August Pictures That Make Me Smile

Why take your nap in the stuffy house when you can do it on the back porch with the nice summer breeze blowing over you!!


Byron discovered 2 plum trees in our back yard this week. He harvested 5 gallons from them!!


Kendra & Buddy Thompson


Buddy Thompson


Kendra & her cousin Jennifer

Kendra, Alyssa & Jennifer


My sunset


Alyssa's first time to drive the go cart


My favorite person in the whole wide world

Vincent and his pet chicken


Kenton


Our new church doors - they make me smile REAL big!!!


My 2 little men

The Base Hearts Sarah Palin

by James P Pinkerton (Fox news political contributor)

The Base will love Sarah Palin—the Republican base that is. Rush Limbaugh has been openly arguing for her on his show, and John McCain was evidently listening. But I think that she has great potential to win over swing voters in the middle, too.

She’s a governor, which is obviously an asset in governing. She’s pro-gun, and she is pro-life. And not just pro-life in practice: Her youngest child is a Down’s Syndrome baby. “Perfect in my eyes,” she said, clear as a bell. That’s what The Base wants to hear—she talks the talk, and then walks the walk.

And speaking of walking, did I mention that she is authentic hunter and outdoorswoman—she and her whole family?

And of course, she has a son who enlisted in the Army and is on his way to Iraq. That’s walking the walk, too.

She’s also something of a reformer: She took on the entrenched Republican hierarchs in Alaska, and beat them to get where she is now, governor of Alaska.

Speaking for myself, I think that Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, would have been the best choice for McCain. I think he would have made The Base happy, too, but he has had much more executive experience and is a proven campaigner—after all, he won the Iowa Caucuses earlier this year. McCain has many great attributes, but as President, he will need the steadiest of energetic executive hands when it comes to the management of the federal government and dealing with the 50 states. Something to think about, in particular, as Hurricane Gustav bears down on Louisiana.

But that’s all moot now. Palin is a strong choice for McCain. The Base loves her, and I expect that America will, too.

A Ticket I Can Support

Ok, most know that I can't find much to like about John McCain. However, I LOVE his Vice Presidential pic. Way to go McCain/Palin!!! You have my vote!!!

Visit to Pittsburgh

We got to spend approximately 24 hours with my sister and her family this week. It is always a treat to get to go visit them. Here are a few pics of our visit. (Kenton managed to escape pics!!)

First Day of School!!!

Here are pictures of our first day of school. Kenton is in 3rd grade, Vincent is in 1st and the girls are in preschool. Whew.... another year. Not sure if I am up to this!!! You all pray for me!!!

P.S.... the monkey's on the door are the incentive for the next 3 months. The door says, "Four little monkeys have started back to school". For every paper they get a 100% on (with no help from me) and for every book Vincent and Kenton read they get a banana. When they get 50 bananas they get to go by themselves with mommy or daddy (their choice) to McDonald's.

The Cousin's Leave

Well, all good things must end as the saying goes. Today the cousins had to go home. My kids miss them like crazy and we loved having them!!! Here's a couple final pics.

What Did We Do Without Cell Phones????

I'm very nearly ready to relive those days. My cell phone has rang off the proverbial hook today - to the point where I literally growled out loud the last time it rang. Technology is a wonderful thing but sometimes I think our lives would be far better off without SO much of it!! So, if you call me today.... I will be shutting off my phone until further notice!! LOL

The Story Behind the "Cabbage Poll"

Last week a neighbor brought us a huge head of cabbage. I told Byron that I'd be making cabbage rolls for dinner that day. A few hours later he came home and looked at my casserole dish full of beautiful cabbage rolls and said, "those aren't cabbage rolls!" He then informed me that cabbage rolls involved BREAD. WHAT?!!!!! Never heard of such a thing. So.... I started my poll. As you can see.... 20 of my faithful readers agree with me. One of you agree with my husband. He has 2 votes but one vote is his. :-) Then, my piano teacher of yesteryear posted a comment on my last blog entry about cabbage rolls as they relate to Wyoming culture. Anyways.... thanks for your interesting input, Ann!! I then headed to Google and found a couple great recipes for all my readership along with a really great youtube tutorial on how to make Cabbage Rolls.




Recipe 1
Recipe 2

The Cousin's Visit - Day 1

My nieces are here for a couple days to visit and the kids are having SO much fun. Lots of dirt and tons of memories!!! They get along so well and just really have allot of fun. Here's some pics from today.

We're Proud of You, Ilene!!

Ilene is our neighbor. She also is a faithful attender of our church and we love her allot! Ilene got saved a year or so ago and about 4 months ago she felt God wanted her to stop smoking. So, we had a party for her today because she has gone for almost 4 months without smoking at all!!!! She gives God all the credit for giving her strength to stop the habit. Today was the party and we had a very nice time of fellowship here at our house. Keep up the good work, Ilene!!!

P.S. I snuck a couple pics of the new church doors in at the end!!! :-)

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

In God We Trust - should it go?

Go vote now!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

Fun with Family

Stoneboro camp is going on right now which means my family is not too far away! So, we decided to meet for lunch today. I wish we would have had more time because it seemed like we had just gotten there when it was time to leave! But, anyways, we had allot of fun.

