Oh My!

For some reason I have had quite a readership increase here on my humble little blog, so I am feeling the need to "get with it"! AND post a little more frequently. Hmmmmm......I wonder what has prompted the increase? Well, no matter......I am newly inspired to post! Which should become somewhat easier as the holidays come to a close. Can you believe they have Valentine Day merchandise on the store shelves already????? Grrrrrrrrr!......and I love Valentine's Day BUT I don't like the rushing of the holidays. Anywayyyyyyy.......Have you noticed that I tend to change subjects rather quickly sometimes? *grin* My husband says it gives him motion sickness. *smile*
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I have been sooooo busy the past two days! The day after Christmas, I kind of vegged out, which was quite pleasant, I must say. I was just sooooo tired. I got up at my usual 6:45am-ish and started the coffee and fed and cuddled the animals....Ellie the cat and Rocky the lab. I took my coffee and oatmeal creme pie into the den and woke up slowly and then began crocheting on my I-don't-know-what-number-this-one-is Ohio State afghan. The one I am making now is scarlet,gray and white stripes and I am doing single and double crochet. I think it is going to be my favorite.
The first one I did, pictured here draped over the back of my rocking chair, was all double/single*?* crochet. The stitches are quite tight and it is about the size of a queen-size bed! (what was I thinking?) I swear you could lay under it with six inches of snow on top of you and you wouldn't feel a thing!! *smile* But I love it! I do think the one I am working on now is going to be my favorite one though. I'll post a pic of it when I get it finished.
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Ed's oldest daughter, Shanna, and her husband, Paul and their children arrived from Dallas on Tuesday. They are staying at Shanna's mother and step-father's house. Ed and I were invited up for Christmas dinner on Wednesday. It was so good to see Shanna and Paul and the children! We had coffee and just chatted and hugged and visited. And it was a beautiful day outside, too! *smile* I am so thankful that all of us "parents" get along so well, meaning Bonnie, Ed's first wife and the mother of his three oldest children, and her husband, Jerry and me and Ed. That night, Wednesday, Paul and Shanna and their children went to church in Nelsonville where Daniel and Erin go, so Ed and I called Pastor Martin and asked to be excused from service that evening and I made music arrangements for church. It was good to worship with Paul and Shanna and Daniel and Erin.
Here is a pic of Daniel and Erin and Bro. Dunnells, Erin's dad and the pastor of the church in Nelsonville. It was just wonderful being in church with the kids and then afterward, visiting and having a good time. Paul and Shanna will be leaving tomorrow (Friday) to go to Georgia to see Paul's family and then it will be home to Dallas. They go to Bro. Flowers church in Mesquite.

Here is a picture of Shanna and her dad, Elder Sis. Pullin with Lara and Skylar, one of Ed, Shanna and the kids, and one of Shanna and Paul.
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I was so tired last night as we went to church. Ed and I hardly said two words all the way to church, so I know he must have been feeling pretty weary, too. I dropped him off at church and then went by the funeral home in Nelsonville. My close friend, Pat, had a dear friend, Lowell, pass away this past Christmas weekend and I went by to offer my condolences to her.
I then went back to church and though I was pushing myself, once we began to enter into His presence and to worship, all the cares of the day slipped away and I felt such a refreshing come over me. Oh, what would we do without Him? He is truly the rest and refreshing that His word proclaims Him to be!
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This morning I was up early, albeit not so brightly *feeble grin*, as Sis. Pam and I had to be in Athens at 9am for an appointment. We then shopped just a little and had lunch at Applebee's. We then went our separate ways, as I went to Lowell's funeral where I played the organ for the service. Afterward, I went on to the cemetery where the military portion of the funeral was held. It was absolutely beautiful: to see all of the veterans lined up and the seven men who gave the 21-gun salute. Then Taps was played. I have never in my life heard the Taps played like this man played it. It was absolutely flawless. He played a genuine bugle. The notes echoed out over the hillside. There was scarcely a dry eye in the crowd that was gathered about the tent. I am so thankful the weather was so beautiful. I do believe Lowell would have been pleased. Pat had a beautiful blanket of burgundy roses placed on the top of Lowell's coffin and at the cemetery, after the service, it was placed at one end of the casket, and each lady was asked to take a rose as a memento. I thought that was such a touching gesture. Her children were there and it was so good to see Mike and Karen, who I haven't seen for so long. I teased Mike about what a great target that Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker of his was! *smile*
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When I arrived home, I saw that Ed had taken down the wreaths and swags from the windows outside, so after resting for just a short while, I went outside and bagged them all up and took down the garland from around the porch railing and cleaned up the front porch. Then I noticed that I had gotten some pretty serious mud splashes on my car this afternoon, so I came inside and got a bucket of water and thought I was just going to wash up a couple of spots behind the front wheelwells but ended up washing my entire car and the inside!! Oh well......*feeble grin* When Ed got home a short time later, he took down the lighted spiral trees and we are finished with taking down the outside decorations. (I didn't have the heart to tell him that I had wanted to leave them up through New Year's.) But we had talked of taking them down today because it is supposed to rain all weekend, and they had a chance to dry out the past couple of days after the soaking rain we had on Christmas day.
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By this time, it was about 5 0'clock, and a hot, fresh cup of coffee was sounding so good, so I made us some and we sat in the den and talked and relaxed for a little while, sharing the happenings of our day. I then "hoisted" myself up out of my chair and proceeded to make us some supper. (I still say supper, though so many people call the evening meal dinner nowadays.) I diced up the leftover Christmas ham and browned it in a big skillet. I put it on a plate and then put the left-over scalloped (augratin) potatoes in the skillet, adding a little milk, and let them simmer until they were well-heated. I added the diced ham and mixed it in with the potatoes. I heated some baby peas to have with the ham/scalloped potatoes. It was such a good meal! I hadn't fixed scalloped potatoes for such a long time and I didn't realize how good they were re-heated. They're almost as good as leftover spaghetti or vegetable soup or soup beans! *smile* Now when I say scalloped potatoes, I mean the kind sliced and fixed with cheese, butter, milk, and a little flower, though I believe cookbooks call scalloped potatoes more like a creamed potato dish. Oh well......*grin*.
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After supper, I laid down on my bed and called my sister Debbie, as Ed said she had called at least "FIFTY" times today! *HA HA* He does exaggerate a little sometimes, though I will admit, Debbie can be pretty persistent! She wants me to go shopping with her tomorrow afternoon, which is not the least bit appealing to me at the present time, but hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, I will be feeling alot more rested!?!?!? I then called my sister, Bev, and caught up on the weeks happenings with her and then it was a call to my brothers, Bill and Johnny, to remind them of our yearly New Year lunch at Red Lobster this Saturday afternoon at two o'clock!
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I have been sitting here for about the past hour, catching up on my blog-reading and typing this post and my vision is getting a bit blurry and my eyelids heavy. *yawwwwnnnnn* It is now 9:16pm and I know that I am not long out of bed.
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Things I am thankful for today:
my dear and close girlfriends/ I don't know what I would do without you.
my siblings/we've only gotten closer as the years have passed.
my husband/ it's been worth the tough times to get to where we are today. You're the best.
the sunshine/ I've only realized recently how much I need it and what a difference it makes in how I feel.
the Lord/ truly You walk with me and You talk with me and You tell me I am Your own.
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May the remaining days of this year be good ones for each of you! God bless!