Christmas 2008

We had x-mas on Wednesday night because on x-mas day Bob's kids go with their mommy to her family and Cory and Amy spend the day at his family. For the past 10 years Les and Rob would go to his family on x-mas day before heading back to Indiana but this year his family is coming to their house on Saturday.The kids all had so much fun opening their gifts and it is so neat watching their faces as they do. They are as happy with a $1.00 gift as they are with something expensive. Jay and I spent x-mas day lounging around and reading books.We did finish getting a blueprint bid together that needed to be faxed in this morning.After we finish a bid , especially if it has a lot of $0000 behind it i usually take a deep breath, say a prayer and hit the send fax button. We leave it up to God as to whether we get it or not. There have been some that we didn't get and later down the road when the project starts we see why as there are problems with the project. So God knows best and he is looking out for us. Les, Rob and the kids came down for a while in the afternoon.I put together my first slide show and it is not quite perfect but I will figure it all out later. Enjoy.

Christmas Photos

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Polar Bear's everywhere

Quite a few years ago our former employer bid at a benefit silent auction for the first place tree and ended up getting it for a whopping $850.00. She decided we should have it. The theme was Polar Bear Express. It came permantly decorated which I have in the past couple years completely taken apart and revamped. It came with a big polar bear wreath, a big sleigh with a bear in it and an electric train set under the tree. I have been down with the stomach flu the past couple days but I mustered up enough energy yesterday to get it up. Thought I would share some pics with you.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We started out with rain yesterday morning, turned to freezing rain last night and now snow. Are expecting 3 inches and then back to freezing rain. It is beautiful outside this morning with the big flakes coming down.Double click on this pic to see just how beautiful the snow falling is.

Paige and Heidi

Paige and Heidi spent the night last night. We had a great time with them as usual. It is so easy to put Heidi to bed. I just gave her a sippy cup and her 2 dollies along with her favorite blankie(which by the way her Mama Truber-my mom made for her) and I lay her down and she doesn't say a word and is off to sleep.She layed down at 9PM and slept til 8 this morning. I let Paige play some Diner Dash games on the computer and she went to bed at 10 PM. Amy picked them up right before lunch today. Seems like yesterday that Heidi was born and now she will be 2 in Feb. She is as ornery as any of the boys. Do I have cute grandbabies or what? I think they are all beautiful. Of course I am a "little" prejudiced.

Here's your wish Brooke!!!

Les said Brooke read my last posting to her and then said "boring". Les asked her why and she said cause there were no pics. So here you go Brooke! Figured if I needed to post a pic then it would be of you. Remember how warm it was a few months ago? Well you can look at this and dream about next summer. That will help you get thru the next few days of nasty weather. I love you Brooke.

Rain and Pain Today

Left early his morning and took my "baby" Les to the Periodontist over an hour away. Was a little concerned about the weather as it was raining and was to turn to freezing rain. We got along fine as far as the driving. Les had to have oral surgery to remove a tooth and have bone grafted in for a future permanent tooth to be installed. The procedure took over an hour. She was shaking so bad waiting to be called in that I had to smack her on the leg to stop her. She came out looking a little pale holding an icepack to her jaw. They gave her an extra one for the trip home plus a script for pain pills. She opted not to fill the script and instead took some ibuprofen. She has a cast on her teeth to secure the bone graft. I believe the cast bothers her more then the pain. She is not allowed to run for 2 weeks and that is really a bummer for her. Her stitches come out in a week. Amy's girls have had the stomach bug for 2 days and Amy has it today. She says she is going to start sending Paige to school in a bubble. Say a prayer for the sick and in pain members of my family.
The guys went all the way to Charleston, WVa today to do a job at a church. We got hooked up with an Audio Visual Group (they installed the A/V for our new church) and they have been giving us a job a week. They are a really great group of Christian men and we enjoy working with them.

Also remember me as I start a new venture in my life. For the past 2 years I have been the Community Team Coach at our church. This involved being the overseer of individual groups such as Women of Faith,Men of Faith, Churchwide Fellowship Events plus others. I have enjoyed it altho it has been a lot of work at times. Our church has a Vision Team consisting of 6 individuals that prayerfully oversee, guide and direct the church in all aspects now and for the future. Each member of the Vision Team serves three years with 2 going off each year. I was very humbled when asked this week if I would serve on this team for the next 3 years. After much prayer and discussion I feel led to accept. It is a big responsibility so I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I do God's work. Someone will replace me as Community Team Coach.
Later

Finally-a deer on the ground!!!

