Jeepers Creepers, Where'd You Get Those Peepers>

While at Baker's Square tonight for our pie and hot chocolate, after the Xmas performance, Kasey decided she needed glasses. So she picked up Grandpa's "readers" and posed for a quick pic. She wore them most of the time we were there and looked like a character, which is an exact "fit" for Kasey's personality. Kylie got a pose in with Grandpa's glasses too.

Kasey also noted at the restaurant a large group of maybe 20 Seniors enjoying a bite to eat after probably being out somewhere together. They were seated at a very long table with approximately 10 of them on each side. Kasey watched them for a couple moments and then explained loudly, "Look, they're having Thanksgiving" - We couldn't help but burst into laughter as she related the long table and the many people to the traditional pilgrim scenes you see this time of year. After having eaten onions with his meal, she also firmly told Grandpa, while sitting in his lap afterward that he had "de-scusting" breath. Once again, we laughed at how innocent and truthful little kids can be - especially this one - Carrie has said many time that Kasey doesn't have a "filter" system yet for some of the things she says but Grandpa and I enjoy those gut busting moments when she says what's really on her mind!

I Just Love Christmas Programs

We were lucky enough to get to go to Kylie and Kasey's Christmas show at their church last night and it was so beautiful and well done. The girls had several songs within the entire program with the youth choir so they were on stage several times but a little difficult to see as their choir was behind the musicians. None the less, they had a view of all the participants on a large overhead screen and from time to time they would scan the group so that everyone could be seen. Each time they scanned the group, there was Kasey and Kylie in their Christmas dresses, hair perfectly done by Momma and mouths wide open and eyes glistening with the excitement of being such a big and important part of a huge production. They were in their glory and after the show ran out to us full of excitement and shear joy. You could tell that they also were having a great time being in the show. Grandpa and I brought them each a single red rose for a job well done and then decided to go out for pie and hot chocolate - The perfect way to end a perfect night!

Doing One of My Favorite Things!

Every year for the last five years, I've made my Christmas cards myself. The first year I think I only made 40 of them but as the years have progressed, I think I'm now up to 90 or so of them. I absolutely love this process and start thinking in August or so, what I want to come up with this year. I spend a fair amount of time thinking through what message I want to convey and play around with colors and ideas so that it is just exactly what I want. Then, the fun begins.....Sometime in September or October, I begin the process of purchasing the product I need to make it happen.

This year our card was the most labor intensive I've ever done and had to be hand colored with watercolor pencils and then brushed with a waterbrush to make it look like it was painted - I have been totally immersed in the process and have spent many, many night in front of the TV working on them. Once that's done, I cut many pieces of paper to just the right size and start to layer and assemble them. Once assembled, they've been laid out to have THE star all glittered up which is what led the wise men to the manager and baby Jesus, our best gift ever.

Bill has commented to me several times that these cards seem to take too much time. He understands that I love to make them but he struggles with the amount of time they take at an already hectic time of year. This is how I've explained the process to him.

This gift of card making for me is something that "fills my soul" and makes me happy. It doesn't matter to me how long it takes or how putsy they are to make. This year especially, I've been reminded each and every card I've made, how lucky I am to have Christ as my Savior - How fortunate I am that God sent his Son to die for me on the cross so that all my sins are forgiven. That little baby in the manager is "our gift" from God and every card I've made has been an on-going reminder to me of that everlasting gift and the true meaning of Xmas, not to mention how I feel about the gift of family and friends.

I've told Bill that anytime I get a handmade card from someone, it is so much more special to me because someone liked or loved me enough to spend their gift of time on the card to let me know how much they cared about me. That's why I make them - I believe it's a very small way for me to let those I like and love know that they are special to me. That's why I sign every card I make with "From the Heart, Betsy" as that's truly where they come from, my heart!

Batten Down The Hatches!

There's nothing better than being up at the lake when you have no where to go and there's a snow storm - We were lucky enough to have that happen last weekend and hunkered down all warm and safe for the foot of snow that finally fell. Bill and I have a routine set for refilling the house with wood and when the snow started, we went into high gear getting ourselves stocked for a nice long weekend inside with plenty of wood to keep us warm. He hauls it in and I unload and stack it. We also have electric heat throughout the house but much prefer the sounds and smells of crackling wood. We spent a nice, warm quiet weekend alone (of course, Buddy was present also) and couldn't have wished for anything better than that - Ahhhhhhh, the simple things in life are the best!

