Sunday, 1/21/24, Went to prayer, than church, Happy Birthday to my niece Tammy, We love you! Celebrated Schaard Christmas at Debbie and Tom's

I will be posting mostly pictures today!  We went to prayer, than church, and then to our Schaard Christmas party.  It was a wonderful day with family, great food and a great Lion’s Game on television.  We called our niece, Tammy when we got back home and sang Happy Birthday to her and wished her a Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Tammy!  We love you so much!

Emma

Amanda holding Emma and Kimmy holding Rehvyn...first time baby cousins met.  Rehvyn is 6 weeks old and Emma is a year old

Amanda reading to Emma, Vikki holding Rehvyn and Kenzie and Travis

Emma opening her present from Bill and I

Amanda helping her

She loved her bunny

She’s so smart!  She started writing on it right away, then her mom showed her how to stamp pictures of the animals on the top by taking them out and putting them on the screen.  She put them back in place really good.  The only thing that was hard for her was pulling them out to use them.  That must be what the 18 month rating is for Amanda said and we laughed.  She’s only 14 months old but I knew she would be able to do it soon so I bought it.

Jared holding Rehvyn

Our group picture....Adam, Matthew, Travis, Kenzie, Rehvyn, Amanda, Tom, Vikki, Isaac, Peyton, Emma, Debbie, Bill and I.  Behind window....Eli, Kimmy, Jared, Sonny, Debbie, Rody and Sharon

Kenzie, Peyton, Amanda and Emma

Amanda’s first time holding Rehvyn

Peyton loved Emma and Emma loved Peyton.  They had so much fun together!

Emma and Rehvyn.  She loves dolls and when she saw Rehvyn, she held her arms out to hold him.  She was so cute.  

Kenzie, Rehvyn and Isaac

Aww, tired baby

Rody holding Rehvyn

Kenzie with the ornaments Aunt Debbie and family gave him for Christmas..and Aunt Debbie holding Rehvyn

Aunt Debbie and Uncle Tom with the her great nieces and nephews holding up the ornaments she got them this year.  She has been doing this for many years.  Bill and I are extra’s in the picture lol.

Bob, Sharon, Debbie holding Rehvyn and Sonny

Rehvyn, Kenzie and me

Matthew holding Rehvyn

Debbie and sleeping Emma

Peyton, Emma and me

Emma, Debbie and Tom

Eli, Isaac and Debbie

The meat carver and his advisers

Debbie, Kenzie, Rehvyn and me

Emma, Vikki and Matthew

Debbie, Kenzie and Rehvyn

Jared and the Carmel M & M’s he won playing bingo

Adam holding his Bible ornament he won playing Bingo.  It actually has very small printed pages.

Bill in his light up Michigan State hat he won for a coverall.  He can match Jacob now, our grandson who goes to Michigan State.

Isaac holding Rehvyn and Eli holding his little feet

Eli, Rehvyn and Kenzie

Jared, Matthew and Kimmy

Eli and Aunt Debbie

So cute of Vikki, Emma, Kimmy and Jared

Emma and Vikki

Uncle Tom and Rehvyn

Emma and Bill

Kenzie, Travis, Kimmy and Jared

Peyton, Emma nd Amanda

Bill, Rehvyn and me

Rody and Vikki

Papa and Rehvyn

Jared, Kenzie and Sonny

Matthew with Debbie in the background

Kenzie and Peyton

It sure was a blessed and fun day!  We are so thankful for family and friends.

Sat. 1/20/24, Happy Birthday to Stacie! We love you! Went to Phil’s dad’s funeral, met Vikki at Kroger, came home and read our Bibles, went to Wes and Gayla’s to celebrate her birthday

 

Happy Birthday Stacie.  We love you so much!

One week and almost 6 weeks old...Rehvyn is looking older and so cute!

Bill, Gayla, Joel, and Wes

Bill, Joel, and Gayla...some serious card players

I made dip for our Christmas party tomorrow.  Then we got ready and headed to Owosso for our friend, Phil’s dad funeral.  We called Stacie on our way to wish her a happy birthday.  She was telling us that Kody had her whole day planned out.  Breakfast served in bed, he and his dad would pick up her free Biggby coffee while she relaxed, they would buy her 3 gifts, she would relax more, they would go to some places, and in the evening they would watch a movie and have popcorn.  He is my kind of planner.  We could hear him in the background really excited about doing all these things.  He sure is a sweetie!