I finally got my deer with 15 minutes of legal hunting time left. It never got above27* today but I braved the cold and went to my blind at 3PM. The wind picked up and the temp starting dropping and I was praying for patience and endurance of the bitter cold. At 5:10 a small doe game in to my stand so I turned my scope on(the battery was getting low) and turned my safety off. She was small and I was certain a bigger mature doe would surely follow. Within 2 minutes here she came out of the wood line. The first deer was standing broadside to me and the big one stayed on the other side of her facing me making it impossible to shoot. After what seemed an eternity of me holding my ice cold gun up w/o gloves on I finally decided that if the small one would just take 2 steps forward I would aim for her neck. Well she finally stepped forward but the big one wouldn't raise her head so I aimed at the back/top of her neck and dropped her in her tracks. I came in to find my hubby anxiously waiting to hear the results of my gunfire. He was proud of me. I was so cold that I could hardly talk. After I warmed up a little we went to get her only to find that she was a he. He had a 1in spike on 1 side and a 2-1/2 in spike on the other but he was an older deer. Jay said it was good I took him as that was bad genetics as far as bucks go. They have to have at least 3 in antlers of some sort or they check them in as a doe. So I still have my buck tag. Bobby has a doe cut up and ready to can so looks like I'll be canning again in a few days. This is probably boring to all you non hunters but exciting for me. Later

Snow and cold

We have had a very cold week and it is white outside. We got about 1-1/2 inches of snow yesterday. No deer yet and the first of our shotgun seasons ends tonight. Our disabled friend Leah and her husband Jason arrived Friday from N. Carolina. Leah is such an inspiration to be around. She was in nursing school when she was 21 and was diagnosed with MS. When I first met her 6 years ago she could still walk but she is now in a wheelchair and only has the use of her right arm. She always loved to hunt and hasn't let her disabilities stop her. Her husband Jason is an angel in the 100th degree. We went to their home a couple years ago and they took us bear hunting. Jason will literally carry her up a 20 ft ladder stand on his back.She has 4 kids from age 6 to 16. Three years ago he carried her up in a tree stand, cocked her crossbow and then went to his stand. They communicate by radio. Boy was he surprised when he came back and she had shot a 250 lb black bear. If you are a Nascar fan you would love to live where they do. They are 40 minutes from Bristol, 1 hour from Charlotte and 2-1/2 hours from Martinsville. We took them to the Martinsville race the weekend we went bear hunting and had a blast. It didn't hurt that Gordan won the race either. They left right before noon for home today with the promise we would go over this spring and trout fish with them. We decided they would come next year and bow hunt when it is not so cold. Jason said he and the boys would come over and help build some handicap accessible blinds this next summer. Well I am back to the woods and hope to at least get a doe before the end of the day. Later

I've been blessed!!!

I have so many things to be thankful for as I have been blessed over and over this year. Just to name a few-my hubby of almost 36 years, my 3 wonderful kids, my 7 beautiful grandbabies, an absolutely wonderful Pastor and church, my kids all being near me once again, and God has continued to bless us with so much work for our business it is hard to believe at times.

Please pray for the safety of all the hunters hitting the woods this week for deer season. We have 2 disabled hunters joining us at the end of the week. I'll introduce them to you after their hunt. I probably won't be posting this week UNLESS I have a pic of a monster buck to show you, specifically mine!!.

My 3 "babies"

Boy am I going to be in trouble for posting this but I am so proud of them and they have been such a blessing. Love you guys!!! Maybe that will get me out of trouble. Yea right!

Heidi the skateboarder!!

Heidi showed us tonight that she was ready to skateboard. I was surprised at what balance she has. Isn't she cute?

Kelsey, Kaleb and Tristin's new friend

Michelle got the kids a new puppy. He is a boxer and his name is Ace. He is so cute. Tristin says when Ace gets bigger he is going to let him wear his shirts.

Kaleb is 10 today

Can't believe my little man is 10 today. Les and Rob moved to Indiana 10 years ago yesterday. Les was upset when I called her at 7:30 then next morning to tell her Kaleb was born. They didn't get to see him until X-mas. Now they are back and I am soooooooooo happy about that. We all went to Kaleb's mommy's house tonight for his b-day party. He is really growing up fast.

Les on the run!!!

