Wed, 7/24/24, I fed the birds, ran the filter on the pool, sat outside and read, Bill went to the VA and to get water, I finished weeding the brick sidewalk, and all around the house, Max came over and helped Bill, then Bruce and Jack came to help, Hailey and Evan came over, than Melissa came, then Vikki, Peyton and Isaac came, texted lots with Adam

These cute plants Kimmy gave me are growing into the pond now.

My first zinnia plant that Kimmy started from last year’s seeds and gave me got a blossom today and looks like more to come.  Yay!  Thanks Kimmy!

Our corn is sure tall already.  The big zinnias in the garden are growing and blossoming!

Max up in the shed loft carrying wood down for Bill

Bill and Max working on their backstop project for target practice

Jack, Max, Bruce and Bill...the extra help came just when needed.  Those railroad ties are so heavy.  I couldn’t even budge the end of one.

Peyton going to a Hawaiian Luau at church to welcome the new youth members old enough to be in youth group now.  She was super excited

 

She came to help us for a while before he had to go walk with Ally

Isaac dressed for the Luau too!  He’s going to be a helper to welcome the new kids too.  He sat on the deck so someone would be out there while Evan swam

Evan being silly before leaving for home

Jack wanted the sunset in the picture behind him

Graduation snack cups are finished!  Thanks Vikki, Melissa, Hailey and Peyton for your help.  You are such blessings!

 I filled some of the bird feeders right away, and filled the jelly feeder.  It needs filling every day.  I turned the pool filter on so it would run before 10 a.m. when the rates double.  I sat outside and read my Bible and read my Prayer book chapter.  I drank my coffee too. I gave Kit Kat some attention too.  I turned the filter off, then came inside and ate a bowl of cereal.

Bill left to go to the VA and to pick up water for the water cooler.  I went outside and weeded the cracks of the driveway, finished weeding the cracks between the bricks in the sidewalk, and all around the house to get it prepared for new mulch. Bill came home and had Max with him.  They decided to make a backstop out of railroad ties for when they target practice.  They went and picked up the ties and then started working.  I went out to check on them to see if they needed a drink.  Bill did, but Max already had a drink.  They wanted me to try to lift a railroad tie and Max thought that was pretty funny.  I couldn’t budge it an inch.  I pulled some little weeds in the flower garden and did some edging.  

After all the work Bill did outside, he came in and played ping pong with the boys.  He sure looked tired when he came up.I came in to rest and remembered I needed to pick up some embroidery thread for the tassels on the graduation caps.  I did that and got a few things I needed to make a banana cake.  It was a recipe I got from Gayla and it called for buttermilk, so hat was one of the items I needed.  It was a recipe that called for room temperature eggs and butter and buttermilk.  I should have read the recipe first thing in the morning.  Oh well!  I made it and it turned out good.  Jack, Bill, Melissa and I had a piece when it was done.  Evan doesn’t like banana’s, but did try a bite of Melissa’s.    Peyton wanted a piece, but when we finished all the snack cups, Vikki didn’t need to come back, so she just picked up the kids and went home.  Melissa and I sat out on the deck for a while.  Evan came and joined us.  Adam surprised me and texted me.  I was super happy again. It was so fun getting to talk to him via text.  Evan made sure I told him hi for him.  

Melissa and the kids left,  I walked out with them and took some pictures.  I came in and finished loading the dirty dishes. Then I sat and relaxed and worked on my last night’s blog and tonights.  

Tues., 7/23/24, Visited Linda M. a friend of mine, took Souper Cafe lunch to her, Talked lots to Sue and prayed with her, took veggies from our garden to Lisa and her mom, Got squares cut and circles for when Melissa and Vikki come tomorrow night to make graduation snack cups, worked on weeding the brick sidewalk, watched a good movie called Jimmy,

The only picture I took today.  Spent some time cutting 90 black squares and 90 tiny circles out for Snack cups for Max’s graduation party

I was so happy when Adam texted me from Copper Harbor.  He had taken a long bike ride and had a signal.  It sure made my day.  

Sue called in the morning and was anxious and worried, so she wanted prayer.  She prayed and then I prayed too.  She is going through a lot right now.  Bill and I read our Bibles in the morning and did our devotion on our book on prayer chapter.  So good!

I took the vegetables from our garden (beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and a green pepper) to Lisa and her Mom.  Then I went to Souper Cafe and picked up sandwiches and soups and went to my friend, Linda’s, for lunch.  She has had lots of health problems and it’s getting hard for her to get around.  We prayed, enjoyed our lunch, and visited for a while.  

After I left there,  I went to Melissa’s and we went to Tim Horton’s and had Ice Capps.  She treated me!  Thank you Melissa.  They sure tasted good and we had such a nice visit while drinking them.  Then I dropped Melissa back off at home, and I left to take some stuff back to Walmart. 