When we got to the funeral home, we sat with Al, Lucy, Sue, Doug, Liz and Joe who are all CMA friends.  Mike and Gail were there too.  They used to be the state coordinators for Michigan.  The Hospice Pastor and church pastor both did a great job sharing about his life and how he lived for the Lord.  They read from the Bible making it very clear that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  He’s the only way to heaven and if anyone there wanted to see him again they need to have a relationship with Jesus too.  No one left there without knowing the plan of salvation.  

We went to the church for the luncheon following the funeral.  The pastor from the church, who is retired now, was so funny and just the nicest person.  We sure laughed a lot with him.  Julie and Phil were so happy we all came and we were happy to be there for them.  They are great friends.  We headed home and Bill mentioned he needed gas.  I told him my car was full because Vikki filled it when she used it, so I didn’t have any room for gas in my car.  We called Vikki to see if she wanted to meet us and get 50 cents off a gallon and she did.  I hopped in her car to sit with her while Bill put her gas in after he had finished filling his.  I gave her a couple of Valentine heart suckers that I got from our table for Peyton and Isaac.  

Then we went to get a car wash, but the line was too long.  We went to Meijer’s and got Bill’s carbonated waters he drinks.  They were on sale and we also had a $10 gift certificate from Meijer’s to use.  We picked up a small birthday cake for Gayla too.

We went to Wes and Gayla’s at 4.  Joel heard us come in and started saying hi to us right away.  We saw the table was set for 5 and when she saw cake she said she had left over carrot cake too.  We visited for a while til the meatloaf and potatoes were cooked.  We didn’t plan on eating there, but it sure was good.  She also had corn, applesauce and cranberry jello.  Everything was delicious and it was so sweet of her to make all that for us.  We played Skip Bo singles after that.  I got so many Skip Bo cards I could hardly believe it.  I’ve never got that many.  I ended up winning.  Then we played partners and it was a close game but Bill and Wes went out when Gayla and I just had 2 cards left.  It was fun and they were sure happy.  Joel always helps Gayla and he was really into it.  He is always so much fun and always reminds us that “It’s only a game”.  We came home around 8:30 and I cut up the vegetables for tomorrow’s family Christmas.  Then I went into relax in my recliner and Bill had my electric throw already on for me.  He also gave me a surprise.  He got me a heated jacket that is so nice, plus will keep me warm especially when I go to the U.P. next month and next year for our cold Iowa trip.  It also will be nice for the motorcycle on cool days.  He’s so sweet.   

Friday January 19 2024, Kimmy came over, Talked a long time with Melissa, FaceTimed Kenzie, Vikki came over, went to church for Candy Bar Bingo

Beautiful Kit Kat...she sure has a nice fur coat

Kimmy called in the morning to see how our roads were.  Bill had just left a few minutes earlier, so I called him to see how they were so I could let her know.  Bill said they were ok, so she checked with Jared how they were when he went to work, an then decided to come.

I was happy when she pulled in.  I made her a cappuccino right away and let her relax.  I made me one too.  We watched birds. There were so many cardinals and bluejays along with lots of others.  We sat in the family room and talked with Melissa on the phone for a long time.  She said the roads were really bad when she took the boys to school.  She was happy to just stay home.  We decided to have our lunch (chicken salad croissants) so told Melissa we had to go.  After lunch, we FaceTimed with Kenzie so we could see her and see Rehvyn.  He was so cute as always.  After that, Kimmy worked on transferring my pictures to the passport and also the book I have for storage.  Kimmy got everything transferred for me.  What a blessing she is.  Vikki got here right before Kimmy had to leave to go get Adam.  At least they got to see each other for a minute.  We haven’t seen Kimmy since she went to Indiana to celebrate Christmas.  It was so good to hang out with her.  I’m glad she didn’t catch anything.  Vikki ate, then she hung out with me and we sat in the family room and visited.  I always love being around her.  It was a great day.  Bill went out and snowblower the driveway, sidewalks and paths.  It was a much warmer day outside to do that.  

In the evening, Bill and I went to church and played candy bar bingo.  Chris and Tina did a great job on running the Bingo and handing out prizes.  We had Kelly and Pat, Amanda and Paul at our table.  Pat won twice, Paul won once an that was it at our table.  Guess we didn’t pick the right cards.  We sure had fun and lots of laughs though.  Kelly had extra candy bars, so she gave us each some candy bars to take home before we started playing.  

I talked to Melissa for a long time when I got home.  Sure love our talks.    