Leslie actually gave permission for me to post this. She ran in a 5K benefit run Saturday across the river in PT. Pleasant, WV in 18* temps. Not me!!!!! A Marshall University student from Pt. Pleasant named Leah Hickman was murdered a year ago while at college and this was a benefit race for a scholarship in her name. It was actually run on Leah's b-day Saturday and they raised around $7000.00. Les finished in the middle of the pack of 156 runners so she did good.

Kaleb is the man too!!!

Bob brought Kaleb down this afternoon and he made an awesome 50 yrd shot and dropped this button buck. He and daddy were both still grinning ear to ear when they left to check it in. It's been a great "Yea God" weekend and so special to experience our grandkids getting their first deer with a gun. Both boys shot their deer from my hunting blind which is only about 100 yards from from house. Guess Mama has a lot of canning facing her in the next few days.

All for now.

Ethan is the man!!!!

Had a great day!!! After having only about 4 hours sleep due to a 2:20AM phone call we braved the 18* temps and headed to the woods with our little hunters. The phone call was from the Sheriffs Dept. Jay is a township trustee and for some reason when someone calls in about any animals out in our township the 911 dispatcher calls the trustees (Jay is 1st on the list) to get them back where they belong. This time it was horses out. Jay didn't hesitate to tell them it was their job first and if that didn't work then they could call for help. The alarm went off at 4:30 and needless to say we were sleep deprived. I took Kelsey to my deer stand , Bob took Kaleb and Jay took Ethan as Rob didn't get home from work until 3 AM. Only saw a few deer and we all came back in at 9:30. Bob took his kids home and Rob came down at noon. Also Pastor Greg brought his son Josh down to hunt the afternoon with Jay. Let me tell you about Josh. He just took his hunter safety on Thursday night where he shot a gun for the first time. Greg brought him down Friday afternoon to sight in his new gun and practice. They were out in the woods less then an hour when Josh shot a doe. Jay was so proud of him. After getting his deer field dressed and hung up Rob took him home. Jay then took Ethan to my blind and 30 minutes later Ethan shot a HUGE doe. Dropped her in her tracks. So Jay says he had 2 successful guided hunts in a couple hours time. We now have 3 deer hanging from 1 walnut tree. Jay got a doe a couple days ago. We now call it the deer tree. Jay says all we need is a rebel flag hanging from it too and we will be official "Hill Jacks". His cousin says that a Hill Jack is one step up from a Hillbilly.

In the meantime after several phone calls with the Marv Knepp family Me, Leslie and Brooke headed south to meet up with them at a Cracker Barrel. They were traveling back to Indiana from vacation in Virginia. We had a great visit and then me, Les and Brooke headed across the road to the mall. We weren't in there very long when Jay called to tell me about Ethans deer so we headed home. Ethan will probably be hyped for several days. Bob took Kaleb hunting at his place this afternoon. He missed a doe but Bob said it was 85 yards down hill with brush which would be tough for the pros to hit. I had our camera with me so the only pics of Josh's deer is on jays cell so I can't post them tonight but enjoy Ethan's. Later.

BEEN A WHILE

Yes I am still kickin in Southern Ohio. Can't believe it's been weeks since I have posted. Once the guys got back from their Elk trip we have been very busy trying to catch up altho we never really do. I have also tried to sneak in some bow hunting. Me and the big buck just haven't been able to meet up tho. Kelsey, Kaleb and Ethan are anxiously waiting for youth gun season which is this weekend. We have their hunting blinds all set up and ready. Plan to put little heaters in each one as the temp is to be around 18* Saturday morning. Don't know how long they will be able to stand the cold. Guess it will depend on if they see a deer and get their adrenaline pumping. We had to make a round trip to NW Ohio on Sunday as one of Jay's favorite uncles died. We picked up Leslie at 8:15, stopped by Jay's dads to see him and then on to the funeral home about 25 minutes west of there. We got back home at 7:30PM. Lou and her crew went thru our are Saturday afternoon on their way to Virginia. We may try to meet up with them on their way back thru this Saturday. I-64 is about 20 minutes south of here. Sounds like they are having a cold trip. The weatherman is predicting snow for us next week and again for Thanksgiving. I don't have any pics to post right now but will this weekend after the "Big Hunt". All for now.

Time off almost over!!!!

