Here it is...no photoshop here...

I really think Cindy out did herself this year....she really has my Mom's touch, plus Aunt Winnie's artistic eye! Merry Christmas to each and every one of you...I love you!

O Christmas Tree....

Here is my tree...taken this morning with my new coat. Now you need to know that I got this second hand coat at Saver's...how's that for $26.00. I love it.

Family...Thanksgiving

We really had a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving....Towards evening, the older ones thumbed through all the sale adds. They all shopped on line for the big sales and the story of Clayton and Black Friday was mentioned with some great laughter.
Later...Sam tried on his Aunts' big boots and then ask me for a cowboy hat...the next thing you knew...he and Tanner were putting on an impromptu western play which was based on a movie they saw at school. Whatever the basis...we were all just hooting at the performance.
All in all..it was just great fun.

Mostly finished

I don't think I have had too many stops since Thanksgiving....Cindy and I started decorating on Friday after Thanksgiving. I think I will be drawing out all the stops this year (as Cindy says...Mom you haven't felt like doing this for years, and she is right). The tree is up, but no picture yet. I have been working my part time job and we have had Sam over a great deal. I love my new part time job...I'm working at a boutique type Chocolate Shop that sells imported Belgium chocolate. It's kind of a strange job for someone that is working so hard to take off weight. I have lost 58 pounds so far....but it has been really difficult. However, craving chocolate has never been one of my problems.
We will be entertaining quite a bit over the holidays...thus...decorations!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my wonderful family....I am very thankful for each and every one of you!  I have made my dressing (Grandma Powell's), my sweet potatoes, have my Watergate Salad made and in a few minutes I will peel my potatoes.  It should be a great day tomorrow....only our immediate family will be here.  I usually have 19 or 20...but, none of us invited extras this year. 
My goal is to take some family pictures tomorrow...

Back in Routine

I have finally gotten back into routine around here.  Now I am going up to Sam's house at 7:30 AM instead of him coming here...he and his Dad were always running late.  I will go again tomorrow morning, but this morning Sam asked if he could come back down to our house in the mornings...I replied that that is up to him...only if  Sam will cooperate and be on time.
Sam is such a sweet kid, but he sure can be a pistol at times.
Monday night when they were out at TacoBell, Sam was playing his DS and without even looking up, he says "Hummmm, I wonder what Grandma and Grandpa were doing on Nov.21, 1971?"   His little math mind had figured out what might have been going on since our Cindy was born in September of 1972.  As Sam says,  that's way too much Adult Information!

Home Again

I got home around 11 this morning.  I'm not sure I will drive to St.Louis again by myself...I started home last night after the services around 4:30 and I thought I could do it.  It was really tough and I just could not see with darkness and heavy rain...so I pulled off and checked into a motel off of I70.  Then I got up at 6:45 and started home.  More than half of the drive I was driving in really thick fog....I'm really, really glad to be home.

RIP Roni

Just way too much loss these last few weeks...our dear friend Roni lost her battle with cancer this morning at 1 AM. Roni is the friend in the center. I presented her with a Prayer Shawl just this last April. All of us were just together for lunch when I went down to see Lisa and meet Reed just two weeks ago...then a week ago Tuesday they took her to the hospital and the cancer had spread to her spine...they had to put her in a semi-coma to control the pain and she never woke up. I am so happy she is not in pain any more.

St. Louis Trip

Top...down LouAnn and Katie, Abby, little Reed a nd Lisa, LouAnn and Barb, and Jimmie. We really had a great time celebrating little Reed's 1st birthday.

The Two of Us Fly Fishing

Bennett

Thank you all so much for the pictures...you all look like you had a fun time. . I wish I could have joined you all. Here is a picture of Skip fishing at Bennett Spring and I thought you all might enjoy... He looks more like Jim every day and his mannerisms are sooo the same.

School of the Ozarks

The last day in Branson was beautiful and we visited S of O and at a wonderful lunch at the Keeting Center. The students are still so friendly and the food was fantastic!

