WOW... It was awesome

This was the week! For nearly a year our church has had a dream to bring the youth motivational Christan speaker Justin Lookadoo to our community. The church kids first became aware of Justin from attending the ICHTHUS Christan music festival in Kentucky the last 3 years. He is one of the main attraction speakers there. The kids cannot get enough of him when they are there. And they all love his books too. He has a way of connecting with the kids that is amazing and his message is amazing as well. He is a true gift.

After much prayer and generous donations from many we were able to bring him to Hartford... who says small towns can't do miraculous things?

Jordan and JustinJordan, Justin and Caleb
Church youth group with Justin
Justin did 2 assemblies for the school during the day and an evening assembly for the community. The high school assembly was titled "RU Dateable" and was about teenage relationships. I knew watching him would be captivating but I had no idea how funny he was going to be. The middle school assembly was more about values and character. The evening assembly was more faith based and a mixture of everything.
He has a way of putting things that make you really understand his points. He made an illustration during one of his shows where he took out a $100 dollar bill. He proceeded to crumble it, stomp on it, spit on it. He made the bill totally disgusting. Then he asked who wanted the bill. Of course all the kids still wanted it. He stated that no matter what he did to the $100 it never lost it's value. He told the kids that was how God saw them. No matter how worthless or disgusting they may think their lives are God values them. In Gods eyes they never lose their value. In between shows the church youth group had a private dinner with him at the church.
It was amazing watching him interact with them.

It's a day we won't soon forget. We are thanking God.

5 things Jessica would never say

I've tried unsuccessfully several times tonight to upload photos to blogger!  Once in a blue moon blogger is stubborn like that!  I have people waiting to see the Justin Lookadoo photos... I promise they are coming as soon as blogger starts behaving.  

Until them I've decided to copy Margaret and do a simple post on the 5 thing I would never say:

1. I'm going to stop feeding the birds, the bird seed is making too much of a mess.

2. I'm never going to buy another piece of Royal Copley (bird figurines) off of eBay.  

3. No Honey, Id rather not go out to dinner tonight.

4. Stress!  What stress? I've never been under stress in my life (that one was for you Craig, so you could have a laugh). 

5. Yes, please do the laundry for me today.  (I'm confessing that I hate to have anyone in the house touch the laundry... It's the one job that I cannot let go of.... help me with anything but the laundry). 

And #5 reminded me of this conversation between Caleb and I the other day.....

Mom:  Caleb, I've been talking to my friends at work and they tell me that I'm doing you a real injustice still doing your laundry for you at 19.

Caleb: Quit talking to your friends!

Congratulations Jordan

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Christmas Card Exchange

I've been thinking about organizing this for a few weeks and I've decided to give it a try. Come on and join me... it will be fun!!

Last year Seadra and Zoe participated in the "Dog's with Blog's" Christmas card exchange. They literally got over 100 cards from all over the world. Unfortunately Seadra and Zoe have not kept up with their blog and will not be participating in the card exchange this year. I know, shame on me!!
Anyway, I thought it would be fun for us blogging friends to have our own Christmas card exchange. Of course our exchange will be on a much smaller scale but that won't take away from the fun of it.

I know some bloggers like to keep their identity and where they live private and I totally respect that. If some of you choose not to participate for that reason I understand. If some of you think you might like to participate but are still a little leery for those reasons I have seen some people use a P.O. box or a place of business address. Remember... this is totally optional.

If you would like to participate please email me your snail mail address along with the link to your blog. I will not be publicly posting the addresses and names. I will send you all an email with all the names/addresses and blog links. I'll keep sign up open through Thanksgiving.

The only rule is that you must send a Christmas card to everyone on the list. How fun it would be get a card from Cliff with one of his poems in it, or a card from Margaret with frogs and knitting needles on it, and Jen and Shelley can send log cabin cards, Pigeon might show us her gardens, Ben might take us on one of his road trips and Laura might show us her two adorable kids all dressed up for Christmas.

Even if you are only a sometimes visitor or someone who rarely comments we would love to have you join us. Who wants to join me? In my side bar is a link with my email address where you can send me your info.

Signs of Winter

I've been anxiously awaiting the return of my Junco feathered friends.  I was thrilled to see my first one today.  He (or she) was all alone but I am sure I'll have my usual winter flock soon.  I love Junco's!  They are such adorable innocent birds, always hanging out on the ground under the feeders scratching around like chickens.  I love their delicate pink bills and white bellies.  

I picked up a few of these recently.  Supposedly they are bird roosting houses.  Little birds like Chickadees and Titmice like them in the winter for shelter at night.  This is the first year I've tried them... I'll let you know if I see any birds using them.  

Thanks Cliff

In honor of my birthday yesterday my friend Cliff from WIXY Gone Bananas wrote this poem for me. I've been back to his blog at least 10 times to keep reading it. I decided to post it so you could all read it too. Thanks Cliff.... This was great!!

