review of 2008 - january & february

due to major procrastination, it's now less than 2 hrs. til the new year. guess if i'm gonna do a stroll down memory lane, i better get my shoes on & start walkin-

three things about last january stand out in my mind.





- the most exciting thing was the birth of angela & justin's beautiful son, eston.
he was born on the 9th & it's hard to believe he's turning 1 next week. he is so much fun, so full of energy & really, really clever & smart. just don't try to feed him any green vegetables. his whole upper body shudders & shakes when he tastes anything green.

- i found out that i'm diabetic last january, too. for someone who loves pasta & mashed potatoes & white cake, it was really difficult
to accept that i would need to change my diet in a major way. but i have & though i still have to take 2 pills a day, i'm controlling it pretty well, especially when you consider the fact that i have severe food allergies & can't tolerate a lot of fiber in my diet. i've managed to lose & keep off 16 pounds, but still need to lose another 16+++. i'll get to work on that right away (ha!)

- the other thing that happened last january was announcing my decision to no longer be the coordinator of the columbus class of community bible study. it was what i knew the Lord wanted me to do, i just didn't know why. sometimes we are called to just be obedient & not know the reasons. this was definitely one of those times. i miss the servants team, the leaders council & even the busyness of it all, but the Lord has other plans for me. life is good.


in february i came up with a brilliant idea. basically: if i cook it, they will come. we wanted to provide a means for spending time with our grown children (a social session, shelly would call it.) so we created "SUNDAYS AT THE OLD FOLKS HOME". we issued a standing invitation (via email) that we would have provide lunch on the 1st sunday of each month & dinner on the 3rd sunday of each month. i guess i need some feedback from the kids as to whether they think it's been a good thing, but as for shelly & me, we have absolutely loved it. it's become hard to find times that work for all (due to children's schedules) but i hope we can continue it. yes, we love sundays at the old folks home! you'll see a photo in later posts of a typical "sunday at the old folks home"

another thing we do every year is an "all in one birthday party". carrie's birthday is in december, corrie's in january, dan, angela & lee in february & justin keller in march. so it made a lot of sense to celebrate them all at once! so, we do. we always have a theme (a fantabulous theme every year, i might add!) 2008 - brot the "BIRTHDAY RODEO AT THE STRATSHIRE FAIRGROUNDS". as you can see, it was a night to remember. unfortunately, the keller household had the flu & missed it! but a good time was had by the rest of us!




tune in soon for a couple more months!

preamble to looking back on the good, the bad & the ugly (a review of 2008)

for the longest time (like over 30 yrs) i've been saving my calendars & yearly planners. the ones that i make notes on, even the calendar desk pads that i scribble all over. i can tell you exactly which one i've written joe schmoe's number on in 1999. if i've written it down, i can remember it. that is, i can remember that i've written it down. make sense? i can remember which tiny scrap of paper i've written the number on or which calendar or yearly planner or desk pad. all i have to do is find that particular thing i've written it on & i'm all set.
ha, ha, ha. i've spent entire days looking for those calendars, planners, etc. and because i'm so ocd (or cdo as it's known in my mind) i.will.find.it!

and for as long as i've been emailing, i've been saving my emails. last year when we moved, we switched our internet provider from earthlink to insight. that meant that unless i found an easy way to save all my emails, they would be gone forever.
we even kept our earthlink address, in addition to our insight, for like 3 months because i didn't want to lose my OLD emails. finally, i bit the bullet & let them die, knowing i couldn't live without them. guess what? i did. life went on.
does that mean i've stopped saving my emails. of course not. i now have 500 in my inbox & 500 in my sent box. it's a sickness, you know. if you have sent me an email discussing something, i have it. (i do not & will not save all those beautiful, funny, encouraging, etc. attachments that people send me)

continuing with my preamble -

i take lots of photos. i used to have this amazing sony camera that recorded on little cds. ask me how many little cds i have? go on, ask me. well, i'll tell you. too many to count! what a terrific, permanent way to save your photos. instead of getting all those rolls of film made into double prints & then not putting them into albums, i could just keep them on cds. and you can look at them anytime you want. just sort through all those cds, and, say-five hours later, you'll get to see your photos. just like sorting through boxes of photos, now it's boxes of cds.

but now i have a sony camera that puts the photos on little tiny cards & you have to then transfer them to a file on the computer & then transfer them to a cd. actually, you can transfer them to a cd & bypass the computer file but i like to have everything at my fingertips so i can pull up a photo at a moment's notice. so you can imagine how big my "my pictures" folder is. pretty darn big. (2 1/2 yrs. ago, i had the biggest computer crash of my life & lost all the photos in "my pictures" folder. it was devastating.)

