Happy 6th Birthday, CJ!

Six years ago today, Ray and I were on our way back from a Valvereplacement.com reunion in Golden Colorado. My daughter, Jessica was in the Air Force and stationed near Rapid City, SD. She was due to give birth shortly before that weekend, (if I remember correctly), but it hadn't happened. We decided to stop there on our way back home to Minnesota. I was really hoping she'd have the baby while we were there, but had no idea if she really would or not. We met Jessica and her dad for dinner, and then stayed at a hotel that Sunday night, because her dad was staying at her place. She called me at about 10pm and said that he was bringing her into the hospital. I was very excited! We were going to be there for this blessed event!

Ray and I met them at the hospital, and we sat with her awhile. Eventually, it looked like things were not going to happen real soon, so the two grandpas left, Jerry to Jessica's and Ray went back to our hotel room. I stayed there with Jessica, and slept in the recliner. The next morning, the guys came back to the hospital, and things started to progress. She didn't want her dad or step-dad in the room, but Mom was welcome to stay and witness the birth! I did, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life!

Christian Jacob was born at 11:07 AM. Just by looking at Jessica's tummy beforehand, I had guessed her baby boy would weigh 8 lbs. 8 oz. When it was time to take him to be weighed, the nurse said, "Grandma, would you like to carry him to the nursery?" I said, " I'd love to." I picked him up, and "weighing" him with my arms, I said, "I'll stick with 8 lbs. 8 oz." I handed him over to the nurse, (who had guessed he was at least 10 lbs.) and she laid him on the scale. He weighed in at exactly 8 lbs. 9 oz. Not a bad guess, if I do say so myself. It probably helped a little that I had given birth to four babies, ranging in size from 8 lbs. 6 oz - 9 lbs. 8 oz. I knew he was right in there.

While Jess was in the Air Force, we didn't get to see Christian a lot, except when he stayed with us, during the times his mom had to be gone for training, and while she served in Iraq for 5 months...when he was just 10 months old.

Today, Christian (or CJ as I generally refer to him on my blog), is a handsome, healthy, happy, and sometimes hilarious 6 year old, who loves Kindergarten and especially riding on the school bus. Last night, Grandpa Jerry came over for pizza, cake and ice cream. This was his "Toy Story 3 birthday cake:

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking this grandma decorated his birthday cake, right? WRONG! I didn't even touch this one, but my daughter, (Jessica) has picked up a few things by watching me. She also worked in an in-store bakery with me, back in the day, when she was in high school, where she had to do a little decorating. I think she did an awesome job on his cake!

Here are some of his birthday gifts:

He got a Star Wars light saber from Grandpa Jerry, along with a nice warm pair of snow pants.

A new game for his Wii from his mama...The DVD, "How to Train Your Dragon" from Grandpa Ray and me...

And last but certainly not least, a Nintendo DS, also from his mother.

He was pretty excited about that!

Happy Birthday to my sweet grandson, Christian. I can't believe you're 6 years old already!

The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan ~ A Book Review

I just finished reading this book, and want to share with my readers what a wonderful read it was! Quite honestly, I had picked it up and started reading it several times, before I "got into" it. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, it may have just been me...seeing as how I hadn't read a novel in a very long time and was distracted by little things, (like my life), along the way. I can assure you though, that it is well worth taking the time to be so mesmerized by and immersed in this story, that you literally can't put it down. That's what happened to me last night.

Here is the synopsis of the book:

Mercy Land has made some unexpected choices for a young woman in the 1930s. The sheltered daughter of a traveling preacher, she chooses to leave her rural community to move to nearby Bay City on the warm, gulf-waters of southern Alabama. There she finds a job at the local paper and spends seven years making herself indispensable to old Doc Philips, the publisher and editor. Then she gets a frantic call at dawn—it’s the biggest news story of her life, and she can’t print a word of it.

Doc has come into possession of a curious book that maps the lives of everyone in Bay City—decisions they’ve made in the past, and how those choices affect the future. Mercy and Doc are consumed by the mystery locked between the pages—Doc because he hopes to right a very old wrong, and Mercy because she wants to fulfill the book’s strange purpose. But when a mystery from Mercy’s past arrives by train, she begins to understand that she will have to make choices that will deeply affect everyone she loves—forever.




