a loving armful I'm holding. Blessed.<br />
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Back at his house, Noah was talking to his nativity set. "Don't be afraid," he says.</div>
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I received this snapchat of David and Cayden, who is ready for Christmas (and missing his Granny, I think). :) </div>
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One week 'til Christmas! Wishing you peace. on. earth. </div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-63247292851951056452015-12-17T17:29:00.000-05:002015-12-17T17:29:35.411-05:00NOLA LoveWe went to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago to see the Saints play. As you may know, their season hasn't been going as well as we would have liked. New Orleans is, however, a fun place to visit, no matter the outcome of the game. As one of my Facebook friends commented, "Even when the game is in doubt, the food is never in question." Indeed.<br />
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We started our food fest at <a href="http://www.sonesta.com/royalneworleans/?fa=restaurant5.home" target="_blank">Desire Oyster Bar</a>, located adjacent to the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street. Jim likes oysters on the half shell. I like the the Creole Trio, featuring gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice. So good.<br />
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It is always fun to see the balconies in the French Quarter all decked out for the holidays. Any holiday.<br />
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On Friday, we took the streetcar out St. Charles avenue to have lunch. I snapped this photo along the way. You don't see many of those any more.<br />
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When we arrived at <a href="http://www.commanderspalace.com/" target="_blank">Commander's Palace</a>, they gave each guest a bell to ring in the holiday season.</div>
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5 cent martinis are festive in any season.<br />
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Jim enjoyed the turtle soup.<br />
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And I cleaned my plate to get to my favorite - bread pudding soufflé.<br />
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Best. dessert. ever. See that bowl in the background? Warm whiskey cream sauce. Oh yes.<br />
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It was a sunny day in the garden district, and we took a photo before catching the streetcar back to the hotel.<br />
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On Friday afternoon, we took the cocktail tour, which we have done on each of our visits to New Orleans. We were able to get in Joe's group (he's the best), and had a good time meeting new friends, and hearing his (now familiar) stories.<br />
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Pirate's Alley is one of the stops on the tour, with the mystical Green Fairy cocktail offered for the enjoyment of tour takers.<br />
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We walked down Royal Street, and passed right by our hotel, all decorated for Christmas. That's our balcony room on the second floor.<br />
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There was even a lighted bike parade. Always something fun and fancy in New Orleans.<br />
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Saturday was beautiful, and we took a walk past the cathedral on our way to Cafe du Monde.<br />
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Jackson Square is stunning against the bright blue sky.<br />
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After a little shopping, we headed to Canal Street for the Krewe of Jingle Christmas Parade. We heard about the parade that morning, and thought we should at least go watch. No one does a parade like New Orleans.<br />
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Winged horses...<br />
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soldiers on stilts...<br />
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(creepy) Santa floats...<br />
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and lots and lots of little girls.<br />
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Girls dancing, and marching, and tapping, and twirling all the way down the parade route.</div>
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Each float had people on board tossing beads, cups, and the occasional stuffed animal to the crowd. Beads, beads, everywhere.<br />
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There were Rolling Elvises (or as one site I consulted for the plural of Elvis says, <i>Elvi</i>). Some were rolling, some were walking, and all were having a good time.<br />
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I liked the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MuffALottas/" target="_blank">MuffALottas</a>, a dance troupe, who were having fun dancing with their trays in their red and green Christmas costumes.<br />
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They even threw beads from horses! Of courses!<br />
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Snowman float.<br />
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I liked the candy cane stilt the best. We collected our beads, and finished our afternoon at the Carousel Bar, keeping up with the Purdue game on our phones.<br />
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Saturday evening we had a nice dinner in the <a href="https://www.arnaudsrestaurant.com/fine-dining/jazz-bistro/" target="_blank">Jazz Bistro at Arnaud's Restaurant</a>. The musicians come around to each table and ask for a request. We usually request 'When the Saints Go Marching In', but someone beat us to it that night. We settled on 'What a Wonderful World.' Yes it is. We finished with Bananas Foster for dessert, always impressive.<br />
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And delicious.<br />
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<a href="http://www.brennansneworleans.com/" target="_blank">Breakfast at Brennan's</a> on Sunday morning gave us another opportunity to enjoy the torching and tasting of Bananas Foster. Legend has it, the dessert was invented there.<br />
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They handed out bells there, as well, and they were a nice accessory to our game-day jerseys. Who Dat!<br />
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We got to the Superdome early (I know, a surprise), and checked out the statue of Saints owner Tom Benson.<br />
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Took a selfie in front of the dome.<br />
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We had to wait a few minutes outside the entrance, and I was making friends with the security crew. It's always good to make friends. Our tickets allow us access to the Bunker Club below the stands, where they serve good food and drink, have big screen televisions, nice restrooms, and comfortable couches on which to relax. Jim had a nice meal in there while I was in my seat watching the action on the field. We had a pretty good view.<br />
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I like watching my team, win or lose. Well, okay, it's a little more fun when they win. We knew this would be a tough game, as our Saints were playing the undefeated Carolina Panthers.<br />
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There's our Drew. He really is a good guy. You can't find a person in New Orleans with anything negative to say about him. New Orleans loves our Boilermaker.</div>
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The team photographer is always working. He is the one who came over to the rail at the game in Indianapolis, and talked to Matthew, and gave him a Drew Brees card.<br />
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Warming up.<br />
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Marques Colston's family was on the sidelines before the game to watch him warm up. So cute.<br />
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He came over and greeted the kids. Don't you just love those little gold pants?<br />
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The photographer came over and spoke to them,<br />
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and then snapped a picture.<br />
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I have read a few articles that say that this might be Colston's last year as a Saint. Speculation, of course, and I hope they are able to keep him on the team. He holds many of the receiving records for the team, including most receiving touchdowns and most total touchdowns. When he scores a touchdown, he doesn't dance, dunk, or discuss, just hands the ball to the referee and gets back to work. Drew Brees calls him Mr. Reliable. His nickname is Quiet Storm. I was so happy that he caught 2 touchdown passes last Sunday in the game at Tampa Bay.<br />
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He gave his gloves to his young son, who put them on as they made their way off the field after the warm ups. He's one of my favorites.<br />
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There's our Drew, ready to go.<br />
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Pre-game huddle.<br />
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Stretches.<br />
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A handshake from the coach.<br />
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The Saints played the Carolina Panthers. They're pretty good. Like undefeated good. Number 41 on their team is Roman Harper. He played on the Super Bowl Champion Saints team. Now he's on the Panthers, who have started their season in a very similar fashion to that Super Bowl Team in '09-'10. Harper wrote a very good article comparing the two teams, that you can <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14289625/roman-harper-says-panthers-not-hard-partying-09-new-orleans-saints" target="_blank">read here</a>, if you're interested.<br />
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Team introductions include a lot of fire.<br />
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I know he's good, but it is my observation that the Panther's quarterback is just a little bit too full of himself. He comes to the coin toss at mid-field before the game with a towel on his head, which seems rather disrespectful to me.<br />
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As soon as the coin dropped, he was heading back to the bench.<br />
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It was a great game, and my Saints came <i>this close</i> to winning it. I held my beads, stood up, sat down, watched, didn't watch, high fived, celebrated, and, finally, agonized over the final score. <i>So close!</i><br />
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The guy below, number 28, is one of the reasons the Panthers won the game. I like his name, but I don't much like what the other Jonathan Stewart did to the Saints.<br />
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Drew frequently confers with his receivers on the bench, to make adjustments.<br />
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After a final, valiant drive, the Saints came up short, and lost 41-38. That's a lot of points, and the team played hard.<br />
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Jim has a new favorite in <a href="http://www.thebenjaminwatson.com/" target="_blank">Benjamin Watson</a>. He's a captain, a leader, and Jim wore his jersey number to the game. Jim read his book, <i><a href="http://www.thebenjaminwatson.com/2015/under-our-skin/" target="_blank">Under Our Skin</a></i>, while we were in New Orleans.<br />
