Thanksgiving Weekend:

Thursday:
We went to Mom's for Thanksgiving. Mom made several pies along with her great turkey & dressing. We had a wonderful meal and an afternoon of visiting.

Friday:
April and I went shopping. We've been trying to find her some end tables and a coffee table for her house. We have gone to several furniture stores with no luck.
We always liked to eat lunch at La Pasada, but they closed this year. We tried El Sombrero and it was good.
We then went to Mike and Susan's to see Carrie and her family. This was the first time we got to see baby Ellie. She is a beautiful baby and her bothers are crazy about her.



Friday evening, Dwayne and I went to the Southard's so he could see the baby. Dustin had brought Xander down to spend the night with us before we went and he had a good time playing with Avery and Evan. Kind of neat to see Carrie and Dustin's kids playing together as Carrie and Dustin were born just three days apart. Xander is well behaved and we enjoyed him spending the night.
Saturday:
Dwayne fixed chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. (my favorite!!) We then got out the tree and Christmas decorations. I have bought ornaments each year for the kids and it made for a tree FULL of ornamates. This year we used Dodie's ornaments and what few ornaments Dwayne and I had. April had bought some red ribbon that has lights and put that on the tree, it looks really good. Dustin and Cody came and picked up Xander and then Dwayne and I got ready to go to Rolla. Our good friend and neighbor, Mable Carney, was having a 90th Birthday Party at Spring Creek Baptisit Church. All of her grandchildren and great grandchildren were present. Quite a feat as they live all across the country. It was so nice seeing people we used to go to church with and others we hadn't seen in years.
We then went to Family Center for Dwayne to get work clothes and boots. They have so much to look at, it's overwelming. A great place to buy Christmas gifts.
We ate at the new Gordo's Restaurant. We had filet miniogn and it was excellent. I love getting a steak that almost melts in your mouth.

We finished up the evening by going to Wal-Marts and then watching a good movie on TV.
Sunday:
I went to church and then cleaned the house. In the evening, Nathan and Elizabeth came over and we went to the movies to see Tangled. I recommend this movie, it was very entertaining and funny.


After a busy weekend, it was nice to go back to work and get in a routine.

I am very thankful during this season to have my family close by.

Weekend Recap:

Friday:

Friday night was the EAR aka Liz, Lizzy, Little Bits, Elizabeth, spent the night with me. We were going to go to the movies but when we got there we didn't see anything we wanted to watch so we rented movies instead. We picked up LARGE milkshakes from Dairy Queen to drink while watching movies. April had to work late so we got her one, too. I told Liz on the way home she would have to load the DVD into the player as I didn't know how. She laughed at that and said, Aunt Connie, anyone can do that.... Well, we get home and the EAR tried it and it didn't work!!
So we decided to watch regular TV until April got home to put the movie on. Liz was thumbing through channels and thought the title looked good, don't remember what it said now. Well, it was a porn channel!! I didn't even know we had porn selections on our TV!! She's like, uh, Aunt Connie I don't think I should see this! So I tried to change the channel and we seemed to be stuck in limbo on this channel, I'm sure it was only a few seconds but it seemed much longer!!
Mike came in and Liz tried to get him to put the movie on, he couldn't either so we had to wait for April to come home from work. (It's eight o-clock and she had to work late). I do not know what we're going to do when April moves out and we want to watch a DVD!! I fell asleep watching the movie and went on to bed.
Saturday:
When I got up, Liz had already been awake for awhile and had watched TV, doodled on the wipe/slate, visited with April........ I'm a sleepy-head, what can I say? I was out of milk and cereal so Liz had a Mountain Dew and a snack cake for breakfast!! I am such a good role model!! Not!! No wonder the kids like to stay at Aunt Connie's house.
April and I went to Lake of the Ozarks Christmas shopping. We got all of Mom's done and didn't have much luck on our own items. The outlet mall was packed!! I didn't think it would be that busy until after Thanksgiving. We ate at Panera Bread and spent the day having fun.
When we got home, we spread out all the gifts on the table and Mom and Dad came down to look at them. Dad said he needed to get back to "kneel the rolls". I'm thinking, what the heck? Mom goes, Arch, you mean knead the dough!! Dad is 86, Mom is 81, and they are making yeast rolls for Sunday's dinner. They amaze me.
Sunday:
I didn't go to church, just lazed around all morning. April and I went to Mom's for dinner. Once again, my Mom has dinner prepared, all of the dishes washed and had gone on to church. She puts her daughters to shame on Sunday dinners; I don't think we'll ever be able to live up to her but we are so thankful she is able to do so much. We had homemade rolls, beef stew, green beans, corn, cauliflower/broccoli, pudding, jello and cake. My niece, Kristin moved back from Arizona and was there with her little boy, Kaden. So nice to have her back, we missed her. We had a great time being together and enjoying our family.