Thurs., 1/18/24, Went shopping at Target, Sam’s Club and Aldi. Warmer day today with high of 22 degrees! Fed the birds, wrapped gifts

 Didn’t take any pictures today.  Bill got up before me.  I didn’t get up until around 8:30.  I was dreaming lots.  My dream woke me up though.  I was glad to wake up and know it wasn’t real.  

I had oatmeal with raisins, nuts and blueberries plus honey.  I also had a cappuccino today too. Charlie picked Bill up and they went for coffee.  I fed the birds, then gave Kit Kat lots of attention since it was warmer and I could stay out longer.  Then I went to Target, Sam’s Club and Aldi’s.  Got stuff I needed plus veggies for a veggie tray I am making for our Schaard Christmas Party on Sunday.  

Wrapped Gayla’s birthday gift for our get together Sat.  Also wrapped Christmas gifts for Schaard Christmas party.  Have a busy weekend coming up, so I decided I had better get busy and get the things I can get done, done.   

Bill and I read our Bibles and did our devotions.  Listened to good worship music which I do every day.  It sure makes a difference in my day.  

I rolled a 482 yards of yarn into a ball so I can start crocheting the bag holder pattern I got off of Etsy.  Hoping it turns out good for my Vikki Lynn.   That took some time.  Then I FaceTimed with Vikki and Peyton, then had a short phone visit with Melissa.  

Wed., 1/17/24, went to Ann Arbor for Bill’s MRI, went to Chelsie, went to Kenzie’s and got to hold Rehvyn lots

Beautiful sunrise this morning

4 cardinals in this picture...there were 6 but I could only get 5 of them in the picture.  One is  on the ground

Beautiful sunset on the way home

I sure loved holding him.  So did his Papa

He had his little tongue out trying to make noises. He’s just so cute!

He had his tongue out here too. 

Kenzie was going to show me how good he is at holding his head up now.  Well we thought he was going to look in the mirror like he did before, but he heard the tv and turned to look at it.  I love Lucy was on

Papa sure loved his Rehvyn time too

Talked to Kimmy this morning.  Had our coffee, I had oatmeal and Bill drank his protein drink. Got ready, then read our Bibles, then left for the VA hospital in Ann Arbor for Bill’s MRI.  We got a close parking spot.  I put a face mask on for extra protection. He got in right away, then 45 minutes later we were leaving.  He said it was noisy and screeching lots.  I’ve never had one, but I remember Melissa saying the same thing.  

We went to Chelsea afterwards and walked through a couple of stores to pass time til it was 4.  Then we met Ron and Bev at a restaurant for dinner.  We enjoyed good food and had a great visit with great friends.  We left for home and talked to Kenzie on our way.  She invited us over, so we stopped at her house since we were close by.  It sure was nice visiting them and holding sweet baby so long.  Their new furniture is beautiful and very comfy.  Rehvyn is sure growing and is such a sweet baby.  We sure enjoyed our time there.

I let Kenzie know when we were home.  She had asked me to when we were leaving.  Talked to Melissa for a while when I got home.  We each shared our funny dreams and got good laughs.  

Please pray for good results for Bill’s MRI.

Tues., 1/16/24, Happy Birthday to our Friend Gayla, Went to breakfast with Charlie and Sue, Went to Vikki’s, went shopping, went back to Vikki’s,

 

Our road this morning when we came home from breakfast.

Isaac and Peyton when we got to Vikki’s after picking them up from school

Mr. Bluejay eating on the feeder. When he comes, the other birds leave the feeder

A cardinal and woodpecker dining on the feeders also

Beautiful drive on my way home.  The trees and sky were beautiful.

I’m enjoying some apple juice in the mug Bill got me

Cute pictures of Rehvyn from last night when he spent the night at his Grammy's

Charlie called in the morning and wanted Bill and I to meet him and Sue for breakfast at Leo’s.  I was just finishing my shower, so got ready fast and went to meet them.  We had a nice time with them and enjoyed a good breakfast.  Afterward, Bill brought me home, and he went and did some errands.  I went to visit Kenzie at Vikki’s.  She wasn’t there though, so I looked at Facebook messenger and she had messaged me in the morning that she didn’t get much sleep so she left at the same time her mom did and went home.  After I saw that, I went shopping at the Home Goods store and got a birthday gift for Gayla.  

