God is Faithful...

...We're expecting.






















There are two heartbeats.








Updates coming soon on my blog, The Cover and Title Page.

Happy Birthday!

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Dear Family,

I'm wishing each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. The weather has been the topic of conversations around here. The sun is shining but I think it is getting colder out. I'm supposed to go to Eld0n's this evening. Sue's folks are picking me up around five.

Speeking of weather, it has been awful the past few weeks. Snow, freezing rain, sleet and so cold. I was without electricity twice so I just crawled under the covers. It is the first time that I couldn't get something warm to eat or drink. That was a new experience because I always had a gas stove.

My duplex feels more like home all the time. Pictures helped. There are some things I miss about my house but it is all working out. If we could just sell the house so we woulen't have to worry about it.

I pray that God will be in your hearts and homes as we start a new year wondering what is going to happen but as long as we don't lose faith we should weather all the stroms.

With all my love, Mom

Through the eyes of a child . . . .

This is Ethne. Santa came to visit her preschool. She's one excited little girl! (Jen, hope you don't mind my sharing this.)

Happy Birthday Eileen

Hope you have many more

Happy Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Kayla!

In carrying on my dad's tradition... Happy Birthday to Kayla too!

Sorry it's late!

Happy Birthday

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Retro Coat

Now that's one movie I can't wait to see.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Missing: Angel that tops little Christmas tree.

Reward: The last deviled egg next family gathering.

I have been staying at Grandma's house the last few days, and we've had a lot of fun getting Grandma settled back in, which has meant quite a few scavenger hunts and deciding where all the Christmas decorations should go (Christmas decorating is so much more fun than homework!) - so far we've been pretty successful in finding what we need. The one major setback has been finding the angel to top the small Christmas tree. Let us know if you have any ideas. Meanwhile, we'll share a few of the new places we've found to decorate:

Update: The angel has been found! I gues I get the last deviled egg.

So here's a picture of grandma with the tree (and Angel)

Now all that is left is finding her comb. Wish us luck! and Merry early Christmas to all!

The "Retro" coat

This coat should look familiar to many of you. Originally it was Angie's, then Beth's, Jen's, Becky's, Staci's, Crystal's, (after that I'm not sure), Ethne's, Reagan's, and now Catie's. Did I miss anyone?

Out of the mouth of babes

It was a beautiful, sun-shiney day here in central Illinois. Ethne likes to "lead us in silent prayer." Here is Ethne's Thanksgiving prayer:

(with much enthusiasm) Dear Jesus! It's kind of funky that it's almost Spring again! Spring before winter comes. Hmmmm. Well, thank you Father for this food and thank you for this drink. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Happy 50th!!!

Eldon - Congrats on the big 5-0.

I can't believe my youngest brother is 50.

Wow, you're getting old.

Seriously, I hope you have a great day

and many more wonderful years.

I understand that your sight and

the ability to communicate are the first to go :-)

And that those around you politely grin and listen.

Looks like you are well on your way.

Your kid brother,
Mike

Duck, Duck, Gooo…ross

Let’s start this story from the top – of our chimney.

In June 2006, we heard a little critter that we thought was a small bird ‘scritchen’ inside our fireplace flue. We tried to get it out, but to no avail. Sue and Sid’s youngest daughter Megan, who is incredibly softhearted, heard it scritchen one day and said “I don’t suppose that you are going to feed it are you?” So after about two weeks the little bird died. We opened the flue and cleaned everything out.

However, later in the winter, when we tried to use our fireplace, we noticed a thin layer of soot throughout the house. So we haven’t used the fireplace for the past two winters.

So this past October, we decided to find out what was wrong and hire a company to clean the flue if necessary. So Faye opened the flue and immediately called for me. There was a ‘wad-of-bird’ stuck inside the bottom of the flue. We taped up a garbage bag and I put on a pair of gloves. I started pulling out charred feathers and bones – handful after handful. Then I grabbed something hard and told Faye to stand back. And then I pulled out the head of a duck! That’s when I started to scream like a girl. I screamed and screamed. It was my finest hour.

