Camp, Old Friends, and Knobby, the Sasquatch!

So we're into our third day of camp. I just found out that there is Family Night up there but have no idea when. I'm guessing it is Thursday. Which is my birthday. Which is already booked with a family thing here. But it's ok...I'll survive. I heard from a friend of ours that works there and he said Harrison was having a great time. So unless something changes, I'll see him again Friday morning. I know he and Matt are having a good time and I found out there were several other children we know up there.

I was sitting on the couch yesterday watching FOX news (so depressing sometimes) and I heard a knock on the door. I thought, at first, it was one of the little neighbor boys coming to play with Harry, but the knock was too strong. When I stood up I noticed a car in the driveway. And when I went to the door, there stood an old neighbor friend from Justin's childhood.

I couldn't believe it. I opened the door and gave him a big hug and he visited for a few hours with us. It was so good seeing him. I'm hoping he'll come to church with us since he's moved back into the area. He's looking for good friends and I know he'd get along great with our growing college and career class.

I'm thinking there are about thirty + in there come September since we just lost eleven that graduated from high school. That's a nice crop of college and career kids.

We've recently had a sighting of Knobby the sasquatch in our parts. If you haven't seen it on the national news you've really missed it, let me tell ya. This mountain man claims he came face to face with one. Legend has it, that "Knobby" the sasquatch was spotted several times in these parts back in the '70s and is now making his appearance again.

Here's a link to the news report:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T0R4l7Iyp8&feature=related

And here's a link to see a video Brother Ted took of Bruce telling about his sighting of Knobby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fybri3QOlzc

It's going to be a busy weekend. See you all later!

Off To Camp He Goes!

Harrison woke up an excited young man this morning. He was ready to hit the road to spend his first week at camp.

He and Matt were BOTH excited young men!! The talked and carried on the whole ride up.

After Tammy and I road and searched and drove and searched, asked an older gentleman at the recycling center where it was, and then asked someone directions to the camp, who called someone they knew that worked at the camp, we finally found the camp.


The facilities were great.

This is the chapel. This is where we checked in and they would have chapel services each night.

I'm guessing these were the old cabins the campers used to stay in.

This one was a craft cabin.

There's a lake if they want to use a canoe or go paddle boating.

A volleyball court and a place to play basketball.

This building had a wonderful mural on the side. It's the game room.

When we checked the boys in, they were assigned their cabin, so off we went!

This is the cafeteria.

And signs like this are important to campers. You know....drinks, candy bars, etc...

Their cabin looked like a new facility.

They were the first ones in the cabin and chose lower bunks across from each other.

Matt was making himself comfortable. :)

There were two other rooms like this one besides the one they were in.

Their bathroom/shower was in the back of the cabin.

Tammy and I nearly killed ourselves showing the boys how to play tether ball.

They have archery and horseback riding too. Unless he's died, one of those horses is the same one I was riding when I broke my leg years ago. Hope Harrison doesn't get him. LOL

As we walked the boys back down to the chapel area, two counselors came out and rushed them down the hill to the game room for some play time while the other campers checked in.

And off they went. I know they'll have a terrific time. I'm sure there will be lots of funny stories told when they get back!

My Little Darlins'

My little angels are spending the day with us today. We always get excited when they come over. They're just part of our family. Always have been and always will be. These girls are so special to us.
Celine just lost her two front teeth. Is that not ever so cute???? I love it!


Besides being the cutest little things ever, they're just little dolls.


Celine and Harrison jumped out of the back of Bruce's truck, but Carissa wasn't so sure about it. So she just watched.


But then decided she wanted to and that anything they could do, she could do better!

Yep, I have more than three children. Justin, Hannah, and Harrison. And then my add-ons...

Right now they're eating corn dogs and talking about all the different foods they like to eat and what they like to dip them in.

Gotta go...I have some darlins' to tend to.

How To Fold Fitted Sheets!

This is great. I've tried forever to fold fitted sheets to look nice and I'm never successful at it. But this is a great idea. Some may call it cheating, but it's all neat in the final outcome and that's what matters, right?

Thanks, Courtney, from Women Living Well.

This and That and This

Harrison and I are home alone today. Well, technically, Bruce is here, but he's sleeping. So it's just me and Harry. I MIGHT...big might there... take him uptown and let him play in the fountains. Kids seem to enjoy that. Lots of fun. They just push a button and the fountains come up. Maybe we'll go ride our bikes on the Gateway trail too. He's not been feeling too great this week so I don't know if we'll do this today or not.