I can hardly believe the guys have been gone 10 days already. I have managed to get a lot done on my list but not quite everything yet. I did get my office moved to a bigger room and am getting close to having all my papers sorted out. I have done some major fall cleaning. Igave my truck a thorough cleaning. The biggest accomplishment was completely emptying Jay's truck, sorting and organizing it. I don't know how he ever finds anything in it. Of course now it will take him a while to find things as nothing is in the same bin it was before. He is usually pretty tired at the end of a long day and material doesn't get put back in an organized manner. He called today and I sounded kinda winded and he asked if I was out hunting. I told him I was desperately hunting for the bed of his truck. All I need to do to it tomorrow is finish vacuuming the inside and cleaning the dashboard and I'll be done. I do this every year while he is gone. It's kinda therapeutic in a way. They will be packing up camp in the morning and heading home. The first few days were abnormally hot(70*) which is not good for Elk hunting. Then it cooled off and they got a little snow. They all saw several elk but just couldn't get a shot. I had hoped to get my big buck while they were gone but no luck so far. I did have a few new big ones on my camera but they are still pretty nocturnal. I figure here in about a week the does should be coming in heat and bucks like men act kinda crazy around a hot female. They aren't as careful as they have one thing on their mind. I just hope I get the big one before Jay does. Well I must get off here or I won't get done what I need to. Love to all.

Finally allowed to post some pics

Les finally allowed me to post some pics of their house. It is still not completely done but they are getting there. Rob has been putting up the trim and crown molding and doing an awesome job. As soon as the garage is done(hopefully this next week) they can move a lot of boxes out there for storage. Once the garage, new roof and new siding go on I will be sending more pics your way.

The exploding squirrel

I was shocked when I checked my trail camera a couple days ago. The 1st picture was this squirrel on all 4's eating, then standing up, then this. He evidently was jumping on the tree the camera is on and it captured him mid air.I thought it was quite funny. Looks like he is ready to explode but he actually is a normal size squirrel.

The 12 Pointer

My goal while the guys are gone is to take this big boy to the taxidermist. He was on my camera last Sunday morning and boy was I pumped. I plan to hunt Saturday morning as a cold front is coming thru and hopefully they will be moving. Sue -make sure you show this to your men and Melissa make sure Jordan sees it.

Off to Colorado

The guys left out for Colorado at 6PM Monday evening.They were in 2 king cab trucks with 3 guys to a truck. They make a bed in the back seat of each truck and as they rotate drivers the one who just drove sleeps. Jay, Bobby and Kevin were pulling our Cargo trailer with a load in it. They were exactly 1 hour on the road when the water pump went out on Kevin's truck which in turn caused other mechanical problems. I found a Chevy dealer for them and called a towing service. They transferred everything in Kevin's truck to the trailer except for overnight bags and hooked the trailer to the other truck. Bobby got in with them and they went ahead. The tow truck took Jay and Kevin to a motel. A friend offered the use of his truck so Amy and I prepared to deliver it pending on what the diagnosis was on Kevin's truck. We ended up leaving the next morning with the loaner truck. Kevin's truck couldn't be fixed for days. This threw Jay and Kevin about 16 hours behind without the 3rd driver. They drove to Kansas City, got a motel room and slept about 5 hours and then drove the rest of the way in. The first crew decided that since they had 4 drivers they would drive straight thru (25 hours). Jay said it was kinda nice having everything set up at camp when they arrived. He called last night. They have to take a 4-wheeler up above camp to get a signal to call. He called again this morning. He said it was a little chilly but sunny. They are expecting a storm and snow so hunting should be good. Please say a prayer that they have a safe hunt and a safe trip back. They won't be back until the 25th.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Sue to write 6 random facts about myself so here goes:
(1)As many of you know I had a B-day this past week. I guess while mom was in the house giving birth to me the sows got out and dad had to leave her and put them in. For as long as I can remember Dad would call me early on my B-day and say"Did you know that__years ago today the sows got out. I really miss that phone call but I can still hear him say it.
(2)When I was "young" in school our class went on a field trip to the Whirlpool Plant at Evansville. President Nixon flew in to the airport and we got to go see him. My picture was on the front page of the Evansville paper with him.
(3) I have an addiction to Starbucks iced Vanilla coffee. It is on my grocery list every week. Amy says if I was ever stranded on a deserted island I would die if I didn't have them.
(4) I have always wanted to write a book about all my life's twists and turns and my goal is to someday do just that.
(5) I, like my sis love reality TV. My favorite shows are Survivor, Amazing Race, Bachelorette and Bachelor, Biggest Loser and Nashville Star.While the guys are gone for 12 days I can watch all I want of it without "comments" from a certain sweety of mine.
(6) If God had given me the talent my dream would be to be a professional Contemporary Christian Singer. But since I can't carry a tune in a 5 gallon bucket I just pop a CD in my truck, crank it up and go down the road singing along with Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns and 33 Mile pretending that I can sing.Hey, whatever it takes.
So there are my 6 random facts. Since you all have tagged about every blogger I know I won't be tagging anyone.