Here's a picture of Mama Wallace directly disobeying her daughters command to NOT get the children candy!!

You can tell the kids are happy for the treat though!!!

Here's a picture of Great Grandpa & Great Grandma Blair with the kids.

I Have a Surprise!!!

Here's a hint!!!

I do not want to spoil Byron's fun so I am not going to post anything but a teaser......

Just so you know though... I am DYING to show you all!!! I am so so so excited!!!!!

Check Byron's blog later on this evening for a full discloser of today's exciting events!!!

God is good!!

We have such kind neighbors who take good care of us!! Chuck English just came by with some goodies!!! YEA!!! Thanks so much Chuck & Arlene!!

If I Could Sing

This is what I'd sing to my Heavenly Father today.....

What will your Sunset look like?

Today we attended the funeral of my husband's Aunt Ellen Durfee. She died of complications from Parkinson's disease yet she had lived a full life. As I sat through the funeral and listened to different ones share memories of her in her younger years, I was reminded again of how quickly life moves along.

My children are in what I'd consider to be the "sunrise" period of their lives. I have long ago passed from that period into what I'd consider to be the sun shining brightly high in the sky. I have found that it won't be very long until the sun starts to become the "midday sun" until finally I'll reach my "sunset" years.

The other night I was privileged to see the sunset pictured above. It was probalby the most beautiful I've ever witnessed. I've seen many sunsets. Some not noteworthy at all. Some pretty - yet not striking. And then there is the occasional breathtaking display of God's handiwork.

It is my prayer that I will, with God's help, live my life so that when it is time for my "sun" to set, it will be one that displays the beauty of God and His touch on my life.

And we all said, Amen!!!

Poll: Nearly half hearing too much about Obama

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama may be the fresh face in this year's presidential election, but nearly half say they're already tired of hearing about him, a poll says.

With Election Day still three months away, 48 percent said they're hearing too much about the Democratic candidate, according to a poll released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Just 26 percent said the same about his Republican rival, John McCain.

Obama, the 47-year-old Illinois senator who would become the first black president, has dominated political news coverage much of the year. According to an ongoing Pew study, Obama has appeared in more news stories this year and more people say they have heard more about him than McCain, the longtime Arizona senator who also ran for president in 2000.

Two-thirds of Republicans and about half of independents said they've heard too much about Obama, as did a third of Democrats, a significant number.

At the same time, nearly four in 10 said they've been hearing too little about McCain — about four times the number who said so about Obama. About half of Republicans, four in 10 independents and even a quarter of Democrats said they've not heard enough about the GOP candidate.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 1-4 and involved telephone interviews with 1,004 adults. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080806/ap_on_el_pr/poll_obama_overexposure

I'm Just a Child

Here is Alyssa singing her favorite "song". As you'll see, its actually just the chorus to "I wonder how it felt". And, no, she does not have fleas. The mosquitoes are awful here lately!!! And, I tried to edit out little brother at the end but didn't get it all so you'll have to forgive me. Now... listen to my baby sing. I get chills when I hear her sing this. (P.S. Alyssa is 3.5 yrs old)

Wedding Plans are Under Way!!

Last night Alyssa (our 3 yr old) and I were laying on my bed talking. She said to me, "Mommy, God told me to marry N (name withheld to protect the little guy's privacy since he isn't aware of this)." I said, "Oh, really?!!" She nodded her head confidently. I said, "Well, then your name will become Mrs. Alyssa H. She said, "Awww... that sounds so nice!" (where's the rolling eyes emoticon when I need it!!). So, then I said to her, "Well, I like N, he's a very nice little boy and he has a really really great mommy and daddy so that's a great plan but it probably would be good if you went to college before you marry him." She thought a moment then said, "where is the college?" I named several that came to mind and finished off the list with, ".... and there's also Edinboro University which is right over there by our Walmart." She sat up and said, "that's the one! I'll go to the one near Walmart!!" :-)

So, N's mommy and I chatted a bit last night and we both think its a grand idea and I'm thinking arranged marriages are becoming more and more the way to go!!! LOL So, I guess we can go start buying monogrammed bath towels and pillow cases, right??!!!! :-)

If only it were that easy. *sigh*

Needed!

To all my blog readers who live near me....

I am in need of peanut butter jars (or something equivalent). They just need to be plastic - NOT glass. I am working on a Christmas project. Thanks!!!

My Favorite Mechanic

Just wanted to brag on my kids dad a bit - aka, Byron who just also happens to be my husband. Someone gave us a go-cart for the kids but it wasn't in running condition. Well, Byron spent the better part of today working on it and guess what?!!! It's running!!! We put a "new" working motor on it and we are waiting on a small part but as soon as it arrives, it will be ready to be put to use!!! The kids are so excited. Course, I think daddy is too!!! Thanks honey for being able to do so many things with your hands!! There have been so many times that we would have had to hire a mechanic to fix the various "things" around our house but because Byron is so blessed to be able to understand mechanics, we've be able to save so much money. Love ya honey!!!