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After the game, Benjamin Watson leads the mid-field prayer. He is facing the camera, just below the Gatorade sign. We stick around at the stadium as long as they will let us, which isn't as long as I would like. :)<br />
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Bye bye, Superdome.<br />
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We walked back to the hotel from the stadium, and then headed out to find some dinner. St. Louis Cathedral is beautiful day or night. We ate at <a href="http://www.tujaguesrestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Tujague's</a>, and took our dessert to go.<br />
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We ate Monday morning breakfast at Cafe Beignet, just down the street from our hotel. Our order was number 9. Naturally.<br />
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It was a beautiful morning, and we went up to the hotel rooftop to enjoy the view.<br />
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The pool was open, and there was even someone swimming.</div>
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Jim took one last look before we headed downstairs.<br />
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A few more minutes on our balcony, and it was time to head to the airport.<br />
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We watched a pretty sunset during our layover in Atlanta. Although we had time for dinner and the sunset, there apparently <i>wasn't</i> time to get our bag on the plane, and we got to Indy without it. Thankfully, it found its way home. As did we.<br />
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-64787657353607643952015-12-11T22:07:00.000-05:002015-12-11T22:07:09.992-05:00It's a Small, Small, NOLA WorldJim and I took a little trip to New Orleans last week. It was our 7th trip to the Crescent City, and we go for football, food, and fun. And did I mention food? So. Much. Food.<div>
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The approach to New Orleans is a pretty one, over Lake Pontchartrain and into Louis Armstrong International Airport. Jim and I wondered about the airport abbreviation, MSY, so I looked it up and learned that it stands for Moisant Stock Yards, named for aviator John Moisant. (He actually crashed his plane and died on the site of the airport.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Air travel is just one way our world has gotten smaller, and I am thankful that in just a few hours, we were all checked in to our room at the hotel - the same one we stayed in last year! Feels like home.<br />
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New Orleans is a friendly city, and we enjoy meeting folks and fellow tourists while we are there. I don't know if this happens to everyone, but it seems like, wherever we go, we always run in to people from our Indiana home.<br />
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We had a hurricane beside the fire at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (it was chilly for New Orleans!), and shared a table with a nice young couple.<br />
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Turns out, the young man is doing his pediatric residency at Riley hospital, and they just bought a house in Broad Ripple. Jim's Purdue pullover is a great conversation starter.<br />
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We watched this balloon maker entertain the children while we waited in line at <a href="http://www.cafedumonde.com/" target="_blank">Cafe Du Monde</a>. For a place that serves basically one thing, they sure keep busy! We had about a twenty minute wait for a table.</div>
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When we were seated, the couple next to us noticed Jim's Purdue logo. They live in Mooresville. They moved there from their lake home in northern Indiana to be near their grandchildren. I have been wanting to get to Mooresville to try out <a href="http://www.zydecos.net/" target="_blank">Zydeco's</a>, a Cajun restaurant that was featured on <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/diners-drive-ins-and-dives.html" target="_blank">Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.</a> They knew about the restaurant, but have not eaten there yet. They suggested we meet for dinner! Lol.<br />
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We stopped at the <a href="http://hotelmonteleone.com/entertainment/carousel-bar/" target="_blank">Carousel Bar</a>, at <a href="http://hotelmonteleone.com/" target="_blank">Hotel Monteleone</a>, to have a drink and catch up on the Purdue game on Saturday afternoon. We were lucky enough to score a seat at the bar, which, as the name implies, rotates like a carousel. We had been there a little while, checking the game on our phone (I guess New Orleans doesn't have much interest in the Big Ten Network) when a young couple grabbed the seat next to us (seats at the carousel are in high demand). They were Purdue pharmacy grads, living and working in Fort Wayne.</div>
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My favorite store in NOLA is <a href="http://www.bevolo.com/?gclid=CjwKEAiAhaqzBRDNltaS0pW5mWgSJADd7cYDcP4EO33HYp5nG93ZtAB3Du8GAau2cL8W4-3qv-vf_hoCW9fw_wcB" target="_blank">Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights</a>. I stop in multiple times each trip to moon over the gorgeous copper lanterns.<br />
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We walked to the back, where the lanterns are being made. The man behind the workbench? A Butler grad. His major was something like historical preservation, and he assured me he could make me any kind of a lantern I would like. I'm sure he could. They are so cool.<br />
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We went to <a href="http://www.tujaguesrestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Tujague's</a> on Sunday evening, for our last dinner in NOLA. As we were leaving, a group at the next table called Jim over after seeing his pullover, and told him they were from Elkhart. They had a nice chat before we went on our way, noting again that it is, indeed, a small world after all.<br />
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Stay tuned for the rest of the NOLA recap!</div>
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-75038608993219703262015-12-02T07:38:00.001-05:002015-12-02T07:38:09.190-05:00In The Meadow We Can Build a Hodgepodge<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Hello December, and hello Hodgepodge! Thanks for stopping by! Thanks also, to Joyce, for the questions each week as she faithfully hosts this little party on the world wide web. Be sure to click on the button to pay her a visit!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Now for her questions and my answers:</span></span><br />
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1. Did you watch </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2015/11/30/457859235/a-charlie-brown-christmas-at-50" style="color: #310e6a; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">The Charlie Brown Christmas special</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px;"> Monday night? Who's your favorite Peanuts character and why?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; line-height: 18px;">I did not watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special on Monday… I didn't realize it was on. I have, however, watched it many, many times. We had (still have) a VHS tape with all the Christmas shows I recorded back to back from the TV so that our kids could watch all the shows all season long. Before DVDs, DVRs, or the ability to watch 'most anything on youtube. I even hit pause during commercials while recording, 'cause nobody wants to watch those. :)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; line-height: 18px;">My favorite character on the Christmas special is Linus. He's the star of the show, with his scripture reading from the book of Luke. I'm probably most like Lucy, though, like it or not. A big sister, a bit bossy, and a one-time perfectionist. (I've lightened up a little. I think.)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><i>"Most psychiatrists agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch is excellent therapy for a troubled mind."~Linus </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Would you agree? </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Sure. Being outdoors is always a good way to clear your head.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">2. Describe a sound from your childhood. What does this sound bring to mind? </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I remember the sound of the attic fan outside my upstairs bedroom on summer nights in our pre-air-conditioning house. That fan not only cooled, as best it could, the bedrooms, but also served as a 'white noise' of sorts, to muffle the sounds of summer when our bedtime came before dark.</span><br />
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3. You've won a trip to a winter wonderland...would that excite you? Which one of the following would you most want to experience (or which one would you dislike the least)-see the Aurora Borealis in Norway, stay in <a href="http://www.icehotel.com/" style="color: #310e6a; text-decoration: none;">Sweden's Ice Hotel</a>, go dogsledding in Lapland Finland, take a <a href="http://www.safariyellowstone.com/winter.php" style="color: #310e6a; text-decoration: none;">winter wildlife safari in Yellowstone</a> or celebrate <a href="http://www.quebecregion.com/en/what-to-do/events/quebec-winter-carnival/" style="color: #310e6a; text-decoration: none;">Winter Carnival in Quebec?</a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">I don't. really. like. cold. Winter Carnival in Quebec sounds fun, and I'm sure there must be good food and good fun, despite the cold.</span></div>
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4. Who or what keeps you humble?</div>
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<span style="color: red;">My children. </span></div>
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5. What part of preparing for Christmas do you like the most? Explain. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">I have always loved Christmas cards, both sending and receiving. I like selecting, signing, and yes, even hand addressing them. I got them ordered early this year, but I haven't sent them yet. (See #7)</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">I also like getting out the nativity set, made by my mother-in-law, to display throughout the season. There have been a few nicks and chips to some of the pieces over the years, but I like to think that adds to the character of the holy family and friends. I like it so much, I sometimes leave it out until February or so. After all, Jesus is with us all the days of the year, not just at Christmas time.</span><br />
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6. Gingerbread-yay or nay? Is making a gingerbread house part of your family holiday tradition?</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Gingerbread is not my favorite to<i> eat</i>, although I'm never one to turn down a cookie. :) I did help these two make a gingerbread house last year. I hope to continue the tradition!</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">My Christmas cards!</span><br />
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8. Insert your own random thought here.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">I received an advance copy of Kristen Welch's new book, <i>Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World</i>, as part of the launch team. Kristen blogs at <a href="http://wearethatfamily.com/" target="_blank">We Are That Family</a>, and is the founder of <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1075435601"></span>Mercy House Kenya<span id="goog_1075435602"></span></a>. I have just started the book, and I am excited to share the important message of ways to foster gratitude in our children, our grandchildren, and ourselves. (Yes, the book is for all of us, granny included!) It is hard to be intentional about seeking contentment, when the world says more (more, more) is better. Kristen joins us in the midst of the struggle to inspire and remind us that Jesus is all we really need.</span><br />