i have rambled on & on in this preamble to say this:

i have the dates & notes on my calendar, i have the emails & i have the pictures. and over the next couple of days, i'm planning on doing a little stroll down the memory lane of 2008.

come along if you'd like to. if not - well, maybe you'll be missed!
and if you leave comments, you'll definitely be remembered. i'll never remove these comments, they'll be here forever & as long as i can find my blog, i'll keep looking at them.

it just keeps getting better & better

shelly is now speaking my language (apparently)

he's been downgraded to:

TV Reviews

this is tooo weird. i think his blog has become a whole harder to read & navigate since he made all the changes to it.

what is going on?

i guess i'm getting harder to understand

just checked my "readability".

Movie Reviews

grade schoolers cannot no longer read this blog. if you are in grade school & you are reading this, you must be exceptionally bright.

some junior high is now required in order to comprehend what i'm talking about.

if any middle-schoolers are reading this, could you try to explain to me just what it is i'm trying to say. i could use a little help here. i'd write more often if i could figure what to say.

i haven't a clue!

honest - i don't.

a merry, little christmas

christmas started at 5 pm on christmas eve for us.

that's when the "old folks home" came to life.

the tree had been up for days, the decorating & wrapping completed & christmas music had filled the house on several occasions. we had been up & busy since early morning, but it wasn't until everyone arrived that it became christmas.

and it just got better & better after that.

everyone brought something to add to our "indoor-outdoor fingerfood/barbeque buffet" that has become a tradition for us on christmas eve. there are a few "must haves": meatballs (beef & turkey) in sweet/sour & swedish sauce & brie on the "brie plate" & carrie & jean always bring cookies & corrie always brings a yummy dessert. having angela & justin in town for the 2nd year in a row means so much to us & her fabulous roasted asparagus did, too!

we ate, we laughed & we kissed babies and opened a mountain of gifts!

we also heard the christmas story told in 6 new ways: (well-done with only a few words omitted, slooooooow & with only a few words omitted, quick, short & tag-teamed, very short (1 verse) & from the mouths of babes (with a little help from maymee). isaiah 55:11 says "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" God blesses everyone who memorizes His Word by hiding it deep in their hearts. it's my prayer that all of us (including me) will be able to share next year and that those who worked so hard this year will have those words come to mind throughout the days ahead.

it was a sweet evening that i'll always remember: the Christmas the Lord blessed us with not 1, not 2, but 3 beautiful babies. and henry seemed to relish every moment of being the big cousin and #1 grandson.

on christmas morning, we went to ruth & fred's for their annual christmas breakfast. oh my! sausage gravy & biscuits, bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, grits casserole, french toast casserole & lots & lots of good coffee. we always enjoy this so much.

around noon, we went home & i started feeling the effects of an unwanted present: a nasty cold & sore throat! we’ve been laying low ever since! we were planning to leave yesterday for lizards thicket but we just couldn’t work up the enthusiasm for the 12 hour drive & i couldn’t find any fares that were low enough or routes short enough for us to fly. the weather was supposed to be fantastic there for a few days & we really need some sunshine.

anyway, here’s a few thousand look-sees from christmas –



Luke 2 - the Christmas story

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)3And everyone went to his own town to register. 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.




hope yours was merry & bright & blessed -

thanksgiving blessings

angela & justin & eston

corrie & dan & eva

justin & carrie & henry

lee & jean & corbin

good things come in small packages

there is just something very special about your baby (no matter the age) having a baby! it's so hard to even attempt to put into words the love, the overwhelming love i feel when i look at eva rose.

after a very long day, & an even longer night, eva rose was born at 1:22 am. on november 13, 2008.

she weighed 6 lb. 10 oz. & measured 19".

she has rose petal ears & deep blue eyes that look deep into your soul.

she is perfect.

and her grandmother is silenced by it all (which is a first!)

why use words, when pictures can tell the story so much better?

henry at the hartford fair

you can see a lot in 1 1/2 hrs. at the hartford fair.
in order of their appearance, henry saw:
cows
goats (and wanted to bring 1 home - because they were for sale)
sheep
horses
beef cattle
rabbits
chickens
turkeys
pigs
the concession stands
the children's play barn

it was a hot day, so the length of time was perfect.

what a great little fair it is! if you get the opportunity, head north to johnstown & then on to croton where you'll find the fair.

he said, she said

i think shelly & i need to rename our blogs to: he said (for him) & she said (for me) why? his latest entry has several statements & opinions that i disagree with.

first, he said that about a month ago he missed the bottom rung of a ladder.
she said he had been complaining about his knee for at least 2 1/2 months.

he said he was seen by a nurse at an orthopedic center.
she said the "nurse" was a nurse practitioner who is qualified to diagnose & write prescriptions after conferring with the doctor.

he said he LEFT WITH A SACK OF PILLS AND THE DETERMINATION TO SEE IF I COULD GRIT MY TEETH AND HOBBLE.

she said he was given an option of a cortisone shot or celebrex & physical therapy.

