Weather turning nice

Ok so it's almost June. May has been a really busy month with Awanas. We had Awana Sunday at church and it went awesome. The kids said verses in front of the church and Brock at 3 and Bella at 5 yrs old did great!  I was very proud. Then we packed rice and beans for kids around the world and that was really cool and then the last Awana for the summer and the store night is Thursday. We have over $1000 worth of stuff for the kids and praise God I was able to purchase over $600 of it myself. Checking the balance in our account we have $1700 so I will get reimbursed for my purchases. Just in time to get the money back for our trip next month. I had the two burley kids stay the night and that was really fun. We did a project and sang with the wiggles and watched Benji the movie.  We also had two families from church come over for lunch after Sunday service. Valerie Rojas and her girls Olivia and Caitlyn and then Pastor Bud and Holly and Jordan. It was perfect weather both times and a wonderful feeling to serve others. Our yard is beautiful. We got bark dust and prepared all the flower planters and I love the feel of being amongst the flowers in the front and back yards.

Mothers Day 2015

Well tomorrow is my 38th Mothers Day.  Both my girls are Mothers now and so it has become a holiday for them and my son's wife.  I guess I cant feel to bad, I don't do much for my Mom anymore either.  I did send her a card but she is living with Susie and really doesn't want or need anything.  She doesn't even really care if I was to go up to Seattle and visit her.  I was just there for Susie's birthday and we only had a few brief moments together.  I did get a nice card from Shannon and Eli that said she cant believe that all these years I have loved her like she loves Eli.  Wow, cant believe it?  That is kinda sad.  I wish it would of said she was so happy to feel the love from me that she feels for her son.  I hoped I showed them Love.  I certainly meant to and tried to.  Kevin wanted to spend some time with me for mothers day but while he was here he answered two questions and watched his phone and then had to go to meet some friends to get Sarah another present. ( which he didst find and wasn't able to get anyway).  So much for time with Mom. They did bring me a beautiful fushia (which I love) and a nice card from the kids, but we just talked about how things shouldnt mean as much to us and the kids as much as time together, enjoying the moments.   I hardly ever get to spend real time with my kids anymore.   Seems like when I do they don't want to talk about what I want to talk about so they keep changing the subject.  I am so on guard when they are around because I don't want them not to want to come and be with me that I am afraid to say much.  Dawn Marie is definitely all about her.  She told me she wasn't planning anything.  If I don't ask her to do something with me she never asks me to.  If I didn't visit her and help her and call her, I probably wouldn't hear from her at all.  I'm sort of invisible around here anymore.  Except when I'm not available for them, then I'm selfish and they can't count on me.  Anyway, I am sad that Mothers Day is just another day for me and not a special day when my children want to tell me how much I mean to them.  They sure don't change their facebook profiles to show their Moms picture or put a picture of us up. At Shannons there are all these pictures of Angies family and they always post how much Eli loves Amy etc.  But boy when I am there the camera almost never comes out. It is me taking pictures and then they might say "send them to me."  They will all be sorry someday when I am not here and they are wanting pictures of me and their kids and there wont be any.  Well except the ones I take.  Now I am just feeling sorry for myself but I realize how close I am to loosing my Mom and My Grandma being gone and it is really sad and really final.  I know Angie has learned how precious life is and she captures every moment she can with her family and I am so glad for them and Eli that he will have those memories.  I wont be young enough when Eli is 13 or 14 to take him on an adventure like I am going to take Kaytee and Konnor on this summer.  I might get some precious grandkid time with Brock and Bella because they live closer, maybe a train ride or something but they are pretty tight with what I can do with them right now.  All I want is to be remembered as someone they all loved so much and miss everyday like I miss my Grandma.  I hope she knew how very much we loved her and how much we miss her!!

