Happy 4th of July!

Hard to believe so many people have no clue what we are celebrating on the 4th of July!  I'm no history buff, but at least I knew more than these people.  I thought I'd post this to help those who read my blog who may also not have a clue what we are celebrating. 

Have a safe holiday and Go tribe!

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In Honor of Memorial Weekend: Thoughts on Prayer by Major General Olson

This is a video of the Air Force Major General's speech at a National Day of Prayer event speaking of the importance of prayer in his life and how best to pray for the military.  He is a fantastic speaker and I enjoyed listening to him share prayer examples from his own life.  He relies on God daily and gives God praise for his accomplishments. 

It is a shame that Mr. Mikey Weinstein, CEO of the civil-liberties group wants him court-martialed for speaking publicly about Jesus:  Military Hero Faces Court-Martial for Praising Jesus.  To me this is outrageous!

We thank all the servicemen, servicewomen and their families for the sacrifices made to protect our freedom and defend our country.  May God bless the USA and our nation return to Biblical values soon!


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How We Spent Our Holiday

Before breakfast while Gerard and Abby went for a walk, I found a great website for a resource for teaching my Sunday School class:  www.churchhousecollection.com.  It had cute clipart for the 10 plagues (my lesson this week) and pointed me to another site where I found The Plague Song that I am going to use this week. 

This morning we went to the Parma 4th of July parade.  It was a bit cool this year so we wore our red, white and blue Indians jackets.

Abby sitting nice watching the parade go by.

Abby finished off the biscuit she got quickly--it was practically gone before I could take the picture! 

The Dairy Queen float gave out free Dilly Bars!  Gerard got one for me but didn't get a picture.  I ate it pretty fast . . . didn't want it to melt.

Other people brought their dogs too.  Abby liked meeting them and they all liked her!

 

One church even brought along some puppets!

I thought I could finish my book, but the parade was too distracting.

I had a taste for a burger so stopped for lunch at Wendy's.  Gerard got a fish sandwich.

We played tennis--was a beautiful day for that.  Wasn't so hot and I didn't even have to bring any water along.  I also found out that from directv.com I can actually set up movies to be recorded on our DVR!  It's much easier to browse on the website for them than it is on the TV. 


Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday and had a safe and happy 4th! 


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Memorial Weekend is off to a Good Start!

I finally got my hair cut short for summer!  (Pay no attention to the date on the pic, I look the same.)

We bought flowers for our flower pots on our porch.  Were able to use a coupon and gave a $5 one we didn't use to a lady to use.  I stopped in the hardware store there and bought a staple gun and fixed the loose rubber grips on our basement stairs with plans to use it when I recover our dining room chairs too.

We stocked up on Breyers ice cream, 4 for $10.  We are expecting some warmer weather to stick around next week!  Which flavor would you like?

We did some rearranging in our living room and dining room to make it less crowded and easier to get to the big window.  Watching "Sell This House" is inspiring me to make some changes.  I even am considering painting some rooms--just don't know what colors to choose.

 At first we thought it was a little dog walking on a leash at Snow Road Park but then I saw . . .

 it was a ferret!  Abby did noses with it and didn't scare it at all.

Had some porch time and brushed Abby--shedding season has arrived!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and thanks to all our servicemen and women!


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Happy St. Patrick's Day

Got my green on today, what about you?

 Joining in with AWW Mondays.

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Starting Off The New Year Right

We got lots of snow yesterday but the temperature got up to 40 degrees so I got to go to West Creek Park. As you can see from the video, I like the snow. It is great fun to walk in the deep snow and I like to dig into it with my snout. Sometimes I get snow on my face and head which makes my humans laugh. Since my mom's New Year's Resolution this year is to move more, I'm hoping I will get to move more too. I will try my best to get her to come along on my walks this year. Do you think she will?

P.S.  Our Favorite Reads for 2013 are up on our book blog if interested.

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A Special Email from Santa

At PNP Portable North Pole you can create a personalized video from Santa Clause for someone. It's very cute!  I created one for my husband (since we don't have kids).  I'm sure though kids would love it too.  It is easy to do and doesn't take very long.  The hardest part I think is choosing what pictures you want to use.  You can email it to whoever you want. 