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<a href="http://raisinggratefulkids.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOOUZZ0vHy7BtWa0_MTAnpsoZ_lEgMaRxnxd4uRj9v0eHWQ3QvgbF5Zg2m0LJswiiwUXI-cVszTuo1Pjp7dlRXGchdnlp29nanN9tAhBdH5T5ZRQFam9w9yQ0IgsBa1APKl1qtf9rmXM/s320/Raising-Grateful-Kids-3D-8002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red;">The book is available for pre-order now at <a href="http://raisinggratefulkids.com/">RaisingGratefulKids.com</a>, for $16. This includes free shipping, as well as a Global Family Kit and Quick Guide Gratitude PDF. Click the link for all the details, and consider purchasing the book for you or someone you love. You will be blessed!</span><br />
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-15114750696872810452015-12-01T20:34:00.000-05:002015-12-01T20:34:07.747-05:00Giving and ThanksIt's Giving Tuesday, which, in actuality, would be better placed <i>before</i> Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I hope we can all make time today to give to our favorite charity, to a friend or neighbor, or to a stranger on the street who looks as if he could use a helping hand or a friendly smile. It's the <i>giving</i> that matters, as we are able. And every day is a good day for giving.<br />
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To recap our Thanksgiving weekend, we spent Thursday at my brother and sister-in-law's home, along with my parents, my other brother and his wife, and some of our kids. Cheryl made a turkey, some awesome appetizers and sides, and the rest of us brought a few things to round out the meal. </div>
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We watched some football, and enjoyed the company and conversation. Jon even brought along his new puppy, Hogan, who is growing like a weed, as babies do. I am thankful for babies.</div>
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I didn't take many photos, and it was so nice to relax and enjoy the day. At the end of the day, this guy was plum tuckered out from all the food and the fun. I'll bet there are some grown ups who assume this position at the end of a bountiful Thanksgiving meal. :) I am thankful for sleep.</div>
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I am not a Black Friday shopper, so I enjoyed this beautiful sunrise on Friday morning from my cozy spot at our house. I am thankful for new mercies each morning!</div>
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I spent Friday preparing for our last Purdue tailgate of the year, and for our Thanksgiving meal with our children and grandchildren on Sunday. We have been tailgating for a few years now, and it's always a little sad to pack the box and check off my master list for the last time. Of course, the best part of tailgating is the time spent with family and friends, and giving support to our team. And this year, the team needed <i>lots</i> of support. I am thankful for our Boilers.</div>
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Jamalyn and Jessica joined us at our tailgate and at the game. We always enjoy being together! I am thankful for friends.</div>
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Jamalyn met Cayden, who has been a regular at games this season. We hope the team will improve as he grows! I am thankful for hope! </div>
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Cayden was quite adorable in his football snowsuit, being cuddled by his Aunt Darci. I am always thankful for baby cuddles.</div>
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This trio in green came through the lot collecting money for their pizza fund in a bucket. Dave and Jamalyn posed with them since their son Nathan is a fan. I am thankful for game day fun! and pizza!</div>
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David and Shylah came in to the stadium with Cayden zipped up in David's jacket for warmth. It was chilly, but stayed dry for the most part. I am thankful for warm coats and tiny humans.</div>
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A couple of sections over, the rest of the group was putting on their best happy Boiler faces. I'm thankful for family and football.</div>
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The game was not going well, and rather than watch that team from B-town make off with the bucket, we opted to head out after the excellent halftime show. We took a little walk through campus, and ended up finding a spot to enjoy a beverage or two to drown our sorrows. I am thankful that there's always next year.</div>
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On Sunday, we gathered with all our kids and grandkids, my parents, my father-in-law, my brother and his wife, Jim's sister and her husband, and our niece and her kids to give thanks again for our many blessings.</div>
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Our tradition, for the last few years, has been, not turkey, but beef. Lots of beef. Look away vegetarians! We love our beef tenderloin. I am thankful for beef.</div>
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Courtney took this sweet photo of our oldest grandson, Matthew, reading to Haleigh and Noah. I am thankful for books, and for little readers.<br />
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These four made a good group sitting on the bench together.<br />
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They even asked to do a silly picture. I am thankful for silly!<br />
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We celebrated Jennifer and David's November birthdays with our favorite <a href="http://stewmama.blogspot.com/2010/07/birthday-cake.html" target="_blank">chocolate chip cake</a>, with my dad looking on. I am thankful for birthdays, and dads, old and new.<br />
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We made an attempt at getting a photo of all six of our grandchildren before folks started heading home. We were only slightly successful, as one would expect with six little ones ranging in age from 12 weeks to 11 years. It's not a perfect picture, but it is real, as life is. We laugh, we cry, we worry, we fear, we hope, we pray, we rejoice. And we give thanks. For life and for love, through challenges and celebrations, that bring us to the moment. May we strive to be present in each of our moments, making memories and being, always, thankful. Amen.<br />
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-54625074120043127272015-11-26T00:25:00.000-05:002015-11-26T00:25:10.047-05:00Blessings and Babies and BirthdaysOn this day of giving thanks for the grace with which God has surrounded us, I am especially grateful for blessings and babies and birthdays, oh my! You see, 33 years ago today, I became a mother when our oldest son, David John, was born.<br />
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The story of his birth is a good one, as it didn't really follow our original plan. (And isn't it interesting, that I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can remember this? In detail?) We were living in West Lafayette at the time, and I had done my prenatal visits with the father of the fiancé of a sorority sister. Follow that? He was nearing retirement, and when I saw him early the week of Thanksgiving, and asked if it was ok to travel the 2 hours to my parents' home for the holiday, he assured me it was fine, and that it would likely be longer than a week before the baby made his or her appearance. In 1982, we had to wait until the baby was born to learn if we had a boy or girl, since we didn't routinely have ultrasounds.<br />
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So we had our Thanksgiving dinner in Greensburg, complete with sugar cream pie. (A decision I would later regret.) As the evening wore on, and I realized that I was, in fact, in labor, my mom called their friend Dr. Hansen, to see if he would see me (for the first time) to deliver the baby. Of course, we now know that we could have made it back to WL in time, but being a first timer, I didn't want to risk having the baby somewhere along I-65. Many accused my mother of slipping me something to start my labor, just so that her first grandchild would be born nearby. When we arrived at the hospital, dear Dr. Hansen asked me where my mother was. When I said, "Oh, she didn't come." He calmly said, "Did you check the rear view mirror?"<br />
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By early morning, we were thrilled to welcome David John Stewart to the world! A Thanksgiving blessing. We continued to be blessed, as we took him home to our little house on Evergreen Street, and learned about being parents.<br />
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We didn't always get it right, but we made our way together, learning how a tiny little person can make your heart nearly burst with just a little grin or a sweet little hand wrapped tight around your finger.<br />
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David was a sweet, easygoing baby, and we treasured those so-short newborn days.</div>
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There were lots of smiles,</div>
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and a few messes, of course.</div>
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David's thoughtful, kind, caring personality was evident from the start. When he was about 4, he told me that he wanted to be a fire fighter when he grew up. That way, he could live next door to me, so in case my house caught on fire, he would be there to save me. My. heart.<br />
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And now, that sweet, kind, compassionate boy is a father himself,<br />
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discovering the joy and wonder that a baby brings.<br />
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Aunt Janet made a cross stitch that hung on the wall for many years. It said:<br />
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Little boys' pockets hold amazing things -</div>
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Fishworms, apple cores, a mess of string, </div>
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But this treasure is nothing to the wealth one finds</div>
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In little boys' hearts and little boys' minds.</div>
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Happy Birthday to my little boy. I love you, David!</div>
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<br />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-35454913956048723812015-11-09T22:14:00.000-05:002015-11-09T22:14:03.072-05:00Ode to the Tailgate<div style="text-align: center;">
On Saturday past, we were again on our way</div>
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To watch our beloved Boilers play.</div>
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After last week's win in the rain and the cold,</div>
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We had sunshine and hope for our dear black and gold.</div>
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Here come the Boilers, through the tunnel of cheer,</div>
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With the Extra Special signal that game time is near.
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But before the game started, there was breakfast to eat,</div>
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And these two cute cousins, a first time to meet.</div>
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The girls looking good in Purdue gold and black</div>
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Were hoping our team would continue on track.</div>