So there you have it.
We are glad to have our fireplace in working order again.
And just in time for Santa Claus.

Seattle

Brett and I are childless and fancy free for the week! We headed out to Seattle on Thursday and will (hopefully) be home on Wednesday. Not sure if we'll make family Thanksgiving at this point.

We're probably the only people in America who intentionally book as many legs as possible and as long a layover as possible when we fly. Brett loves airports, planes, and flying. Lucky for him, I don't mind! He's pretty excited to be flying on the busiest travel day of the year, but it could mean delays or even not making it home at all until Thursday or Friday.

On the way out, our plane (leg 2 of 3) was overbooked, and they were looking for volunteers to be bumped. Guess who got two free tickets to anywhere in the Lower 48? And they even re-booked us on a direct flight (Brett was only slightly bummed, free tickets offset his disappointment) which got us there 30 minutes earlier than planned.

Grandma Great Disco Mania!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Grandma Great at the Hoedown

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Grandma Great Gets Down!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Wacky-Tacky Keith???

This won't match Mike's Halloween costume, but I did wear this to school (which may say something about our educational system). As part of Red Ribbon Week (drug prevention), we had a wacky-tacky day and this is how I dressed. Next year I will consult with Mike first.

Happy Happy Birthday Birthday

Wishing you many more years of happiness

God bless.

June 2005

February 2007

Grandma is a Groupie

We went to the home tonight to hear a concert by Deer Fry International. Pictured with Mom are Daryl Blunier, Merle Lawson, Roy Wiegand, and Wes Hohulin. Great program! Got Mom to pose with the band members before they left.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom. I enjoyed lunch with you and Eldon today. I hope the rest of your day was good.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I received an invitation to the Home Birthday Party for all of the November Birthday's. I was told to contact other members of the family to give them the details. It is Wed. Nov. 19th at the Home at 12:45 in the dining room. We are invited for the entertainment and cake and ice cream. If someone wants to eat with Mom, they need to make reservations by 10:00 on the 19th. Lunch is served at 12:00 noon. The Home phone number is 923-2071.

Mike, I can't figure out how you could dress like that and not win first prize! I hope you didn't tell anyone that you are my brother!

The palm tree is beautiful, thanks for sharing.

Love,
Eileen

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom -

We are thinking of you - and praying for you today:
that your day is warm and sunny - filled with hope and courage.
Please know how much we love and care for you.
Hope you have a wonderful birthday.



This picture was taken a week ago - of the palm tree just outside our living room window.
The seed berries were bright red - against the green of the palm and the blue sky.
I think ... "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... Florida style"

-Mike & Faye

Halloween Costume: Full disclosure (or full exposure)

And now for the rest of the story

. . .

viewer discretion advised --

. . .

Can't say I didn't warn you --

. . .

But you're going to look anyway aren't you --

. . .

Sorry about that.

I promise that I'll never do that again.

Happy Halloween

So we've had a fun week - kind of a week long Halloween party. You see, Sue and Sid went on a cruise last week with Sid's siblings and spouses to celebrate his mom's 80th birthday - so we had the privilege of having Megan and Marisa for the week. We started carving pumpkins on Sunday evening - and finished 4 days later! But check out the results - pretty neat.

And then for the costumes. So Megan & Marisa brought a whole tub full of dress-up clothes. And since we were having a costume contest at work on Friday, they 'helped' me find a costume. Aren't they cute - not me - but the girls.

Hi Everyone!

Brett and Jen, Connie and Angie - Congratulations on your marathons and 3 day walk. It was fun to read about your adventures while I am sitting here and not running!

We have been busy with harvest, which is almost over. Also we are doing some remodeling at the shop. It will be nice when it is over.

We had a busy day helping Tim and Cathy serve dinner. They helped us a few weeks ago. Tara thinks it is funny that we need a notebook to tell us how to serve!

Mike, Tara said you have some things to put on the blog. That is all she would tell us, so now we can't sleep until you make an entry! You better hurry or we will get crabby.