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What Are 5th Grade Boys Thankful For?

I teach a Sunday School class of 5th grade boys so last week we played a little game like Scattegories. I asked them to write down things they really are thankful for in three minutes and for every item on your list that no one else had, they got a point. (The one with the most points got a piece of candy.) Here are some of the things they are thankful for:

No. 1 answer: God/Jesus, family, food
No. 2 answer: house/home
No. 3 answer: animals/pets, water, school/teachers
No. 4 answer: friends/clothes

Then came the original things:

Bible, life, air, plants, electricity, technology, iPods, cars, trucks, holidays, forgiveness, laughter, art, girls, love, paper, nature, colors, Steve Jobs, Guy who created skateboards, guns, good health, heaven, oxygen, photosynthesis, the President, government, light, snow, church, milk, warmth/heat, and toys.

I thought they did a very good job on their lists!

Things I am thankful for that haven't already been mentioned are:

answered prayer, my husband, a good job, steady employment, indoor plumbing, blue skies, cooks, restaurants, stores, sports, buses, and that I live in the USA.

When  I see pictures and hear about the poor living conditions many people around the world deal with every day, it breaks my heart.  That is why I love going through the World Vision, Samaritan's Purse and The Jesus Film Catalogs that list many needy projects and choosing ones I want to donate to.  Instead of ordering another wool shirt that cost $105 for my husband who already has lots of shirts and several others I am buying for him, I donated that $100 to World Vision where my donation is multiplied by 8 for Christmas gifts which include: 

• Nutritious food
• Warm clothes
• Sturdy boots
• Books, toys, and games
• Vital medicines
• And more

Now that was money well spent!  I hope you will join me in this.

Joining up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop:  Something you are thankful for. 


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Friday Fragments--Frazzled (life, Purim)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Frazzled

I'm feeling somewhat frazzled, busy week and not much time to blog. It seems there is so little free time to blog. Our weekends have been busy with things going on and normal stuff we need to do. We got our cell phone replaced, but also got an extra one which we had to return. I'm hoping we will get a credit for the shipping cost, but I won't be surprised if we don't.

Sunday: I let the kids draw on the whiteboard to illustrate the lesson as I taught about Elijah being fed by ravens and the widow sharing her last meal with him that God kept replenishing. I was going to take a picture of it but forgot.

Monday: I forgot my key card to get into work so had to get a visitor's tag. I hate when I forget it--just wasn't ready for another work week. Finally got the new cell phone activated when when George from tech support fixed the serial number--their records didn't match the phone they sent to us. Great Call hasn't been so great for us lately. Hubby went to his regular work place and then was told to go to the new place where they are moving to instead.

Tuesday: Got to catch up on some taped episodes of Cedar Cove.

Wednesday:  Rush at end of the day to get out on time, the rushed off to Bible study at church.  No TV time or blogging time.  Felt bad I didn't get to join in the note card party, but just didn't have time to get it together.  Had to enjoy the beautiful weather outside Saturday.

Thursday: Typed up some fragments but feeling like I just want to kick back and watch The Biggest Loser that I taped and some of the Red Sox game.  Doing the Beth Moore Bible study on David takes me longer in the morning so have much less time to visit other blogs, but am really enjoying this study.

Friday:  Time to apply Revolution to our pets and do the laundry.  Rush, rush and then off to work.

image source:  Wikipedia

Sunday School

Found a video about Queen Esther that I might use in my Sunday School class this week, "Queen Esther Saves The Day" on Jewish TV Network. Also found out what a gragger is. It's a noisemaker kids twirl when Haman's name is mentioned during the reading of the Book of Esther for the Purim celebration.  I think it might be fun to give the kids some noisemakers and have them hiss, boo and make noise whenever I mention Haman when I tell them the story.  Yup, think that's what I'll do. 

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Happy Independence Day! (Writer's Workshop)

Fireworks are being shot off at 12:00 a.m. today and I am up typing this post because my dog won't let us sleep.  She keeps pawing at me, whining and barking if I ignore her.  I did get a bit of sleep on the couch after petting her for about an hour, but then guess what I dreamed . . . that I was kept awake all night by my dog!  My knees hurt so bad from being in one position so long that I tried going back to bed, but she started up again so I decided as long as I couldn't sleep, I might as well get up and do something.  Abby is now lying peacefully on the floor, not sleeping but at least not panting hard, whining, barking or pawing at me.