He said he'd opt for celebrex only. He took them for 10 days? or so & it lowered his bp so much that he was dizzy & light headed. He stopped taking the celebrex.

she said he should call the ortho dr. (or his nurse practitioner) & let them know or go to a cardiologist (that's another story) so that his bp medication could be decreased while he takes celebrex.

she thinks he is an amazingly strong person with amazing willpower & great determination & is also very bull-headed.

however ---- this whole he said, she said thing could go both ways.

i was taking cyclosporin for my psoriasis & psoriatic arthritis & it was making me deathly ill. i couldn't begin to function each day until afternoon! it was clearing my skin pretty well & really helping with my arthritis but in order to be effective, i needed to take a high dosage of it. the side effects or adverse effects to me: extreme nausea, fatigue, violent headaches, and the most bizarre adverse effect was: EXCESSIVE HAIR GROWTH. i now have a moustache. and - i need to pluck my eyebrows hourly. i keep checking & so far none in my ears. so, of course, i did the logical thing, right?, i stopped taking it. the results: my skin is a mess, again, & i'm in a psoriatic arthritis crisis, again. But, I feel great, mornings are mine, again. the moustache remains but the eyebrow growth is slowing down.

so, shelly could definitely do a he said about this whole thing because i'm sure he doesn't agree with the approach i took & am taking, just as i don't agree with his.
but, in addition to the above mentioned attributes that i listed for him, i have to add that he is extremely supportive of all the hair-brained schemes that i come up with even those that have to do with my health.

i guess we should just keep things as they are. he'll blog from his perspective & i'll read it & go "humpf, that's not how it is" & i'll blog from my perspective & he'll go "well, if that's how she sees it, then that's how she sees it". even better he just say "it is what it is"

because - IT IS WHAT IT IS

map&sbp=crazy

embarassed beyond belief! (or is it a good thing?)

Movie Reviews

i don't know why i'm so surprised? after all, all i'm trying to do is make it easy
for my readers. i've always strived to write to their reading level. mission accomplished? .............ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha, & ha,ha.

Buy Pink (but don't throw away your receipts!)

I knew it! The doctor believes there is a 90% chance that Corrie is having a girl.
The baby was moving around a lot(but curled up)& all is well. We'll have to wait 2 more months for another ultrasound to get better confirmation but as far as i'm concerned - it's a girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THINK PINK

only 1 more week to enter your guess for the sex of corrie & dan's baby.
they find out next thursday morning.

i'm not saying i'm hoping for a particular sex, however, i'll close now,
with just one thought -----------------------------------

THINK PINK!

he's a keeper!

what a sweet, sweet baby!




corbin lindstrom parker with his daddy lee & grandaddy (baba) shelly

It's Raining Men (baby men)!

Hallelujah! Praise God for his unfailing loving kindness!
We have another grandson!

Corbin Parker arrived on the columbus scene yesterday, all
7 # 14 oz. & 19 " of him. We understand that mommy Jean
& daddy Lee & baby are all doing well & enjoying their time
together. We pray God's richest blessings on this sweet family.



Yippee! We're going to meet Corbin this afternoon! Oooh! I'll need to get a photo of the 3 generations of Parker men!

More later -

the official Christmas 2007 photo

In case you are wondering, the previous entry was refering to events that happened in December. You were probably thinking that I still have my Christmas tree up. There have been years when it didn't come down until Feb. but this wasn't one of those years. I had intended to post our family Christmas photo & posted that one by mistake so decided to tell you about it. Now, I'll try to post the right one.

Henry had stayed overnite with us & I happened through the living room & found him staring intently at his Veggie Tales Nativity Set. I don't have a clue what was going through his mind but it made a sweet photo. Click on it to get the full impact. The day we had gotten the nativity set out of the decorations box, I noticed later in the day that Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus were missing. Henry had taken them down to the basement to take them for a ride in his big car. Henry was a lot of help with decorating & undecorating the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the undecorating was going on the same time as the decorating. Several times during December I'd notice that the birds nest & birds were missing from the tree. Henry would have them with him, playing with them & talking to them.