I was waiting all morning to hear from Sue whether she wanted me to take her to U of M in Ann Arbor.  She called me and said she was too tired and emotionally drained to go today, so she was just going to rest.  I know she needs that!

I came home and  started cutting squares with my paper cutter.  I am sure thankful I have that.  I cut 90 squares and it was so easy using that.  I cut tiny squares after that and then rounded them off into circles.  I bagged everything up so it’s ready when the girls come to work on them tomorrow night.

Bill and I watched the movie “Jimmy!  It was tense, but had a really good ending.  We split a muffin from Tim Horton’s that Bill brought home for me while we watched it.  Bill had popcorn too.  

It was a great day where I didn’t have to take Benadryl for eczema because I didn’t itch and my skin cleared up.  I got off my prescription for it and decided to just do over the counter stuff.  I was thanking and praising God all day!  

Adam texted me at night too.  I told him he made my night too!  I love texting with him.

 

Monday, 7/22/24, Texted to see where Kimmy and Family were at, Saw UP post of the boys, Sat out on the deck, went shopping with Melissa, picked garden stuff, washed veggies and bagged them, took some to Vikki & family, packed some up for friend from church, had a thunderstorm, Bill had elder meeting, brought a piece of pecan pie home to me

Eli, Jacob and Adam with Wyatt when they got in the UP!  Very handsome grandsons 
cute Wyatt too!

Eli, Jacob and Adam waiting at the Hilltop Restaurant for their cinnamon rolls

This picture made me hungry!  I can just taste this huge yummy cinnamon roll.  I have to get back there!

At the stone boat in Kearsarge

Zinnias I planted in with my vegetable garden are beautiful and mixed colors

Isaac when I dropped off veggies from the garden and eggs from Kimmy and Jared tonight

Peyton

Hailey and her friend from Spring Hill

Some pictures of Hailey working at camp.  She does inclusion.  She was asked to come back for this week because the parents of this girl she had last year wanted Hailey again because their little girl loved her so much.  Hailey loves her too and was excited to go back last week.

More pictures of Peyton and Isaac working during Serve Week

These two had fun together

In the morning, I checked right away to see where Kimmy and family were.  They were already in the U.P.  I looked on Facebook and found she posted a picture of the boys.  A short time later she sent me pictures of the boys waiting for their cinnamon rolls at the Hilltop and then one of Jacob with his big ole cinnamon roll.  It made my mouth water, because I think they have the best cinnamon rolls ever!  I need to go back there.  

Bill read his Bible and then after I fed birds and watered a few outside plants, I went and sat on the deck and read my  Bible and Prayer Devotion.  God sure speaks through His Word by His Holy Spirit.  It’s just amazing!

I picked Melissa up and we went to Gordon’s Foods to get some lids for the snack cups we make cute graduation hats from.  I thought it was weird that I saved lots of the snack cup parts, but not the lids, but when I talked to Vikki later she reminded me there were less lids in the lid bag than there were cups.  Tomorrow I will be cutting the paper for the caps, then Melissa and Vikki are going to help me make the hats up.  It will be fun working together on them.

Since we were right next to the new Popeye’s, we decided to just get a snack there.  We asked if we could each get 3 chicken tenders, dip and small drinks.  The girl said yes, then told me the price would be $21.  I almost fell over and was speechless.  When I got to the window, I explained that we didn’t get combo meals we just got 3 chicken genders each.  

The girl asked if we wanted sides.  I explained that we just wanted the chicken and told her I thought the price was wrong.  She said it wasn’t.  Well we left there and realized she didn’t give us our small drinks.  We went back and I went inside and got them.  Another lady getting pop was telling me she didn’t even get a biscuit with her combo meal and it was so much money she wasn’t coming back.  I agreed with her.  That is our last time going there.  A small pop was $3.59.   Wowza!  I will be glad when they have the Chic Fil-A done.  They are working on it now.  

We went to Hobby Lobby and Melissa found the picture book she wanted for Max’s Graduation party and it was the same one she got for Hailey’s.  They only had one left and it was on sale for $6.  Yay!  When we left there, we both decided we didn’t want to go to Tim Horton’s for an Ice Capp.  Melissa was going to treat me, but we were both full after our food and drinks.  We are going to do that a different day now.  I forgot to take the eggs from Kimmy to Melissa’s so I called Bill and he was going to do it for me.  Kimmy called and Melissa and I got to talk to her.  They were 20 minutes from Copper Harbor.  We were so happy to talk to her.  We heard Jared guessing that we spent $40 at Popeye’s Chicken.  Guess we got a deal lol.  We talked for a while, then they lost their signal and we could tell our talk time was over.  Kimmy texted me that she lost her signal and said she loved me and that’s the last I heard today.  