Mercy Land is not a place, (as I had first thought from the title), but a person. She was born (quite literally) on the banks of Bittersweet Creek during a lightning storm. What an exciting way to come into the world! She has fond memories of her childhood friend, "Tommy Taylor" and their endless days of playing along those same banks where she was born. She was brought up by her father the preacher, her mother and "Aunt Ida," who was influential in helping her make some of the choices and decisions that would ultimately affect who she would become and what paths her life would take.

That's what this story is about. Choices. We all make choices every day, good or bad, right or wrong. And every choice we make affects not only our own life, but that of those around us, perhaps even perfect strangers. The writer takes us on a supernatural journey, which, though it is definitely fun to read, has a much deeper meaning to the reader. It may just cause you to reflect on the decisions you've made in your own life, and what effect they've had on the outcome of your life and those around you. I think it might even help me to stop and think before making some choices in the future. The Miracle of Mercy Land is very well written and I highly recommend it. Just make sure you have a few hours to read it before picking it up...it's seriously hard to put down!


About the Author:


River Jordan is a critically acclaimed novelist and playwright. Her previous works include Saints In Limbo and The Messenger of Magnolia Street. She speaks around the country on the "Power of Story" and produces and hosts the radio series Clearstory from Nashville, Tennessee, where she makes her home.

The Miracle of Mercy Land was provided to me for review, free of charge, by Kelly Blewett of KBK Public Relations. This book is available from Amazon.com and Randomhouse.com.

A Perfect Ten!

October 10, 2010 (or 10/10/10), will go down in history as an absolutely gorgeous day. I'm not sure if any weather records were set...but it was in the 70's...which is not exactly normal for October in Minnesota. My dad turned 78 years old on the 7th, and we all got together to celebrate his birthday on the 10th. Below, is the birthday cake I made for him...unfortunately, when I placed it on the seat of my van to take it to the party, I accidentally cracked it right through the middle...so just ignore the huge crater through the center of this cake:

There was to be a hayride, beginning sometime between 4 and 4:30pm. We were running a bit late, and it takes a little over an hour to get to my parents' house. I decided we'd better stop for gas though, when we were about 10 miles from our destination. While I was fueling up, my daughter Jessica called. She'd gone straight there from work, and had beat us there. She told us they were loading up for the hayride right then. It was around 4:25 by this time. So, I decided I'd just drive to where ever they happened to be by the time I got there, and drop off my daughter Molly, and Jessica's son, Christian so they could hop on. We found them, the kids got out of the van and jumped onto the hay wagon with the rest of the bunch. Dad drove the tractor and wagon around me and went a little ways and turned into the closest driveway.

I wasn't sure what he was up to, but then I saw the sign. It said, "Llama Gardens" or something like that, so I followed them into the driveway. The guy that owns this llama farm is a friend of my dad's and he had arranged for him to bring the group by for a visit, which was a surprise to everyone on the hayride. If Mom knew, she hadn't told anyone else.

My dad collects and restores trucks and tractors. Most of his tractors are Fords, but this is one that he had been trying to add to his collection for many years. It's a Minneapolis Moline. He finally aquired it a few years ago, and here it is, fully restored.

I was going to take a picture of everyone on the hay wagon...but they jumped off too quickly.

Remember that song "Down by the Bay?" You know, "Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, back to my home, I dare not go...for if I do, my mother will say..." Have you ever seen a mama, kissing a llama, down by the bay?" Hehe, I don't think she's actually kissing it, but that's my mother, and that's what it looks like from here.

My niece, Shelby found a new friend. This St. Bernard's name is "Flopsy" and Shelby thought it was the best "llama" there!

Here a llama...

There a llama...

Everywhere a llama, llama...

Here's most of the group at the llama farm.

Since I was driving my van, I obviously couldn't join the others on the hayride, so I drove a couple of miles back to my parents' house...where there were plenty of other family members that hadn't gone on the ride.