Hannah has been praying about something close to her heart and God has already started opening doors for her financially. She's started saving her money and is getting very excited about it. This "special something" takes place in about a year or so from now, I think. It's good to sit back and watch God open doors for your children when they want to do something for Him.

Justin is gearing up for the Fire Academy in the fall. He has repelling class this Saturday and is really looking forward to that. Wish I could go watch...and of course take pictures. But I don't think he'd want his mommy there for that. Do you?

By the way, those of you that prayed for little Austin, thank you! He was sent home a couple of days later and he's doing good!! Doctors ran all kinds of tests and are just scratching their heads to what was wrong with him. But I believe the Lord healed him with all the prayers that were offered up for him. God is still in the healing business!! :)

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. I don't know if I'm ready for it or not. LOL But! Ready or not, here it comes!

Eventful Days

Today has been an interesting day.

Hannah woke me up shortly after Justin left for work. She said the neighbor across the street pulled into our driveway, never rang the door bell or anything and was just sitting there. So I got up and dressed. By the time I came through the house he was already gone.

Things were going along as normal after that until Justin called. I could barely understand what he was saying. As most of you know, he does the lawn maintenance for WWNTBM. While he was working, a bee flew out of no where and stung him on his lip. He said his lip was swelling, his teeth and jaw were hurting, and he had no control of his saliva. His friend, Caleb, had gone to work with him so I told Justin to drive to my parent's for some Benadryl and told Caleb if he noticed Justin having trouble breathing or problems with vision to call 911.

They made it to mom and dad's just fine. Mom gave Justin 50mg of Benadryl (the pharmacist said 25mg). She also noticed the stinger was still in Justin's lip. So she removed it. When it was removed and the Benadryl started working he did a lot better and the boys returned to work.

The mission staff was at an annual meeting today so no one was in the office. Caleb started looking for Justin and couldn't find him. He walked around 11 acres of land looking for Justin, who, after taking 50mg of Benadryl and working in the heat, could very well be passed out in the field somewhere. Not to mention Justin left his cell phone in the Kabota house and so Caleb wasn't able to call him to see where he was. Needless to say, Caleb talked to his mom (a nurse) who calls me. I facebook message Brother John who had Mrs. Kim call me to find out what was going on. She then called Naomi's room mate, who went looking for Justin and found him putting together chairs in the mission's building. Justin called to tell me he was ok, Mrs. Kim called to tell me he was ok. And then Angie (Caleb's mom) called to tell me he was ok. Then I sat down and cried a minute. Just from relief, I think.

My brother was terribly allergic to bees when he was alive, so the thoughts I was having were pretty vivid. LOL Thankfully he was fine. He took TWO MORE 50mg of Benadryl when he got home. I'm kind of surprised he hasn't passed out cold yet.

Went on with the day. Made mini meat loaves, homemade taters, and garden fresh salad for supper. Took a ride out in the country with my sweetheart, snackin' on RC Cola and caramel creams. And now I'm getting ready to hit the sack.

OH YEAH! The neighbor....he brought over a grocery bag full of vegetables he picked from his garden and had left them on the front porch. Mystery solved there!

Hope tomorrow is a little less eventful.

Psalm 91:1-2 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."

A Happy Father's Day

Last week was a lot of fun as we celebrated a week long of Father's Day with Bruce. He's such a wonderful husband and dad. He deserves a Happy Father's Day every day!

Bruce, I'm thankful the Lord saw fit for us to be together and that He has blessed us with a wonderful life. I love you.

We had a terrific Sunday. After a great sermon on God Needs A Man, we headed back to our house with mom and daddy for a Father's Day lunch.

I don't normally cook on Sunday but since Bruce loves my lasagna, I got up a little earlier than usual today and began preparing two pans, along with sides. Hannah made dessert and mom brought dessert too. The food was delish, but having my husband at one end of the table and my daddy at the other, made the day for me!

I was thinking of some special memories of when I was a child. I have always been a daddy's girl. It's a good thing I was the only girl because there would have been some serious rivalry going on.

But I have special memories of my dad. As a matter of fact, I began to list them and it just kept going and going. Where do I begin? Where do I stop? God has blessed me so much, giving me a Christian dad. A loving dad. There's not much he doesn't know about me. We've shared many talks through the years. Many opportunities of time spent one on one together. Trips, just the two of us. I have great memories that will last a life time.


I love you, daddy!

