A Lucky Gramma

Punkin, (Davey age 5) called me tonight. He was all excited about the pumpkin he had made for kindergarten. He made it after a book and he did such a good job. We talked about the pumpkin and his teacher, who he just loves, and Halloween, and his costume and Derek's and Jackson's costumes. He was so happy and excited and he called to share it with me!

He said he would call me on the morning of Halloween and say "Good morning!" He said, "We can say good morning to each other!"

And, then he said "Good night."

And, all I could do was be happy and smile and then maybe cry just a little bit.

I am such a lucky gramma!

My Daughter Kara's New Adventure

Yesterday was a big and productive day. Our daughter, Kara, is building a Christian Life Coaching practice, and yesterday was what we will call, "PHOTOS AND VIDEO DAY!"

I got to be the photographer and interviewer and Tom got to be the videographer and Kara got to be the star! Doesn't that sound nice? We had a great day and got everything accomplished that we set out to do.

Below you can see two of the very lovely pictures we took and you can view the video we did.

What a day it was! It was fun, exciting and an exercise in cooperation and teamwork. We learned a lot and we laughed our way through it which makes for a great memory.

Congratulations Kara on your new Christian Life Coaching practice! To visit Kara's website click here

No Hassle!

It was so great! In the CafePress order I received yesterday, one of the Keepsake boxes had a little knick in it. I didn't like that, so decided I would learn about CafePress's "return and exchange" policy.

I called CafePress this morning, was not put on hold and was put through to a customer service representative immediately. I explained the situation and was told that a new Keepsake box would be shipped to me and would be here by November 3rd.

I then told the nice lady that a mug I had previously ordered had a picture on it that was not even, that it was a little lopsided. A replacement for that will also be sent and will be here by November 3rd.

I was very pleased and impressed and told the nice lady I would let people know how lovely their products are and how easy they are to deal with.

It was a really nice experience and it is a nice thing to know that problems will be corrected and they mean it when they say, SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!

I Am So Excited And So Pleased!!

I hardly know what to say. A week ago I ordered some things from my CafePress online store because I want and need to know how the things look, what the quality is, and what it is other people would be getting if they ordered.

I ordered five .. maybe six mugs, two hoodie sweatshirts, two keepsake boxes, and two magnets.

Opening these things was like seeing my world..judy's world..come to life. These are not just things. They are expressions of me, my photography, my thoughts, my feelings and my family (because I made some personalized items for gifts, and anyone can do that by letting me know what they want). I have to tell you it is a spectacular feeling when you see something personal on these items.

One of the keepsake boxes has a tulip on it and the words I LOVE YOU are at the bottom of the tulip. I did a brush effect on the picture of the tulip and it is like looking at art. It takes me right into a lovely place when I look at it and then to hold it is a wonderful feeling. I didn't know how nice it would be! Anybody could buy that for someone they love or for themselves because it is wonderful to love yourself!

It is really hard to describe the feeling I have right now except to say I am excited, pleased and proud of the things I have created, designed and unwrapped today.

I am giving my 96 year old dad a mug for Christmas with one of his favorite pictures on it. The picture is of my two sisters and me when we were little girls. That way he can hold his little girls in his hands every day.

He says many times how he wishes we could be little again. Now he can hold us every day.

Yes, I can honestly say I am proud of my things and that makes me very happy!

This is not meant to be an advertisement but more a sharing of how nice it was to open my things. But, if anyone wants to visit my store.........just go to.......

www.cafepress.com/judyscreations

The link under favorite links will take you right there if you click on it. I guess I have to learn how to put the link in the text yet. That is ok. I will learn.

I am going to go start making some more things now. Man, they are beautiful!

Moments

(Dante's Prayer)

I just watched a movie on Lifetime TV. The name of it was Living Proof with Harry Connick Jr. It was wonderful and inspirational. It was a true story about a Dr. Slamon who did the research and fought for a drug to be used for cancer...primarily women's breast cancer. It made me cheer and it made me cry and it made me think of moments in my life that made me smile and cry in the last few weeks.