Visitors for lunch

God has placed it on my heart to invite folks over for lunch after church. Our first family was Valerie and her kids. The girls said I was the best ever!! Hot tubs get them every time. We had hamburgers and hot dogs and beans and chips and soda and snicker doodles. It was so nice.
Next we had Becky and Terri Woolbright and her Mom and neighbor Min. It was relaxing and visiting. I served white chili and. Ron bread and they brought a green salad and desert. They left around four. Super nice people. We have invited Bud and Sheila and Holly and Jordan to come next. I really want to keep this up. It gets me motivated to keep my house clean and my yard blooming. Our yard was gorgeous today.

Social month

We had Valerie and her daughters over for lunch after church and it wa a really nice time. The girls sat in the hot tub and did some swinging. We barbecued and I sent home snicker doodles.

The pinewood derby for Awanas was totally awesome. Kevin and Sarah and the kids came and everyone seemed really happy. We had 34 cars race and about 60 people there. Other than the track showing up late it was perfect.

Our solar is all ready to go but PGE hasn't done their last part so we can turn it on. So it's just here but not active yet. They did take the tree out in our yard and what a difference. So much light and no more mess everywhere. The squirrels don't seem to mind to much.

Last Sunday of the month today. We have Olivia this weekend for her 13 th birthday. We took her shopping and out to dinner. We also gave her Joes old iPhone so I hope she takes care of it.

Easter 2015

 Me and Eli on Easter at Kevin and Sarah's house. 2015. He loves his Mimi!!

 All the Grandkids and me. Konnor 14. Kaytee 12. Bella almost 6 and Brock 3 1/2 and Eli 2 1/2

Our family selfie. Only missing Dawn Marie who had to work. It was a beautiful day.

So I have managed to get almost everything done on my list for the spring. The NW Ministry conference was awesome and I was able to put my notes together and do a presentation at the staff meeting. Palm Sunday was hard because Joe was singing and Cindy didn't come to help so I did it all myself and a lot of kids came late and then they didn't want to holler Hosanna so I was the only one yelling. It was dumb in my book. Easter was a smash hit. Lots of kids and lots of sunshine. Everyone had a great time. Bella's birthday was at Out of this World Pizza and she had an exhausting time. The men's breakfast at the church was way over done because John told us 48 and there was 19. Needs investigating. But I decorated and it looked awesome. A few things left to do on my list but I'll get back to those. Eli did come and go "fishing" in my pond but sure don't get much time with him.

End of March

as it gets closer to the end of March 2015, there are a lot of fun things starting to get rolling. Last weekend Joe and I went to Roseburg to his nephews wedding ( John and Paige Forrester). It is always nice to see all the new little ones in his family.
This weekend is the NW Ministry conference in Seattle. I am going up Friday morning and coming home Saturday night.   Training is always good for me.  I need to learn how to manage my ministry from different people. Then. Next week is Kaytee and Konnors spring break and I promised Kaytee I would take her shopping for her birthday. Then Palm Sunday the children will be doing a walk through in costume and waving palms. Easter Sunday we hold a large egg hunt at the church and then I have all my kids over for dinner, egg hunt and hot tub. I hope to have fish in my pond for Eli to see. Then it's Bellas birthday. I hope to get her a buggy for her dolls. Then things get going for our Grand Prix at Awanas and the Awana store after that. It is a busy time. We do need to get bark dust for our yard and sawdust for the community garden soon too. Busy busy. Joe is busy too. Not much help these days. I'm hireing help. We are having solar panels put in this week and we will be taking down the big fir tree in our back yard. Glad to see that messy tree go.

Gravelle wedding/Montana trip

Wednesday afternoon I boarded the Empire builder for an overnight train trip to Kalispell. I was able to occupy two seats so the trip was fairly comfortable. Not a lot of real sleep but I did rest and listened to all of Acts on my Bible recorder thing. I've been staying at Dads and it's very nice here. Very clean and comfortable except I don't like his driving. I took his pickup and drove to Nunies to see her place. It's very cute and spacious and just right for her.  She is lucky to have Dad for her support group. He helped her find just the perfect place to be by herself and feel safe. The wedding was super simple. The only flowers were her bouquet.  I'm glad I came and met Sarah and Nunies grandsons Braxton and Isaiah.  They are sweet babies and Nunie is a loving Grandma. Patti and Nunies and I hung out today and went to an antique store. Cool stuff there. I'm ready to go home but not looking as forward to the train ride.