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Andrew and Darci, and Matthew too,</div>
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Were part of the tunnel for the team to run through.</div>
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But first, a few photos of field-level fun,</div>
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With the press box behind them, and grateful for sun.</div>
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All smiles in the end zone, where touchdowns do score.</div>
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We wish that our Boilers had gotten there more.</div>
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Then Matthew was in for a really great treat</div>
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When he met up with Boiler mascot Purdue Pete.</div>
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The band was by far the best part of the game,</div>
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And the marching alumni made me happy I came.</div>
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There were fireworks and flags as a tribute to one</div>
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Whose 43 years of announcing were done.</div>
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Back at the tailgate (we couldn't watch more),</div>
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Cousin Arden had a sweet babe to adore.</div>
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We also had cheering, though not for the team,</div>
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But little girls and pom poms are a thing, it would seem.</div>
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Great memories were made, and we had lots of fun.</div>
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We won't worry (much) that the other team won.</div>
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Buddies Matthew and Harper had some football to play,</div>
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Here's hoping that they will be Boilers one day.</div>
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We share one last thought, when the car's packed up tight,</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><b>Happy tailgate to all, and a Boiler good night!</b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">*thanks to Darci for most of the photos</span></div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-4575159508938465702015-11-05T00:06:00.002-05:002015-11-05T06:20:47.170-05:00My Little Girl<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy 30th Birthday to my little girl, Jennifer. We know that little girls don't stay little, so this mama's heart treasures the memory of a baby who preferred to be held, a toddler on the move, and a sweet middle sister (to four brothers!), who grew up before our eyes, making friends along the way. She is a wife, a mother, a photographer, a vet tech, a sister, a daughter, a friend.</div>
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For many years, there were frames that hung on the wall in our kitchen, which held the school pictures of each of the five kids. I never removed the old photo, just added a new one in front, keeping a handy mini scrapbook all in one spot. The kids always joked that they were all stuck in their junior year, since their senior photos were displayed in a different spot.</div>
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In honor of her birthday, I made a little slide show of the photos I found in Jennifer's frame, plus a few more added at the end to bring it up to date. Years go by, children grow, but no matter how many birthdays she has, she'll always be my little girl.<br />
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Click where it says Happy Birthday Jennifer! below to watch Jennifer grow up. Enjoy!</div>
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/144702029">Happy Birthday Jennifer!</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user30487198">Susan Stewart</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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Just for fun, I also put together a collage of the photos, in case you can't view the video. </div>
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A beautiful baby, a beautiful girl, a beautiful woman. Inside and out.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Happy Birthday, Jennifer! I love you!</span></b></div>
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-21519943033825216362015-11-03T23:50:00.001-05:002015-11-03T23:50:19.983-05:00Hallo'win' WeekendSince last Saturday's Purdue game against Nebraska fell on Halloween, we thought it would be fun to show our team spirit by creating some Purdue-themed costumes. Of course, many Purdue students wear costumes every game day at <a href="http://purdueuniversitytraditions2.weebly.com/breakfast-club.html" target="_blank">Breakfast Club</a>, but our costume wearers were a bit too young for that.<br />
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Our inspiration came from the twirlers who perform with the band, including the <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/bands/ensembles/auxiliaries/the-golden-girl/" target="_blank">Golden Girl</a>, the <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/bands/ensembles/auxiliaries/the-girl-in-black/" target="_blank">Girl in Black</a>, and the <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/bands/ensembles/auxiliaries/the-silver-twins/" target="_blank">Silver Twins</a>.<br />
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Granny put some costumes together, and we had our own little Golden Girl, Alaina, daughter of our friends Kyle and Kristin.<br />
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Jennifer and Bryan's little Piper Jayne was our Girl in Black.<br />
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Haleigh and Ella, daughters of Andrew and Darci, made our perfect little Silver Twins.</div>
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Finishing out the group were the boys, Cayden, son of David and Shylah, as Drew Brees,<br />
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and Noah, son of Jennifer and Bryan, as Purdue Pete. Boiler Up!!<br />
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Early in the week, we learned that the first 100 kids in costume were eligible to receive a voucher to go on the field to form the tunnel for the team before the game. We were in line early so that Haleigh and Ella could participate in the fun.<br />
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They also got their picture taken with <a href="http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/isaac_haas_894756.html" target="_blank">Isaac Haas</a>. A cardboard cutout of him, that is, since the real one wasn't there yet. :)<br />
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After we had that taken care of, we took the girls into Mackey Arena to see the band's pep rally, and get a chance to see the real Silver Twins. They invited all band alumni to come to the floor for the singing of the alma mater.<br />
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When the band was finished, the Silver Twins were so nice to let us get some photos of Haleigh and Ella with them. The current twins aren't actually twins, or even sisters. When they didn't have any twin twirlers try out, they decided to give the roles to two twirlers who look alike.<br />
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From there, we went back to the Boilermaker Crossing activity area, where the basketball team was signing posters. We asked <a href="http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/aj_hammons_801820.html" target="_blank">A.J. Hammons</a> if we could get a picture of the girls with him. They were a little apprehensive, so their mama posed with them. We have high hopes for our basketball team this year. Boiler Up!<br />
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Back at the tailgate lot, the rest of the gang had arrived, and the girls were glad to see little Purdue Pete Noah.<br />
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Shylah and Drew Brees Cayden.<br />
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David and his professor, mentor, friend, Dave McMillin.<br />
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Kyle and Golden Girl Alaina, all bundled up.<br />
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Soon, it was time for Andrew and Darci and the girls to head over to get their field passes and cheer the team onto the field.<br />
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They took some pictures while they were waiting for the team.<br />
In front of the scoreboard,<br />
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with the world's largest drum,<br />
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in front of the press box,<br />
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and with the real Purdue Pete.<br />
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We watched from the stands, and found them standing under the goalpost while they waited for the signal to form the tunnel for the team.<br />
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You can just barely see them to the right of the girl with the white bow, lower center.<br />
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Here come the Boilers!<br />
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It was definitely a gray October sky, and we were fortunate that it only sprinkled a little bit.<br />
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Noah and his mommy watched the pre game show, and he really liked the game, the train, the drum, and the cheering. There was actually cheering!</div>
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Piper and her daddy came into the stadium a little later, and she snoozed through her first game.</div>
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Cayden Drew Brees and Alaina Golden Girl hung out back at Alaina's house where it was warm and dry.</div>
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During the fourth quarter of each game, they show photos called 'Game Faces' that folks email during the game. We pretty much rocked the scoreboard, with three of our photos making the show.<br />
This one, of Jennifer and Noah,<br />
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the little Silver Twins, and the tailgate tent photo I posted above of Haleigh, Ella, and Noah (I missed getting a photo of the photo on the scoreboard). So fun!<br />
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Also fun, was something we haven't seen much of…. a victory!<br />
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I thought maybe the W flag had gotten misplaced. :)</div>
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We celebrated back at Kyle and Kristin's, with David and little Drew Brees chillin' after the victory.</div>
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Speaking of Drew Brees, the weekend was complete when this guy got hot and the Saints beat the Giants in a touchdown fest on Sunday afternoon. All Hail Who Dat Boiler Up! Amen!</div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-67471882098486990852015-10-27T07:49:00.000-04:002015-11-01T06:50:32.188-05:00A Super Day To See The Saints Play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On Sunday, I got to see my Saints play right here close to home, as they took on the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. I took Jim, Andrew, and Matthew along to the game. We left home bright and early to meet up with my brother Ted and his Colts fan friends for some tailgating. I had reserved a spot in a lot near Ted's, and we were surprised to find some friendly faces when we got there. The Webers, the Juds, and some other friends who attended Purdue with David were the only other ones in the lot when we arrived. Crazy that of all the lots around the stadium, we ended up right beside them.</div>