Two of those moments happened in South Carolina two weekends ago when we visited our son, Adam and his family. Our grandson, Joseph, who is 12, came to get Tom and me when we were at Chucky Cheese for Parker's 3rd birthday party, to take pictures at one of those photo taking booths. He had a picture taken with Tom and him and with me and him. They were printed out in sketch format and I said, "I am taking these home with me." Joseph said, "No, you're not. I'm keeping them!" And, then when Tom and I were getting ready to go to the airport Joseph left a piece of paper on our luggage and as I walked by it floated off. It was upside down, so I thought I better see what it was. It was a beautiful drawing that Joseph had made of a wolf and he signed it....To Grandma and Grandpa from Joseph and the date.


I went to find Joseph and hug him and kiss his cheek and thank him for his gift. I said, "Joseph, you have to stop doing things to make me cry." Know what he said? "No!" It still makes me smile and it still makes me cry. I love you Joseph!

And, yesterday, a friend and I went over to Sarah's to help with the boys. Derek, who is 3, is in the throes of potty training. He ran around the house naked all day and did such a good job going potty. When it was time for me to go home, Derek came and curled up in my lap....in all his lovely little nakedness and said, "I am going to miss you!" Oh, Derek, I will miss you. Yes, I will. And, sweet Davey said, "Can you stay a little longer?" I said, "Yes, I will stay five more minutes." And, I did.

And, as I got ready to go, Sarah, my sweet daughter, laid her head on my chest and said, "When I am the mom, I don't get to have a mom." I said, " I know, I know!" And, I do. She said, "I could get used to this!"

Moments..........my moments..........that make me appreciate my life. I have many of them!

Happy Birthday Parker

Happy Birthday Parker! You are a beautiful little boy and so good. You feel things deeply, are so adventurous and have little cheeks that were made to be kissed. I still remember the night you were born. We waited and waited for your dad to call us and tell us you were here and then he finally did and we were so happy. When he got home from the hospital he sent us pictures so we could see you right away. If we could have been there we would have been there to hold you within minutes. As it was we had to wait for just a little while and then we flew from Minnesota all the way to Georgia, and the first time I saw you for real you brought tears to my eyes. I held you and said, "This little boy was born to be held by me!" I might have whispered that because I think there were others who felt the same way. You are loved Parker! Happy Birthday Darling!

Love, Gramma Judy

My New Adventure.......My Own Online Shop

Hi everyone,

I am setting up a new online business through CafePress. I wanted to
share my excitement with you and my wish to hear your feedback.
I have both apparel and merchandise for sale in the site. I would love
to know what you think of it and what you would like to see.

I am so proud of myself for having done as much as I have done
in only THREE days. It was indeed a learning curve and I have so far
successfully navigated the in's and out's of CafePress on my own!

I am using mostly my own photographs and some from family and
friends. The words on some of the pictures are my own choices and
if you can see the "copy" that is printed beside each item when you
click on it, those are my words as well. My desire is to create a
"feeling" through the words and the items for sale.

I wanted to incorporate the passion I feel for living creatively for
a happy life into something that people could buy to hold or wear
and somehow "feel" something "real" or "good" and simply be
glad and grateful for being who they are or maybe feel their bodies
relax through a simple picture or just one word.

I will also be adding some humor on the apparel and merchandise.
There is much more I want to add!

This could be a one stop shop for your "feeling world" as well as
practical and lovely ideas for gift giving etc.

Someone has already asked me about ordering and if you do it
through me or CafePress. The answer is you do it through CafePress.

The link is.....

www.CafePress.com/JudysCreations

I would love to know your thoughts, feelings, ideas on what
you like and what you would like to see me add.

I am going to explore "personalizing" the merchandise with
pictures and/or sayings (your own words) as well

That would require sending me your ideas,
pictures and words via email. For example, if you would
like a picture of you and your pet on a shirt or poster or
card it could be done. If you would like a family picture
on a shirt or other item it could be done. There are
numerous ideas for personalizing.

I have set up a business email for that express purpose.

It is.....

creativelivingforahappylife@yahoo.com

This is so exciting and I hope you visit my new shop and let me know
what you think!

I value your opinions, thoughts, ideas and mostly your SUPPORT
AND ENCOURAGEMENT!

Once again, the new shop address is...

www.CafePress.com/JudysCreations

Judy

Saturday Morning Phone Call From My Dad

(Beautiful Dreamer) Please click to play


I just got off the phone with my dad. He is 96 years old and I think we........I should say "he" talked for about 45 minutes.