Tristin's Diego cake

We had Tristin's party Monday night and he had requested that I get him a Diego ice cream cake. He got another "blue slip" at school this week which isn't a good thing. This time his reason was and I quote "I told the teacher that I had to pee and she wouldn't listen so I pee'd behind the tree and you aren't supposed to". I told Bob he is starting to reap what he sowed as a youngster. He was quite the ornary little fellor and I remember when he pee'd in his cousin's (from Ohio)face ON PURPOSE! He had a group of ornary cousins all about the same age. I won't mention any names. I remember a day at mom and dad's when mom asked them to gather the eggs for her and they came back with just a couple. She thought that was strange as she normally had quite a few. Their excuse was that all the rest of the eggs had fallen out of the nest and broke. Upon investigation the eggs were broke but they were up high on the chicken house walls. Wonder how that happened?

5 days

I agree with Tera that we all just seem too busy. Well hopefully in 5 days I can relax a little. That's when all the guys leave for their annual trip to the Colorado Mountains elk hunting. Amy and I just about have everything ready for them to load up. They plan to load our trailer Sunday evening and leave sometime before daylight on Tuesday. It is a 25 hour drive but they plan to break it up this year and stop and get a few hours sleep on the way. We have been working like a group of crazy people trying to get a bunch of small jobs done before they leave. Yesterday I was running from job to job and my truck was like a mobile office. I had my front seat full of file folders and was constantly on the phone(while driving) scheduling services changes with the power company or running after supplies. On one run I stopped at WalMArt (at my hubby's request) to get him a box of shells for his gun. He called as I was leaving and said to please get out of WalMart and bring some more material to the job site .WELL I would have already left but his stupid shells kept setting off the alarm(that makes you feel like a thief). The clerk kept trying to scan them to stop the security buzzer but wasn't getting anywhere. Now you tell me-she knew what the problem was so why not just let me go? I think she had a problem passing 2nd grade or maybe I was just stressed. We had to all step back and chill out by the end of the day. Today wasn't much better as we all ran again. The guys were on like 4 different jobs and I had to go to the engineers office and then had a meeting with the city manager. I was home long enough to feed my deer and then was off to a Conservation Club meeting. I am the secretary. I hope tomorrow to finish packing Jay's hunting clothes and equipment and can some beef and noodles for them to take. I need to plant my mums which have sitting under the tree staring at me for a week as I run by them and jump in the truck. Thank goodness the good Lord watered them for me today with a nice shower. He knew I didn't have time or I should say -I didn't take time.Love to all.

Happy Birthday my "Little Dinasour Man"

Today is Tristin's 6th B-day. We are so thankful for him cause when he was 2 he had multiple seizures and we about lost him a few times. He is a very dramatic child and makes you laugh a lot when he is telling a story. He loves dinosaurs and knows everything there is to know about them. He loves to fish and play with toads , turtles and worms. This pic is of him ice fishing last year on our pond and it is one of favorite pics.. He is in kindergarten this year and the first week he got a blue ribbon which isn't a good thing. When asked what he did to get it his response was "well I guess you are not supposed to go down the slide on your belly". He has had a few more blue ribbons since then. I love him so much.