Pancakes Is ALL It Took, Again!

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Last weekend, we were at the lake for a quiet retreat with just the two of us and the pooch, Buddy. Bill has always liked big breakfasts, especially when we're there and usually takes the opportunity after eating to take a cat nap. While there, I decided to make one of his favorites, simple but tried and true, pancakes.

Now for me, pancakes have a very special meaning when it comes to Bill. Some background is necessary tho first - Bill and I met in late 1999 but we both knew fairly soon after we met that we had a strong connection. We hadn't talked marriage necessarily but we were soul mates from the beginning and we both knew it. In 2003, after going to church one Sunday morning together, we came back to the house and I decided to make pancakes. This was the first time I had made them for Bill but unbeknown to me, almost 4 years after I met him, he LOVED pancakes and I hadn't realized it. We had a nice big breakfast and shortly after eating but while still at the table he said something about me being a good cook. Right after that, the conversation shifted to love/marriage and within seconds he got down on his knee and said some wonderful words about how he felt about me and our future together and yes, he asked me to marry him - I started to cry and absolutely said "yes" and because it was "unplanned" he slipped a bread wrapper twist tie on my hand and sealed the deal. Ok, so it may sound corny, but for me it was a moment I had only dreamed of as I loved this man deep into my soul.

So, backtrack to last weekend - After eating our big breakfast and Bill's favorite, pancakes, he did the same thing - got down on his knee and asked me to marry him again, four years after we got married - It was still a very special moment and guess what, I said "yes" again! Ahhhhh, the wonder of food, huh?

Turkey Day

It's not even necessary to write about Thanksgiving this year - These are just some of the pics of the blessings in my life that I am so very grateful for.

Now You See Him, Now You Don't!

As soon as he's home from college for Thanksgiving, we're saying "good-bye" to him before we know it - Yes, it's time for Kyle to go back to G. Forks but saying "good-bye" for me is always hard. As you can see, he had some time to relax this trip and spent much of it adoring his dogfriend, Buddy. By the way, what crazy nut lets their dog UNDER their covers with them. You got it, Kyle does! Anyway, it was nice to have him back home, even if it was just for a couple days. He'll be back in another couple weeks for his Xmas holiday and we'll have him here for a longer period of time.

By the way, thanks Ky for all your help around the house - doing laundry, folding clothes, running errands, emptying/filling the dishwasher and on and on - I always appreciate the help you give us - Hope the homemade chicken fettuccine makes up for it!

Waitin For My Bro'

Buddy is simply giddy with joy and glee (his latest favorite statement)that his bro, Kyle, is coming home soon to see him.

He's waitin at the door for him to walk in and although we don't know for sure when he'll be here, Buddy knows it will be soon. Buddy believes that no one else quite understands and worships him like Kyle does and he's in need of a heavy dose of some bro time when Ky gets back home. Apparently, the rest of us just simply don't "get" how fabulous Buddy is! Oh my!

ANOTHER Pleasant Surprise!

I had made a big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce on Sunday and decided that I would also make homemade popovers to go with it - This was a recipe I got from a girlfriend as I usually just buy store sauce and don't take the time to make it from scratch. Today tho, I felt like cooking and had simmered it for hours on the stove - the house smelled so good.

While waiting for the sauce to get done, I called Carrie to ask her a question. Turns out she was taking a cat nap so I talked to Kasey and Kylie for a couple minutes. I told Kasey I was making spaghetti when she asked me what I was doing. End of that part of our conversation.

Sometime later after talking to the kids, I put the popovers into the oven - Popovers take 45 minutes to cook and are the best when right out of the oven. Just 15 minutes into the popovers cooking, Carrie called back and said that Kasey had told her that I had invited them over for spaghetti dinner. It turns out that she and the kids were in the car as they were dropping Jonathan off at the Excel Center to see a Wild Game and they could be at the house approximately 15 minutes later - While I hadn't planned on guests, I certainly had more than enough and I told her they were welcome to come but they had to be there "pronto" to enjoy the hot popovers.