I just heard another BOOM!

 I'm sure they'll stop sometime soon, right?  Then I'll be able to go back to bed.  At least I don't have work tomorrow, but I bet I'll be having the same trouble tonight all over again.  This is the only issue we have with Abby so I try to remember what a sweet dog she is and how happy we are to have her. First Peter 4:8 comes to mind about love covering a multitude of sins.  In this case, just one!

We wish all a safe and happy 4th of July and thank our servicemen and women who sacrificed to protect our freedom.

Abby Dabby Doo at the parade

Manny wasn't in the mood for modeling here.

Spunky just wants to return to her nap.

Hope you will fly your flag today--we got ours from Walmart.

Do fireworks make your pets crazy too?

This post is part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop:  Share a 4th of July inspired post.

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Downtown Cleveland At Christmas is Amazing!

Public Square in Cleveland 2012

I actually did something spontaneous on my way to work yesterday--I got off the bus early and took some pictures of the lights on Public Square while it was still dark enough to see them.  I generally have my nose in a book, but when the bus stopped to let people off, I took a peek and wow!  The lights are very pretty!  So I decided to get off and take some pictures to share with my readers.

I stood in the middle of the Northwest quadrant and looked around.  It was just beautiful! Then I looked at the lights on the other side of Superior Ave. and lo and behold, I actually saw a Nativity scene among the lights!

Lights on Public Square in Cleveland-2012

A Nativity Scene on Public Square-2012

The children's heads all moved!

Then at lunch I went to Tower City to see the Toy Soldier that I heard about at our Women of Wonder meeting at church. I never new he came to visit at Christmas time. It took me awhile to find him because he was on the lower level and the big staircase that I usually use to get down there was blocked off for his display area. Along the way to find a down escalator to that level, I saw this cute display:

The Toy Soldier

Then I spotted him pushing a little girl in a cart and hurried over to the escalator so I could get down there and get a video. He was lifting her up and swinging her around so cute. He was a mime so did not talk, but had an assistant who talked to help him if needed. Unfortunately, I was too late to get much of him with her but I did take him with a couple other kids. That key in his back actually turned too! I was impressed with him and his costume!


Watch the video below to see him in action!

This was a fun lunch hour that I enjoyed very much.  There was also a train that went around and passed by the talking Spruce tree and a children's holiday store just for kids to shop in.

Twigbee Shop for Kids Only

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Give Thanks All The Time, Not Just on Thanksgiving

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34, AMP)

 We should not only give thanks for all God has done, but also for the things he is going to do.  This demonstrates our faith in God's goodness and faithfulness.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness:  come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God:  it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:  be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting:  and his truth endureth to all generations. --Psalms 100

Every time we pray, we should have a song on our lips and give thanks.  Do we spend as much time thanking God as we do requesting for things?

In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. --I Thessalonians 5:18

If you are unsure of God's will for you, giving thanks no matter what situation you are in is a good place to start.  This verse makes it plain that God's will for us is to give thanks.

Here is a cute video about giving thanks that my cats insisted I share with you.


Seriously, though, we are very thankful to God for answering our prayers this year for our dog, Abby.  When she was attacked back in January by two Rotweilers, biting her 15 times and even have a hole in her groin area, the vet did not think she would recover.  We are so thankful she has made a full recovery, the hole closed up with no complications and all her fur has grown back.

We are thankful God has been so good to us and thank him for being at work in our lives.  I am thankful He holds our future and knows exactly what is ahead for all our days and is in control.  He will help us through anything that he allows to come into our lives so we can be at peace. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERY DAY!

See Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for more Thanksgiving posts.  This is in response to this prompt:  We’re going around the table and it’s your turn to share what you are thankful for…go!

