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.