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Once Ted arrived, we walked over to his lot for some tailgate food and fun. Our assignment was dessert, and Darci sent some awesome cookies that she made to show support for my team. Who Dat! </div>
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Matthew found a friend for some football tossing.</div>
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It was good to see Evan, who was in town from Chicago. We posed for a group photo before we went to our respective corners. :)</div>
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Matthew and I were supporting our favorite quarterback in our matching jerseys. We left the others in the tailgate lot and went on in to the stadium when the doors opened. I always like to get inside and watch the warm ups before the crowd arrives.</div>
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There was a cool breeze (Brees!), and a little chill in the air, but the roof was open!</div>
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Matthew and I walked down to the rail to watch the teams warm up and look for our guy.<br />
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While we were waiting, a nice man on the field walked up to us and asked where we were from, and how we came to be Saints fans. We told him we have been fans of his QB since his days at Purdue. He asked me if I had a camera, and pulled off his ring and put in on Matthew's finger. He told him to close his hand and put it right by his face while I took a picture of him wearing a Super Bowl ring! So cool. We figured out that he was the team pilot. A <i>Super Bowl Champion</i> pilot.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbdDdAZ3U4hgRY1W3uedg67oSYTxp9KVspCKVR5pGekQ8AObPFQQY3gGNG5iNpgbqp8oIIXWdK5sm1F5ltflYLeKV8nuE-JCq8zFq0kaMncL2yDNKj5thOETmiSGY_BHzj6cbeAWXJzs/s1600/Image+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbdDdAZ3U4hgRY1W3uedg67oSYTxp9KVspCKVR5pGekQ8AObPFQQY3gGNG5iNpgbqp8oIIXWdK5sm1F5ltflYLeKV8nuE-JCq8zFq0kaMncL2yDNKj5thOETmiSGY_BHzj6cbeAWXJzs/s400/Image+43.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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Matthew had a magazine that he hoped to get signed by Drew Brees. While we were standing there watching and waiting, a photographer came over and said hello, and that he was with the Saints. He said he wasn't sure Drew would be able to come over, but gave Matthew a card with Drew's photo and some fun facts.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXTT4AG3mTNBzDRUyEnArd3JNjwnBgTfe6ySMuBADDe2oqo1BsAI07KnZN_ZMWTD2m3UdK78SVL1Ibnlex5N_2ux27byzD811nvkc_6GkviXsfxNir4wvpKHf_D9GA6nwT0NLx8kmkaE/s1600/DSC_0451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXTT4AG3mTNBzDRUyEnArd3JNjwnBgTfe6ySMuBADDe2oqo1BsAI07KnZN_ZMWTD2m3UdK78SVL1Ibnlex5N_2ux27byzD811nvkc_6GkviXsfxNir4wvpKHf_D9GA6nwT0NLx8kmkaE/s400/DSC_0451.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Matthew learned that Drew's favorite subject was history, and that his favorite food is country fried steak. Good to know.</div>
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There's our Drew, shaking hands with Andrew Luck.</div>
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Warming up. Or is that a prayer? Lord, in your mercy… :)<br />
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We walked around to the other side of the stadium, and ran into the ring hat guy, who I wrote about in <a href="http://stewmama.blogspot.com/2013/12/meet-i-mean-beat-me-in-st-louis.html" target="_blank">this post</a> from 2013. He remembered me from our communication after the game in St. Louis. I am so sorry I didn't get a photo of us together, but we were in a hurry to try to see Drew as he left the field. We did see him, but he was on the other side of the tunnel by the time we got there. Such a good guy to sign for the kids. Matthew did not get a signature, but we do have <i>several</i> already. :)<br />
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Jim and Andrew came into the stadium in time to see the Saints take the field in uniform.</div>
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Matthew and Andrew.<br />
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Here's our guy all suited up and ready to go.</div>
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Throwing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8czkJp0n3hfjyeCqKyvCNItKkHN0SSFJEVOtks-wILkozidxIzH1lVkV1h2TBETP3ZvDYArtp4mNeZCvfLAG7UGpL2ytAHpdRLvza2ATjhvhi-DzfpAqSMZvSpgnizVQcK7Y66QJLSB8/s1600/DSC_0464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8czkJp0n3hfjyeCqKyvCNItKkHN0SSFJEVOtks-wILkozidxIzH1lVkV1h2TBETP3ZvDYArtp4mNeZCvfLAG7UGpL2ytAHpdRLvza2ATjhvhi-DzfpAqSMZvSpgnizVQcK7Y66QJLSB8/s400/DSC_0464.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
Brees.<br />
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Benjamin Watson is one of Jim's favorites.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1FGS7IeZ9c-GPyWHkrdv6kqVEIhru4mEigWhVSOoIlePjOfI2P0sU7nsUhgFysMWs_hL-0aBVQ9uXjR9ZqAUbaeJaS-3h13_F6Si6T-z8ZztyeI_wghAYsNw6B_p1V5yypm8p2baVyk/s1600/DSC_0472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1FGS7IeZ9c-GPyWHkrdv6kqVEIhru4mEigWhVSOoIlePjOfI2P0sU7nsUhgFysMWs_hL-0aBVQ9uXjR9ZqAUbaeJaS-3h13_F6Si6T-z8ZztyeI_wghAYsNw6B_p1V5yypm8p2baVyk/s400/DSC_0472.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
Colston.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGreKEICK0X_6IMITv-whBcV_DKxIx7ABGjgsygPtxyxq547nS1obh_9-kT_F3Jg4CQVPR-bmIt50hquUyR8_hcucNMuoOGqnw-mep66EQGgVZFXiqOu65FXYr3a1QsN3O6i5lqlx9gjo/s1600/DSC_0474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGreKEICK0X_6IMITv-whBcV_DKxIx7ABGjgsygPtxyxq547nS1obh_9-kT_F3Jg4CQVPR-bmIt50hquUyR8_hcucNMuoOGqnw-mep66EQGgVZFXiqOu65FXYr3a1QsN3O6i5lqlx9gjo/s400/DSC_0474.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
Ready for the pre-game huddle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCU6nLCSZKL6r1vFG8dg5KgFQZTZvzSnZ_JLlsAyHIp8nznJKyl2UpRHW85ZxeoV74mnArg1s0oe7Z_gW-akYhXf8gGOxVMvyIYiswEktjl34UZaK7jTXv1-8yb1iJt8e8wLvPnHCUf8/s1600/DSC_0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCU6nLCSZKL6r1vFG8dg5KgFQZTZvzSnZ_JLlsAyHIp8nznJKyl2UpRHW85ZxeoV74mnArg1s0oe7Z_gW-akYhXf8gGOxVMvyIYiswEktjl34UZaK7jTXv1-8yb1iJt8e8wLvPnHCUf8/s400/DSC_0475.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
You can watch the huddle<a href="http://www.neworleanssaints.com/media-center/videos/Drew-Brees-Pregame-Huddle-at-Indianapolis-Colts/2c316820-dc68-4532-af6d-1c9dc77c3680" target="_blank"> here</a>. "<i>Start fast, finish strong, hit 'em in the mouth all day long."</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLYgfluqYEKYpOBaDdcM3jlM5AZ-LJHd4aaUyLgtoFodXxu2QJyfvONsfol7sovRbcoDpAQo-i0_VZcbpiG5RmDek2AW5Q5_5YdtZq2bFIkQZiGcDIT-gRPopfFxdZhzfKmVAA-68Lk8/s1600/DSC_0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLYgfluqYEKYpOBaDdcM3jlM5AZ-LJHd4aaUyLgtoFodXxu2QJyfvONsfol7sovRbcoDpAQo-i0_VZcbpiG5RmDek2AW5Q5_5YdtZq2bFIkQZiGcDIT-gRPopfFxdZhzfKmVAA-68Lk8/s400/DSC_0478.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Stretching.<br />
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Matthew held the sign I made. Strangely, it never made it on the jumbotron. Lol. I did hold it up quite a bit during the game. Who Dat!<br />
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Ready.<br />
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The Colts inflated this big red-eyed horse and flew the remote controlled blimp prior to the team intros.<br />
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Here come the Colts.<br />
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Drew and backup quarterback, Luke McCown stand side by side for the national anthem. If you haven't see the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwF5tzFi11s" target="_blank">Verizon commercial</a> starring Luke McCown, it's worth a watch. Very cute. <i>"I bet if they just had the chance, some of those backups would really shine." </i>Luke did have the chance to shine, later in the game, when the Saints faked a field goal and he threw a pass to Ben Watson that set up the Saints' second touchdown of the game.<br />
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<i>"O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."</i><br />
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Captains walk out for the coin toss.<br />
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Handshakes.<br />
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The toss. Saints win the toss and choose to receive. Let's go!<br />
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I put my camera down during the game so I can maintain focus, hold my beads, and close my eyes when necessary. When I opened my eyes after one such play, grabbed Matthew's arm and asked what happened, he said, <i>"Granny, you didn't see? Drew threw a 47 yard pass to Brandin Cooks!"</i> Keeping my eyes closed obviously helped. Lol.</div>
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We did run into some cousins at halftime. Matthew, Carter, and Riley had fun visiting in the concourse. </div>
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The Saints started strong, but the Colts made it a game.<br />
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Thankfully, the last play was one of my favorites: taking a knee in the victory formation. Whoooo Dat!!<br />
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Final score: Saints 27 Colts 21.<br />
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Proud of our Boilermaker.<br />
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Our post-game celebration photo. So happy.<br />
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We met up with Ted and crew for a bit after the game, though they were, understandably, a little less jovial than we were. By the time we dropped Andrew and Matthew off back at the farm, the sun was setting. And it was good.<br />
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-73243491596125750072015-10-26T10:43:00.000-04:002015-10-26T10:43:37.342-04:00Marking a Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Friday, we drove to Louisville, met up with Adam and Courtney, and headed south through the winding roads of Kentucky to the little town of Loretto. It was an absolutely beautiful fall day for our tour of <a href="https://www.makersmark.com/" target="_blank">Maker's Mark Distillery</a>, which Courtney had planned as part of Adam's Golden Birthday celebration.</div>
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Carol came along, too, so that she could meet up with Barry later in the afternoon, and she took this photo of our group before we started the tour. Isn't that tree gorgeous?</div>
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Courtney made friends with the distillery cat,</div>
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whose name was Whisky Jean.</div>
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We learned that the distillery was built by the Samuels family, and that Margie Samuels is responsible for some of the unique features of the business, including bottle's shape, the label, and the trademark red wax dipped bottle. The property looks more like a quaint village than a manufacturing facility, with many attractive architectural features. The bright blue sky made a beautiful backdrop.<br />
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The shutters have cut-outs in the shape of the Maker's Mark bottle.</div>
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It was interesting to see the bottling line. The bottles are rinsed in a shot of their own bourbon to sterilize before being filled.</div>
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They are capped and labeled, and then each is hand dipped in their trademark red wax. Every single bottle. Hand dipped. Wow.</div>
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Of course, there are different ways of dipping. :)<br />
