Happy Halloween - 2008

We had fun tonight going around our town's square and to a local church's trunk or treat! Of course we got plenty of candy, I've already hid some little girl's candy : ) I know, I know, I'm such a mean Mom! This year we went with store bought costumes which is really different for us, because we usually have fun creating our own. I bought Keegan his on the sale rack after Halloween last year for $4.00 and gave it to him as a Christmas gift. Talon's was given to him a couple years ago but he is just now fitting into it and Kallee's was free off of free-cycle. If we do use store bought ones, we usually try to "spice them up" a bit, by coloring their hair or painting their faces or something. We had colored Talon's hair black for his Abe Lincoln costume earlier today, so we didn't need to do that. It sure made it nice, they were all ready to go within 10 minutes. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Our Super-Heros (Keegan & Talon A.K.A. -- Bat-Man & Robin)

This was after we wenting Halloweening as she calls it, but I got the pictures out of order!

Kanga and her baby Roo

Fabulous Friday Dress-Up

Today was Fabulous Friday at FCA! Each month, on the last Friday, they have Fab Friday for the kids. It is when a group of parents make lunch for all the kids. Today they could have spaghetti or fettuccine, along with garlic bread and a dessert, yummy! They also decided to allow the kids to dress up like a Historical or Biblical character. Keegan wanted to be an Army man, as usual, so Daddy dug out a hat and some pins. Talon wanted to be Shakespeare but since we couldn't find the stuff we needed, we helped him figure something else out. Take a look at our guys from History!

Sgt. Luie Cooper A.K.A. Keegan

President Abe Lincoln A.K.A. Talon

EWomen's Conference

Finally, here are some pictures of our "girl's weekend" in Columbus, OH last weekend! We had a lot of fun!!! We learned, we need to do this more often and we also learned that we are no longer teenagers and can get by on 2 hours of sleep, HA! After the first session, which was on Friday night, we went Wal-Mart to buy a new shirt (as I forgot all my hang-up close at home, grrr) and then for pizza. When we returned to hotel, we just ate and talked and talked and ate : ) The next morning the doors opened at 7:00a.m. so we where there to pick out our seats by 7:20, that is how we got such great seats! Glad we did this because there were over 3000 people there and I would have hated sitting in the balcony. After saving our seats we headed to the church's Cafe, yes you read right, the church's Cafe! This church was
H-U-G-E!!! It had a: Hair and Nail Salon, Pre-School, regular School, I think a Day Care and huge Play land (like the ones inside of McDonald's). It was one of the biggest churches I have ever been in. We were happy we decided to go and hope to go back some day.

"Children of the World" Choir, they were sooo cute! Most all of them have lost their parents or families due to Aids.

Me, Chonda, Bobbie & Kathryn

This is Richie McDonald, he and Chonda are next door neighbors and they try to

"step-it-up a notch" and out do each other every show.

Kathryn, me and Bobbie (I wish the lady taking the picture would have stood back a bit, I look I'm a giant compared to them, HA!)

Kathryn getting Karen's autograph! Karen was the nicest person, she took time with ALL of her fans! She wrote special messages in their books,

took pictures with them and even prayed with them.

Bobbie & I with Richie McDonald (Kathryn was STILL waiting in Karen's line for her autograph). He was the lead singer for Lone Star, so he sang a lot of the songs they sang; "Im Already There", "Let Them Be Little", "From My Front Porch Lookin' In" "Mr. Mom", etc.

The guest speakers for the event, sitting just a few people from us.

Thelma Wells -- I missed most of her session (we were waiting with Kathryn to get Karen's autograph), but what I heard was really good.

Chonda Pierce being C-H-O-N-D-A!

Karen Kingsbury -- She is one of my favorite authors, thanks to my friend Lynette who lent me a book by her! I am now addicted to her books, HA!

She was describing how she felt when one of her characters "Irvel" dies in one of her books. Her husband found her crying in her "writing room" and asked what was wrong? She told him and he told her "you are kind of the writer you can bring her back to life if you want to" : )

She spoke on making every chapter in your life count!

Lisa Whelchel A.K.A. Blair from "The Facts of Life"

She was by far, my favorite speaker! She talked about allowing God to take control over those things that have happened to us in our lives that we often hide in the back of our minds and have a hard time letting God take them from us.

Mark Schultz - He did a fantastic job! He sang several songs he has written and they were really good! My favorites were; Walking Her Home, "Letters From War" and "Remember Me".

Happy Anniversary To...

I would like to wish some of our very, best friends -- Sara & Tony Derscheid -- a happy 15th anniversary today! I have known Sara all my life, she has been a best friend for A LOT of years!!! I have know Tony for many years too, probably at least 19 years. So as you can see, we've know these guys for a LONG time! They have been there in the good times and the bad, they are what I think TRUE FRIENDS should be made of! I know you won't be able to go away at this time and enjoy anniversary, but when you are...we will be happy to take care of the girls for you! Happy Anniversary you two love birds : )

Off We Go

We (Kathryn, Bobbie and myself) are headed to Columbus OH for an EWomen's Conference, YEA! We are SO excited to get away for tonight and tomorrow! All of us Mom's are ready for a break! Some of the guest speakers include: Karen Kingsbury, Chonda Pierce, Lisa Whelcel... Some of the guest singers are Mark Schultz, Children of the World Choir, Charles Billingsley... More details and picture to come!