With 1 minute and 56 seconds on the timer, the 4 of them walked in and we had a nice dinner together - Grandpa hadn't seen the girls for awhile and thoroughly enjoyed seeing them even if it was for just an hour or so - As quick as they came, they left for baths and bedtime but it was another very pleasant surprise to have dinner with my other daughter after having the same delightful surprise with Lisa and family the night before.

I will be hitting the "TRIFECTA" this week as my other long lost child, Kyle, will be coming home from college for Thanksgiving with his girlfriend, Jessica (my 4th child whom I love) which will be another great time. I miss them both very much!

Food and family have always been a big part of our lives (thanks to my mom) and I can't help but wonder if she didn't play a part in orchestrating these surprise dinners this weekend, much to my delight! Thanks Mom!

Getting Rid of Stuff And a Very Nice Surprise!

Bill decided this weekend that the garage needed cleaning out so he's been hard at it. One of the things we discovered is that we had "tons" of camping gear - Before we bought our lake place, we did some camping and were extremely well equipped. Now that we have "an up north place", it's not likely we'll be going on anymore camping trips. Bill said to call the kids and see if anyone wanted "the stuff". My first call was to Lisa, not really sure she would want it although I know that Jon has said he'd like to camp. I was surprised and very pleased when she said "yes, Jon would love it" so Bill set it aside and I said it would be great if they could come sometime this weekend and claim it.

After some de-cluttering in the garage and in the house, we decided we would go out for dinner and just before we were ready to leave, Lisa called and said they were on their way out - This was just several hours later so I now knew they were real excited about getting the camping gear. They wouldn't be staying long as they were still needing to eat dinner too and were going to their favorite restaurant "El Loro" in Eagan for dinner.

We packed everything into their car and decided, while mexican food isn't Bill's first choice, that we'd try out the place with them and have a nice dinner together. It isn't very often we get to spend time with them as we're out of town alot and their on the "go" but we had a great dinner, spent some time catching up, totally enjoyed the food and the company and got some extra room in the garage. Thanks guys - we had a great time!

Sick-Abed-Two-Chairs

I've been down for the last week with a bad cold my husband gave me. Since I was a little girl, about once a year, I get a bad cold with a lingering dry cough that takes weeks to go away and literally banishes me to the couch so that I don't keep Bill up. Having asthma doesn't help things either. That's been my story all this week. I missed a day of work and slept over 12 hours on Monday night but laying low has been good.

While sick though I've remembered something my dad says with some regularity. First of all, whenever I call him, the first thing I say when he answers the phone is "what are you doing" and the first thing he says back is "talking on the phone". This is the normal exchange for us both and has been probably since mom died in 2000. Sometimes I'll ask "how are you feeling?" Just a general question or maybe because I know he had been sick with a cold, etc. The "pat" answer is always "I'm sick abed two chairs" - While I've always suspected that means something relating to illness, I've never asked so today I decided to google the phrase and learned that it's part of an old song called "On Top of Fool's Hill" with the first verse going like this:

Sick-abed-two chairs Grandma said,
I think it's settlin' in my chest,
A terrible cold, the girl's out of control,
I can never get a minute's rest.

The other thing I learned about the phrase is that the expression was used as a "tongue in cheek" response to questions about one's health or to imply that someone is pretending to be ill or is slightly unwell. Apparently, it has a midwestern origin (specifically North Dakota - which is where Dad was raised) and the idea would seem to be that you were slightly out of sorts, not enough to make you take to your bed but enough to make you want to sit in a chair with your feet up on another, or to sit close enough to the fire that your feet could, figuratively, rest on the box of logs. Interesting huh?

Anyway, I was "sick abed two chairs" this week but now am feeling better.

Man on A Mission

Despite not feeling well, Bill is very "list" oriented and wanted to get some outside work done before the snow hits up north - He loves his John Deere tractor and uses it often to get things done around the yard - He also loves a good cigar and often will combine them all together. When I see him out in the yard, despite what he may say, I know he's having the time of his life, riding his tractor, smoking his cigar and buttoning up the place before the cold weather arrives. Job well done, honey!

Diamonds in the Lake

Today was one of those mornings when the sun was shining on the lake in such a way, that it was dazzling. I told Bill that we had diamonds in our lake - He knows I'm a nut but just shook his head and said, "Yes honey, we sure do have diamonds on our lake" - I love how he puts up with me!

Just Be, Bill!