Others were still getting there too, my nephew Kirk, his wife Annie and their 3 little girls arrived shortly after I did. Great niece Julia, along with her two sisters, came running to greet my sister, "Grandma Peggy" and brother-in-law "Grandpa Tim." This is Tim holding Julia, who just celebrated her first birthday.

Here they come!

Here's my dad, driving his Minneapolis Moline tractor. He seemed to be enjoying it.

Here's the wagon from one side...

And here it is from the other.
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But wait...There's more.

Since everyone hadn't gotten a chance to go the first time around, Grandpa said he'd do another one! Yeah!! I didn't get to go the first time...some of them decided to hop back on for seconds, too.

Here's the other side...again. I hopped (or climbed, rather) up there beside my niece, Missy on the quilt.

I took a few pictures of the beautiful autumn-colored countryside, along the way...

Here's some more.

And my beatiful nieces, Jackie and Missy and great niece, Kasey. Jackie's husband, Jim is in the background...yes Jim, you're beautiful too.

More brilliant colored scenery...

Meanwhile...back at the ranch...they were getting supper on, and people had started getting their food. We had a wonderful spread. Chili, bouja, several pasta salads, taco salad, a delicious cashew cole slaw, among other tasty treats.

Shelby had gotten a new "Hannah Montana" hat and modeled it for me while I took her picture.

My older brother, Dan has FINALLY joined the grandparent club. Here he is holding baby Lauren with his daughter Holly, looking on.

And here is my sister Peggy, (a veteran member of the grandparent club), holding her youngest grandchild, Julia.

It really was an awesome day. The weather could NOT have been nicer, and I think I counted about 56 family members there that day... I think that's about 50% of us. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Another "Batty" LNO!

Friday night was our monthly Ladies Night Out, as I had explained in the previous post. It was held at "Daisy's" house this month. Unfortunately, a lot of the women that usually come, couldn't make it this time for one reason or another, so there were only four of us there. Anyway, it was a pretty mellow evening. We watched the DVD, "Killers" that Lisa had brought, which was a pretty good movie. After that, we were just sitting around chatting, when all of a sudden...

A BAT came flying from upstairs and straight into the living room, where we were sitting! I'm pretty sure we all let out a scream about that time. Jody, (who was sitting on the floor with her baby), was convinced it had come in there to attack her. Thankfully, it then flew into the kitchen where we watched it circle the room, over and over, searching for a way out. "Daisy" called for her oldest son to come downstairs and help us. He came down, went out another door and then opened the sliding door to the kitchen to hopefully get the bat to fly OUT! Meanwhile, "Daisy" was crawling across the kitchen floor, on her way to open another door. It worked!! I just wish I'd had the presence of mind to take out my camera and get pictures and video of the furry creature flying around in circles...however, I was a bit concerned it was going to fly back into the living room...and wasn't really thinking about pictures at the time.

This was not our first experience with a bat interrupting our monthly LNO. A couple of years ago, when we were meeting at church, we encountered at least one bat flying around and scaring the dickens out of us. I honestly can't say we've ever had a BORING LNO! Tune in next time, to hear of our adventures...same bat time...same bat channel!!

What A Difference A Year Makes!

The second Friday of every month, a group of my friends and I get together for Ladies Night Out. We don't necessarily go "out," though. In fact, it all started with a group of women that would meet at church, to play games, eat, laugh and get to know each other better. We are no longer meeting at our church, and there are a few women that have joined our group that either no longer attend our church, or never have but have come with a friend. So now, we take turns meeting at each other's houses or at a restaurant etc.

Anyway, last year's October LNO was held on a very cold night, with SNOW in the forecast. Here is what we found when we walked out to the parking lot in the wee hours of the morning:

And the following day, I took pictures of my grandson, CJ playing in the snow. I love the contrast of the pretty colored leaves against the green grass and the white snow, though.

Fast forward to the second Friday of October THIS year. It is 82 degrees out, and not a cloud in the sky. Not even any wind to speak of. I just took a picture from "Grandma's Front Porch." This is what it looks like today:

I'm LOVING this weather. Especially, in light of the fact that a LOOOONG Minnesota winter will soon be underway. I'm also looking forward to another fun Ladies Night Out tonight!

