Thanksgiving Day!!

Thanksgiving Day was very nice. We ate a lot and some people played Poker. It was a little cold so not many people were able to go outside.

This is a picture of Alexi and I.  She is the sweetest girl in the world.  I am so lucky she is my daughter.
Here is Zach & Pete.  Zach finally has hair.  He has always kept his hair cut short.  It was a little wild this day but I think it looks great.
Last but not least.  Here is a picture of Gary & I.  My favorite uncle and fellow blogger.  Check him out at threescoreplusten

Jackie!!

Jackie is doing very well. All the tubes and wires have been removed. He is getting up and should be moved to a regular room soon. It will be a long recovery but he can do it. He has the best support of anyone I know. And will have the best Nurse to help him through this in the whole world (my Mom). He is one lucky man.

Thanks for all the prayers. It sure did help. God is a good God!!!

I've been Blog Rated!!

I received this E-mail last week and didn't pay a lot of attention to it. I am not sure if it is for real or not but here is what they said. Check out the new widget on the side.

I thought it was kinda cool:

Dear Judi,

Our editors recently reviewed your blog and have given it a 7.9 score out of (10) in the Personal Blogs category of Blogged.com.

This is quite an achievement!

http://www.blogged.com/directory/personal-blogs

We evaluated your blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style.

After carefully reviewing each of these criteria, your site was given its 7.9 score.

We’ve also created Blogged.com score badges with your score prominently displayed. Simply visit your website’s summary page on Blogged.com:

Click on the "Show this rating on your blog!" link underneath the score and follow the instructions provided.

Please accept my congratulations on a blog well-done!!

Jackie!!

Jackie is still in ICU. Wendy said he has all kinds of tubes coming out of him. Right now they are just watching to make sure he doesn't have any internal bleeding or other problems from the surgery. He is a very lucky guy. Someone was watching out for him this week. They said if he would have waited one more day he wouldn't be here with us. He thought he had the flu and went to see the doctor. Less than 2 hours later he is in surgery. God is Good!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

99 things to do!!

Here is the list of my 99 things to do: The ones I have done are Highlighted.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis - on a stick!
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - by the sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching - those amazing orcas!
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Caught a fish
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating ~ a turkey
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

After looking at this list. I guess my dash hasn't been all that bad. I am very grateful for all the opportunities I have had in life. I am grateful for my health. I am grateful that there is a God that is good and looks after us in times of need.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

Jackie!!!

My Step Dad Jackie needs some prayers today. He had an emergency 5 hour surgery last night to repair a tear in his colon. There were other things wrong that hopefully they got fixed. He is in ICU and doing well. He is very special to all of us and will have a long rough recovery. He is a tough guy and I am sure he will be fine. These next few days are going to be critical for him.

So to all my blog friends please keep them all in your prayers.

Halloween!!

I just love this picture of Zach & Alexi. It was taken on Halloween. Zach was "Ace Ventura pet detective" and Alexi was a "Hippy Girl" Phil & Alexi have a party every year on Halloween. The party is getting bigger and bigger, This year it included their neighbors and all their friends as well. How nice it is to be in your twenty's!

I love that Zach & Alexi hang out together.  Phil and Zach are also good friends.

Sergi & Avi

Avi's newest trick is to get in the sink. We used to have a cat that did that but neither of these every have. I don't know why she is doing this now, but it is very cute. She will swat at you when you walk by. And don't even think about using the sink.



Then there's Sergi.  I am not sure what he was doing.  He was a sleep under this little piece of carpet that is by the bedroom slider. He does like to hide.

Baby Kittens!!

Holly & Gavin have a stray cat. She just had kittens. They caught two of them and gave them away. This is the momma and the two that are left. They will catch these in a few more weeks and have them fixed and keep them to take care of the mice on the property. The momma will come right up to you. She even came in to the Guest house for a visit. The babies are not so friendly. They will be good though. The momma was already teaching with the climb the weeping willow tree in the front yard.

The mom is multi colored.  The two babies that were given away were white and these two are black.  One is solid and the other has white markings on its chest and feet.  They are very cute and fun to watch play.

Gavin & Holly's Property

This property is just beautiful. Pete and I just stood outside and looked around. I think they have 3 acres on the top of this hill.

This is a picture of the old barn at the middle of their driveway.  I am not sure how old it is but it is beautiful.  What a view from your front door.
This is looking up from the barn at the house.  You can see the Toy box trailer in the driveway. What a great piece of property.

Swinging!!

How great is it to be a kid. They had so much fun on this swing.

Patton is 8 years old and just a sweet sweet girl.

And Jolie is also very sweet but much for daring.  She has no fears that one.  I hope that never changes for her.

Dinner out in Auburn!!

Again while in Northern California we took the girls out to dinner to the "Alehouse"  in Auburn California. What a great little town that was. There are some great little places in Northern California. It is very different that it is here in Southern California. We are going to try to go up and see Gavin & Holly at least twice a year now. Once in the summer and again in the fall.
Pete & Patton coloring at the restaurant before dinner came.  They were having fun.
Holly & Jolie coloring.  They it looks like they had more fun than anyone.

Holly is such a great Mom.

The Kitchen!!!