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The 'dippers' are clad in protective sleeves, aprons, and eye protection, and they rotate jobs every 30 minutes, so no one spends all day dipping.</div>
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After the bottling room, we found another pretty tree and I took a photo of Jim and his sister Carol.</div>
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The 5-story still even has the red bottle shutters on the tower.<br />
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In the warehouse, where we saw barrels and barrels of bourbon, we also immediately noticed the beautiful glass ceiling. Courtney said it reminds her of the Children's Museum glass sculpture, which we knew was a creation of <a href="http://www.chihuly.com/" target="_blank">Dale Chihuly</a>. Sure enough, our guide soon told us that is was a Chihuly creation, commissioned to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the distillery.<br />
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So beautiful.<br />
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It is called <i>The Spirit of the Maker</i>. It is tricky to photograph, especially when the narrow passage is filled with a tour group, so I found a <a href="http://www.gobourbon.com/chihuly-makes-mark/" target="_blank">photo here</a> to show it a little better.<br />
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Nest stop, the tasting room.<br />
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After the tasting, we moved to the gift shop, where you can dip your own bottle. But first, we have to get suited up in protective gear.</div>
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We receive our instructions.</div>
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And dip away.</div>
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The birthday boy, dipping his commemorative golden birthday bottle of bourbon.</div>
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One last photo in front of the barrels before leaving to drive back through the hills to Louisville.</div>
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We met up with Barry on the way back, and he and Carol headed for Texas.<br />
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We were joined by a few of Adam and Courtney's friends, and enjoyed dinner at Eddie Merlot's.<br />
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Happy Birthday, dear Adam.<br />
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Happy Birthday to you! He blew out his candle, then shared the cheesecake with the whole table.<br />
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Chellsey and Courtney enjoyed their own (huge) dessert. (They also shared.)<br />
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The birthday dinner group. </div>
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Jim, Susan, Darci, Andrew, George.</div>
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Chellsey, Courtney, Adam, Kyle.</div>
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Jim and I headed home, while the rest of the group continued the birthday extravaganza at Fourth Street Live. A very merry birthday indeed.<br />
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-22467462279372437812015-10-25T07:56:00.000-04:002015-10-25T07:56:58.738-04:00A Golden BirthdayAdam waited 25 years for his Golden Birthday. 25 on the 25th!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULNkO421YEQ9k3KMDXKGqu7v2QrFIvFeu8eG1nCV7Jz5cVKa_E4Q_CjueAYhI8HIA5f3Lk9L4zDq1_ekMUXY6CgSCyJ4dYWfddnwtYt3CRFiQezpsgmicxEx3HUfvaJZx8wKevPotVBY/s1600/AGoldenBirthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULNkO421YEQ9k3KMDXKGqu7v2QrFIvFeu8eG1nCV7Jz5cVKa_E4Q_CjueAYhI8HIA5f3Lk9L4zDq1_ekMUXY6CgSCyJ4dYWfddnwtYt3CRFiQezpsgmicxEx3HUfvaJZx8wKevPotVBY/s400/AGoldenBirthday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Courtney planned a special weekend celebration for him, which I will post about soon, but first I want to wish a very happy birthday to my little golden boy. My baby.<br />
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I thought I would share some Mama-Adam photos in honor of the day.</div>
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Fun at school.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZw4av9OwkCWnSW81GXX1hQ1cjFvBUlORP3hy43N3I5WZHktpJvQSkNSg5hlW3l66dKaPgZQhcvFGTM6Tp5KOZ1tXUhyw-0fQVD9SbzMLT3aP-z-3jhWIlH3rv8Yt_EV4jj9IoNAnp4BY/s1600/Scan+252.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZw4av9OwkCWnSW81GXX1hQ1cjFvBUlORP3hy43N3I5WZHktpJvQSkNSg5hlW3l66dKaPgZQhcvFGTM6Tp5KOZ1tXUhyw-0fQVD9SbzMLT3aP-z-3jhWIlH3rv8Yt_EV4jj9IoNAnp4BY/s400/Scan+252.jpeg" width="266" /></a></div>
Scavenger hunt on Mackinac Island.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONp9dpoQ6BIx0XQoXokLYrmPytd7KXfuTMjg322877ivSVsxsu0rGaxAd2YZ1PlV8_Zs_dJlh1fyX0Cr0REGuIQ4k8Av10NIeS-iEMFl3KvEQQGw1rR8X5QJT-uCQmIIG5Jxv9KrHGts/s1600/IMG_3457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONp9dpoQ6BIx0XQoXokLYrmPytd7KXfuTMjg322877ivSVsxsu0rGaxAd2YZ1PlV8_Zs_dJlh1fyX0Cr0REGuIQ4k8Av10NIeS-iEMFl3KvEQQGw1rR8X5QJT-uCQmIIG5Jxv9KrHGts/s400/IMG_3457.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
A Purdue birthday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXLYAKu5lSezZ8lWb4ic5CZeXQT8zsz-CToOln5gz0gagA9yuzRM9gS6LZMX3Rm1rdkoLkMDxHFXW3YGDgvL-Lwvs8effJmYssHr2nGL6zIw0-OUUIo20T3_uJ6TMxBsDhNNFvbyUnTc/s1600/DSC_0541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXLYAKu5lSezZ8lWb4ic5CZeXQT8zsz-CToOln5gz0gagA9yuzRM9gS6LZMX3Rm1rdkoLkMDxHFXW3YGDgvL-Lwvs8effJmYssHr2nGL6zIw0-OUUIo20T3_uJ6TMxBsDhNNFvbyUnTc/s400/DSC_0541.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Mom's weekend.<br />
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Purdue graduation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvb1yfRI2xBYq6v6eVmiF8oFoWm2c9iER-8Y06R_nqfedNZ1wjEMuef4pcfm7u8bOJfwnbpY5aSBCcVPw_lucQfHqTw8Or_CqpJXxJ5kd7AsfFCNoJW8-jGmZO3k4-HAaqMRnbmlinB0/s1600/DSC_1032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvb1yfRI2xBYq6v6eVmiF8oFoWm2c9iER-8Y06R_nqfedNZ1wjEMuef4pcfm7u8bOJfwnbpY5aSBCcVPw_lucQfHqTw8Or_CqpJXxJ5kd7AsfFCNoJW8-jGmZO3k4-HAaqMRnbmlinB0/s400/DSC_1032.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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And, just like that, we are at his wedding. Where that little boy walked down the aisle to marry the girl he loves.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZALQoC8IJopue6kxYFlkK2jsg7hhn3CQ-p1ormgJfNBbqQGNEL67AGgX82682uCpyZJ-4dG1sUbJLftJ64ftYh3o9HqShp7XAs-e-mToNhmj8CJ7LIfh2wsn00qunIDuyn4hNfIqTwYk/s1600/138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZALQoC8IJopue6kxYFlkK2jsg7hhn3CQ-p1ormgJfNBbqQGNEL67AGgX82682uCpyZJ-4dG1sUbJLftJ64ftYh3o9HqShp7XAs-e-mToNhmj8CJ7LIfh2wsn00qunIDuyn4hNfIqTwYk/s400/138.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
And we danced, Mama and baby. I am thankful for the blessing of Adam, and to celebrate the little boy, the good man, my baby, who will always have a piece of his mama's heart.<br />
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<b>Happy Golden Birthday, Adam!</b></div>
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<b>Your Mama loves you!</b></div>
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-77587043056460134192015-10-21T15:29:00.000-04:002015-10-21T15:34:20.826-04:00Back to the Hodgepodge<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's Wednesday Hodgepodge time, and I'm finally getting a post up. It<i> is</i> still Wednesday, isn't it? Seems like life moves at an alarmingly fast rate, and it's hard to keep up. And speaking of life moving quickly, we're talking about time travel today, specifically <i>Back to the Future</i>. This date (October 21, 2015) was the day they landed on in the 'future' in the movie. So hop in the DeLorean and join me as we go <i>Back to the Hodgepodge</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here we go!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">1. October 21, 2015 is </span><a href="http://nationaldaycalendar.com/back-to-the-future-day-october-21-2015/" style="line-height: 18px;">Back to the Future Day.</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> Did you see the movie? The sequels? In the second film, Doc takes Marty into the future to prevent Marty's future son from making a mistake. They leave 1985 and land on a 'skyway' on October 21st, 2015. So tell us, what were you doing in the fall of 1985?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I saw the first movie, and liked it. Michael J. Fox is always good. I probably saw the sequels, but as is often the case, my memory is foggy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On this day in 1985, I was 15 days away from giving birth to this little one. Our baby girl. Seven pounds, 15 ounces of pinkness. Jim always says that the boys came out blue and she came out pink. Jennifer Ann.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwfDdB2VzLDv0fH1O-2J8pfvwuG4vieOd2Ohuu5oE2BfuquJp72w91qpZYjFv3IF8V3ekLzcVcz6hL0pVI2TBYATbERRlkkvcryToe3npgnSp-QMy6QDDyRN0bXoAlD_QPwDs5HwR6lc/s1600/Scan+289.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwfDdB2VzLDv0fH1O-2J8pfvwuG4vieOd2Ohuu5oE2BfuquJp72w91qpZYjFv3IF8V3ekLzcVcz6hL0pVI2TBYATbERRlkkvcryToe3npgnSp-QMy6QDDyRN0bXoAlD_QPwDs5HwR6lc/s320/Scan+289.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">She was born less than an hour (seems like it was about 20 minutes) after we got to the hospital. She was in a hurry then (thankfully), and has been a girl on the move ever since. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To me, her hospital photo looks like a little girl who will be able to hold her own with 2 big (and later, 2 little) brothers, without losing her sweet spirit.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfu8Fgo1MAKCz0Liy0QPxLEyocUGYD3luF2NNb_fTI48Jja9jIHnTQ6YB60I6r-Dv8NQEXSiH6lGF-muI8eEzXZSTUYlecb3CjTJMRb9_lmF0taMAeSWbOHE7ampUPmNQxRen8wr18ws/s1600/Scan+288.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfu8Fgo1MAKCz0Liy0QPxLEyocUGYD3luF2NNb_fTI48Jja9jIHnTQ6YB60I6r-Dv8NQEXSiH6lGF-muI8eEzXZSTUYlecb3CjTJMRb9_lmF0taMAeSWbOHE7ampUPmNQxRen8wr18ws/s320/Scan+288.jpeg" width="230" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She was welcomed home by Andrew (1 1/2) and David (almost 3). So in the fall of 1985? I was busy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1V8p4pU1TGiBSeNA0WXvVU8983V_WMs8vOG4gW0UgPsGx9R4mPxLInrMuyvweQsD-usZfXZKZPCGT9sRTTPL6kVWGXBFdDGou7Qagmb7f5I8YuyTqSLEOua_wTJe3ISKcphqa09jSWpI/s1600/Scan+232.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1V8p4pU1TGiBSeNA0WXvVU8983V_WMs8vOG4gW0UgPsGx9R4mPxLInrMuyvweQsD-usZfXZKZPCGT9sRTTPL6kVWGXBFdDGou7Qagmb7f5I8YuyTqSLEOua_wTJe3ISKcphqa09jSWpI/s400/Scan+232.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">2. If time travel </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">were</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> possible, would you want to go to the future? The past?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">As a child, when I visited places like <a href="http://www.connerprairie.org/" target="_blank">Conner Prairie</a>, or <a href="https://www.osv.org/" target="_blank">Old Sturbridge Village</a>, I thought it would be great to live life as a pioneer. As an adult? Not so much. I appreciate electricity and indoor plumbing. It <i>would</i> be interesting to visit the past to get to know and hear stories from my ancestors, and it would also be interesting to hop to the future to visit my great-great-greats. I am happy, though, living right here in the present. It's a gift.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">3. We're not flying cars, but some of the technology imagined in the 80's film has indeed come to pass in real life 2015-flat screen TVs on the wall, tablets, fingerprint recognition, video conferencing, online banking, 3-D movies, motion controlled video games, drone cameras, and smart glasses (Google glass). Do you worry technology is growing at a rate so fast we'll soon be unable to keep up with it's demands? Do you think the Internet does more harm than good?