Family together but saddened

Today started at 7 am up and at em to get ready for the memorial for Jake. Everything's ready, just need packed up and off we go. Driving away from Shannon's with Joe and Ian to marysville by 8:45. At the church the pastor Dennis meets us and has all the tables set up. We start decorating. The vases need water for the daffodils and the pennies and postcards need distributed. The salads and punch stuff is in and off I go to get sandwiches and balloons. By 10:15 I'm back at the church and all is ready. The church ladies are there to help and my sisters are also helping. The flowers are there and the service starts. Dennis did a great job. Dillon had some very impressive things to say about his brother. I was very proud. The slide show was over and we had a moment of silence. " I can only imagine" plays and it was a perfect ending. The social time was perfect and the balloon release was fantastic!  We got all cleaned up and left for fall city cemetery. Cousins all there and  the Methodist minister   It was good. Then to Susie's and then home to Portland. Home by 9:30. I so glD its behind me but I loved spending three days with Shannon and Eli and Angie. Made for a great birthday.

My 62nd Birhday

OK so today I turn 62. I already signed up to start drawing my social security check. It is just enough to pay for my medical insurance until I'm 65. I rode the train up to Edmonds with a few other Grandmas. I remember when I used to pick up Mom from the train in Portland. I love riding the train. It is such a relaxing and peaceful time for me. But it does make me feel old. It's the way old people get around. I need to find a way to feel better about it because I want to ride it more.  Anyway, Eli and Shannon met me and I'm having a good time with Eli. Angie is off running errands and I am playing race cars. We will be gathering food and stuff for the memorial service for the next couple days. Happy birthday to me.

Friday the 13 th

Today I gave my Grandaughter Bella some 

Valentine's to scratch and create for her Mom. She worked real hard on it and when she was done she said "this is for you Mimi". I was so touched that she actually thought about giving her creation to me

Valentine's day doesn't mean much to me but today Bella made it very special. 

And this little guy is as sweet as can be!  I wish I lived closer to him. I want to be a part of his smiles and hugs. I'm excited I get to spend three days with him next week. 

I also took Kaytee and Konnor home with me today for a few hours. Konnor got to ride his motorcycle and Doug and Milo got to play. The kids bought their Mom some flowers at Fred Meyers 

Gone to Young

Sunday February 1st, I received a phone call that my brothers boy Jake was in a coma at Providence Hospital in Everett.  Monday morning I drove up there and found a room full of friends of Jake's and family.  Evidently he had overdosed on Heroin and Meth and ecstasy and it stopped his heart.  After compression's and 911 the paramedics got him to the hospital but not in time for his brain to go dead.  We stayed three days at the hospital and without the breathing machine Jake would of not been "alive".  After many tests he was officially declared brain dead.  The family and I sat down with the hospital and talked donor program.  Jake was an official donor.  He had registered in 2008. The out come was good and he was able to donate his kidneys, liver and his heart.  Monday should be cremation day and the service is set for February 21, 2015.  The hardest part for me was being the oldest and overseeing all the decisions.  My brother was a mess and his wife couldn't even come up except a couple times.   Isaac is taking it really hard and he doesn't want cremation, but Dad is willing to pick up the bill for the cremation and the cemetery.  My kids all came to support me and it meant so much for them to drop everything and be there.  We are a unit!!  I love them and they love me and I am so blessed.  It will be a hard couple of weeks to get back to normal from this but I am just taking it one day at a time.  I am so thankful that I took the younger two boys away from Jimmy when I did to spare them this kind of drug using life.  If I could do it over I might try to take Jake too, but he did not want to come and he was 14 and doing actually pretty good.  I blame my brother for this accident.  We have tried for years to get him to cleanup the act around his house and his life style and he never has.  Now not only did he not get to raise two of his sons, but one that he did raise is dead and the other is still on drugs.