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What a Wonderful Sweetest Day!

http://www.crackerbarrel.com/

Our day started off by Gerard choosing Cracker Barrel for breakfast which was absolutely delicious! We both got the apple French Toast breakfast. He won the football pool between us so he got to choose, and he couldn't have made a better choice in my opinion. It is my favorite restaurant.

Here is a collage of the gifts we gave each other, including a card and nightshirt from the pets!

Our Sweetest Day Gifts (collage made using www.picmonkey.com)

I felt overdressed for a Saturday.

You can't tell how attractive that cat top is by this picture, but it will give you an idea.  The cat in the middle of it is watching the sparkly butterfly up in the corner.  There is subtle music notes in the background and it fits perfectly!  I gave Gerard the Mrs. Fields cookies which are big and yummy.  After all, he is a cookie monster and can never get enough cookies!  I thought that was all until I started getting ready for bed when Gerard called the cats, who didn't come, and gave me the last gift which was from all our pets.  It is a cute nightshirt with a howling kitty on the front which says, "The sound of Mewsic."  Manny comes in every morning to let us know it is time for his breakfast.  Below is a picture of the whole cat that is on it:
 

It's so cute, it made me giggle!

Hope you has a wonderful sweetest day too!  I know a lot of people do not celebrate this, but I think it's nice to do a little something special to remind your mate that you are still important to them.  I think primarily it's more for the guys to give something to their sweethearts, but I like to give my hubby a little something too!

Oh, even Abby and the cats got a special treat!

Abby carried it with her the rest of the day,

This is worth getting up for!

We used this for our Bozo's Pet Pride link up.  We have great pets who give me gifts!

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How We Spent Labor Day

First off, we surprised our dog, Abby, by taking her to the park for her early morning walk, which was actually late for her--7 a.m. She normally goes at 5 a.m. but since it was a holiday, we slept in. We were there for a couple hours and joined by a lot of other dogs as time went on. There was only one other car there when we first arrived. Abby and Gerard got two more walks in later in the day around the neighborhood.

Of course, I did some blogging which included making this video and blog post with my cat, Manny Boy supervising.  I also posted a book review (yesterday's Favorite Reads for August post) and used the end of this video of tug-of-war between Abby and me as our Monday Mischief post.

We went shopping at Parmatown for new tennis shoes at The Finish Line. The saleswoman was very good, selling Gerard a pair too! We both got the Nike Airmax that she said is the best walking shoe they carry. It did feel much more comfortable than the worn out New Balance running shoes I had.

I decided to get some new eyeglasses because the ones I had felt like the lens would be falling out again and it's been five years since I got new frames. I am excited about getting the lens that darkens in bright light and that is glare resistant. They should be ready by the 17th.

In the afternoon we got some tennis in at our neighborhood court even though it was 89 degrees! I must be officially nuts, but it was fun and was a good workout.  I won 6-2, 6-3 but lost the 5 deuce game. I had some water, raspberry iced tea and Turkey Hill chocolate marshmallow ice cream when I got home.

We both got some reading in and watched a little TV. After sweating while just sitting reading, I gave in and turned on our central air conditioning so the house will be cool by the time we go to bed so we will be able to sleep.  (Review of Lead for God's Sake! is up at Grab a Book From Our Stack.)

It was a very good day! What fun things did you do on your day off this week?

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Happy Valentine's Day--Show You Care

For years neither of us had a sweetheart to share Valentine's Day with so when we finally found each other, Valentine's Day was a pretty big deal for us.  Gerard had lots of gifts planned for me and really nice cards.  I tried to find a good cards for him too but always felt it was more about the guy getting candy or something for the woman than it was about the woman getting something for her man.

Now, 15 years later, we still enjoy celebrating our love on Valentine's Day.  I'll bring out our hearts that sing "I Got You Babe," we'll buy a special treat of some sort and maybe go out to eat, spending the day together.  We still exchange cards and Gerard will buy me something.  This year though, we didn't take off work.  We got a cherry pie and Gerard has a gift for me and we exchanged cards.

bedroom closet with Gerard's clothes

My "gift" to Gerard is to let him have the bedroom closet.  One of the great things about our house is all the closet space we have.  Originally, we both shared the bedroom closet but most of Gerard's clothes were hung in the upstairs closets and basement closets.  He recently mentioned that he would like to have the bedroom closet which I thought was a reasonable request.  I had some blazers, dresses, and sweaters in it and all he had was some shirts.