Kimmy called me while I was in the store and told me she was on roads with icy spots and low visibility sometimes because of the blowing snow.  She got off the expressway and the roads were better.  I talked to her quite a while, then Melissa called, so I hung up.  Melissa asked if she could come to Vikki’s too.  I told her about Kenzie, but told her we could still meet there.  I called Vikki to see if it was ok to meet at her house and she said yes.  She picked us each up a sub and we ate it at her house.  We had a nice visit.  Melissa had to leave to go pick up the boys, so I hung out with Vikki until it was time to go get the kids.  I drove and we got stuck in some traffic where they had been working on part of the road.  When we got there, Isaac was there waiting for us.  It took Peyton a while, but she came with a smile on her face.  We went back to their house and I gave them some candy bars I brought back from Iowa.  I also gave them a few fidgets a lady gave me there.  I only stayed about 15 minutes, then headed home while the car was still warm.  When I got to our country roads, it was so pretty with the snow on the trees and the sun peeking through that I took a picture.  

When I got in the house, Bill and I called Gayla and wished her a happy birthday.  We are going to get together Sat. to celebrate, after we come home from our friend’s dad’s funeral. 

Then Sunday, we have the Schaard Christmas at Debbie’s.  It’s turning into a busy week.  

 

Monday, 1/15/24, Did our laundry, cleaned kernel burner, Bill went to the pain clinic, Bill snowblowed the driveway and sidewalks

I FaceTimed with Kenzie and got to see precious Rehvyn

Kenzie sent me this adorable picture.  He’s holding her thumb and smiling so cute.  He loves his mommy!

Beautiful mug Bill surprised me with.  It has pictures of Rehvyn on it, his name, etc. and says Nana’s first great grandchild.  It was just so thoughtful of Bill to order those for me and so special.

                Below is another cup he surprised me with...soooo sweet of him! I love them! The only thing we didn’t like is that they cut the tops of our heads off.  When you send a picture, the company should make sure the whole picture is on it.  

I looked out my window this morning and the birds were all over the feeder and on the ground.  The other feeders had a layer of icy and snow on them, so they could only eat from this one when I got back.  I went out in the 1 degree weather and cleaned what I could of the snow off the other feeders.  Filled the feeders and put suet in the suet feeder.  Kit Kat came out and saw me too.  She always does when I am feeding the birds.  She dug a little spot her size in the snow and laid in it.  

I cleaned the Kernel Burner right away to get the house nice and warm.  It didn’t ignite right, so I started the fire with a cotton ball with some vaseline on it.  Once it was going, I could see fire in back of where the fire usually is too.  I looked and saw the plate with the groves wasn’t on right.  I turned it off and went and talked to Kimmy (Jared and Jacob too)  for a long time.  It sure was nice!  What wasn’t nice was Jacob is still real sick, but said he did feel a tiny bit better.  Sure am praying for him because he has to go back to college tomorrow.  After I finished talking with them, I put the piece in the kernel burner in the proper way and the also the piece that goes on top of it.  It worked great after that.  

Bill got home from going to the pain clinic and when he got home, he snowblowed the driveway and sidewalks.  He did a great job.  I was sure glad the kernel burner was going so he could get nice and warm when he came inside.  He brought a package and sat it on the table and told me it was for doing such a great job cleaning the kernel burner.  I opened it and there were two amazing mugs that had pictures of Rehvyn on them and me holding him, Papa, Vikki, Rody, Peyton, Isaac holding him too and pictures of his footprints.  They sure made me happy!

So special of Bill to think of that and order them for me.  Sure do love him!  I FaceTimed Kenzie to show her and the girls.  They all loved them too.  I read my Bible after that.  I am reading about Samson now.  His mom sure knew how to praise the Lord and pray amazing prayers.  

I made homemade dough and pizza’s for dinner.  Bill ate all but one piece of his and I have four pieces left for tomorrow.  It was sure yummy.  

I talked to Melissa for a long time and it was so nice.  They sure had fun sledding yesterday.  I loved hearing about it and also hearing about how they got a birthday cake for Peggy and had her over and made her so happy.   Loved hearing about the whole family too.

Kenzie sent me the cutest picture of Rehvyn (above).  They are spending the night at her mom’s tonight. and she called me to invite me to come there tomorrow and spend time with them.  I can’t wait.  

Our new CMA prayer partners are from North Dakota.  I texted with Tracey and found out what they needed prayer for and she wanted to know what we needed prayer for.  We texted for a while, then we prayed for each other.  She’s really nice and so is her husband.  We met them when we went to Wisconsin last year with all the state coordinators.  

Bill read his Bible and did his devotions.  I did my devotions too.