Leadership retreat 2015

Went to the Abby in mount Angel for two days with Pastor Bud, Pastor John, Sue Morse,Holly Dueck, and Robin Eger and Debbie Stevens. We each had our own room. It was nice. Very quiet. We did some brainstorming and I made a point to make the children's ministry of more importance this year to the church.

End of the month

Well tommorrow is February 1st. Only 19 days until I'm 62. It will be the start of me drawing my social security check. It's not much but will pay for my medical insurance. That is a good thing. We had a productive month of January. We finished our remodel and today we got the vanity top for our new cabinet in the main bathroom. It turned out awesome. We also cleaned ou the garage and now I can put my car in it. Yea!!  We rearranged the computer room and got a new used desk so it almost looks like an office. When Joe gets moved into his office then I can turn that room back into the guest room. For February I want to trim back all the plants and get new bark dust down in the front and back yards. Also I want a new bedspread and curtains and area rug for our bedroom. Hopefully it will all be done before Meghan comes March 4 th.  I'm fighting a head cold and have to speak in front of the church tommorrow but looking forward to relaxing and watching the Seahawks in the Super Bowl .

Working out

I set an appointment for Monday to have the trainer go over my workout. Now that I kinda know my limits and what I like to do. I did 25 minutes on the bike and the arc machine each yesterday along with the ab machines. It felt really good but can only do level one.  We shall see what the trainer says about it.
After talking with my trainer I found out that the reason I had so much trouble with the ab machines was they were set to heavy. Now that I know how to adjust them, I did all the machines today. 3 sets of 15. Yea. And 20 minutes ab. Arc trainer and 20 minutes bike and 10 minutes stairclimber.  God workout today then off to the hairdresser and manicure.

Cleaning house

This weekend we got started again on cleaning out the old junk and making room for other stuff.  Since we took out one bedroom I have been juggling things around to make room for all the stuff we had in the fourth bedroom. This weekend we finally accomplished that. We now have a guest room and an office for Joe and Ian's room and our closets are complete. It's so nice to have things in a place. One trip to the dump tommorrow and I might get my car in the garage this week. Yea!

January 14 Humpday

Today is the third day in a row that I went to the gym!  Yea!!  I am doing mostly cardio and some AB machines.  I have a pretty good workout for me.  So far I am doing 5 different machines and the first day I did 10 minutes on all of them and now I am doing 12 minutes and hope to work up to 20 min. on each machine.  Then I did 3 sets of 15 on 4 different ab machines, and I really need to keep with this and just get stronger and eventually ad weight.  It feels great to be working out again.  Planet Fitness is very comfortable and when I go it is almost empty.

January 2015 Awana training

Well this year is starting off with a weekend at Cannon Beach for Awana Commander training. It starts Thursday and runs through Sunday afternoon. Joe will take my Sunday school class on Sunday. I can't wait for the training. It is all inclusive with food and overnight at the convention center.
The worst and best part of this weekend has been the food. I'm so not used to eating 3 meals a day. Luckily I can eat eggs and  even oatmeal and turkey for lunch and dinner but it's the English muffins and croissant sandwich and the cheese cake that's bad.  I have been pretty good but wow how can I pass up all this free food?  Well good thing I start working out on Monday. The conference is awesome. I feel like I am so much more qualified to be leading this program now.

January and Broke

Of course I spent every last dime on Christmas this year and the kids said it was the best year ever.  I will agree because they surprised me with wonderful pictures of themselves which I LOVE.  So now we are behind in everything and will need a couple months to get caught up.  Ian's truck is in the shop again and luckily he is going to pay for it until we can pay him back.  Probably over $800.  Ouch.

Working Out?