Kallee's Dentist Theory

Kallee had a couple fillings put in on Friday and another one on Monday. She didn't really want to head back there on Monday as she knew what she was in for, but... I told her, "it is your fault cause you ask everyone under the sun for candy". I then told her "candy makes holes in little girls teeth and the dentist has to fix those holes". This was her reply to my comment "God makes candy and He wants people to bees nice to little kids and share it with them"! : ) Kids, ya gotta love 'em!

Pampered Chef Party

Tonight's the night...my Pampered Chef party! I didn't plan it too well with my BP being high, my kids leaving for MI and me leaving for OH (all this week), but it has arrived and I'm going to go ahead and have it. I booked off a friend of mine this past spring, so it is past time for me to have it : ) I hope I have a few in attendance and I hope to make some $$$ for the lady. The more $$$ she makes, the more free stuff I get, YEA! If any of you are in need of Pampered Chef, you may go to their website; www.pamperedchef.com and look at a full catalog. If you put my name in as the hostess I will get the credit for it and it can be shipped directly to you. Well I'm off to finish cleaning the house and preparing food, stop by tonight if you'd like, it is at 6:30.

Raiders Lose Again

Keegan's First Touchdown

Well tonight was the third game for the Raiders (Keegan's football team) and they lost again, ugh! They are getting better and I am a proud Mama -- Keegan was the only one that made a touch-down for his team, YEA!!! He almost made another one, but was knocked down just before making it to the goal-line. So much for this being flag football, most of the kids running the play were knocked down when the other team grabbed for their flags : ) Keegan also made an interception and made several "tackles" as well. I won't be able to be at his next game, so that will probably be the game they win, ha! Until then, I'm smiling at the fact Keegan was the only one that made a point for his team tonight!

Keegan's Interception

Little Johnny Strikes Again

Presidential candidate Barack Obama was visiting a primary school and he visited one of the classes. They were in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asked the presidential candidate if he would like to lead the discussion on the word 'tragedy'. So our illustrious Democrat presidential candidate asked the class for an example of a 'tragedy'.

One little boy stood up and offered, 'If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills
him, that would be a tragedy.'

'No,' said Obama, 'that would be an accident.'

A little girl raised her hand, 'If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy.'

'I'm afraid not,' explained Obama. 'That's what we would call a great loss.'

The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Obama searched the room. 'Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?'

Finally at the back of the room, Little Johnny raised his hand. In quiet voice he said: 'If the plane carrying you and Mrs. Obama was
struck by a 'friendly fire' missile and blown to smithereens that would be a tragedy.'

'Fantastic!' exclaimed Obama. 'That's right. And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?'

'Well,' says the boy, 'It has to be a tragedy, because it certainly wouldn't be a great loss... and it probably wouldn't be an accident either.'

Lab Work is Complete

I went and had my lab work done this morning and it went great. I was only there for a few minutes, the lady was super nice and super quick. She said they will fax the results to my doctor's office tomorrow, so I should know something by the end of the week. I am scheduled to go back to the doctors a month from now, so hopefully by that time my medicine will have had time to do its thing. If not, I guess I will have to try the no salt, no caffeine thing and see if that helps. I'm not really that big on either of them, so I don't know if that will help or not. So far I haven't had any side effects from the medication and no new symptoms, so that's a good thing. Only time will tell what will go on. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

What Is Considered the "Silent Killer"?

Well I have spent the evening in bed, which hasn't been all bad : ) The reason??? I went to Arnett Clinic this afternoon after my BP was pretty high! I haven't had any symptoms or any signs, but after it was 151/100 on Monday, I thought I would have Jerry's gma take it today for me. She told me often there are no symptoms, that is why they call it the "Silent Killer". She took it a couple times and then had my FIL take it again. He was the winner, he got the highest reading of the day -- 170/118! What started this whole mess was when I went to the doctor a few weeks ago for my ear infection and the doctor told me, it was high then. She told me I needed to have it checked again, so when I went to Wally-World on Monday, I took it a couple times on their freebie machine. When Jerry's gma heard this, she told me she would bring her cuff today to dinner and take it again. She was worried after having it taken three times and suggested I go home and relax all day and evening. She said "call your doctor first thing in the morning"!!! When it was all said and done, Jerry met me at the clinic (he was home sick) and we had it checked. The nurse took it a few times and got a high reading (147/107) and then asked how I was feeling. I told her I felt fine, she then replied, "that is why they often call it a silent killer", UGH! While waiting on the doctor to come in, I just happen to pick up a magzine with an article in it about high BP. It said at the rate I am at, I could easily have a stroke, a heart attack or have congestive heart failure, OUCH! The doctor said it was too high and wanted to start me on medicine. He said your pretty young to start a daily med but it is better to start now, than wait till it is too late. He said a lot of people don't come until they are in their 40's and then they have a lot of damage already done. So...I am now on Lisinopril, does anyone know anything about it? I have to call and get lab work scheduled tomorrow, but until then I'm suppose to take it easy. The only times my BP has been high, is when I'm prego and I'm NOT that, so I don't know what's up. Both my parents have/had high BP, so it is probably a hereditary. Until the lab work is done and I go back to the doctor a month from now, we will see what happens.

