Beautiful Blessings - Great Grandma's Life

1922-2015

My Great Grandma passed away late Tuesday night. We have been taking care of her for the past 3 years, and although we knew she was dying, it was startling when I first heard. It took me a day to realize she truly was gone. It honestly didnt seem possible. 

I loved my Great Grandma. <3 Even though I inheirited her stubborness. ;~) On the bright side, I also inherited her love of cheddar cheese! Heehee!! ;~) 

Im so thankful she is no longer sick. She is in Heaven with Jesus! And I expect, Great Grandpa met her there when she arrived. <3 

She lived through the Great Depression, & WWII; from horses and buggies to people living in the International Space Station! 

With 4 children, 13 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and 1 great great grandchild, she was truly blessed!

My beautiful blessing is? Great Grandma! If it werent for her, I wouldnt be here! Thank you God for the 17 1/2 years Ive had with her so I could get to know her. God is so good! <3

I love you, Grandma!

Beautiful Blessings - 8/29/15

~ Being the first to spot the beautiful moonrise!

~ Hearing about my family's adventures at the fair!

~ Being able to do my bible reading on the kindle when my eyes are bothering me!

~ Enjoying a yummy dinner of soup and toasted cheese with bacon ;~)

~ Having adoring kitties take care of me today when I wasnt feeling well! <3 

Beautiful Blessings - 8/8/15

~ Meeting people that we only knew by name and not in person!

~ Making new friends...something my sisters love doing!

~ Spending a beautiful afternoon on the shore of Oneida Lake!

~ Seeing the sailboats enjoying the afternoon as well!

~ Watching my sisters catch fish with my friend's Grandpa. They were having a blast! They caugh a perch, a smallmouth bass, and who knows what else!

Beautiful Blessings - 8/6/15

~ Having creative sisters pretend that the lettuce we were snacking on was ice cream! ;~) Heehee!!

~ Going to work for the first time in over half a year!!

~ The sound of the sewing machine whirring!

~ Thanking God that my dance teacher and her family and all their animals and things were kept safe after they had a barn fire last Friday. 

~ Watching "Brigadoon" for the first time in years! I only remembered the last 10 minutes of it actually lol! :~)

Beautiful Blessings - 7/25/15

~ Spotting the pretty painted turtles in the pond at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake!

~ Seeing the beautiful colors mottled along the trails.

~ Stopping for ice cream at Stewart's! I had "Crazy Coconut"!

~ MOUNTAINS!! :~D Ah how I love the mountains!!!! <3 

~ Family to have adventures with <3

Now for some bonus pictures!

This is a great quote!

The ceiling in the Wild Center is soooooo beautiful!

Yes, I went up there. And yes I went all the way to the top of the bird's nest! I also did the suspension bridges, but I refused to do the spider web. lol!

The membership sticker matched my outfit! lol!! No, I didnt plan that ;~)

Pneumonia and why I'm thankful for it!

Nearly 2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Pneumonia is not fun, in case you want to know. You're exhausted, your lungs ache, and you just feel blah! Today I actually feel like I'm getting better. It's rather nice I must say, and while I could talk about my pneumonia, I'd rather talk about some things I find amazing and I'm so thankful for!

First of all, people who have been praying for me! So many of my friends, my family, my parents' friends and people from Church have been praying for me! To know that people care that much about you is truly amazing. For all of you who have been praying, thank you. It means so much to me!

Secondly, my friends have been a big source of encouragement! From quick "how are you?", to long emails full of alliterations, to listening to my ceaseless chatter, or even coming over for a visit, it's been so encouraging! I'm so thankful for their encouraging words, verses they've shared and just giving me something to laugh about! (Even though laughing really hurt for a while....  ;~)They've been such a blessing to me! Thank you, my dear friends, for everything you've done!