Thank you, Lord for the men in my life that you have blessed me with.

Proverbs 23:24 "The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him."

Happy Father's Day To You...V

And now back to our regularly scheduled blogging....

Today (Saturday) was day six of our Happy Father's Day week for Bruce. As with every morning this week, the kids and I greeted Bruce with a song and a gift. Here you see him with, I THINK, a piece of his candy bar in his mouth and he was dancing as we sang to him. LOL It was so hilarious.


Today we gave him a $10 gift card to Burger King because he's the king of his castle.


Reading his card. :)

Yesterday, we gave him a DVD about a dad that wants to control life...which is something Bruce works pretty hard at. LOL

Happy Father's Day, Bruce!! You're soft and cuddly, you can fix anything, you're a great pop, you're sweet, you're in control, and you're the king of your castle!

HAPPY...............BIRTHDAY.....................TO YOU

We interrupt this week long Father's Day tribute to wish our oldest son, Justin, a very happy, HAPPY 18th Birthday.
One thing has always been consistent in Justin's life, besides his love for God, and that is music. From the time he was a little fellow he would sit and listen and soak up everything about it.
This was taken at a Choir Christmas party. I always loved the way he was looking at his dad and grandpa.


He began playing the trumpet when he was eight and then, not long after, he picked up stringed instruments and the harmonica. Right now he's trying his talent with the saxophone. He'll play anything you put in his hands. Here he is on another birthday playing the mandolin my daddy gave him, which belonged to my grandpa. Paw Paw died when Justin was two months old. I think he would have LOVED sitting on his front porch just listening to him play and sing.


I don't know if he has an instrument of choice, but he sure can play a guitar. He takes after his daddy with this instrument.

Besides being talented, he is loving, respectful, has a great sense of humor, gets along with pretty much anyone. You have to really be pushing him for him to yell at you. In other words, he's a pretty gentle fellow. LOL He's a hard worker, a friend to everyone he meets, a good example to the younger and even some of us older. He's faithful, he's trustworthy, and he's my son!

I love you, Justin.

Happy Father's Day To You...IV

Before I tell you about Bruce, I wanted to ask you to pray for a little cousin in our family. His name is Austin Heffner. He was bitten by a tick a couple of weeks ago and last night they rushed the little guy to the children's hospital with a fever of 107. Last I heard he was holding steady between 99 and 101. The doctor's are pretty positive it is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I'm sure Austin and his parents would appreciate all of your prayers!!

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Today is the fourth day of Bruce's Happy Father's Day to You week. I made a video of him coming in the house this morning and us singing to him, but for some reason, that one minute and few second clip wants to take forty minutes to an hour to upload. So I'll load it tonight and you can see it tomorrow. For now, we have pictures.

He had already received his gift and was reading his card. He LOVED his gift today. Although, he has no self control with it and predicts a massive headache from it.


Yep...FOUR GIANT SIZE HERSHEY MILK CHOCOLATE BARS. One from each of us! Why? Because he's sweet.


I hope you enjoy your candy bars, babe. I love you! And remember...they come in little blocks for rationing.....or sharing. *wink* *wink*

Happy Father's Day to you, honey. You're soft and cuddly, you can fix anything, you're a great pop, and you're sweet.

Happy Father's Day To You...III

We're on day three of Bruce's Father's Day week. He came in the door this morning with a look on his face as though he were wondering if we would be there. We were.


Today he received two cases of his two favorite flavors of soda...grape and orange. He's drinking one now. lol Why soda you ask?


Because he's a great "pop" of course! :D ha ha ha ha


Opening his card...

He got tickled because the word beer was used in the card, but we marked it out and wrote grape and orange soda. It was funny. I knew it would crack him up.

Happy Father's Day, Hon! We love you. You're soft and cuddly, you can fix anything, and you're a great pop!

Happy Father's Day To You II

This morning we greeted Bruce again when he came home from work. And once again we lined up against the wall so we were in direct view of when he opened the door. When he saw us there he started laughing and we began singing Happy Father's Day To You, ending it with "Because YOU can fix anything!"


Justin handed him his gift for today.

Reading his card...

Because he's DAD, and dad can fix anything, we gave him things that he could put up in his shop for those times when he might need them. Fuel injection cleaner, super glue, stainable wood filler, caulk for windows and doors, some kind of ruler with a moveable level on it...no rhyme or reason, just stuff that'll come in handy one day. lol

Love you, honey!!! You're soft and cuddly and you can fix anything!