It wasn't too difficult to convince Bill to "just be" this weekend either as he had a bad cold and was needing extra sleep and rest. Both he and Buddy did a good job of catching up on both sleep and rest and I'm happy to report he's doing much better. Besides, I got a chance to spoil him a little bit too as now that all the kids are gone, I really don't have anyone to fuss over - He isn't the kind of guy who needs alot of fussing but this weekend he had warm soup, blankets right out of the dryer, some liquid vitamin concoction and alot of TLC. I'm happy to say he has made quite the recovery.

One of My Very Favorite Places to Be

This morning (Sunday) my husband spoiled me by bringing a hot cup of coffee in to me after I woke up - I propped myself up in bed and just lay under the warm covers sipping coffee, looking out at the lake, and having "coffee talk" with Bill. We were alone this weekend at the lake with the pooch and this is frequently a place we spend some time together in just talking. He had some work to finish up and I decided that I would move to his chair in our bedroom, cover myself up with a warm blanket, turn on the fireplace and just read while sipping my morning coffee. Ahhhhh, the simple things in life - It was one of those things that I often talk about doing but it seems there is always so much to do when we're there that we don't always just take the time to "be" - Today, was my day and I loved every minute of it.

Kettlebells

These are Russian Kettlebells-Kettlebells ARE our "friends" - The bell on the left weighs around 26 lbs and the one on the right weighs about 18 lbs. Kettlebells is a several hundred year old form of Russian weightlifting that seems to becoming more popular of late in gyms and clubs across the country. Several very dear friends of mine called me one day on my day off and said to bring comfortable clothes the following Monday as we were going to take a kettlebells class our our lunch hour. All I knew is that it was a form of weights and that they told me to do it. I'm especially compliant with these two friends and pretty much do what they tell me to do. We get along much better that way :) Anyway, off to Kettlebells class it was which was approximately 6 weeks ago now. It is my kind of exercise - very intense, very challenging and very efficient. Our threesome has now expanded to include three other co-workers and I also turned our female City Attorney onto it and she started her first class downtown just yesterday. I'm exhausted after throwing these things around and our instructor challenges us to to things with these weights that we never though we could have done. I absolutely love it and have told Bill there is no negotiating about whether I continue to take these classes - He is extremely supportive about it and knows that I'm "hooked" - I'm sleeping better, I feel stronger and I have no more aches and pains that seem to creep in when you get alittle older. After meniscus surgery on each knee, my knees are stronger and in better shape than ever before. In just 6 short weeks, I've lost 8 pounds and shed a total of 8 inches off of my waist, hips and thighs. Thank goodness for kettlebells and for my friend, Lynnette.

Girl Weekends at the Lake

I love my two friends, Lynnette and Cheryl - love them so very much and so every once in a while, we escape to the lake to just hang out and be girls. The last weekend we went, we did alittle scrapping, watched a couple great movies, did some kettlebelling and sharing info here and there that we hadn't shared before - I didn't even get out of my pj's one entire day and had the most fun just talking, laughing, having some wine and staying up late. Just like when I was a young girl, except for the wine part. I guess it doesn't matter what age you are as long as you're with people you love and are having fun. Life really is just one slumber party after another when I with these two gals - We'll do it again soon!

My Mystery Date

In late summer, Bill and I started going on "mystery dates" - The premise of a mystery date is that one spouse plans something fun one month and the following month the other spouse is in charge of the planning.

Now I have a "life list" which is a list of some of the things I want to do before I leave this world (hopefully not for a long time) but one of the items on my life list was to kiss my husband on the Stone Arch Bridge - Don't ask me why, I just wanted to.

Bill was in charge of our first mystery date and he ended up surprising me by taking me to the Stone Arch Bridge where I asked a stranger to take our picture kissing (which was very nice- the kiss, not the pic) and then he took me to a lovely restaurant called the Stone Arch Grill for a very romantic dinner.

The following month, it was my turn and so for my mystery date, I took him to a Minnesota Twins game (yes, they won) and out for dinner at JD Hoyts downtown.

In September, for our mystery date, I took Bill golfing in New Richmond, Wisc. (with friends) and to Stillwater for a nice summer dinner. Again, things he (and I) love to do.