Palin '08

Wow, what a fun time we had tonight, watching history being made! Last night on the way home from church, my friend Lynette and I decided we would try and get sitters for our kids, so we could go see Sarah Palin. We pulled it off and we were headed to Noblesville today, around noon. We also took Talon and Susan Bailey with us, which was great fun! We didn't really have to wait in line to park or anything, we just drove up and parked. The line to walk in wasn't that bad either, when we pulled up. We waited around an hour and 20 minutes in line. They said the line was at least 2 hours long when we arrived at the gate @ 3:00, ugh! Sure glad we got there early! We were entertained by several of our reps. from IN and then we were entertained by Aaron Tippin, yea! Sarah did a wonderful job speaking and she had the crowd screaming and yelling...there were a few protesters doing their part too, but they were kindly ushered out by some nice guys in navy uniforms : ) After she was done speaking, we figured why rush out, we can't move anyways. We hung around for awhile and decided to see if we could get a little closer. That we did, we were about 20 ft. from her before she headed off stage. She signed and signed and signed autographs, her poor hand is probably use to it by now, but she might need a little Tylenol later, ha! After leaving there, we stopped and had some yummy Mexican food (around 8:00) and then headed home. Yes we headed straight home, NO stopping in Kirklin was made : ) Ok, ok, we did stop off to visit The Derscheid family, but we didn't want to bother them since it was so late. We left them a nice little gift behind, so they would know we stopped by, hee hee! All in all, we had a GREAT time!

L to R: Lynette, Janiece, Talon & Susan

The Maverick Team : )

These guys sure knew how to get on stage! They painted their chests white and each of them had a red letter painted on the front of them, that spelled out M-A-V-E-R-I-C-K!

Aaron Tippin opening with "Where the Stars and Stripes and Eagles Fly"!

This ones' not the best, but it was of her coming out on stage!

These 2 are probably my favorite pictures!

If she would have only turned around, we could have gotten some great pictures of her. I think have 6 or 8 pictures of the back of her head, ha!

Final stop -- The Derscheid home : )

For Sherry

This post is just for Sherry! Since you said you were lonely for your MI friends, I stopped by and took this picture for you, this past weekend while I was up there. Does it look familiar? Hope you enjoy it as you stroll down memory lane!

Weekend Trip to MI 10/10/08

Well this was an un-expected trip to MI, but we still enjoyed it! My sister, Shirley, called and said "you wanna ride to MI with us?" Of course I said yes!!! The boys had school so they weren't able to go, so Kallee and I were the only ones that went this time. We had a nice trip (both ways) and the Lord gave us safe, traveling mercies! Dad is doing pretty well, he is just missing Mom a little more each day : ( -- It just happened to be Homecoming Weekend, so we were able to enjoy the Shepherd High School Homecoming parade, as well as, the S.H.S. homecoming game! The stands were packed, as usual, so there wasn't very much room to move. From what I understand, this was the last game on that field, as a new one will be used for the next season. Wow, what memories that field holds for me! I sure miss those days, but wouldn't want to go back to them for very long, ha! --My nephew Tim and his wife Chasey were there with their family, so we got to see baby Jacob for the first time. He is such a sweetie and a very good baby! His little sister Maddy and Kallee are the same age, so they had lots of fun playing together! They were spoiled (once AGAIN) by Uncle/Papa Stan, he took them shopping and they came home with a boat load of stuff; new dresses, Dora under garments : ), hat/glove sets and toys! Thanks Uncle Stan for all the great stuff you bought Kallee, she loves you for "some reason", HA! Aunt Shirley was at her "I'm the bestest Aunt thing again", she baked pumpkins cookies with the girls and let them decorate them. Thanks for taking us along guys, it was great spending time with you!

S.H.S homecoming court float

S.H.S. color-guard, so glad we didn't have to wear these outfits when I was in color-guard : )

S.H.S. class floats

This one took 1st place, it was really cute!

This is the "new" sign in front of the SHS. It wasn't there when I went there, so it is new to me.

They won the game 34 to 24, YEA!

Mommy & Kallee cheering for S.H.S.

Dad holding Jacob, he is Dad's 8th great-grandson!

Jacob Leland (named after my Dad), 2 months old

The "twins" l to r: Kallee & Maddy


The girls doing their gymnastics

The girls cutting out cookies

Time to decorate them

Time to sample them, yummy!