The rest of my week

I needed to get a doe with my bow so I could can it for the guys to take on their Elk trip to Colorado in a little over a week. I got up Tuesday determined that this was the day to do it and I did. It was a big doe and I was able to can 14 quart plus I had 12 packages of t-loin for the freezer. Jay was so proud of my shot. It was pretty much perfect. Wednesday I worked with the guys a job we are doing for the city park. It rained and I got wet and cold. Wednesday night I ended up going with Amy to the ER with Paige. She suddenly broke out in hives and was swelled pretty good and Amy was concerned about the possibility of her throat swelling. Over the next few hours it would come and go. She has an appointment with an allergist next week. Amy is so allergic to insect bites she has to carry an"eppy pin". Thursday I officially had the day off as it was my b-day (yea right). Rob and Les took me to Bob Evans for brunch and then we went across the road to church to load up all the mums I used to decorate so I could plant them at home. After I dropped them off i stopped by the city park (BIG MISTAKE). The guys pleadingly asked me to help pull some wire in conduit. It wasn't normal sized wire. First of all each piece of wire was about 1 inch in diameter, 225 feet long and there were 6 of them that all needed pulled thru the conduit at one time. I about ran out of "Umph" til we got it all in. Jay and I were both feeling our age that night. Friday morning I cut my deer meat up and got it ready for canning in between answering business calls and scheduling jobs with the power company for next week. Amy and Heidi came at noon and we took my truck and went to Sam's Club to get everything the guys need for their trip. Have you noticed how Amy and I are getting all this stuff ready for the guys to enjoy? Something doesn't seem right about this. Any how I called Jay after we left Sam's Club and asked him how much of a load I needed on the truck before I put it in tow mode.ha! We had a load. Just before we left Sam's, Heidi managed to poke her finger in Amy's eye. It was instantly bloody looking and she couldn't see. She went to the bathroom and put a wet cold cloth on it. She called this morning first thing and asked me to call our eye Dr. as she had been up all night and was in a lot of pain. I took her and dropped her off while I went to pick up material for a job Monday.She had quite a cut in it. He put a contact patch on it (which gave instant relief) ,antibiotic drops and told her to go home an sleep fora while. Les picked her up and took her to her house while she waited on me. I went by there,ate some of Les's good chili and then took her home. I then picked up bread and juice for communion services tomorrow and headed home. Jay did 2 different service calls today and then stopped by Rob and Leslie's as the guys were putting up trusses on the garage and trying to fix a septic problem. Today is Tristin's 6th b-day. His mommy took them to the Columbus Zoo. He called me this morning and asked if I had gotten his Diego Ice Cream cake. I told him I ordered it. He then said he wanted a Diego Dinosaur toy. I sure hope WalMart has one as I don't have a clue. The kids are having cake for me Sunday night and then we are having a party for Tristin Monday night. Well I must get back to my cleaning. Love to all.

Our new Church

Realized today that I hadn't updated my blog lately so figured I would. I managed to get everything done for our church grand opening last Sunday but boy was I tired. I went out on Thursday and did some fall decorating. We have not had time to do our landscaping yet. We had close to 400 people there. Following 2nd service we had a short recognition of several people who helped to get the building project done, then we served a buffet pot luck dinner along with BBQ'd pork from a smoker and a big pot of ham and beans. It took a long time for that many people to get thru the line. It was a very special day for us as we were involved in the actual construction because we installed all the electrical and lighting. I think it made us appreciate everything more. We went from freezing when we first started wiring the church to burning up toward the end. Just as we were at the last stages of finishing the job the AC was turned on. It is sometimes hard to believe that just a few years ago we started with around 40 people and now if everyone came at one time there would be around 600. We have an awesome band, Pastor Greg is the greatest and Pastor Jamie leads one terrific youth program. The youth even have their own band. I am posting some pics

My "little girl" is 13. Where does time go?

Heidi with her first fish. She's not quite sure whether she wants to touch it or not.