Front closet with Karen's coats

Moved from Bedroom closet to computer room closet

Being the good wife that I am, I cheerfully moved my things around so he could have the bedroom closet.  Our front closet in the vestibule was pretty much empty so I moved my coats and jackets from the computer room closet to that one.  This made room for my dresses and blazers to be hung in the computer room closet which is right next to our bedroom and wallah!  My wonderful husband can have the bedroom closet with one exception:  my robes are still in there which he said was okay.

This is what a good marriage is all about--being kind to each other and listening and meeting the other's needs.  The gifts are all well and good and who doesn't like presents now and then, but the ever day love we share is what love is all about.  Happy Valentine's Day, honey!  LOVE YOU!  Which speaks of love louder to you--actions or gifts?

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!) Share this:

5 Things We Learned This Week 3 of 2012

Friday Fragments are just some items that aren't substantial enough for an entire post and is hosted by Mrs4444 over at Half-Past Kissin' time where you can find more and link up your own.

1. This Mortal Life

   One of my blogging buddies, Rebecca, has started a new blog which is completely different from her other seven. No advertising, no one telling her what to write about and very educational! She is writing about her passions: art, music, history and literature. She calls it "This Mortal Life" and explains all about her unique blog header and choosing her pseudonym (Polyhymnia) in The Muse post.

2. No More "Chunky" Spunky

   Spunky Doodle visited the vet last Saturday and was declared "healthy, just right weight, and looking good." The vet was impressed with how shiny her coat was and how white her teeth were. He did suggest I try using gauze on my finger to "brush" her teeth instead of the brush, we'll see. Cost of routine comprehensive exam: $82 (and that was with a $10 discount).

3. List Post Mistakes

   I read Six Easily Preventable Mistakes Bloggers Make With List Posts and I noticed that I make two every week with this post: No introduction and unnumbered items, so I will correct these things.

4. Ruby Bridges

   The best post I found for Martin Luther King Day was How We Celebrate Martin Luther King Day At Our House. They watch a movie, about Ruby Bridges and included part 1 of her story with a YouTube video. This is it:
   
   I never heard of Ruby Bridges before but this video looked so good, I immediately ordered the book and DVD from the library.

5. Punch in the Nose

   When we talked to a neighbor about our dog and Gerard being attacked by two big Rottweilers this early this week, he said the best way to get the dog to let go would be to punch it in the nose.  Dog bites take a long time to heal.  Abby wrote an update for you:  On The Road To Recovery.

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Christmas At Our House in 2011 (UPDATED)

Best decorated house in our Neighborhood!

Christmas morning, we slept in, then both walked Abby. Gerard wanted to show me a particular house that had really great lights and I agreed. I had a gift I wanted to "re-gift" but and was trying to think of someone to give it to when I got a brilliant idea! I would leave it at the house with the fantastic decorations as from Santa. Gerard and Abby continued on their way while I went back home to play Santa and wrap up the present with a card that said:

My secret assistants report that you have the best decorated house in the neighborhood. Thanks for brightening up this neighborhood! Santa

(I also inserted a contact card separately so they knew it was actually from a real person who they could thank.) I went back and left it next to their morning paper by the front door. It was fun being kind of sneaky and surprising someone we didn't even know!

Some of our gifts

Gerard and I both enjoy buying things for each other got lots of nice things. The few things I asked for, he got for me which I am very happy with along with some nice surprises too. I mostly got him clothes this year because that's what he needed, but he was thrilled to see I bought the Bruins book for him.

Gerard's new suit that is a fur magnet

Gerard got: winter coat, two pair of shoes, two pair of jeans (one fleece lined), folding dog dish to take on walks, Buckeye hat, candy, black suit, black shirt, Bruins book, candy.

Karen got:  Classical music CD, peanuts, binder clips, two shirts, Furry Logic books, the cute owl hat I asked for, leopard PJs, Browns dog, two big soft furry pillows, blue thermo-fit hoodie and a Kindle case.  Now to see what our pets got, read more:

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