On a sad note, the day before, Saturday, 20th, my nephew's best friend, Jesse Arthur passed away. Jesse and R.J. had been friends since Sue and the kids moved to Rolla years ago. I am sad to say, it was from an overdose. What a sad ending to a life. I pray for Jesse's family and friends and for my own nephew, R.J. during this tragedy.
Then while we were getting ready to pray before eating dinner, my brother-in-law, Joe and his great-nephew Billy received word that Billy's cousin, Dennis (Joe's great-nephew) had passed a way. I am so in awe of how my sister, Judy turned this news into a family-felt prayer. We were all humbled at how precious our time together is and to not take everyday life for granted.

Since the title of my blog is Grateful For The Life I've Been Given, I often end my blogs with something I'm grateful for. I am most grateful for my parents and extended family that we remain close in good times and in bad. I hope I can leave that type of legacy with my own children. And I think Dwayne and I have a good start on that, the boys and April are very loyal and protective of each other. They may have their differences occasionally, but we (as a family) strive to be honest with each other and talk about anything that is bothering us. I love and cherish my husband and children.

Meatloaf:

Speaking of my daughter!! Last night I was making meatloaf for supper. I had a lot of thoughts running through my head and was a little distracted. I had made the meatloaf and was mixing up the glaze. When I turned back to put it on the meatloaf, I couldn't find the meatloaf. So, I looked in the oven, then the refrigerator, the microwave and then the oven again. I was really starting to wonder about myself and I didn't want Dwayne to know I had lost a whole pan of meatloaf! After doing the search once again, I asked Dwayne if he knew what I could have done with the meatloaf. He said he didn't. Then I guess he felt sorry for me and then told me April had snuck in and took the meatloaf into the other room as a prank!! Thank goodness!! I was really beginning to wonder about myself!! So, I made April and Dwayne clean the kitchen up after supper. Serves them right!! lol

Maybe I won't be so sad that she's moving........................

Better late than never weekend recap:

Friday:
Work was very busy, couldn't believe eight hours could go by so fast!!
Dwayne left for deer camp and I spent the evening just relaxing and watching TV.
Saturday:
Really didn't do too much, made a loaf of bread to take to the fall supper at church.
Ashlyne went with me to the fall supper and waited on tables with Malinda and April.
I washed dishes from 5 to 7:30. Hard to believe how many dishes and how fast you wash them, seemed like a non-ending supply............
Ashlyne and I got our dinner to go and went home to watch TV and eat. She has grown up so much the past year, hard to believe she is fourteen.
Sunday:
I went to church and Ashlyne stayed home to watch TV. We then went to Mom's for Sunday dinner. Once again, my 81 year old Mom has outdone herself. She had dinner already cooked, dishes washed up and gone to church when we got there. We didn't have much to do to get the rest of dinner together. It amazes me how much my Mom gets done on meal preparation before even going to church. We had a great afternoon visiting.
Dwayne and the boys were still gone to deer camp so I had the evening to myself. It's weird how I enjoy time to myself and when the kids were younger and all at home, I didn't like to be by myself. It just didn't feel right without everyone there. I used to worry about it so much wondering how I would be when my kids left home. I guess you just ease into the different stages of life without realizing it. But I do know I am going to be totally lost when April moves out. It will be quite an adjustment, but as my Mom says, you do what you have to do, and I will adjust to this phase of life, also. Even today, April had the day off but still got up early and had coffee with me before I left for work. We do that on Saturday's, too. I cherish these times.
April moving will be an adjustment for Dwayne and I, but it is part of life and we are so happy for her. Mike is a wonderful guy and treats her with such love and respect. We are glad to know she will be treated well and will be very happy in St. Elizabeth. April loves the people and the environment and feels a part of the community. Life takes many turns and some are just destined to be. Who would have thought that a young man from St. Elizabeth and a girl from Vienna/Rolla area would meet at Rich Fountain, a place neither one normally goes to. God does have a plan for each one of us if we would just be patient. I am still (not so patiently) waiting for God to reveal his plan for Chad and Todd. I want my boys to be happy and meet someone that will love and appreciate them. They are both such good and caring young men and would make wonderful fathers, they each love kids so much.