Thirdly, my family, specifically my parents. They've let me get in extra naps when I've needed them. They've given me space to just sit quietly to rest. They've gone out on snowy nasty days to get my medicine, and freezing-cold days take me to the doctor's. They have done so much for me. Thank you Mom and Dad!!

This pneumonia has been a test of my patience. I've wanted to do things, go out to the library/post office, help around the house, etc., but I've been unable to. Instead it's given me a chance to sit, and study my Bible. It's given me a chance to spend time in prayer and pray for others. I've even been able to encourage others which is hard to do when one is busy. I'm very thankful for this time of quietness. God is so good!

(Two little munchkins hopped on my lap while I was resting one day. They were cold from playing outside and ready for some delicious hot chocolate!!)

Fun at the Zoo! :~D

Yesterday we spent a lovely evening at the zoo! :~D

When we came up to the snow leopard cage, he was acting crazy! He was bouncing back and forth off the wall!

He was looking at the innocently grazing white-lipped deer on the other side. "A snack!" the snow leopard thought! ;~) Alas the zookeepers wouldn't let him invite him over for dinner.

The girls had fun "riding" the elephant.

The penguins posed proudly for me!

The cranes are a new addition! :~D

Swans are so pretty! Don't you wish you looked that good when you sleep?

DUCKLINGS!!! :~D

T-Bug was having fun!

The lions were also posing!

Peacock feathers are so pretty!

We had a lovely time at the zoo! :~D

Liebster Award!

Jana, from Jana's Faith awarded me the Liebster Award! Thank you very very much!

here's how this award works:

+ thank the amazing blogger that nominated you

+ answer the 11 questions the nominator provided

+ nominate a few other bloggers who have less than 200 followers

+ post 11 different questions for your nominees to answer

+ contact your nominees to let them know that you've nominated them 

1. perfect day?

When you can spend the entire day outside with friends and family.

2. favorite drink? 

Hmmmmm probably good ole fashioned H2O ;~)

3. best song?

Right now Praying for You by Mandisa

4. favorite blog?

A Holy Experience

5. favoritest superhero & why?

I don't have one.................................. :( 

6. earliest memory?

My 2nd birthday!

7. weirdest thing you've ever done?

Um.........hmmm............like everything? lol I've done so many weird things! 

8. biggest fear?

Heights............ *shudder*

9. signature lotion/scent?

Anything with pomegranate 

10. best DQ blizzard?

I've never been to Dairy Queen :(

11. best band in the world?

Oh boy. Um.....I have no clue........ I don't think I have one.....

I nominate:

Neona at theadventuresofagirlandhermonkey.blogspot.com

Ryan at asailorstale.blogspot.com

Sarah at enjoyinglovely.blogspot.com

Hanson at atypicalamericankid.blogspot.com 

Noah at crazyinternetadventures.blogspot.com
Breanna at jdbrea.wordpress.com
Kelley at goldgodsgirls.blogspot.com

Penny Pincher at thedebt-terminationblog.blogspot.com

11 Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite kind of pencil?
2. How long have you blogged?
3. Do you like pickles?
4. Have you ever played on a wooden playground?
5. What is your favorite flower?
6. Do you like to bike?
7. How would you describe yourself in an 11 word sentence?
8. What is the longest book you read?
9. Do you know any other languages other than English?
10. What was the most hideous outfit combination you wore as a child?
11. Are you afraid of heights?

Thank you Jana! And congratulations to everyone I nominated! 

You may also like: Liebster Blog Award!

People of Jordan: Jackie

Jackie has lived here in Jordan for 14 years. She admitted she's a country girl, so she loves the small town feel. She enjoys that it's friendlier, and feels safer She feels very privileged to be able to work at the library. She has worked at the library for 6 or 7 years. She loves that it feels like a great big family because of all the people that come into the library. She admitted she's always very happy to see anyone from my family. :~)

People of Jordan: Peggy and Mary Beth

(Peggy)

(Mary Beth)

Mary Beth, Peggy, and their sister Nona (not pictured) run a business called A Few Good Bananas. They don't sell them here in Jordan, but this is where they make their creations. They re-purpose fabric and old clothes to make one-of-kind hats, ear warmers, mittens, fingerless gloves and accessories made from upcycled materials. Right now they are going to try making stylish dog jackets. 