Anniversary Getaway to Brainerd

To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, we decided to take a little trip. Living in a house with my two daughters, age 28 and 13 and the almost 6 year old grandson, not to mention the two dogs, we felt it would be good to have some much needed "together alone" time. We headed northward on Thursday night, about an hour and a half from our house to Brainerd, MN. Thursday had been an absolutely gorgeous day, (as almost every one of our anniversaries has been, so far) with barely a cloud in the sky, and about 72 degrees for a high. Friday was supposed to be a beautiful day too...just not quite as warm as Thursday had been. Not bad weather for the end of September/beginning of October in Minnesota.

We arrived at the AmericInn at about 9pm and checked in. We splurged and got the jacuzzi suite. It was nice, although according to their website, the king-sized bed was supposed to be a "sleep number bed." It wasn't. I was a bit upset over that, since it was one of the main reasons I chose this particular hotel. I'm going to call and let them know of my disappointment. Hopefully, I'll get at least a partial refund. Anyway, since we hadn't had dinner yet, and it was now after 9pm, we opted to go to Applebees for their half-price appetizers. We returned to the hotel and went for a swim. We had the entire pool and hot tub to ourselves, since it was "adults only" from 10pm - midnight and it was a Thursday night. After our swim, we retired to our suite at the opposite end of the hotel.

Upon awakening on Friday morning, I was a bit disappointed when I looked out the window. It was cloudy, gray and looked really wet outside. We checked the weather channel though, and it looked like it would be clearing shortly. I'd made plans with a friend of mine from high school (who now lives in the Brainerd area), to stop in for lunch with her and her husband. So after stopping at a grocery store to pick up some sandwich fixin's we headed over to Karen and Kevin's for lunch. They live on a beautiful piece of property, right there on the river. After we finished eating and chatting for a bit, the weather had improved quite a bit, and we slipped out onto her deck and I took these pictures of their back yard.

You can't see the river real well...but it was very pretty.

After visiting a little longer, we set out on our fall colors tour:

I'm thinking I should have cleaned the windshield of the truck first.

We pulled over and took a couple more pictures:

The trees here were pretty, but probably not QUITE at their peak of perfect color. We saw a lot of yellows, oranges and browns...but not so much red.

I took this one with my arm out the window of the truck. Yes, that's the antenna. Oops!

Here's a better one.

Ray liked the red here, framed by the yellow. The funny thing is, this picture looks like I took it crooked. I didn't. The TREES are that crooked. I guess they were reaching for the sunlight.

We stopped again, and I got out and took this one. If you click on it to enlarge it, I think you'll be able to see the awesome array of colored tree tops in the distance...on the left side of the road:

This one is cool...but what is that black line across the sky?

Oh yeah...it's the crack in the windshield of the truck!

This is still through the windshield...I just tried to take it between the lines:

The picture below represents most of what we saw on our drive...beautiful colors:

The trees bowing down over the road here, made an awesome tunnel effect:

It was a beautiful drive...too bad people have to litter this lovely road with political signs. That's always irritated me. Sorry, I'm not voting for ANY of these people...I don't live there. But even the signs around here are NOT going to make me more likely to vote for a certain person. In fact, if I've seen too many signs with a particular name on them, I'm likely to avoid voting for them altogether.

We found some fishermen and stopped to take a pic of them:

We stopped at a rest stop along the way, and I took a few more pics there.

I liked this one, of some people fishing, framed by the trees...

but the sun wouldn't come out from behind the clouds, so we waited a bit and I took the one below. I thought I preferred this one when they were on the camera...now I'm not so sure.

And one of the beautiful fall foliage across the lake:

Heading toward home, while we were driving over the Mississippi River, I quickly snapped this picture through the passenger window:

I didn't think it turned out badly, if you ignore the reflections in the window.

Almost back home, I looked over and saw this rainbow in the sky...it hadn't even been raining there since that morning. It's a little hard to see here, but it was more brilliant in person:

It was nice to spend some time alone with my husband...I wish our time together would have been longer, but it turned out to be a pretty nice day after all, and we had a good time.