Busy Weekend and week ahead

I am so looking forward to 12 days of sleeping in if I want and getting caught up. But I will probably wake up at 5:30 AM as usual while the guys are gone. That is just how my brain is programed. They leave in 3 weeks for their annual Elk trip. Paige and Heidi spent the night with us Friday so everyone could go to a home football game. Heidi officially caught her first fish with some help from Papa. He would cast the line and then she stood beside him and slowly reeled the line in. She was able to hook 2 fish this way. It was so cute. Paige is a professional fisher girl. She casts her own line, catches her fish and reels them in. After fishing they ate , then played in my big garden tub filled with strawberry bubble bath. We then read stories and were fast asleep at 9:30. Amy picked them up about 9 Saturday as I had to leave. The County Conservation Club hosts an annual Landowner and Sportsman Appreciation dinner the 3rd Saturday of September every year. I am the club secretary and Jay and I along with about 6 other guys cook all day at the club house and then transport all the food to one of the Bob Evans shelter houses at the Bob Evans Farm where we serve around 130 to 150 people Saturday evening. We serve turkey breasts, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied sweet potatoes, baked beans, dressing, green beans, cranberry salad, fruit salad , rolls and a drink. It makes for a very long day. If there is any food left we usually divide it up among ourselves but this year we didn't. The youth group from our church was having a lock in and the shelter house is just across the highway from the church. So I took all the leftovers there for them to eat. No sleeping in Sunday morning as it was our Sunday to be greeters at church for first service. After church we went to a sporting store and picked up some broadheads for our bows,(bow season comes in this Saturday) stopped at the grocery store and then home. After lunch Jay went to hook up Rob and Leslies dryer and I went to WalMart to get a b-day gift for Kelsey. We managed to watch the last hour of the race and off to Bob's for Kelsey's b-day party. I can hardly believe that I now have a teenage grandchild. This morning I was off to meet Jay at the City building to sign a contract for a job we are doing for the city. Then I got a tire patched that I ran a nail in Saturday morning. I drove 2 days without a spare and that was stressful. Then I was off to leslie's. We broke down all the boxes she had emptied and loaded them in my truck along with their bags of garbage. Their trash pickup doesn't start until Thursday. I then delivered the broke down boxes to my sis-in-laws on the way home as they are expecting to move in the near future. I returned business calls after I got home and then mowed part of my 5 acres. I have a busy week ahead of me as our grand opening/dedication of our new church is this weekend and I am responsible for organizing the dinner afterwards so I have a lot of things to get lined up before Saturday. We plan to have a clean up day Saturday plus I am baking enough cinnamon rolls for several hundred people as a special treat at our breakfast bar for both services Sunday morning. Plus I plan to get in a few hours of bow hunting early Saturday morning. So please pray that I will have the needed extra energy this week to get it all done. Must finish an estimate on a job and get to bed. Love to all.
PS: Les forbid me to post any more pics of her house until everything is put away and neat so you will just have to wait.

Finally unloaded

I took our loaded trailer to the Rider house this evening and finally got it unloaded. The carpet in the living room and family was installed today. Our trailer had their washer, dryer, dinette set, living and family room furniture in it plus the treadmill, armoire, computer desk and a shop bench. It was a fairly heavy load.Poor Les has a lot to unpack. Bob was working on the garage walls when i left. I plan to install her dining room and family room light fixtures tomorrow plus the rest of the receptacles in the living room. She really likes her living room carpet but doesn't think the family room paint goes as well with that carpet as she thought it would. They are just glad to be able to start unpacking boxes. I got back home just in time to get the trailer unhooked and parked before dark. I felt guilty not staying to help start organizing stuff. I need to work on a new blueprint Jay brought home tonight for a new doctor's office. We also got the bid today for a big job for the City of Gallipolis. God is still blessing us with lots of work. Yea God!!! I am so far behind on everything especially business paperwork. I usually use the time the guys all go to Colorado on their elk hunting trip to regroup and catch up. They leave in a little less then 4 weeks and will be gone for 12 days. Amy and I need to start canning food for their meals. Taking canned meals makes it easier for them to cook. We can things like chili, beef and noodles and vegetable soup. Plus they take a lot of canned deer meat which means I need to get a doe as soon as bow season comes in on the 29th so I can can it. Well I must close and get things ready for tomorrow. I have to leave out early to meet a contractor at the supply house. Love to all Donna

Big Buck

I am so excited!! after numerous small bucks and a gazillion does I finally got my first big buck on camera this year. Last year it was the end of October before the big ones showed up on camera.Keep in mind this camera is less then 100 yards from my house. Sue -you must show this to Dillion.

Brookes new hair "do"

Living there finally

The Riders stayed at their home for the first time Sunday night. They are all sleeping (camping) in Ethan's camo room. The cabinets are now done and Les started putting things in them today. The living and family room carpet goes in tomorrow and then they can move their furniture in. It is still in our cargo trailer. Les has been running in the mornings this week with her childhood friend Laura. Her and Laura ran track together in high school and were 2 of the 4 member relay team who were district champs. Laura was Leslie's maid of honor at her wedding and Leslie was 1 of Laura's bridesmaids. I picked her up after their run to go get a kennel for Gunner. I then had lunch with Pastor Greg and Pastor Jamie to discuss ideas for church wide fellowship events for the next year.We got a lot decided. Then I picked up Brooke after school and took her to get her hair styled. She looked so cute. I forgot to take a pic but they are going to Amy's for dinner tonight and I asked Amy to take 1 and e-mail it to me. So if she does I will post it later tonight. We then walked next door to get her a new school t-shirt for the pep rally Friday. We surprised Les by taking home 6 mums for her to put in front of her house on stands. She can't safely plant them yet because of the construction. Amy spent the afternoon with her while Paige was in pre-school. She babysits a friends little boy Jeb who is only 16 hours younger then Heidi. It is like having twins. Les said they were sitting inside one of the bottom cabinets looking so cute. Thanks for your note Stephanie- I read it to the Riders. Rob's job is going great. They are having him work days this week so he can see how the paperwork is done for the fleet of New Holland and Willis Tire trucks they service in addition to the Bob Evans trucks. Next week he will go to the 2-11 PM shift that he was hired for. He says he will like that shift as he will still get a full nights sleep and have over half the next day to do whatever he wants. He works NO weekends. I probably won't post anymore house pics until they get their furniture moved in. Well i gotta go. have some paperwork to do and I want to fish a little before dark. Love to all.