First of all, I think it is wonderful that someone 96 years old has that much to tell his 65 year old daughter and say it with energy and good humor.

The first thing on his list of things to tell me was about going to the community center this last Friday (yesterday) to play in the "pool tournament." Now, what this means is you play and if you lose the game you have to pay a dime, and if you scratch you also have to pay a dime.

I had to ask what "scratch" meant. I learned it is what you call it when you hit the white ball into a pocket. That is not a good thing. So, if you do that in the tournament you also have to pay a dime. I asked him, "Did you win?" He said, "No!" So, he is out at least a couple of dimes.

However, on top of all this fun, he said they also served a free lunch. I said, "It really pays to be a senior!" He agreed. And, of course, if you know my dad you will soon be learning what he had for lunch. Here was the menu. "Judy, they had shredded beef sandwiches, those little round tomato slices, chips, coffee or pop to drink and cookies for dessert." This is not enough information for my dad to share though. "Judy, I thought they were going to be like sloppy joes, but they were shredded beef and they gave you a really big thick beef sandwich!" My dad loves his food and for those of us who have ever watched him fix his plate we also love his food! He makes it look so good!

He also told me that he did his housework on Thursday so he could be ready to go to the tournament on Friday. He said, "I swept the floor, shook the rugs and mowed the front lawn. Oh, and I wiped up the floor too." He said, "I wanted to have a head start being ready for getting to the center for the tournament."

Then he talked about my sister, Linda and her husband David, and how they are going to drive him down to see his brother Ernie and wife Lil. They are having some health problems and he really wants to go see them. They live in Wisconsin and it will be about a 6 hour drive. He no longer drives that distance himself so this is really nice of Linda and David to help him get there.

I told him we were going to visit Adam and his family this week too. I told him it had been almost a year since we have seen them. We said, "Time sure goes by fast!" And, it does. He said, "Well, Judy, give them all a great big hug for me, will you?" I said, "I sure will!"

Then he talked about some friends of his that he has known for maybe 60 years and how they are in nursing homes now. I asked him what that is like for him and how that must be a really big change. Not only has my dad been independent and active but he has had a group of friends that have done things together ever since I can remember. We talked about the Lifeline things you can buy to wear and click on if you fall. We talked about how adult kids worry about things happening to their parents. We had never had this conversation before.

It was a new kind of conversation. Life changes for everyone. I don't know what I think right now. Perhaps, I don't want to know what I feel.

He left me with these words, "Well, Judy, can you feel the great big squeeze I am giving you now?"

I said, "I can! Bye, Dad, I love you!" He said, "I love you too, Judy!"

So Proud

This is Davey (Punkin to me) standing at the bus stop his first day of kindergarten.

That was three weeks ago.

Sarah, his mom, called today to say every Friday a note is sent home with the children explaining what they have done during the week.

This last week they had studied words ending in "at" and numbers 1 - 4. For those who know Davey, you know he is far beyond words ending in "at" and numbers 1 - 4.

There was a second note sent to David WW's parents. Due to David's scholar abilities he has been accepted into a program that will encourage his education and abilities or something like that.

I will have to get my facts straight. I just know I am so proud of him and terribly, terribly happy and pleased that he is in a school that recognizes his gifts and knowledge and has a program that will nurture and nourish his learning.

Sarah said he has not once come home from school talking about being bored. It is all about being social for Davey.

I am proud of you Punkin and I love you! Gramma

Funny What Touches You In Life

I had a really great day today. I had a good day at work, met a new person (a didactic student of Tom's who loved the book I have put together and hope to publish someday and also loved and "got" the concept behind the new website I am doing) and I had a great lunch and conversation with a friend, who incidentally bought lunch.

Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?

On top of all that, I watched a show on TV that, to my surprise, brought tears to my eyes. It was the show "The Biggest Loser", a show about weight loss.

This season is featuring families. The winner of the contest tonight would get to make a call home. One family won the contest but gave the prize of the call home to another family who had an autistic child. It still makes me cry.

First of all, it was such a gift to give away the prize. Secondly, when they showed the conversation between the mom and dad and their autistic son it allowed me to be a part of their world with a new understanding of autism and a world that I know so little about.