They sell their creations in many places including Ithaca, and Rochester.

Some fabric awaiting special treatment. Also known as waiting to be turned into something awesome! ;~)

(I love the label!) They've had their business for almost 4 years now. It's family run so when ever family or friends are in the area, they stop in to help out.

They've met a lot of cool people at the various places they've sold their creations. As Peggy said, it's almost like having fun playing all day!

People of Jordan: Linda

As I was walking down the sidewalk, I met Linda. Linda has lived in our fair village for 20 years. She loves the small town atmosphere, too. She also enjoys having family around. As I was giving her my blog address, she said to me, "If you don't know, I'm the Halloween lady." "The Halloween lady?" I asked puzzled. "Yes, I almost always decorate my house for Halloween. In fact, one day when I was working in my garden, a dad and his daughter walked by. A little while later they walked by again, and the girl asked me, 'Are you the Halloween lady?' I told her I was. 'Are you going to decorate again?' she asked. I told her I was, 'Good!' the girl replied."

People of Jordan: John

John has lived here in Jordan all of his life, excluding the times he served in the Military. He is very proud of being a Veteran, and he is very proud of his Irish, German, French and Native American roots. He has many family members in this area which is nice. He's sad to see some of the younger people leave the village, though. As common, he loves our quiet, rural village.

Happy Birthday Winslow!

Happy Birthday to our favorite inanimate friend! Hope this upcoming year is filled with fun, family, and fashion! ;~D

Liebster Blog Award!

A lovely couple, the Toews (ketoews.blogspot.com) nominated me as one of the their nominees for the Liebster Blog award!



Here are 11 facts about myself:

1. I dance constantly.
2. The punishment for dancing in the kitchen is dishes, so I broke my habit of dancing in the kitchen.
3. I do dance in the rest of the house.
4. My family loves cats and have 3, Gillie (Gilberta), Sully (Sullivan), and Ansel (Ansel Adams). These are some of there crazy adventures, including kitty nabbing, and fashion shows. 
5. We just got 2 goldfish, Glowie and Gopher. 
6. I am the fastest big sister diaper changer this side of the Mississippi! :~D 
7. I'm 5'8".
8. My birthday is on the 13th of April.
9. I wrote a book, and hope to publish it someday.
10. I'm working on my second book, the sequel. 
11. I'm terrified of heights. And I was tortured when I had to walk across a suspension bridge, 140 feet above the bottom of a gorge; yesterday. 

These are my answers to the questions I was given:

1. What is your favorite breakfast food? Dad's pancakes.
2. If you could have nominated ONE movie for a best movie in the world award, what would it be? Princess Bride? I think.... too many favorites to choose from.
3. Why do you blog? Probably because I like to write.
4. What book would you recommend I read next? I would say "The Princess" by Lori Wick
5. Describe your morning routine. I am awakened by my Dad like clockwork at 8 every day. I get up, make breakfasts, check my email, and get dressed.
6. What is your favorite quote? This is one of my favorites: When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way. ~ Fred Rogers
7. Do you have any music recommendations? Nope! :~) I do like musicals like White Christmas, Singing in the Rain, and so on and so forth. 
8. Where has been your favorite place to travel? The Adirondacks!
9. What sorts of things do you pin on Pinterest? Nothing, I don't have Pinterest!
10. Do you prefer to buy ground coffee or whole coffee beans? Ground, we get Foldger's Classic Roast.
11. What is your most views or favorite blog post from you blog? My Hope Chest post! Most views on my any blog post and the most comments on a post. :~) 

Thank you for the Liebster award!