Pondering the Babe in the Manger

Blog Blessings

Somehow I came upon a blog called "Southern Hospitality". http://www.southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/ This gal in Birmingham, Alabama writes about decorating & all her great finds at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. She also posts photos of her finds & her house. I noticed
that she has about 100 links to similar blogs of women all around the world with the same interests. So, of course, I felt compelled to check out all these other blogs, 1 at a time, several a day, which has consumed way too much of my time the last few weeks but has been so much fun. 99% of them post lots of photos of what they're cooking each day, what they are crafting, creating, selling, how they're decorating for each month. I love it! I'm one of those people that like to ride down the streets in the evening looking in windows (no closer than from the car, however) to see how people have their houses decorated. Now, these people are inviting me into their homes & they don't even know me! I've gotten so many great ideas. I may even start posting my photos! Well, I guess I have already posted a few, haven't I? But now you may get to see the inside of my house!

There are 2 websites in particular that are absolutely hysterical! "BooMama & Big Mama" http://www.boomama.net/ & http://www.bigmama1.com/ . They are nothing like you might be imagining. Boo Mama is named that because she has a little boy nicknamed Boo & she lives in the south, so that makes her Boo Mama. The other one is called big mama because she has a little girl that she calls "a big girl" so that little girl calls her mommy "big mama".

You would think they were professional comediennes. They make even the most mundane thing in their day sound hilarious. They even do webcasts (audio only) where they are talking to each other about various things & they answer questions that people have emailed to them about a variety of subjects & they interview guests, too. So good!

Their kids wander through & interrupt & that makes it even funnier. You have to check them out. Boo Mama is in Uganda at the moment with Compassion Intl. with a bunch of other bloggers. Her writing and photos, at the moment, are from a totally different perspective as she sees the children in shantys & experiences poverty at the very lowest level. All Americans should be required to experience that. Even if you think you have nothing, these people & children really do have nothing. But, as Shelly & I found when we were in Belize, they don't know that they have nothing & exude more joy than most people can even dream of. Crazy, huh?

So, back to these bloggers, they all give you opportunity to let them know that you stopped by. You are encouraged to leave a message. And, they refer to all those who don't, as "lurkers". I guess I don't leave a message because I don't have anything to say except maybe "Hi & Bye" Maybe I'll get my courage up to start saying something. We'll see.

The only new year's resolution that i had for this year was to start using capital letters where they should be when typing. I was told at Christmas time that it is really tacky to type everything lowercase & certainly not the proper thing to do. I guess I'm either very lazy or very lazy or just like typing all lowercase.
So, if I am offending you, please accept my apology for the past & the future cause more than likely i'll be reverting to all lowercase in the very, very near future.

henry was here today. played with his trains all morning & clear up to "quiet time". he carries them everywhere he goes in 2 thomas bags (1 is a lunchbox & 1 is a backpack) correction: daddy or mommy carries them. he carries his 100 thomas catalogs that have had to be laminated because they are so worn. so anyway, he got here this morning, and out came the trains: ben, rusty, thomas, salty, diesel 10, clarabelle,annie, henry does a roll call as he pulls them out of the bags. how blessed we are by him & his sweet ways & sweet life.

well, gotta get back to "lurking". might just pick up some really good decorating tips! oooh. i just remembered 1 i saw today. this gal had picked up some magazine holders at target at the dollar spot. i don't remember seeing them.
maybe i'll get dressed (yes, it's 6 pm & i'm still in my jammies - we've just had 2 snow days so i'm dressing "casual") anyway, maybe i'll drive to target and see if they still have any. yes, drive and use 5 dollars worth of gas to get a 1 dollar item. hummmm, maybe i could run this country. my logic is just as good as some people running for president!

Blessings,
Miranda

what a difference a year makes!

blessings to all of you taking the time to check in on my blog-

to bring you up todate:
we didn't make it to italy
we worked all summer on our house & it sold very quickly & closed just as quickly
bot another house that has all the features we wanted except a backyard
we did NOT get into shape or lose weight
i just found out i'm diabetic
another grandchild was born this month, a totally captivating blue eyed boy
another grandchild is due mid june
we still have 1 more house to fix up & sell
henry has moved on from the wiggles to everything thomas - he has memorized every train, coach, car, bus, crane, etc. & plays with them for hours on end
he talks non-stop & is a very sweet, happy, loving & lovable 3 year old with zero interest in using the potty

life is good, in fact, life is better than ever!

every day we see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

Randee