We stopped to see Mom after church. She is doing much better. We love you Mom.

Hope everyone has a good week.

Love,
Eileen

Columbus Marathon

Two weeks ago (Oct. 19) Brett and I did the Columbus Marathon. This was our second race, Brett's first full and my second half. We had ideal weather conditions. Brett's goal was to finish in 5 hours. Official time: 4:55! I expected to finish in 3.5 hours. Official time: 3:06! That's a personal record by 23 minutes!

We both have benefited tremendously from our coaches with Team In Training. Even though we weren't fundraising for this race, they encouraged us to come on out and train with the team. We especially appreciated our training in mile 12 (of the half) and mile 23 (of the full) where there were slight hills. We passed tons of people on those hills, still feeling strong when others struggled! We're ready to sign up for another one. We're looking at the Illinois Marathon in Champaign--the finish line is the 50 yard line at Memorial Stadium! How cool is that?

We survived the 3-Day!

Yea! Angie and I had a great experience last weekend (along with a little help from chauffeur Keith)! Friday, day 1 of the 3-Day, brought us rain, wind and chilly weather. We were dressed for the weather and survived the day pretty well. They moved the camp indoors for the night (Harris donated an empty office complex) and they also gave us the option of going home. Thinking about putting up the air mattress/sleeping bag gig twice convinced Angie and I to go home! Hmmmmm, beds, tubs to soak in, hot shower....not a tough decision! Hence, our chauffeur arrived and carted us back to Cumming for the night! Keith took us back to the starting point at "0 Dark Thirty" Saturday morning.....love this guy! Sat. a.m. was cloudy and chilly, but by mid day it was beautiful and had warmed up. This created another dilemma, how do you shed layers of clothing when you are carring only a small pack??? We managed and looked hilarious in the process. I couldn't believe what we could tie around our waists and still walk! Sunday was gorgeous but we were tired. We tented Sat. night and were warm and dry, but didn't get much sleep. We trudged through the day and were met by Keith, Wayne and Janice for a rousing welcome in Downtown Atlanta! The team and friends headed to NY Pizza (a tradition since Angie began doing the 3-Day) where we had yummy pizza and relaxed!
Both of us had a couple of blisters, but nothing that slowed us down. I truly believe the training paid off! Angie asked me if I would do this again........I responded, do you need to know a year? I will probably participate again, but it was too soon to commit!

Thanks to everyone who supported our efforts with donation and with prayers! On Sunday I found that my flagging spirit was lifted as I hummed some of my favorite Christian songs (I spared everyone my off tune singing voice.) God blessed us with family, with healthy bodies and with spirit to do those things we take on as challenges. HE walked with us and carried us too!

Thanks to you all.
Love
Connie (and Angie too, I am sure!)
(We'll send pictures soon.)

Amzanig!

Believe it or not, you can read this.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to rscheearc at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Kayla - Congratulations - very exciting news!

Mom - I hope you start feeling better soon. I know it's been a huge disruption and will continue to be a difficult adjustment. We will keep praying and hope you will feel more at peace as time goes on.

We give dinner next Sunday (Nov. 2). Everyone is invited to come help and have breakfast with us!

Tim is a new Roanoke Rotary member. He donned his hat and went and cooked ham and bean soup and chile this morning at the IGA. He says "it wears a guy out standing out there in the cold stirring a pot of soup!"

I think you might enjoy this song from a high school program:

http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com/Battle%20Hymn/index.htm

We are not the best Bloggers are we!

Dear Family, I think we are not the best bloggers in the world. I check in everyday but don't write often. Maybe we could all try harder to at least say hello once in a while. Just to let all of you know that I am planning on having Thanksgiving here. I will let everyone know details soon. Most of you know Mom is not feeling as well as could be. She is having a hard time getting used to her new home. I hope she knows how much we all pray for her and love her. I'm sure it will get better as time goes on but right now she needs our support more than ever. As for news in our family, Kayla got accepted into the school of radiology at OSF today. We are very excited for her. She graduates from ICC in December and starts at OSF in January.