It was a privilege to be let into their world. It really touched me.

The little boy's name was Rhett, but he thinks of himself as Charlie Brown because his world somehow has to do with colors.

It is a world I don't know anything about and am touched deeply by.

That is all I know right now.

Dusk And The Setting Sun

I don't think there could be a more beautiful blending of nature than I witnessed last night. Between the time of day being dusk, the setting sun, the water, the flowers, the boats and the gentle path bordered with the split rail fence, I think I may have sensed a little bit of heaven.

Beautiful purple flowers down by the lake

Boats resting for the night

The sun almost touching the weeds

The sun touching the weeds and fence

The sun glorifies just one of the weeds

Dusk

(Please click to play Romeo and Juliet)

Today I bought a glider rocker off Craigslist. That isn't the important part about today, but it was a really nice part about today. I have been looking for a glider rocker and this one was a great buy for $20.00. Tom and I took it to the office because that is where I think I will use it. On the way home from the office the sun was setting over the lake. Below are some pictures of the beautiful sunset. I think the beauty of the sunset was the most important part about today. It is always about the sky for me. It is always about the sky!

Sun peeking through the trees over Medicine Lake

Boat reflected in the water at dusk

The sun, water and boat

The sun setting through the weeds

The sun setting under the skywriter

Yes, as nice as the whole day was, this was the beautiful part of the day! How I love the sky!

For Adam And Sara Beth And Anyone Else....Because I Love You!

Jackson Toby on September 14, 2008....almost 3 months old

I talked to Adam and Sara Beth on the phone tonight. I love them! It has been almost a year since we have seen them and I am reaching the point of no return I miss them so much!

They want to see pictures and videos of Jackson Toby so I am going to do my best to share whatever I have with them. Ask and ye shall receive!!

The videos in this post are in no particular order and they were all taken Sunday, September 14, at our house.

One video will be of Jackson having the hiccups which I think is really quite intimate. I love this little video!

Another will be of Davey saying, "Step away from the fire!", as Josh is lighting Amelia's birthday candles and Sarah says "Hi, Joe!" at the end. Joe is our dear friend and as much a family member as anyone, not to mention he is Jackson Toby's Godfather.

And, the other will be of Davey, my little Punkin, loving his little brother Jackson Toby.

One Of Yesterday's Hallmark Moments

This is one of yesterday's precious moments from Amelia's birthday party yesterday.

My dad, who is 96 years old was rocking Jackson Toby and I asked him to talk to Jackson. You can hear the sounds of the family in the other room.

Amelia especially wanted her great grandpa to be here yesterday. She told her mom, Kara, that when great grandpa talks to you it is like being hugged. Isn't that a nice thought!

There is always something special for me about being in this room rocking a baby and hearing the sounds of the family in the background. I got a precious moment yesterday too. Mine is only recorded in my heart!

These are my hallmark moments!

The Birthday House

Our house has been the birthday house the last three weekends.

August 30th was our grandson, Christopher's, birthday and he wanted his family birthday celebration here. The following weekend we had my dad's family birthday party here and yesterday our granddaughter, Amelia, had her family birthday party here.

We have a family tradition that my dad started many years ago of reading birthday, anniversary or "just because" cards out loud. Yep, from the time you can read you get to read your cards out loud while the family looks on. Cards are to be enjoyed and I really love that tradition.

When I said goodbye to Davey yesterday he made me laugh. He asked me, "Why did Amelia invite us to her birthday?" I told him, "Because she wanted all of us to be together for her birthday." Davey then said to Sarah, his mom, "Mom, next year I want to have my birthday party with everyone at gramma's house!"

So, I guess we have a new tradition now. It is nice to be the gramma who has the birthday house!

Below is a video of Amelia reading the card we gave her. Happy Birthday, honey! We love you!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad's birthday was September 1st and today, September 6, 2008 I hosted a birthday party for him. He turned 96 years old! Man, we had food. I had bbq meatballs, my special beans, ham, cheese, buns, carrots, cucumbers, dip for the vegetables, chips, salsa, cheese dip, pop and coffee. Sarah brought her delicious Asian salad. Kara brought cold tuna noodle. Linda and Paula brought fruit and cake. Oh, and I had red jello with cool whip. Nobody, absolutely nobody went hungry and most of the food went.