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">It is interesting to me how the Internet changes everyday conversations. We no longer sit around and debate who was the Super Bowl MVP in 2010 (Drew Brees, of course), how many miles it is from point a to point b, or which states are the leading producers of corn. We just use the computer/phone/camera in our pocket to look it up. I enjoy new technology, and think the Internet is, for the most part, for good. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">4. Your favorite dish prepared in a slow-cooker? Your favorite fast food?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">One of our favorite slow-cooker meals is 'crock-pot beef.' A chuck roast, a packet of dry ranch dressing, a little water, and that's it! So tender, it falls apart. Best way to cook a roast.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Fast food? I don't know… does pizza count?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">5. No time like the present, down time, face time, pressed for time, in the nick of time, make time, mark time, or just in time...which timely saying most relates to your life right now? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Fall is always busy, and we have several things planned in the next few weeks, which sometimes makes me feel <i>pressed for time</i>. I do try to remember, that in all the coming and going, it's important to <i>make time</i> to enjoy the ride.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">6. Tell us about a place you went as a child or younger person that's no longer there or is now something else. How does that make you feel?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I had to think a bit for this one, and what came to mind, interestingly, is the day camp I attended when I was a child visiting my grandparents in Indianapolis. My brothers and I loved it when we each had our own turn for a visit, and I have many memories of special things we did during that time. My grandma, 'Mamaw', arranged for me to attend Acorn Farm Day Camp during one such visit (maybe 2 or 3 different years?), and it was so much fun. My brother, Ted, had gotten his turn first, and I couldn't wait for my chance to go. I was picked up by an old school bus, with my swimsuit and towel in a red knapsack, and transported to the camp for the day. There was a pool, and crafts, and games, and ponies, and all sorts of outdoor fun. I, of course, loved the ponies the best, and still remember their names: Stuffy, Sonny, and Charlie Brown. (I always tried to get Sonny, because, if you tried really hard, and squeezed and kicked and clucked enough, he might, maybe, almost, get to a trot.) I also remember games of capture the flag, when the 'flag' was actually a watermelon, and when it was found, it was sliced and shared all around.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I think I had a t-shirt… just more like 1969 instead of 1959.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know where the camp used to be, and when I looked it up this morning, I learned that the family who owned the camp still owns the land, and a daughter of the founding couple has an antique shop on the property. The camp was in operation from 1933 until 1977, and served over 15,000 kids. It was the first day camp of its kind in the United States. The area around the camp has been built upon and developed, so I was glad to hear that the camp property itself still exists, much like it did back in the day. I will need to make a trip to the antique shop sometime soon.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">7. Describe your comfort zone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I don't know… my couch? with my dog? and a good book?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">8. Insert your own random thought here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Little Cayden John, our sixth grandchild, is six weeks old. He was in the 'burg a couple of weeks ago, and we got some 4 generation photos. Here is little Cayden John with grandpa Jim, great-grandpa John, and daddy David John.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the maternal side, Cayden John is posing with granny Susan, great-grandpa Jim, daddy David, and great-grandma (Nana) Jere'. He is one blessed baby! He even has more great-grandparents on his mama's side!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just for fun, we took some photos of Cayden in a couple of his daddy's outfits. The blue outfit in the photo above is the one David wore home from the hospital. The red outfit below was a favorite of mine, and David wore it for his first Christmas photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's daddy David John on the left, baby Cayden John on the right. Sweet babies both.</span></div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-14450743006328110442015-10-17T16:27:00.000-04:002015-10-17T16:27:48.383-04:00Boilers and BabiesLast Saturday, little Cayden John made his first trip to a Purdue football game. Or as his dad likes to say, his introduction to a lifetime of disappointing football. (Minus the Drew Brees years, of course.) We can pray that the young Brees boys will be wearing Boilermaker uniforms one day. :)<br />
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I was happy to see my newest little sweetie, and welcome him to the tailgate lot.<br />
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He even got to meet Mitch! In case you don't know, Mitch Daniels is the former governor of Indiana and the current President of Purdue University. Hi Mitch!<br />
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It was baby day at the tailgate, and we got a photo of Kristin and baby Alaina, Shylah and baby Cayden, and Jen and baby Adelyn.<br />
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Silly Andrew and baby Adam had to get in the picture as well. Lol.<br />
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A photographer from the Journal and Courier came by and took a couple of photos of the babies.<br />
Kristin, Cayden, and Shylah.<br />
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Kyle and Alaina.<br />
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I love the fun and fanfare of college football, and I was finally able to get into the stadium in time for the pre game show. Here come the Boilers! Unfortunately, that's about the best thing they did all day.</div>
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The band's famous Block P.<br />
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World's Largest Bass Drum and the presentation of the colors.<br />
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My favorite part of the pre game is 'I Am An American.' <i>"They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them across this bright October sky." </i>I always like to guess what the announcer will say for his description of the sky. It was a bright and beautiful day.<br />
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Shylah, Cayden, and David going into Ross-Ade Stadium for Cayden's first game.</div>
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We were given seats up in the Shively Suites by a friend, and I spent part of the game up there with baby Cayden. As previously stated, it was a good thing we had babies and families and friends to distract us from what was happening on the field, because it was not pretty. At. all.</div>
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Back at the tailgate (yes, even <i><b>I</b></i> left the game early), Cayden took a little snooze in the back of the car. It may not be the last Boiler football game he sleeps through, but we were happy to have him with us for his very first. Boiler Up, babies!</div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-85958675292095478742015-10-13T22:17:00.000-04:002015-10-13T22:17:37.326-04:00Prettiest Pumpkins in the Patch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Haleigh, Ella, and I took a little drive last week to visit <a href="http://www.grannyretreat.com/" target="_blank">Armand's Harper Valley Farm</a>. It's about a 20 minute drive to the southern side of Decatur County. I have heard about their farm and pumpkin patch, but this was my first visit.</div>
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We really liked the sunflower maze. Sunflowers are so much fun. I remember planting a few near our back gate when our kids were little. Often, by the end of the summer, just before school started, they were HUGE! I think I tried to make a wreath one year, with the sunflower head in the center. We also saved the seeds to plant again the next year.</div>
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The sunflowers in the maze weren't the really huge variety, but they made a colorful backdrop to our walk through the maze. Haleigh posed on the path.</div>
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The girls tried to decide which way we should go next.</div>
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They pointed out a nice looking sunflower bloom.</div>
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We even got together for a granny girl selfie.<br />
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The turkeys were LOUD! And for sale! We did not buy a turkey.</div>
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After the sunflower maze, we took a wagon across the road and through the bean field to the pumpkin patch. There are around 8 acres of gourds and pumpkins! We searched through the patch to find just the right pumpkins to fill our wagon and bring home with us.</div>
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Haleigh found the one she wanted.</div>
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We loaded them into the wagon, and then two girls decided they wanted to ride too. I was happy to get a little workout while pulling my pretty load back through the bean field and across the road.</div>
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After we paid Mrs. Armand for our pumpkins, Haleigh took over the pulling.</div>
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She took Ella safely back, past the sunflowers, to the car.<br />
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Back at home, the girls decided to clean out and carve the pumpkins. Of course, I still have the kid-safe carving tools from when<i> our</i> kids were kids. :) We cut the tops off, and they got to work scooping out the insides and the seeds.</div>
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Aunt Courtney did a math lesson last week with her fourth grade students, by estimating, and then counting, the seeds in a pumpkin. We did not count ours. I did throw them out near the side of the house, though. Maybe we'll grow a beanstalk! Or at least some surprise pumpkins next summer.</div>
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I showed them how it sometimes works best to use your hands, instead of a spoon, to get the insides out of the pumpkin. Ella was more anxious to try it than Haleigh was, and they both worked hard to get their pumpkins all cleaned out.</div>
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We brought them inside and worked together to carve a face on each one. They wanted the same face, so their jack-o-lanterns would be twins. Probably because people frequently think <i>they</i> are twins.<br />
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We found some candles, and set the jack-o-lanterns to glowin'. Just like the little girls.<br />
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922342231173161134.post-13899664576792214502015-10-07T13:25:00.000-04:002015-10-07T13:25:50.572-04:00Hodge to the Pumpkin Podge<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">It's Wednesday, and I'm back to blogging for the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for faithfully providing us with questions each week, and hosting this little link-up. Be sure to click on the button below to visit Joyce and the others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are her questions and my answers:</span></div>