Love,
Eileen

I'm Back on Line

Dear Family,
They finally got my DSL running today. I hope all are doing well. Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon we are going to have the house open for anyone to come pick out things that they want. I hope all will come for there is a lot there for the picking. Most of the furniture is gone except some end tables, lamps and the stove in the basement and the microwave.
It still doesn't seem quite like home. here yet. A lot of things are in the basement and I can't bring them up but I have the things I really need. Don't have any pictures up yet. I need Eldon and Sue to help me do some of that. Everyone is so busy with their own things and I hate to always ask for help. Love to all of you. Mom

Grandma On The Move

Some pictures of my u-haul

ENJOY! (I copied & pasted from an e-mail forward)

Take the very simple question of, Why did the chicken cross the road?...And ask people why it did it...Why did the chicken cross the road?
BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the roadbecause it was time for change! The chicken wantedchange!
JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossedthe road because he recognised the need to engagein cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens onthe other side of the road.
HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, Ipersonally helped that little chicken to cross the road.This experience makes me uniquely qualified toensure right from Day One! that every chicken in thiscountry gets the chance it deserves to cross the road.But then, this really isn't about me.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why thechicken crossed the road. We just want to know if thechicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chickenis either for us or against us. There is no middle roadhere.
DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?
SARAH PALIN: Where's MY gun? That chicken'sgot no choice!
COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, youcan clearly see the satellite image of the chickencrossing the road.
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with thatchicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chickencross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrongroad to cross, and I was misled about the chicken'sintentions. I am not for it now, and will remain againstit.
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white?We need some black chickens.
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that thischicken won't realize that he must first deal with theproblem on this side of the road before it goes afterthe problem on the other side of the road. What weneed to do is help him realize how stupid he's actingby not taking on his current problems before addingnew problems.
OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken ishaving problems, which is why he wants to cross thisroad so bad. So instead of having the chicken learnfrom his mistakes and tak e falls, which is a part oflife, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he canjust drive across the road and not live his life like therest of the chickens.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason tobelieve there is a chicken, but we have not yet beenallowed to have access to the other side of the road.
NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the roadbecause he's guilty ! You can see it in his eyes andthe way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent,hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warnme which way that chicken was going. I had astanding order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggswhen the price dropped to a certain level. No littlebird gave me any insider information.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did hecross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed theroad, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.
JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay!Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why theycall it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken isgay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay,too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort outthis abomination that the liberalmedia whitewashes with seeminglyharmless phrases like 'the other side.'That chicken should not be crossingthe road. It's as plain and as simpleas that.
EVERYONE'S GRANDPA: In myday we didn't ask why the chickencrossed the road. Somebody told usthe chicken crossed the road, andthat was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In afew moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell,for the first time, the heartwarming story of how itexperienced a serious case of molting, and went onto accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to crossthe road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in theworld crossing roads together, in peace.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008,which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, fileyour important documents, and balance yourcheckbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part ofeChicken2008. This new platform is much morestable and will never reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really crossthe road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one???

New Career - Fitness Model

Check out www.snapfitness.com/results and see the beginning of my career as a fitness model. I received a $35 gift card for my efforts.
Photo by Staci!

Happy Birthday!

I Did It,
Dear Family,
Well I now own a duplex across from the nursing home. My address will be 1008A Davison St.Tomorrow the for sale sign goes up in my front yard. I think I feel better about it since all the papers are signed and I know it is really happening. I need help deciding what to take, pack and move and then dispose of the rest of it. I hope we have good luck selling the house and it doesn't just sit here for a long time. I need your support and prayers. Love to all, Mom and Grandma

An Inspiring Olympic Story

This comercial always makes me cry:



Here is the actual race:



I find this so inspiring because it is such a picture of the love of our Heavenly Father--no matter how badly we collapse, He is there to help us finish the race!