She has a husband who works on cars
And two cute dogs, they're becoming stars
A daughter and a son, she speaks of with pride
And I know she hopes she gets a new ride

She helps with the injured as an E.R. nurse
She blogs with a camera, she keeps in her purse
She takes all these pictures and shows to her readers
Of the band and her dogs and the birds at the feeders

Last night I thought as I was passing out candy
Of kids who had costumes that really looked dandy
The thought that I had was just really neat
Jessica's birthday is our day after treat.

MCBA Competition

Today is my birthday and I couldn't have spent it any better. Today was the Michigan Competing Band Association State Championships in Detroit at the Ford Field. It's the highlight of our marching season and a proud day for the community of Hartford. Here's Hartford's cheering section (OK, there's a few other towns mixed in too). Drum Major Jordan!Ty, my favorite sax player.We came in 10th this year. Not the most winning season we've ever had but we are still really proud.
My two favorite band members. Josh showed up to show support to Ty and all his friends.
The following photos are for Dawn and Jerry. These are some great photos of you all.

Happy Halloween

Ramblings...

I'm missing my blogging this week.  It's been a crazy week at work so far and I was happy to have a few hours off this morning.  I don't have to be to work until noon.  Just a few random thoughts before I head off to work.....

I filled up the car for $2.33 a gallon yesterday!!!!  I can remember paying $4.40 a gallon this past summer when we were vacationing up at Silver Lake.  

Craig flew to Florida this morning for meetings of an advisory committee he's on for the conference center.  What's so exciting about that?  We found another car only 30 miles from where he is staying and yes it's better than the one we drove to Detroit for (see you all told me we'd find a better one!).  Craig's going to check it out Friday and if it's what we want then he will drive the car home instead of flying home.  And this one will not be sold out from under us.  The dealership was nice enough to be holding it for us.  If all works out I will have a car home and in my driveway Sunday.  And Jordan will be glad to have her car back. 

On a scary note Caleb laid down the motorcycle while driving home from Craig's parents last Sunday.  He about scared me to death.  He was about 1/2 way home and we were a few miles behind him in the truck.  Craig's cell phone rang and it was Caleb saying had just wrecked the motorcycle and was in a field.  He assured us he was OK.  When we got to him he was standing there all covered in mud, dirt, grass stains and hay was hanging off of him.  Evidently the went around a curve too fast and didn't make the curve.  We are so grateful that he wasn't seriously hurt, only sore for a few days.  You can bet that Caleb will not be driving that thing again until next spring when he can take a safety course etc.... And even then I won't be thrilled.  

Time to head to work.... maybe I have time to stop for a latte on the way.  

Happy mid week......     

  

Happy Birthday Caleb & Jordan

Most of my blog readers know that Caleb and Jordan share the same birthday.  Two years apart to the day!  Happy Birthday to the two most incredible kids.  You continue to bless our lives everyday and we thank God for you!  

Caleb... One of the greatest gifts to your Dad and I is when people come up to us and tell us what a fine young man you are.  We are constantly complimented on the person you are.... your cheerful caring outgoing personality is a pleasure to know and be around.  Happy Birthday to our amazing son!    

Jordan....  Your beauty shines on the inside as much as the outside.  Your intelligence and determination to do well will take you far.  May happiness follow you always!  Happy Birthday Missy J!   

I wish you could see what I see

I'm sitting at the kitchen table with the laptop looking out the bay window to the side yard where most of my bird feeders are.  It's a great bird day!!  In the 5 minutes I have been sitting here I've watched the Tufted Titmice flitter back and fourth grabbing peanuts.  They never stay long, only long enough to grab their delight and fly back to a branch to enjoy it.  The Chickadees are doing the same, although they prefer the black oil sunflower seeds.  And I can hear the chick-a-dee-dee-dee song they are singing.  

The Downey Woodpecker is gracing me with his presence eating away at the woodpecker suet snack cake.  I love the way he bounces up and down the tree branches almost as if he's dancing.  

And my Red Bellied Woodpecker is gliding in for a peanut or two every few minutes.  It is a male and I am hopeful that it is the baby Red Bellied that I watched grow up this past summer.  He was one of my favorite birds this summer and it was a privilege to watch him grow and learn.  Every few days his red head became more evident.  And watching his parents lead him around the yard to different food sources was awesome.

The Bluejays are out this afternoon too.  They are landing on the feeder two and three at a time chasing the little birds away.  Unlike the Titmice and Chickadees, they will stay right on the feeder eating to the point of gorging themselves.  But soon they are gone and the little birds return.

A female Cardinal has briefly stopped to see what she can find.  She chooses a peanut and disappears.  I suspect the male is close by.  

And I am enjoying the White Breasted Nuthatches.  I see two out there now doing their acrobats.  I love the way they cling upside and hop all over the feeder.   

Sparrows are flying down in bunches.  They scratch around like chickens until they find their favorite treat.  

I am half tempted to get up and take a photo to post but it will only scare the birds away and I am enjoying the scenery too much......  

Why???

Why is it that I can make a perfect pan of lasagna but I can NEVER toast the garlic bread without burning it? Craig says it's because I use the smoke detector as a timer.