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1. It's October so let's get this out there first thing...have you jumped on the all-things-pumpkin bandwagon? How so?</span></span><div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">No, and I don't even understand all the pumpkin excitement. So. much. excitement. Oh, I'll eat pumpkin cake, pumpkin muffins, or pumpkin pie, if it is served to me (it's dessert, after all), but I would not order it if there were other choices.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I did jump on the pumpkin patch bandwagon (which looked a lot like a mini van) to accompany these two pumpkins (and their mama) to the pumpkin patch.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVebWiS2Szl2U0g1ZixzliGwjOSzgwNhdOWNB0BHr_TYcEnUWmnJTyNw597h2NYHL6y9N18voZV-1VroyyiOCt2yzY8mt_y_5bBnDHaINxtoETVur-N3AxJIDi-QFmwEJRSwmOc398ns/s1600/12140167_10105569533547058_213055917437432763_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVebWiS2Szl2U0g1ZixzliGwjOSzgwNhdOWNB0BHr_TYcEnUWmnJTyNw597h2NYHL6y9N18voZV-1VroyyiOCt2yzY8mt_y_5bBnDHaINxtoETVur-N3AxJIDi-QFmwEJRSwmOc398ns/s400/12140167_10105569533547058_213055917437432763_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Noah's big smile was due to a kitty cat that his mama was holding while she took the photo. :)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJ3XCX6BVYYZTpcJLUdYO4bfv4QQ8l7QoGz678y1XJt2EH97o8YV0hEs21MSTE3N69XKNFYqCmtkOph1mrK0EgGjoovligJ_oVvvQz0WLyvNtFb2GxUKugpvBnh-Qtu74kMH8ZZuzB1I/s1600/12094857_10105569533966218_8110381990353075510_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJ3XCX6BVYYZTpcJLUdYO4bfv4QQ8l7QoGz678y1XJt2EH97o8YV0hEs21MSTE3N69XKNFYqCmtkOph1mrK0EgGjoovligJ_oVvvQz0WLyvNtFb2GxUKugpvBnh-Qtu74kMH8ZZuzB1I/s400/12094857_10105569533966218_8110381990353075510_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">2. </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">"We have more power than will; and it is often by way of excuse to ourselves that we fancy things are impossible." Francois Duc De la Rochefoucauld </i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">What's something you once thought impossible, but in hindsight see as more a matter of lack of will?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I can think of things that <i>seem</i> impossible: building a cathedral, running a marathon, cleaning all my closets (lol), but we know, in fact, that they can be done if one just has the will to do them. I'll hold on to the belief that with will, desire, drive, and prayer, anything is possible.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Which reminds me of one of my favorite movies of my childhood, Rodgers and Hammerstein's <i>Cinderella</i>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2t5egpCnKVblZYow93L5KWUSS8Vd-eokgl9uaujHATiVKPNtC35oo_XD9z0fwhu597ozAFhZUahqPRWnvzt-7zzFs-KqJRUlfSG7ony-zgK1j7h5Mw6t6YzZtUrSS6UmxqWTlbWLauk/s1600/Cinderella-300x248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2t5egpCnKVblZYow93L5KWUSS8Vd-eokgl9uaujHATiVKPNtC35oo_XD9z0fwhu597ozAFhZUahqPRWnvzt-7zzFs-KqJRUlfSG7ony-zgK1j7h5Mw6t6YzZtUrSS6UmxqWTlbWLauk/s1600/Cinderella-300x248.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>"But the world is full of zanies and fools,</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>Who don't believe in sensible rules,</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>And don't believe what sensible people say,</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>And because these daft and dewey-eyed dopes</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>Keep building up impossible hopes,</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Impossible, things are </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">happening every day."</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Thank goodness for all the zanies and fools in the world who dare to imagine what is <i>possible</i>!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">And if you have time to watch the clip of the song, here it is, for your enjoyment!</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KzgaqB2hFio?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">3. The rose is America's National Flower, but every state also has its own (</span><a href="http://www.50states.com/flower/#.VhMhOrTFKgR" style="color: #310e6a; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">click here </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">to see the list). Are you happy with yours? If you were in charge what would </span><i style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">you</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> declare your state's flower? If you're outside the U.S. what bloom would you like to see labeled as your country's national flower?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">The state flower of Indiana is the peony. When I was a child, I thought they were rather ordinary. They grew on floppy bushes and were usually filled with ants, who must be attracted to the blooms.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Now, they are one of my favorites. We have two bushes in our yard, which were planted by Jim's grandmother. I like the old fashioned, rustic look to them, and the longevity of the plants themselves.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9G1nbDQLVN00AgM_UfyZhNycUaDJtFjpNEQVsSRiaMTMyErCS4Sdj-xbFCRPxi9SPyL8GANMJTLXgCFuiMBdcXYSepMSFFv6-AItmgcgzO7dnro9A3eGB7Zol8Ty2OVrByn7CMxHVFU/s1600/mypeony.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9G1nbDQLVN00AgM_UfyZhNycUaDJtFjpNEQVsSRiaMTMyErCS4Sdj-xbFCRPxi9SPyL8GANMJTLXgCFuiMBdcXYSepMSFFv6-AItmgcgzO7dnro9A3eGB7Zol8Ty2OVrByn7CMxHVFU/s400/mypeony.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">They also make beautiful wedding bouquets. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimbpnGj6ZEdEmyQGvbaNVRAGUIAYeegCEHYtFuIE3KIHjQ9JHxS3yO-0djNpUb-JKPInCva4uGhGtfAhiZYYG7Npl_iDxhChVxdcB_1dBHv8XyQPHgq9fpdRWdCFfj3g-SA6BQ_fwZ8k/s1600/Jennifer+%252B+Bryan+Wedding+284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimbpnGj6ZEdEmyQGvbaNVRAGUIAYeegCEHYtFuIE3KIHjQ9JHxS3yO-0djNpUb-JKPInCva4uGhGtfAhiZYYG7Npl_iDxhChVxdcB_1dBHv8XyQPHgq9fpdRWdCFfj3g-SA6BQ_fwZ8k/s400/Jennifer+%252B+Bryan+Wedding+284.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">4. What have you lost interest in recently?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Well, I haven't been a very good blogger recently….</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">5. In your opinion, who's the best living musician?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So many, but I'm a country girl, so I'll choose Garth Brooks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We saw him in concert around 1996, and he has always been a favorite of our family. We spent many hours singing along with him in the van.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a good one:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FuO3FhA3PWc?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And have you heard his new one, <i>Mom</i>? So good.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">6. S'mores-love 'em or no? Ever make them indoors? Last time you sat around an outdoor fire? Are making s'mores and sitting round a fire pit on your autumn bucket list? Do you have an autumn bucket list?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I like s'mores, and mostly I like making them around the fire with friends and family. We have a fire sometimes at the lake, and usually have s'mores supplies on hand. Once, when Jim and I were there with the littles while their parents went to dinner, the kids wanted to make s'mores, so we did. Trouble was, that they all liked to <i>make</i> them, but none liked to <i>eat</i> them. Jim was eating them as fast as they could make them. :)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrGGzcgoS2Ehyphenhyphen0_9kUGsVxLb4HVH_qAx8dTpswDlumDvfxVNbnJLfvJnq4EdRA7YKVFHDJ5rAjw4p0Ho8bAdMveumhI2Xb_Co6td0jixAPiGJtTgrB17W2y73ppeJtPwyTvlMUqwDxbM/s1600/Image+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrGGzcgoS2Ehyphenhyphen0_9kUGsVxLb4HVH_qAx8dTpswDlumDvfxVNbnJLfvJnq4EdRA7YKVFHDJ5rAjw4p0Ho8bAdMveumhI2Xb_Co6td0jixAPiGJtTgrB17W2y73ppeJtPwyTvlMUqwDxbM/s320/Image+7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The last time I had s'mores was this adorable and tasty Mason jar version, made by Becky for Shylah's baby shower. Yum.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1I1IisJPnyJgmu9GMO2jZoCR99WeO-yuHQbVDEh3zn7JIJTYo1b3der8Mxru4P3iAp2Ga0f9EsQFdqAN3bSmabbKeJ0fSHah5jQU7-JgAUaf5ImDBsGptczaBWwMmUWP1QmowYDxpPM/s1600/Image+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1I1IisJPnyJgmu9GMO2jZoCR99WeO-yuHQbVDEh3zn7JIJTYo1b3der8Mxru4P3iAp2Ga0f9EsQFdqAN3bSmabbKeJ0fSHah5jQU7-JgAUaf5ImDBsGptczaBWwMmUWP1QmowYDxpPM/s320/Image+7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My autumn bucket list includes a weekend of leaf raking at the lake, so maybe we can work s'mores into that event. (It's probably more of a things-that-sound-impossible-but-with-enough-will {and manpower}-it-can-be-done item than a bucket list item, but maybe if I write it down here, it will actually happen.) :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">7. Your favorite small town? Why?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Ours, of course, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensburg,_Indiana" target="_blank">Greensburg, Indiana</a>. Home of the World Famous Tree on the Courthouse Tower.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQ9XqS0Gkz2ubYehsoSOCGnLxuRXKT3DZfKc6su9ECzMJN71GbVfUQhBBkG-CH0ds7l3zvSrxcBSs-MIjW9frmwNgGKJjg1FrDKp0y7men8pVkjVUffgJkFY4lSCMAcb8WN1Usdh9Ds0/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQ9XqS0Gkz2ubYehsoSOCGnLxuRXKT3DZfKc6su9ECzMJN71GbVfUQhBBkG-CH0ds7l3zvSrxcBSs-MIjW9frmwNgGKJjg1FrDKp0y7men8pVkjVUffgJkFY4lSCMAcb8WN1Usdh9Ds0/s400/photo.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">That's our handsome grandson, Matthew, standing in front of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">8. Insert your own random thought here.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">As I have mentioned before, my friend Ruthann has started chemo again, and I would love to have you add her to your prayers.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Last week, Janet took her to chemo, and I rode along. We were joined by Ruthann's friend, Mel (who appears in an entertaining video concerning her son and a certain tailgate item), and their nurse navigator, Amy. Mel has the same cancer as Ruthann, and has been there as a support, and as a friend, since her diagnosis. Amy is their angel nurse, who answers questions, manages medication, eases their worries, and makes them feel as if they are her only patient. She has a big birthday coming up, and Mel brought gifts and cupcakes, and I brought along crowns.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">That's Amy on the left, Ruthann in the center, and Mel on the right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While chemo is no party, we managed to do a lot of laughing, which is always good medicine. When I apologized to the nurses for our noise level, they assured me that they are always thankful for laughter in the infusion center.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ruthann wrote about it on her <a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ruthannsmith" target="_blank">Caring Bridge site</a>, and called this her Chemo, Cupcakes, and Crowns Crew! If you have a chance to visit her site, you will be blessed. We are so grateful for your prayers.</span></div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05416599502316058614noreply@blogger.com3