Big Decision

Dear Family,
As some of you know my name has come up for a duplex at the nursing home. It is one of the first one's that was built so is about twenty years old. The lady that lived there went to Arizonia every winter so was only there about half of the time so it is in very good shape. She has always owned it up to now. It is good sized as it has 1325sq.ft. compared to the 1515 I have here. It has a kitchen, huge living room, two bathrooms, bedroom and the second room to be used as you desire. The kitchen is somewhat dated with the cupboard doors being white. It has a full basement that is unfinished. There are many details of how it all operates with the home that I'm not going to go into. Tim's, Eldon's. Eileen and Faye have all seen it. Right now I've told them I'm interested but haven't made the final commitment. It is a hard decision to make. My heart is here but my head tells me it might be a good time to make the change while I'm in prettty good health. I need your love and support in this. Love, Mom and Grandma

We're home & I made it!

Ty & I got back yesterday from a five day four night backpacking trip in southern Colorado! We went with his dad & mom and some friends. I climbed my first 14,000 foot moutain! On Thursday we summited Uncompahgre at 14,311 feet. I've attached pictures to prove it :) I found that camping is not my cup of tea, but it was all worth it when we finally reached the top! It was really all worth it when I got a hot shower a great meal & a warm bed with nice fluffy pillow on Friday night! It was great weather the whole time we were hiking. A little cold... it got around freezing every night. On Saturday we went white water rafting down the Royal Gorge, it was cold a rainy the whole day, but the rapids were fun! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer! Love you! Beth

Go Team USA

Good Morning America - and family

This is a photo of my breakfast from this past 4th of July. No, it isn't still sitting on the counter. I ate it. I'm just patriotic that way. No wonder my kids call me 'weird'.

In other Florida news, Faye and Tara are on their way to Illinois. The body shop finished Tara's car in time for the trip. Tara had a great week at Wycliffe. She was asked if she was related to Barry Hohulin and to Dick & Lou. Small world - but pretty neat.

Faye's mom is home from rehab and the hospital. She is doing much better and gaining her strength back. Faye and Sue have still been taking turns spending the night with them.

So Faye left for the weekend - and Tropical Storm 'Fay' may be on the way. I hope they both behave :-)

-Mike

Storm Damage

Duane and I went to Branson for a long weekend to celebrate our 33rd anniversary. We got home on Monday night. On Tuesday morning we had a severe storm go thru the area. The two trees in our yard didn't come out so good but the damage to our house was minimal. We were without power for about 8 hours. The pile of branches and logs in front of the house is now about as tall as the house. We hope the city will be by to pick them up soon. The town of Eureka lost a large number of old trees. Dave and Tara Prather had a tree fall on their house. They live about a block from us. We heard they have rafters broken. There are other houses in town that were damaged also. We are thankful that ours was so minor.

Eileen

Florida Update

Hi.

Thanks for all the postings. I've enjoyed reading and looking.
But Tim, really? With all those cute grandkids - what's with the pig?
Nice artwork Eldon - kinda dresses it up a bit.

Faye's mom fell in the hallway just outside their condo on Wed. 7/16.
She was bringing groceries in and caught her foot on the carpet.
We thought she broke her hip - but are thankful that is not the case.
She did get beat up pretty good. Vi was in the hospital until Sunday 7/20.
Since then she has been in a local nursing/rehab center.
The plan is for Vi to go home on Tuesday - so we will see how she gets along.

Andy has been living here at home for the past year.
However, he just moved into an apartment with two of his high school classmates.
They are just east of US1, so he is only a couple miles from the beach.
Grandma, you can continue sending all those delicious cookies to us here, and we'll make sure he gets some.

Tara can't decide if she wants to be in IL or FL this summer.
She was in FL for about 4 weeks right after spring semester.
Then back to IL for about 5 weeks for summer school.
Now back in FL for about 4 weeks.
But she leaves in a week to head back for her senior year at ISU.
Tara will attend a week long linguistic conference with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Orlando on her way back to IL.
On Friday, Tara and Faye were taking Ed over to see Vi when they were rear-ended in Tara's car. So her car is now in the body shop. We hope it will be fixed by the time she needs to leave for IL. Otherwise, it will be a very long walk, right Kayla?