Today I did it.  I joined the planet fitness gym.  I got the black card membership which allows me to bring one guest everyday.  Because it is bran new the membership cost is $1.00 and the monthly dues are $20.05.  If I would of joined the regular for $10 a month then I would of had to buy another for Joe to go so this makes more sence.  Also it includes all the extras.  And it is unlimited and training available and 24 hours.  I have big plans for myself this year.  Im also going to start Dr. Oz weight management diet.  It looks like a better way of eating than medifast bars.  So wish me luck!!  I dont need to lose so much weight as I need to eat better and get some good exercise.  Here we go.  Monday Jan. 11, 10:30 am is my first visit with a trainer.

2015 New Years Resolutions

Ok, here are my hopes and dreams for this year.

I want to maintain 135 or less.  My dream weight would be a steady 130 but 128 would be amazing.  I want to join a gym this year and work out regularly.  I lost the weight by changing my eating but I want to be healthier and need to work out.
I would like to sign up for Social Security this year and start drawing it because I need the money to pay for health insurance for myself and Ian since Joe is now on social security and medicare and thats all.
I would like to pay off all the phones I got everyone for Christmas so I can have a decent phone bill again.
I would like to pay off the windows in our house.  This was alot and Im not sure I can, but I want to try.
I would like to change sinks in the laundry room and the cuboards and update that room to be nice.  Maybe even a new washer and dryer.
The computer room needs new closet doors and window sills and then it will be done but needs organized.
I would like to go on a Vacation with Joe somewhere this year.  Maybe Hawaii or maybe Catalina Island.
I would like it if Joe could build on or a new shed for himself this year.
I would like for Joe to get a new pickup this year.
I hope to keep Awana strong and growing and my goal for the whole childrens ministry growth is 20%.

Well that should do it.  Of course I always want to read the Bible in a year, so I will keep trying to do that to.

And so begins another year.

Well I wasnt very good at keeping up with my writing last year, but as I look back on my resolutions, I did pretty good.  We managed everything on the list except a mission trip, so I will put that on my list for this year.  What I really want is to take some kids around 12 on a mission trip.  We shall see.  The church is all landscaped and looks beautiful and we are enjoying the new worship center.  All of our events last year went off without a hitch. 

The year 2014 began with the starting up of Awana for the children of Alliance Bible Church.  We began with a small group of 3rd – 6^th   graders and had an average of 8 kids and 5 volunteer leaders, every other week.   This program ran through the rest of the school year ending in June.  In September of 2014 Awana started back up in full swing, including all ages from Cubbies, ages 3 & 4 to Sparks, ages 5,6,&7 and the Truth and Training T&T’s ages 3^rd through 6^th grade. We are currently serving 30 kids and have several children not from Alliance families attending. We now have 14 volunteer leaders and helpers that lead the kids through large group time, handbook time and game time. In December, we held the first “store” night, where the kids purchased, from the Awana store, items with their “bucks” they have been earning for memorizing and reciting the Scriptures and complying with the requirements.  

 The fourth annual Easter Egg Hunt was very successful this year again.  With the use of the new school yard in the back of the property, 700 candy filled plastic eggs were scattered around by the Jr. High class, making a sea of colorful pastel dots.  The spring brought the highly anticipated Pinewood Derby.

The first full week of August brought the 3^rd annual High Power Soccer Camp.  We had 27 kids in camp aging from 5 – 10 years old. 

The Fall Festival in October was a Castle theme and we created a large cardboard Castle for kids to run and hide in.  It was nice to have the extra room in the new worship center.

Sunday, December 14^th we did the fourth annual Children’s Ministry Pageant.  Our pageant this year was “Not so Silent, Silent night.” It was awesome. 

In September, Susie and I flew to Arizona for our Dad's 80th birthday party and then in December we celebrated Moms 80th in Everett, Wa.

Ahrianna (Shonnie) and Susie and I spent a weekend together at "Rhodas"   A trailer Susie lived in in Maple Valley.  This year we are suppose to all come here to my house.  We shall see. Maybe the beach.