Fat Tuesday or Ponzki Day or.....Mardi Gras!

And this is a PONZKI. Pronounced "punch - key". This is one that I bought today at WalMart because we don't have a real bakery closer than Ft. Wayne. Unfortunately, this particular box of ponzkis that I bought were a great disappointment....not the best ones I ever had.

But this is what Jozie thought of hers! Josiah was so busy stuffing face to take time to smile!

Dawson's Big Night

A couple of weeks ago Stephanie and I went to a "jewelry party" hosted by a friend of hers. We thought this would be right up Jozie's alley, so we took our "girly girl". Our only mistake was even letting her try on the jewelry. Then she HAD to try on every piece of jewelry and ring...All at the same time! We created a monster! Dawson invited Grandpa and me to his "crossing over" from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. In spite of the threat of a snow storm we packed up and headed out for Chicago on Friday, Feb. 20th.

In this picture Dawson is already a Boy Scout and you can see his neck scarf of the Troop that he is going to join. Mom and Dad look proud. And Keven looks more "relieved" because he gets to get out of being the Cub Master, Pack Leader and anything else that no parents would volunteer for.

Here Dawson poses with the display for the Arrow of Light that he worked for. It is the only award from Cubs that he gets to carry over to his Scout uniform. You can kind of see the very

creative individual arrows that each parent made for their son. They are wrapped with different leathers and beads signifying the different things the boys had to accomplish to earn the badge.

PaPa was glad to pull out his "Silver Beaver" award that he received years ago. It is the highest award for volunteerism at Boy Scout Council Level. The coucils have merged since then, so I don't even know the name of the council out of Ann Arbor, MI is. It used to be the Wolverine Council. Was a nice week end.

Eye update: my eyesight is getting better all the time. It's not perfect yet....but I am sure thanking God for what I've got. Praise the Lord.

My Peepers: First Hurdle Crossed

The first hurdle is crossed: the "spot welding" by Laser surgery of my retina to the rear of the eye ball has held. Retina is tight against the back of the eye. All restrictions I had (lifting, reading for a length of time, exercising, etc.) have all been lifted. Though I can't see much better than last Friday when all happened, the Dr. says that my "measurements" are 40% better. Son't have to return for 5 weeks; by then things should have improved significantly. I sure hope. After we opened gifts on Christmas morning, Chris and I headed north to Michigan to see two of our children and about 6 grandchildren. Was a fun time. Even got to Michelle's as she was putting a turkey dinner on the table. Couldn't have planned that better if it had been planned!
Above are Brittany, Mel and Joshua. The goofy "horns" by Josh's head are done by the big boy to the right....don't kids outgrow that????

39 YEARS & COUNTING.....

Chris & I have now been "happily everaftering" (as Paul Harvey said) for 39 years now.In this day & age, that's some kind of a record. AND living in close "qurters" with my sweetie last summer on our Alaskan Adventure for 3 months and still be married at the end, has got to be a record in its own.
To think of all we've done and places we've been over those years...6 children....20 grandchildren. Chris has been to all 50 states of the Union. And come to think of it, the only state I have doubts that I've been there is Alabama & Arkensas. Probably was there, too, just don't remember. Anyway....back to reminiscing. We gave driven from Main to California and to Alaska...but not all at the same time. We've built a house, remodeled houses, traveled to basketball games, coached teams, been scoutmaster and troop leader for Boy & Girl Scouts, been to high school & college graduations in the heat, cold, and wind, had many dogs and various animals, raised pups, and babied geriatric dogs, chased a loose cow in the desert, and butchered an elk in our kitchen. Our walls of our home now look like a museum of our ancestors, extended family, children & grandchildren. It definitely looks like a home of folks with a history.
And looking to the future...tomorrow I see the retinologist in Ft. Wayne. I hope I find out more about my eye and also hope to have the physical restrictions I have lifted. Prayers, please.
So, until we connect again....

GOD PROTECTS THESE PEEPERS!

I was 1 day away of being blind in one eye....and I didn't even know it. How bizarre!
Yesterday, I started getting some funky problems with my vision in my left eye. But I was busy...no time to do anything today....maybe next week



Then it started to be like a veil over my vision. Well, I guess I'll call the doctor and make an

appointment for next week. Well....nobody would let me wait! Why wouldn't anybody let me put this off until next week??? Chris, the doctors, and then the retinologist in Fort Wayne. They all just said "Go! I'll call ahead and they'll be expecting you."

Self portrait at Thanksgiving with my honey of 39 years!

It turns out that I had a detached retina! It just happens as part of aging that the vitreious humor (that liquid stuff in the eye ball) shrinks as we get older; but mine stayed stuck to the retina...and eventually it ripped! And as I found out that if I had waited, I would be blind by the next day or two!

The retinologist in Ft. Wayne did lazer surgery on me. A totally painless proceedure. This whole situation was painless....but a little disconcerting with the vision deficit. It'll take a few months for my vision to straighten out as much as it will. Perhaps not as good as it was, but certainly not blind! Praise God! and my sweetie.

To those who have enjoyed this blog in the past, traveling to Alaska and back....I'm resuming this blog again because I have been encouraged to do so. I personally don't think that many other people would be interested in reading this blog....but I'm doing it. Enjoy if you wish. But, be sure that I will write all about our next adventure on the road....which is in the dreaming stage right now. Stay tuned....

GOD'S WONDERS

Was doing a little scrapbooking on our summer travels. This one has been rolling around in my mind for a while; finally got it done. Very simple page. But God doesn't need a lot of embelishments, does He? The only thing that would have made it better would be for Denali to be the centerpiece of it.

THE JOYS OF HOME

I had a wonderful suprise in the mail today. A flag was sent to us by a soldier from our church whom Stephanie and I have sent CARE PACKAGES to while he is in Iraq. I never believed we would receive something as wonderful as this, with the certificate. (I covered his name, just for his family's privacy) Home is a wonderful place...in great part d/t the selfless soldiers we have who protect us and keep this country free. In case you can't read the certificate:

"To All Whom May View This Flag Greetings:

Know that on the 27th Day of August 2008 this

flag was flown in the face of the enemy to

protect liberty and freedom for all man kind."

Being home has brought other wonderful benefits:

1. Hugs from grandkids


2. Not having to pay for a shower, nor worrying that it will shut off and leave me with conditioner in my hair.


3. Not having to use a crank flashlight to read my book at night


4. Don't have to empty the porta-potty.


5. Don't have to use a laundromat


6. Can leave Tommie out the back door without worrying if a grizzley or wolf will have her for a snack


7. It's not raining 1/2 of the time!

Things we miss about being on the road:

1. Meeting all the new folks we met on the journey


2. Experiencing the beauty of the wonderful state of Alaska....and then only touched 1/3rd of it! There's still so much to see!