6 hour drive for a burger

As some of you know we sold my car a few weeks back. We have been in no hurry to purchase another one and were being very patient scouring the Internet and such. We have fallen in love with the Lincoln Mark VIII that we bought for Jordan this past summer so we decided that we wanted to purchase another newer one with less miles for me. We found the perfect car in Detroit! Low miles, great condition, LSC model, and best of all in our price range. We only discovered the car last night and immediately made arrangements to drive to Detroit and purchase the car today. Both Craig and I got off work at noon and away we went. As we approached the car dealership and were literally pulling into the place we noticed someone driving "our car" out of the parking lot. Absolutely!! Someone was test driving the car when we got there and bought it right under our noses. I cannot tell you how frustrated I was!! A few minutes later we were on our way back home. But we did stop and buy a burger at Red Robin on the way home. That is the longest drive we've ever taken for a burger... 6 hours!!

Boys and Toys

Craig and Caleb found this motorcycle in some barn a few weeks ago. It hadn't been running for years. They picked it up for almost nothing. It's been the latest garage project.... always some project going on. They've got it running but so far only have been riding it around the yard. They are both anxious to get it on the road. And I am anxious at the thought of them getting it on the road.
Boys and their toys!!!

Fall display at church

For the last few years Mom and I have made a fall display at church in a little alcove area.
It's fun to put together.

We always get a lot of compliments on it.

My new business

It's not really a business but something I'm doing for fun. A few weeks back I showed you an antique bird bath that I made. I came up with the idea to make a bunch and try to sell them. If for no other reason simply because I love to go to antique places and flea markets and scour through junk. It's great fun to stumble across unique pieces and put them together. The tops are all antique ceiling lamp fixtures. And the bases are anything I can find such as plant stands, candle holders, old ashtray stands. One is even the base of a piano stool.
My Mom grows violets, and streps (a cousin of the violet) and always sells them at a few shows in the fall. She let me put my birdbaths in her booth to see if they would sell. I was thrilled to sell 3 out of 4 that I took. I doubled the price that I have in them, selling them for $50 to $70 each. Of course I won't be quitting my day job but at least it's a fun thing to do that will pay for itself. I'm done with the birdbaths for this year but next spring and summer I may try to make a few more. Also, notice the bluebird houses in the photos. My Dad made those and sold them. And last I wanted to show you my new bird feeder. I know.... like I needed another bird feeder. But really I do... This one was placed by the living room window so I can enjoy the view.
Craig just put it up last night so I haven't seen a bird on it yet but I love the view already!

Homecoming 2008

Jordan with her best buds getting ready for homecoming last Friday.
Jordan was on the Princess Court so here she is all dressed up like a princess.

In the parade..... The theme for this years homecoming was "Candy". So appropriately the junior class chose "Junior Mints" for their float. If you can't tell what the float is... it is a giant box of junior mints crushing a wildcat (the mascot of the opposing team). I thought their float turned out great and so did the judges... the juniors won first place in float building. Way to go Juniors!!

It was one of the best homecomings Hartford has ever had... They had fireworks during the game, we won the game, beautiful weather, wonderful community support. We love homecoming!!

It's growing....

A few weeks ago I showed you my new obsession of collecting Royal Copley pottery. My collection is growing very nicely. With the exception of my very first piece that I picked up at a flea market I have gotten all the rest off of eBay. Some of the pieces are planters and vases and some are figurines. I've been getting them for between $5 and $10 each. The antique stores sell them for no less than $25 so I'm getting good deals on eBay. Craig's was gone this last week in California on a business trip. He got home about 8:00 last night. After awhile he looks over at my bird collection.....

Craig: Looks like your bird collection grew while I was gone.

Jessica: (oh no, he noticed) Maybe just one or two..... or three.

It's about time....

I guess this is old news as it's been on the TV all day but I just found out moments ago. O.J. was convicted on all counts in his kidnapping and robbery trial. I find it kind of ironic that he could get away with murder, of which he clearly is guilty of, but that he couldn't get away with this. Supposedly he could be put away for life... that remains to be seen... we can only be hopeful!! This whole thing kind of reminds me of Al Capone. They couldn't convict him of murder so they put him away on tax evasion. I bet O.J. has a lot to think about tonight.

World Bird Sanctuary

The World Bird Sanctuary out of Missouri came to our local nature center and did a program on birds of prey. I grabbed my camera and went! It was a great little program. They brought about 10 birds for us to see.

This Bald Eagle is blind due to a car accident and ultimately cannot be released back into the wild. He gets to travel in their education program.
The Owls were by far my favorite. I fell in love with this little Screech Owl!! I just wanted to take him home so bad. I told him he could live in my back yard and I'd feed him all the mice he wanted; he wasn't impressed.

Look how magnificent this guy is. I forgot what kind of Owl he was... some horned type I think.

They told us that the eyes of this owl take up 2/3 of his skull leaving very little room for his brain. So the old saying "Wise Old Owl" really isn't true after all.

I learned that the Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal in the world and can fly 200 mph.

It was a fun way to spend a few hours this afternoon.

Zoe's Photo Shoot

Jordan was feeling artistic and took the camera outside a few days ago for a photo shoot with Zoe. Zoe was quite the model.

She loves the camera. Seadra is just bothered by it.

Notice the new "Life is Good" collar? Seadra got one too, a green one.