Cabinets

Getting Closer

Boy what a hot and very humid day. Is to be hotter yet tomorrow with rain on Monday then a major cool down on Tuesday. Thank you God. Kelsey had a cross country meet this morning in the next county south. LEslie, Brooke and Ethan went to watch her with Bob and the boys. I haven't gotten to watch her yet. She is doing very well and turning in some good times I am told. She had Aunt Leslie (former track star here) to urge her on today. Jay went on a service installation this morning which turned into an all day very exhausting job. The client supposedly had 90% of it done with Jay needing to only do some final hookups. WRONG!!! They didn't have it half done and what was installed was all wrong.He said he about got overheated until he finished. I did payroll this morning ,then ran to the supply house to get a receptacle for their new range, and then to the Johne Deere dealer to pickup hudraulic fluid for the township trustees(Jay is a trustee) and then went to the Rider house. The block layers were there laying the block for the garage, the carpenters were working on crown molding and the cabinets, and the plumber was hooking up the water heater. Soon after Bob and his kids, Les and their kids, Amy and the girls and my sis-in-law with her girls were all there. We all left about the same time all the workers did as it was getting pretty hot and humid. I came home, did some paperwork, started a load of laundry, washed some silk shirts out by hand and checked my deer cameras. I had 100 pics on 1 camera, which by the way is less then 20 feet from my back door, and I had 214 on the other one. I realized I had forgotten to put the memory card back in 1 camera and there were deer already there when I went back out.I will have to start posting some pics from my cameras as some are really funny. Last night I had a doe stick her nose on the camera as it flashed. They are not a bit afraid of the flash. Well I better close and fold my laundry. Love to all. PS: Hannah-I set my blog where you should be able to post comments for Brooke if you like. Thanks for being such a good friend to her. love to all.

Just about ready to move in!!!

The kitchen , utility room and hallway flooring is down and beautiful. The cabinets should be finished tomorrow along with most of the crown molding and other trim. Block for the garage will be layed tomorrow. If i can get the plumber to hook up the water heater tomorrow they hope to stay there for the first time on Sunday night. It will take a while to unpack the boxes that have 2 of the bedrooms filled up. Rob starts his new job on Monday. Brooke and Ethan started school Wednesday and got along just fine. Brooke was a little nervous so I made an appt with my hair stylist to get her a new "do" Tuesday after school. She has received a lot of phone calls from her friend Hannah from Indiana which makes her happy. Thanks Hannah!!! Ethan, well he fits in about anywhere. His room really is kinda cool and when it is finished being decorated it will be the envy of all little boys.I will probably post more pics tomorrow night. Gotta go. love to all.

Almost ready!!!

There are some really tired people here right now but it will all be worth it. The Riders will have a lovely home and they will be close by. Yesterday was a busy day for everyone. Ethan had an 8AM dental appt, then it was off to register Brooke for JR High. In the meantime Rob took his toolbox to his new job and got it unloaded and returned the U-haul. Les picked him up and then took Ethan to register him. I stayed at the house and painted. This morning Ethan got his hair cut and then Les and I painted. Bob and Rob went to buy new doors and Cory finished doing electrical hookups.I installed the receptacles in the kitchen and then Bob and Rob installed some other receptacles. Cory got all but 2 of the lights installed also. We did a lot of cleanup and were down to finishing the painting in Ethans room. He begged to have a camo room and guess what-----he got it. My pics didn't turn out very good so I will take new ones and post them later. Brooke and Ethan officially start school tomorrow. I plan to clean my own house tomorrow, catch up on laundry, and mow my 5 acres. Sometime in between I need to go get a new printer as mine decided to quit. I am so anxious to see the new flooring tomorrow. Well gotta go . Love to all.

These are the 3 huge pines behind their house. Ethan loves to climb them. There will eventually be a deck between them and the sliding door.