You have no idea how important all this is! You see, my mother taught me a rule about feeding company. It goes like this. If you have food left over they didn't like it. If you don't have food left over you didn't have enough. Makes me laugh. In spite of all that I light a candle for my mom every single holiday and birthday gathering I have at my house and today was no exception.

It was a great day! The weather was fallish and cool so the children could play outside and the adults could sit on the deck and talk. There were 24 members of our family here today and two neighborhood children who dropped by and stayed for a few hours. It made us all laugh!

Below are some pictures of some of the people who were here today and two videos that I hope will make Adam, Sara Beth, Joseph, Kallsen and Parker feel like they can enjoy the party too from South Carolina. We sure missed you guys and wish you could have been here!

My dad really enjoyed the day and Jackson Toby, who is 10 weeks old now, was broken into the family big time!

Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!

My dad celebrating his 96th birthday at my house today. He is the oldest member of our family. He is holding Jackson Toby who is the youngest member of our family....96 years of family are represented in this picture

I love this cropped version of the above picture. It shows my dad's hands and Jackson Toby's hands

Grandma and Great Grandpa. Jackson toby, who is in Great Grandpa's arms is the focus of my attention

My sister, Linda, with our dad

Dave holding Jackson Toby

Cousin Josh holding Jackson Toby

Cousin Amelia holding Jackson Toby

My sister, Linda, my dad and me at the end of the day

Did I mention we also had peanut M & M's and peanut butter M & M's ?

Jackson Toby Close Up

At the end of Sarah and Dave's garage sale yesterday I got to spend some more time with little Jackson Toby. I was able to capture some of his sweetness as he sat in his bouncy seat and played with the little musical toy. He just loved it.

A Full Day Yesterday

Yesterday was a full day. As a result of the hail storm on Memorial Day this spring our roof had what was called unrepairable damage. After working on the necessary paperwork for a few weeks I got all the paperwork submitted to the right people and the roofers arrived yesterday morning at 7:45 a.m.

While they were working on the roof I went over to Sarah and Dave's house to help with their garage sale. It was a hot, sunny, humid day but that did not stop the people from coming. I guess it is like "Have a sale and they will come!" And, come they did!

While I was doing a little cleaning and looking for some things to contribute to the sale I found a box that had some things from my high school years I guess. There is no date on something I wrote but I laughed right out loud when I got toward the end. (You will have to click on it to get a larger image in order to read it). I also found a pencil sketch I had done of my mother, which made me smile. I remember doing it, and thinking it was not good at all, but it sure is nice to have. It is always like running into her when I find things like this.

And, one of the best parts of yesterday was I got to take care of Jackson Toby all day. It was a total Gramma and Jackson Toby day! I got to feed him, change him, talk to him, play with him, hold him and nap with him curled up next to me in the bed. I will see if any of the pictures Sarah took of our nap turned out and put one up later.

The roofers hard at work

Have a sale and they will come

The paper I found that made me laugh

The pencil sketch I did of my mom

Jackson Toby on August 21, 2008

Gramma And Jackson...There Is Always More Love

Click To Play (Fields Of Love)

There is always more love. I think it is impossible to run out of love. We are like candles. Once we are lit our flame never goes out no matter how many more little candles we light. Jackson Toby is our newest little candle to burn brightly in our lives. I love you Jackson Toby. Welcome to my world!

Jackson Toby and Gramma share a little smile

What a sweet little boy

Sleep little Jackson Toby...

"Lay down your head and close your eyes
Let dreams become your smile
I'll wait until you wake
Watching all the while."

(This is part of a poem I wrote called Drifting)


"Jackson Toby...I could hold you forever." I think I heard him say, "Ok"

I Am A Treefrog And I Love The World

Punkin and Derek stayed overnight at our house last Saturday. We had such a good time. Sarah and Dave had a bbq to go to and they took Jackson Toby with them. I think we must have worn the boys out because Punkin slept until 7:15 a.m. and Derek slept until 9:00 a.m. I was beginning to get worried, but I guess Derek was just tired from being a treefrog!

The first video will explain that last sentence, and the second video will show you just how lucky the world is. What a nice little boy to be loved by.