Diana’s 8th Birthday
August 1, 2006
Last night we were invited to her birthday party.
Playing with a new gift – an air rocket
Jordan Showed Me His Garden
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Pepper
Tomatoes
Swinging
The girls wanted me to take pictures of them jumping off the swings!
The day closed with a beautiful moon.
~ Allow God to Bless You Today ~
Keep the Main Thing
The Main Thing
Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.
Luke 4:8 CEV
Music in the Park
Friends invited us to go to a Booth Brothers’ Concert this evening.
An estimated 3,000 people enjoyed the awesome gospel music.
I invited our sons and their wives for lunch today
…just to make sure they didn’t forget that their children were here! 
Jere, Jared, Diana and Jeff.
Jere’s wife Kristen is in Ohio for a Longaberger Basket happening of some kind.
Gloria was happy to sit next to her mama again. I told Chris that she looked incredibly relaxed!
What is that strange sound I am hearing tonight?
Oh, it’s silence!
Another Day With Nine Grandchildren
Diana helped me prepare another mailing for the post office by carrying the trays to the garage.
I don’t know why, but these four decided to be puppies – Jenna was preparing to take them for a walk.
“The case of the missing horseshoes”
After lunch I told them I needed a nine-child posse to look for two horseshoes that were missing in the woods since the Hershey Reunion almost two weeks ago. It was Gloria’s job to display what we were looking for.
When I suggested that they line up against the garage door for a photo – this is what I got!
And the search is on!
The lost were found by Josh and Diana.
Jenna found a marble and a nerf ball.
Jared said, “I found a stick!”
Next activity was “ball pass” by Diana and Jana.
Cops and Robbers
Gloria and Jana come up with a plan on how to get away from Jordan’s high speed “chase stroller” with Jared as the rider.
The chase is on!
I think Jared has NASCAR blood in his veins. The faster Jordan went, the more he laughed.
No wonder some of us are exhausted by the end of the day!
~ ~ ~
Cerwin’s mother had another attack of high chest pain. His sister Velda took her to the family doctor today, who recommended a test on her upper digestive system.
Conclusion: She has Acid Reflux. Because she didn’t have any signs of indigestion, the doctor called it a Silent Acid Reflux. At least they now have something to treat and learn how to deal with.
Waking Up in Our House Today
I woke up early (3:30 AM) and decided to get some work done in the office before our nine “guests” awoke. I was surprised that Cerwin was already out of the house. I knew he was driving truck (delivering propane), but he usually only gets up at four o’clock on the days he drives.
Later in the day he told me that he got an early start. He thought he had the alarm set for 4 AM, but it went off at 2 AM. He didn’t notice the time until he was dressed and making coffee – so he just stayed up!
Laughter in the Boys’ Room
They were sleeping on single mattresses in the room attached to the back of our garage. That room is one of the best things we ever did to our house. It makes our garage L-shaped, and gives us extra room when visiters are here. When the grandchildren are here, the cars are parked outside and the garage is used for a dining room and play area.
The big boys each had a mattress. They put the little boys’ mattress between them.
By 7 AM it was evident that they were no longer sleeping!
The Girls Were a Bit Quieter
How do you like all that morning hair? Gloria and Jana got first dibs on the Nintendo GameCube.
Diana and Jenna were watching High School Musical on DVD.
Butterflies
I love this time of year when our butterfly bush is in full bloom and filled with butterflies.
Cousins’ Week
Each summer, our oldest son Jeff and his wife Chris take a three-day vacation and leave their children with us. They usually stay in the area – antiquing, going to yard sales, eating out, etc. – then go home each night.
Jeff and Chris’ five children
We usually invite Jere and Kristen’s children as well. They call it cousin’s week!
While Gloria waited for her cousins, she asked for something to do. I suggested that she dress the naked teddy bears, dog, and cat.
The Office
A new printer
Equipment is still being repaired and I am getting acquainted with new items as a result of the storm damage on July 2.
Along with that we purchased a new color laser printer – which was in our plans before the storm. It feels like nothing is normal in my office. A technician installed the new printer yesterday, and gave a final tweaking to some of the new computer software and equipment. (I think that stuff is finally working correctly.)
After the technician left late yesterday afternoon, I printed one hundred newsletters with the new printer, and one with the old printer. I knew the new one was going to be faster, and because the old one takes so long to warm up, the one hundred were finished about the same time the old one finished one!
A service man also came to adjust the gas on our new stove. The flames were much too high. (It hadn’t been changed from natural gas to propane.) That is also working OK today.
A third technician came to work on the Pitney Bowes envelope printer which has been giving him lots of problems. Each time he fixes something and turns it on, it blows a fuse. Finally a back ordered item arrived, which he thought would fix it. When he plugged it in, the machine smoked! He groaned and said, “My suggestion is that you get a new one.” We probably should have done that in the first place!
Today Pitney Bowes brought a loaner so I can get some newsletters mailed.
Wow! I like it too. It is twice as fast as the old one – and much quieter.
Jenna helped fold newsletters, then this evening she and Jana stuffed some envelopes.
After supper I got the whole crew to pose.
]
My favorite picture of the day was of Jared trying to bring two balls up the patio steps.
Outside My Kitchen Window
It’s always amazing how squirrels find bird feeders!
This little guy was feasting on sunflower seeds that had fallen into the bush – from the bird feeder just above it.
~ ~ ~
Sometimes I have to stop and remember that even these little pesty creatures belong to God!
Every animal of the forest is mine. Psalm 50:10 NIV