I picked the garden.  I saw where thunderstorms were coming our way, and I could hear thundering it was getting pretty dark out, so I picked veggies fast.  I got a big Meijer bag full of string beans, 5 big tomatoes and lots of cherry tomatoes.  I also picked lettuce and 3 green peppers.  I had to go to Vikki’s and Melissa’s to take eggs from Kimmy, so I took Vikki lots of veggies.  I got my hugs from Peyton and Isaac and visited there for a few minutes.  Vikki only wanted 2 dozen, so Melissa and Bruce get two more dozen.  He has plans to make lots of stuff with these delicious eggs.  Melissa ran out and got her eggs.  I was trying to call to have one of the boys come out and get them because it was raining.  Bill went to an elder’s meeting while I was doing all this.

I talked to Gayla for a while.  It was nice to catch up.  My phone has called her on its own a couple of times in the last few days after I hang up from someone else.  I figured I should actually call her myself. 

Bill and I talked to Sue.  Charlie might get discharged tomorrow.  They are trying to come up with a plan.  Sue is going to let us know tomorrow.

Sunday, 7/21/24, Went to prayer, Celebrated Pastor Jeff’s Retirement at church, prayed for two of our missionaries who were visiting, lunch at church, went to Jacob’s Eddy Band Concert

These pictures are in reverse order of the day, but I didn’t want to go to the trouble of changing them around.

These pretty Lantanas are really growing.  They are just beautiful

Kimmy and I moved this Hibiscus from by the house to the new garden.  It has so many blossoms coming on it and is really getting big.

This beautiful butterfly bush is really growing too.  I have see quite a few monarch butterflies in the last week yay!

Pastor Jeff retired after 17 years at our church.  He has touched many lives with the Love of Jesus.  We celebrated him at our church service today

Pastor Ken and the Elders praying for Pastor Jeff

These kids helped Emily sing and do the motions to their VBS Worship Song this morning.  They sang the song KIDS by Brandon Lake.  It’s about God never letting His Kids down and Keeping His promises and being a miracle worker.  They did a great job!  Isaac is in the middle and Peyton is on the left side

Jacob’s concert

These two pictures are from serve week at our Church.  Peyton was a leader for these two kiddos from my K-1st class.  She did a super job

Vikki at the beginning and Rody at the end of the food prep and serve group for VBS.  They did a great job

I got a call from Sue and she was going to go with her niece and husband down to see Charlie.  Charlie told her he was dying so she was pretty shook.  She let me know when she got home in the evening that he had a really smart and good doctor so she felt good about that.   I’m glad she could go be with Charlie.  

Bill and I went to prayer, then we went into the church service.  Rehvyn was sitting on Vikki’s lap and was so cute.  He was dancing on her lap during the songs.  After worship, Vikki had to go back and help Thomas in Sunday School.  I held Rehvyn during the rest of the service.  He started to get just a tiny bit fussy near the end but didn’t cry.  Rody took him from me because we were getting ready to go up to pray for our Missionaries with Jeff, Debbie and Melody for their special prayer requests.  They are Nomad missionaries are such selfless servants of the Lord.  What an honor to pray for them and believe God for the answers.  

Our church handed out meal tickets to either go get a hotdog meal from Woody’s Food Truck or Pulled Pork or barbecue from Olivarez Food Truck.  We sat with Vikki, Rody and the kids and got Koegel Hot Dogs.  They had those kind of hotdogs, because they are Pastor Jeff’s favorite.  The other line was super long, so we didn’t want to wait in the hot sun that long.  It was nice moving around and talking to friends from church.

Rehvyn was good the whole time.  Grammy Vikki really takes good care of him!  I was happy to hold him too.  He is very loved!

Bill and I took a nap when we got home.  Then I went outside and pulled some weeds and cut some plants down that needed it.  I sat outside on the swing for a while and watched the birds and gave Kit Kat attention.  Bill’s nap was longer than mine.  When I got done, he was awake and reading his Bible.  I read mine too and read my prayer devotion.  

In the evening we went to Jacob’s concert!  The music was great and sounded hard to play, but they sure did an amazing job playing it.  Jacob came and visited us at half time.  Rody, Vikki, Peyton and Isaac were there and Kimmy and Eli were there.  It’s fun to all sit together and enjoy the great music.  

Kimmy brought eggs for us all so we took Vikki’s, Bruce and Melissa’s and will keep some for us.  Her eggs are the best!  Bill took them in and put them in the refrigerator and I headed to meet Jared at the Meijer gas station to pick up some protein drinks that Kimmy didn’t want to go to waste.  They were at the expiration date, so need to be drank fast.  Bill is good at that and I will help him.  

I’ve been praying for a safe trip to and from Copper Harbor for Kimmy, Jared, Jacob, Adam and Eli and also Lela and Doug.  Praying for a very fun, safe and healthy camping trip for all of them.  This is always such a special family time for them!  I sure am going to miss them though!