While In New Castle we went out to dinner at "The Kitchen" There is a 6 month waiting list to get into this restaurant. We had been planning it for a long time. When we were up north earlier this year we started talking about going to "The Kitchen" We had eaten dinner at "Ella" the sister restaurant to "The Kitchen" and loved it.

Located in Sacramento California.  You can go to their website at www.thekitchenrestaurant.com and check it out.  This is definitely fine dining at its best.
The meal is predetermined for you.  All the ingredients are displayed for you.  It is a performance explaining the foods and how they are to be prepared.  The plate everything right in front of you and the service is amazing.
This is the Tea service.  They make you Tea anyway you want it.  I had a Sweet Tea. Cranberries, Honey, Orange.  My friend Jeanine had a Herb Tea Lavender, etc.  It was wonderful Tea.
Noah Zonca was our Chef for the evening. Here he is trying to get the Lobster to sit up.  This was a live Lobster used for one of our dishes.
There was a great night.  Shared with great people.  I can't wait to go back again.  Next to Ella's.

Trevor & Jolie

One of the best parts of going to New Castle was we got to see Trevor. Trevor is the Nephew that I  have talked about before. He is a very special guy. He will be 40 years old this next year and has had some rough times. He was born with special needs. He has had several brain surgery's and he always makes it through. He is an inspiration to us all. I just love this guy.


Because of his medication and other issues Trevor has some diet issues.  His taste buds are all  wacko. One of his favorite things is Nachos and Guacamole .  Here he is with Jolie eating his lunch.  Of course when Trevor was eating Jolie had to have some just like Trevor.  She loves her Uncle Trevor.

Deer hits Motorcycle!!!

Where do I start with this one. It was a beautiful fall day in Northern California. We were all up early and the boys were planning a motorcycle ride. They leave around 10:00 to go for a nice long ride. About 45 minutes later my nephew Gavin comes back to the house alone. He said that Pete had hit a deer. The others were close behind.

Actually what happened was a deer hit Pete. The babies had crossed the road and everyone slowed down. The first two motorcycles passed and Pete followed. No one saw anything after that. It all happened so fast. Pete felt the impact and stopped on the side of the road and turned around to see what had hit him. He saw the Momma deer limping across the road. She jumped the fence on the other side and was gone. I didn't know deer's can't see from the side. She probably didn't even see him. The other motorcycle's were so loud the noise probably all blended together.

You hear so many story's of people hitting deer. When have you ever heard a story on a deer hitting a motorcycle. It was very scary. You start going over all the different things that could have happened. I am so glad it was Pete and not Gavin that was hit. Pete rides a Harley and it is built very good. He also is a very good driver. The only really damage is the light and fender. If the deer would have hit Dan he would have been alright as well. But if the deer would have hit Gavin I think things would have been much worse. I know he would have been hurt. Gavin's bike sits different on the road. No windshield and is an all together different bike. If the deer would have been a 1/4 of an inch late in jumping he would have knocked Pete right off the bike.

Everyone had a guardian angel that day!!!

Here is Gavin and Pete with Gavin's bike.  Before the ride.

This is the gas tank damage.  It was a previous event that will all get fixed now.
Fender damage.  It looks like the hoof hit here.
The right light got knocked off.


If you look close you can see the deer hair on the shock.  I still can't believe no one got hurt.  

The Proximidade Award

I have been awarded "The Proximidade Award" by Missy. I am honored to accept this award and I will display it proudly on my Blog Spot.

This is an explanation of the award straight from Gary AKA The Old Dude.

The nature of these awards frequently, is such, that one is requested to pass them on to others we deem worthy of receiving them , in the case of the "Proximidade" award, I am expected to pass it on to five worthy souls. I will reference these good people below.

First allow me to give you some explanation of the purpose of the "Proximidade"----one creates one's blog and one makes posts to it---over the course of time, one receives comments and develops regular readers, and via reading each others pages and exchanging comments one grows "closer" to these people, ---so via blogging one moves into closer proximity to some individuals than one might not otherwise have come into contact with----and acknowledging this "friendship", this proximity---one earns a "proximidade".

I hereby award "The Proximidade Award" to the following people.  They must post the award on their Blogspot and wear it proudly. Please don't forget to select 5 other Blog friends to give this award to.

Michelle

Shelley

Mandy

Amanda

Heather

Thanks Missy for giving me this award.  

Saturday!!

Alexi's coming over today to work on some Christmas presents. She has some jewelry she wanted to make for her friends. I am working on my pumpkin rolls and finishing a Baptism project for Tayber & Lea. It should be a great day. I hope the winds stop soon. My sinuses are going crazy.

Happy Birthday!!

Birthday week has come and gone and I didn't even Blog. My Little Sister Wendy's Birthday was on Sunday. Her present is still sitting here. The time just got away from me.  We went up North all weekend and I didn't get much done. I am just a mess. Hopefully I will get it all together today.

This is a picture of Wendy and her daughter Samantha.  I hope you had a great day little sister.  I love you and miss you lots.
Today is my Nephew Mark's birthday.  He is 16 years old today.  What I wouldn't give to me 16 years old again.  Your card is in the mail. Have a great day Mark!!!

Home!!

We just got home yesterday from Northern California. I took lots of pictures and will be posting soon. Lord knows I have lots to post about just not enough time to do so. Hopefully I can get caught up on Thursday or Friday.

I will be back on soon.