The most recent mystery date was a concert - Now, I thought the only musicians I would ever be interested in seeing were Paul McCartney and Barbara Streisand - I've been lucky enough to have great seats to see them both and thought that was that. I recently heard a couple of Tony Bennett songs that I liked and decided that someday, because he's such a legend, it would be cool to hear him perform in person. This was also an item on my "life list" - You can imagine how thrilled I was when Bill's mystery date for me in October was to see Tony Bennett in concert at Mystic Lake. We were in the 7th row from the front, center stage and he was incredible. At 81 years old, he sang as if he was much younger and for someone that age, was quite cute. I tend to go for the men with the salt and pepper hair although Tony can't beat another handsome man in my life no matter what he looks like or how he sings. We had a nice dinner, did alittle gambling and had a great time.

Now, November is my month for a mystery date so I've got to get my thinking hat on and get something planned that Bill will like. I'll keep you posted.

I'm Lazy, Huh?

According to Carrie, I'm lazy because I haven't blogged for awhile - I didn't blog because nothing much was going on, but she says I should have blogged whatever - SOOOOOO, this is for Carrie. Today, I boiled two eggs and as you can see they didn't seem to mind!

Where Have I Been, You Say?

Just busy, busy, busy - not exactly sure doing what but between work and home lately, there hasn't been alot of time - probably also because there hasn't been any significant events to report so didn't want to bore the tears out of anyone.

Grandparent Camp

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Carrie mentioned to me some time ago that she knew, through their church, of a grandparent camp in October in Alexandria, MN and wondered if I would want to go with her girls - Madison would have been too old for the age requirements and sometimes when Emmy is with, Kasey and Emmy have a lovefest that results in Kylie being left out - For that reason, I just took Kylie and Kasey for a trial run.

We started out mid afternoon on Friday and made it to camp just in time for the get acquainted hot dog roast with 14 other kids and around 9 other grandparents. The girls each had a hot dog and at last count I believe 3 s'mores - After dinner, the kids all got acquainted by jumping in and throwing leaves at one another. The evening ended with a short devotion period and a family movie named "FireHouse Dog", complete with popcorn.

We had a nice room and after the movie, the girls and I headed back to our room for a little drawing period in their notebooks and lights out at 10 p.m. as we had had a busy night and were tired.

Saturday resulted in early morning playground time (which all the kids loved more than anything) and craft activity. We painted birdhouses for us to keep and made a fish project. After crafts, we had a nice lunch in the cafeteria and stole another few precious moments on the playground. After that we went on a scavenger hunt, one of three teams, and found everything we were suppose to find except for a kernel of corn. We had alot of fun traipsing all over looking for our items and the kids chanted "Dixie, Dixie" repeatedly when one of the adults named Dixie found a bird feather that was on our list and we desperately needed. After our hunt, the kids went and played games together in the beautiful weather while we grandparents spent an hour away from them spent talking about family traditions and how special ALL our grandchildren were to us.

We, once again, had a nice dinner with our little group and then proceeded to watch a new Veggie Tales movie called "The Wizard of Ha's" which is basically the story of the Prodigal son from the bible - There was a short devotion and prayer period after the movie where the pastor talked about the movie, in kid terms, so they could understand. After that we did some coloring of some Veggie Tale pictures and then.....at 8:30, the hayride wagon arrived - Oh, the frenzy of it all - We all loaded onto the haywagon and went for a ride singing all our favorite songs - Mary had a little lamb, He's got the whole world in his hands, Jesus loves me and on and on. We brought our flashlights with in case we saw any mountain lions or cougars as Kylie confessed she was a little concerned about meeting up with. All went well and after a successful hayride and an absolutely beautiful day, we topped it all off with hot cocoa and M & M cookies - What could be better? We got back to our room around 9:30 and the girls still had enough energy to want to finish coloring their Veggie Tales pictures so that we did. We finished at 10:00 and literally seconds after Kasey got into bed, she was out cold. Kylie and I didn't take too long either.

We had a nice breakfast with the group again Sunday morning and then spent an hour in a casual setting talking about God's blueprint for our lives - We learned that the bible is God's blueprint for us and that the instructions on the blueprint are the 10 commandments - It was well done and presented in such a way that the kids seemed to understand...all with the guarantee that no matter what we've done or will do in the future, that God will always forgive and love us...... NO MATTER WHAT! It was a great weekend with the kids but I will admit I don't know whose more pooped, me or them?