Home Again, Home Again...Jiggitty Jog

Back home from a week in Branson with good girl friends from Jewell.  Tired ...but had a great time!

He played a good game!

We had a wonderful time at Paxton's game on Saturday morning. He really had been hit hard in the back and was standing out for a few minutes. Also, he is very sad that his cousin Patsy is in Electronic Jail....

My Best Friend

This is my best friend Marilyn. She has been a friend since Junior High and she was my Maid of Honor and I was hers.

The Happy Couple

Here are my friends Joni and Ray. I have known Joni since we were in 3rd Grade. What a party!

St.Louis Weekend

Wow...we sure did have an awesome weekend in St.Louis. We celebrated not only my birthday, but also my dear friends 50th Anniversary. In the top picture...the friend sitting in the front is Roni...she is battling major cancer. She has 75 tumors on her liver and she was wearing her chemo bag to the party. The bottom picture is from the over-the- top surprise party for Joni and Ray.

Big Oak Tree

I went over to my friend Anna Mae's (89 years old) home today to see the huge oak tree that fell in the storm on Friday night. Wow..it sure is a loss...Anna Mae thinks that it is well over 200 years old. She can't wait until they cut it down and she can count the rings.
Some of our friends didn't get their electric until late last night.
So far, I have talked only to Sam...but he sure had a awesome day today which was his first day of 5th Grade.

Camera Explanation:

I did learn about the little slide on the ScanDisk...it kept flipping....the problem was that it then broke off and they are so expensive...I had to wait to buy a new ScanDisk...the lady at Walmart has helped me retreive my picture for prints...but I can't download on my computer.  The whole thing has been a real learning....expensive lesson about a faulty Disk....now I finally have a new one and I am $48.00 poorer.

Home Again

We had a wonderful day at the Merk Reunion. It was in Atlantic Iowa and this was the 69th year it was held. I first attended this runion when I was in grade school...we drove down to West Plains and picked up my Grandpa Merk...then drove all the way up to Iowa. We stayed with one of Grandpa's brothers in DesMoines. What a fun, fun day. This reunion is always held on the 3rd Sunday in August...sure wish that long ago we had set up a reunion for all of us. The one in pink is from my Grandpa's generation... Grandpa was the oldest of 15 and the one in pink was married to the youngest Merk brother. Some are first cousins to my Dad, but most are my generation and we remember playing as young kids. My Dad's Uncle Joe used to take many of us over to the skating rink in town....fun, fun memories.

The Boys

Finally I have been able to upload pictures...my scandisk for my camera had some little button that went into a position that would not allow me to download. I took these pictures yesterday so that I will have something to take to the Merk Reunion tomorrow up it Iowa. Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Cindy getting her room ready....

I worked with Cindy all day getting her room ready.  She was always such a trooper to help me put up my bulletin boards...turn around is fair play.
I have really been dieting since April 1st...I'm tickled to say that I did reach a mild goal today...I am down 40 pounds...still have 35 to go.  Boy it sure is easier to put it on  than to take it off!
My Mom used to say that I took after Grandpa Powell's side of the family...really use to make me mad as a kid....my Mom and Aunt Winnie were always so skinny....too bad I never will be tall or skinny.

Yeah....rain!!

We had a major downfall of rain....we were out with the boys buying them shoes for school.. The lights went down to emergency lights in Sport's Authority.  Glad for the rain...hated that it scared the boys so much.  We were in a building with a tin roof...I kids just can't get Joplin completely out of their minds.

Scout Camp

Sam and his Dad leave for Scout camp tomorrow and will be home on Saturday.  I sure hope we have a little, at least, break in the weather so that they can enjoy some of the activities.  We are suppose to have rain tonight and in the morning....they have been so wrong for so long.
I saw today that the heat index  in Little Rock was 122 degrees today.  I sure hope you are all doing as well as can be expected.
We are trying to find a little window to go to the camper.  It is just too hot to go to the tin box!

Really.... STUPID

I think the elected officials in Washinton are really STUPID