Wish I could have been in IL to see my big brother Keith.

Lots of love,
Mike

Fishing was Great!!!!

Back from Wisconsin with a boat load of fish. We had a great time on our trip. It was good to get to see Keith and the rest of the family on Thursday. Well I said that I could do a better photo of Tim so here it is. Sorry Tim I couldn't help it.



Eldon

Ok, Ok, I'm here!

Hello all!
Grandma informed me today that I have not written on the blog yet, opps :) Ty & I are doing great! We are really busy with work & Ty's halfway through a paramedic class. We are excited getting the final plans complete for our summer "vacation". Our trip includes climbing two 14,000 foot mountains in Southern Colorado and a white water rafting trip through the Royal Gorge. HELP..... I miss the beach!!! I'll post some pictures when we get back, just to prove that I made the summit.

Keith, looking forward to seeing you this week!

Hope all are having a great summer!

Love you,
Beth

Sending my better half.....

Hi everyone!
I am so glad that Keith will get to see many of you while he is in Illinois. I am sorry that I will not be on this trip, but hopefully there is one in my future before too long. We love living in Georgia and especially the proximity to Angie! It has become routine to hear from her via phone/e-mail knowing she is just 45 min. away and seeing her every couple of weeks is just the icing on the cake!

This summer has been filled with a multitude of house projects that we didn't get to during the school year. (I think Keith may be secretly relieved that I am returning to school next Monday!) He has painted the laundry room, the basement stairwell and stairs, worked many hot hours in the yard, gotten our ceiling fans all hung and orchestrated the new countertops. All has turned out beautifully and most of the items on my list have been eliminated! (Of course he hasn't seen the NEW list!) The house is in great shape, but there are things we want to change. It all takes time and money, so I do try to space it out! I think I broke the bank this summer, so we'll see what I can manage for next year! Lucky for me, Keith is who he is!

Bryan and Jayne are well. We saw them at Holden in July with the rest of my family. Almost everyone was there except my parents and Phyl's son, Mat. It is a busy week, but a great one in which we get to see the little ones and visit with the big ones!

I am still in training for the Atlanta 3-Day! I haven't walked for almost 2 weeks as I hurt one of my ankles and needed to let it heal. I'll be doing lots of "cross training" on the bike to strengthen my ankle. I return to walking on Tuesday and will be doing 3 and 5 mile walks next week. I hope to be ready for an 11 mile walk in two weeks. The 3-Day provides us with a training schedule where we build up strength and stamina. We won't actually walk more than 15 miles in any given training walk. I hope to do at least 3 of those before the event. This has been a great experience and I love the peacefulness of walking. During the 3-Day I will be walking with Angie and memebers of her small group from church. They are a great bunch of girls and I am sure they will take good care of their only "senior" team member! I'll keep you posted and definitely send pictures.

NOW - I am working on my shirt/vest. Please send any names of friends you have who have been touched by breast cancer. It would be an honor to put their name on my shirt and walk in their honor or their memory! Thanks again for all your support. Pray for strong ankles!!!!!!!

Love you!
Connie

Manhunt over!

Suspects arrested - Preliminary information from Illinois State Police indicates the suspects are from Georgia! Know anyone from Georgia?

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/07/25/news/doc48895394066ac660421970.txt

Hello everyone!!

This is a neat way to stay in touch with everyone. We are planning on going to Grandma's on Tuesday. It will be great to see you Keith, although Elle will be disappointed not to see Grandma Connie!!

We are headed to Betsy's today for lunch and to let the crazies run around for awhile. The kids are doing good. Elle found out yesterday that she needs her tonsils out. She is very proud of this fact (no idea what she is in store for) and is looking foward to popsickles and movies. She will start preschool this fall. Her and Drew will be in the same class. I'm sure they will have lots of fun together. I can only imagine the stories she will tell the teacher!! Sam is getting big. Literally. Jen, I would love to see those slings you are making. He is a tub to carry around! He is sitting up now and enjoying any kind of food I will let him have. He is a very happy baby and is proud of his two new teeth.