I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving Season.

November 6th and November 10th Birthdays:

Friday:
Spent the evening relaxing after a busy day at work.
Saturday:
Sometimes the best days are not planned. After my lazy morning of drinking coffee and watching House Hunters, I asked April if she would like to go to Vienna for the Christmas Bizarre. We also stopped by Oak Harvest while in Vienna. It was such a beautiful day out, we decided to drive to St. Roberts and shop at Maurice's. I grew up taking drives though the countryside so it's part of my nature to drive back roads. I went through Brinktown over to Hwy 133 and was going to go in to Dixon that way. Well, I got ahead of myself and turned on a black top road that ended in gravel. This wasn't the route I had pictured in my mind. The gravel road came out back on Hwy 28 and not too far from where I had turned off Hwy 28 onto N highway. Oh, well, we saw a different part of the country this way (A Lot! as it seemed the gravel road would never end).
We shopped at several stores at St. Roberts and then took the "Old Route 66" Highway and saw some more beautiful fall colors. I'm sure April got tired of hearing me say, "It's such a beautiful day", but it was and I couldn't contain myself.
St. Roberts wasn't enough shopping for us so we had to stop off at Penney's in Rolla. I found some great buys.
That evening, me Dwayne, April and Mike went out to eat at Randy's Roadkill Grill on Hwy E going in to Rolla from our house. Then, we went bowling!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cannot bowl!! And just to prove it, I got a score of 24 on the first game!! Three times, I only knocked one pin down. That takes talent!! lol We had a good time and it was nice to get out of the house and do something different.
Sunday:
My Dad turned 86 on Friday, the 6th of November. I have his birthday dinner at our house each year. Mike's birthday is the 10th of November, so I ordered a cake for the both of them. We had a good picture of Mom and Dad standing by a spring and also one of April and Mike at Alley Springs, so I used both of those pictures for the cake. Mike was surprised by the cake as he was with us when we picked it up at Wal-Mart and he hadn't seen it.




We had a great day visiting and celebrating birthdays.

My family, what life is all about and I am grateful for each day spent with them.

Weekend Recap:

Friday:
I was the designated roller rink chauffeur for Ashlyne and Gracie. They had an all-night skate and I dropped them off and Judy was to pick them up Saturday morning. I then went to Wal-Mart and bought groceries. Bad idea!! The store was very packed and I didn't think I'd ever get out of there, plus I was to bring sandwiches home for Dwayne but he almost fell asleep before I ever go there.
Saturday:
It was such a beautiful day, again!! We have had wonderful fall weather this year. I cleaned out both of our bedroom closets, a major feat!! I have a clean house, but don't look in my closets!! That is where I stash stuff when I'm in a hurry cleaning. You would think I'd break that bad habit but at age 53, guess not!! We now have a walk-in closet again instead of what Dwayne was calling it, "step-in closet". And then meant literally stepping in and reaching way back to the clothes.
We went out to eat Saturday night. We started out at Applebees and they were very busy so I suggested we eat at Benton Square. They were equally busy but we waited in the bar until they had a table ready for us. The meal was good and the atmosphere is different from other restaurants. They were having a Halloween party and a band playing at nine. We didn't stay for that but we did get to see some very good costumes. It was fun to watch the variety of people/costumes.
Sunday:
I went to church and then up to Mom's for dinner. April had requested Grandma's biscuits and sausage gravy, so that's what we had. Dwayne made scrambled eggs to go with it and Kate made our favorite home made white syrup to pour over the biscuits!! Yum!! Very good treat!!
That afternoon Dwayne cut a load of wood and I did a few things around the house and then made a big pot of chili, grilled cheese and a custard pie for dessert.
Then it was time for our trick-or-treators. Dwayne LOVES Halloween and dresses up every year and greats the kids at the door. Some years he scares the parents more than the kids. We had fun visiting with the neighbors and seeing their kids. Shelley brought Blake (the bull rider),
Nathan (a cow) and Ashlyne by.
Nathan started a new "face". He would pucker up like he was pouting and then almost frowning at the same time.
So funny!

I am happy and grateful for having my family and friends live close by.