Hope everyone is doing well and that we see a lot of you and Grandma's on Tuesday.

Love,
Becky

Manhunt in Roanoke

Armed and dangerous suspects on the run in rural Roanoke corn fields! Residents told to lock their doors and windows.

http://www.pjstar.com/homepage/x379996252/Car-chase-suspects-at-large

The main search area is east of town, out by where the Martin cattle feed-lot used to be. They were seen going in and out of the old one-room schoolhouse by Curt and Janel Hodel's house. Mike and Steve Pfister searched the area by air in Mike's plane this morning. Steve told me they didn't see the suspects but they did see three deer. Wonder if they are in our old barn!

You are all invited

Come spend an evening together and to be with Keith who is coming next Tues. It will be at my house anytime Tues. eve, the 29th after 6:30P.M. Hope as many as can make it will come. Hope to see you then. Grandma Great

I'm doing it!

After much thought and prayer, I'm starting a business--Bonny Blue Babywearing! I'm so excited about it. I've barely slept in days because I'm constantly planning. We've been busy getting paperwork together, looking for material suppliers, and planning classes.

For those unfamiliar with babywearing, it's the practice of using a carrier to "wear" your baby on your body so you can carry them as much as they need while keeping your hands free. I'll be offering consults on how to choose from and use the various types of carriers, and I also make and sell ring slings. Here's a picture of my first sling:

Flood Relief

Several weeks ago Cathy and I spent a day working on the levee at Taylor, MO.

The Mississippi river was rising on the other side of the levee, just behing us.

We spent the morning working on this levee and the afternoon filling sandbags at the Quincy, IL Civic Center.

We're thankful the levee held.

Hey Staci, and All

I saw your comment and if you are interested I have a photo shoot August 9th. I will be taking photos of a young man from Washington for senior pictures but also try to take some modeling photos to send to Chicago and New York. His mother is pushing for him to do this as a franchise store asked him to submit some photos. She also would like a photo of the two of them together. If you would like to help out give me a call. I will be out of town next week but should be home on Sunday the 27th. Late morning is generally the best time to get a hold of me.

Well today is Brett’s birthday, can you believe I have a teenager again? He’s a good kid and I look forward to spending time with him in Wisconsin. I love to get the kids on the tube behind the boat and whip them from side to side until they can’t hold on any longer. Then we count how many times they skip before they break threw the surface of the water. It’s great fun!!!!

I need to go pack for our trip now because we have a wedding to go to this afternoon. I don’t think I will have the internet in Wisconsin so I will have to wait a week to blog again.

Eldon

Thanks for the invite.

Wow, what a great idea. Thanks for including Keith and I to be included in the RKH Family. It has always been special to spend holidays and other events with all of you.

Last summer was so fun with all the weddings. It was great to be together.

I have about one more week of classes and exams. Teaching online takes lots of time but I get to decide when I am going to do it which seems like all the time. I am giving the last proctored exam on Thursday so this is my last busy weekend for a few weeks.

Alice and I started going to water exercise classes for real this week. I went four days this week and I think Alice went five. Five Points is the name of the community center where we swim. They have two pools (one warm and the other cold). We decided to get serious about our exercise and go in the cold pool.

Connie, I saw your dad the other day and your mom today. I didn't get a chance to say anything to them. Are they taking the water exercise classes?

I didn't have a picture of my self to add to my profile. So I put a picture of Ezzie Joe that Eldon did for me last year.

Hello

I should be busy because Beth is having a Pampered Chef party at my house tonight. But while she is here I'm having her help me learn to do this. I think this will be great fun. It will take a while for me to learn to do this. Becky just stopped with the kids so I'll post more later.
Love,

Good Morning

What a neat way to say good morning to my family. May you feel the Lord's blessing in all you do today. I love all of you.

Hi There!

Well, Keith helped me set up my profile, so I guess I am good to go......... not sure where, but good to go!

Not much new to add at the moment. I am walking, walking, walking and so far doing fine. This morning I did 5 miles in 100 minutes, so my pattern of 20 minute miles is holding. However, I do NOT expect that to be the case when the 3-Day comes around. I am hoping to do a 10 mile on a Saturday morning with a group from Cumming in a couple of weeks. That should be a real test and I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks for all your support and prayers as Angie and I undertake this event!

In that vein, please send me a list of names of people in your life that are survivors or who have passed on having had breast cancer. I am making a shirt/vest to wear at the closing ceremony and would be honored to represent anyone in your life who has experienced this disease. Your support has meant a great deal to me through the years and it is a privilege and honor to support others.

Summer has been great - I have enjoyed the time off, the travel and especially time with Keith.
More later,
Love to all,
Connie

PS- Greatest challenge besides walking 60 miles- beating Keith at Phase 10! Still working on it!

First RKH Blog from Georgia

Hello All,

My title will be true unless Angie beats me. Connie can't because I'm on the computer :)

We are doing well. We just returned from a week at Holden Beach (annual Tessier family get together). Angie and her friend, Amanda, were with us the whole week. Bryan and Jayne were there from Saturday through Monday. It was great to have everyone there.

If you looked at my profile, you saw my field listed as Education and position as Paraprofessional (fancy name for teacher's aide). That is because I am now a full time employee of the Forsyth County School System. The Paraprofessional that I worked with last Spring took a job at another school and I was offered her position. So, I will be working with the same group of "behavior" problem students as last Spring. It can be quite a challenge at times, so all prayers are appreciated.

On the home from, we are in the process of having our kitchen counter tops replaced. Before the new counter tops are installed next Tuesday, I have to remove the current tile on the back splash. Day three is now complete and all of the tile are off and resulting dry wall holes patched (first pass that is). As usual it has been a learning experience (as in hire it done next time). I really don't mind doing it; but I realize that I could never make a living as a handy man.

As Eldon mentioned I will be in Illinois the last week of July (actually July 29th - Aug. 2nd). I hope to see many of you then.

It's great to be on the Blog.

Love,
Keith

Hi to the Family,

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m now a blogger. I’m not sure what that is but I’m proud to be one and I hold the rest of you bloggers in very high esteem.

Sue, Brett and I are doing well and plan on taking a trip up to Wisconsin next week. We will be back the week that Keith will be in Illinois and look forward to seeing him.

I’m still doing photography, and have now spread into the Bloomington and Peoria areas. It keeps me busy, I had 3 photo shoots last week and I have more scheduled when we get back from our trip.

Well I just wanted to let you know I was on board.

Eldon

Hi from Robert Morris College

I am sitting in class right now. I am the only one here besides the teacher. Yes, I have my book and notebook all laid out and ready to go! Ugh! Again I'm the old lady of the class!

Great idea!

This will be a fun way to keep up with family!

Tim

This should be fun . . .

Good idea, Faye. And you little elves did a good job with set up. Wish I could think of something clever to say, but I can't, so I'll stick to something rather boring. Tim and I are leaving in the morning for Coralville, Iowa for a 4 day conference.

We have a Klop. family blog that has existed just a few months. It's a great way to stay in touch and I've learned so much about the lives of my cousins and aunts and uncles. Pictures are always a nice addition, too. And it's good to have another reason to like my computer, because a good part of the time I actually hate it.

Well, I guess I'll sign off with this . . . . Let the blogging begin!

Love to all,
Cathy

Thanks

Wow, thanks Grandma...I think we all knew it, but it's still great to hear.
Love, Andy
p.s. Thanks for the cookies.

Hey Family

I just want to take this opportunity to let everyone in the family know that Andy is my favorite of all my grandchildren.
Love, Grandma

Welcome!

In the beginning ... no that's not right.
After 50 years, ... yeah that's better.
Well actually, that was even a while ago.

Anyhow, we thought it would be fun to have a place to keep up with the extended family.
Apologies to those of you who weren't part of the clan back then.
But we welcome you to post - plus we are sparing you the embarassment :-)