A Week to be Thankful...

I love that we have Thanksgiving each year before Christmas. It sets the perfect tone for the Christmas holiday as we remember that for which we are grateful. The big and the small things. Particularly the small things. Hayden sent us this meme last Sunday to provide a bit of levity to the week.

Monday, November 23rd, we had to get up early. We are not used to this at all. So an alarm was set and we got up early to shower and hit the road. Our destination was near the Cincinnati Airport (which is really in Kentucky). Our goal was to go through the steps to renew our GOES card. This is a Global Entry card that helps with getting through customs when you return to the United States. With it we get a TSA Pre-check status that makes it easier to get onto an airplane. We arrived a little early. With the bridge closed across the Ohio River from Kentucky into Ohio at Cincinnati, we were sure there would be a mess of traffic as people try to get to work. When we arrived, Claude checked the sign on their door for particulars about entering with the Covid-19 rules. We were to wait in our car until our time to enter. We both entered at the same time and the nice lady visited with Claude first, then she visited with me. Claude is very thorough about these things. He had his folder with any possible paper we would need to get this done correctly the first time. Inside that folder was a clipped set of papers for him and clipped set of papers for me. You are given a brief interview. Your picture is taken. The old GOES card has our last picture on it. The lady looked at me and said, "My, your hair has grown since this last picture." I thought to myself, "It is called Covid-19 hair!!" This time they took finger prints. This is done by resting the four fingers of your right hand on a small digital screen, then your right thumb, then four fingers on your left hand followed by your left thumb. A lot tidier than the ink on the fingers they used to do at police stations. The nice lady kept saying, "Ya'll are helping me get through this so quickly!" I assured her that was Claude's doing. We passed and were told we would get our new cards in the mail. As we left, the nice lady said, "You don't have any plans to go anywhere now do you?" I assured her that most countries don't want our Covid potential germs nowadays. She replied that the ones that would take us probably were not ones we would want to be in anyway. As Claude and I reflected on this step to be able to fly somewhere outside the continental United States again, we both agreed this was another act of hope and faith that someday things would be different for us in the travel department.

I continued my Facebook posts of things for which I am grateful. Monday this is what I posted on Facebook:

Psalms 127:3 Children are an heritage of the Lord...

Claude Christensen and I are richly blessed to have three wonderful children who grew up into outstanding adults. So many great memories and so much future to look forward to in each of their lives. I am grateful for how each has enriched my life. Love Them Bunches!!

#GiveThanks

Please note the picture above where the kids are sitting with Santa. It was taken when our oldest, Nissa, was working at CVS Pharmacy. The man is Santa 'Claude'. I love this picture.

Tuesday, November 24th, was a 'stay at home, get the house ready' kinda day. Our plan was to have the Marx family visit for Thanksgiving. We have all been healthy and have spent time together so we felt this would be okay. We had the understanding that, if, as the time approached, there was any concern on either part, we would cancel those plans and Claude and I would drop smoked brisket and smoked turkey on the Marx front porch. So Tuesday was a day to get ready for company. I baked cookies for us to have on Wednesday evening. While I was finishing that, I received a text from Bailey asking if we could bake cookies when they came. Ugh!! I told her I was going to bake a cake and a pie on Wednesday and, if she wanted, I could save that to do until they arrived. She was happy with that. 

While I was in my sewing room making a few more masks, I spied a ladybug climbing my wall. What in the world!! It is way to cold for lady bugs. Not sure where this one came from but it was cute making its way up a white wall.

For dinner Claude made us the most yummy meal. It was so good, I wanted to share it on this post. He found it on a package of Spanish rice. He tweaked it a bit by adding taco seasoning mix to the burger. I would present it a little differently if ever invited to somewhere that I need to take an appetizer. I would layer the burger flavored with taco seasoning mix, the Spanish rice, the other toppings like lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese, etc. Then I would put out a bowl of bite-sized tortilla chips to dip the dish with. I kid you not, this one is a keeper.

My gratitude Facebook post this day was:

Psalm 78:25 Man did eat angels' food...

I am grateful for food. Okay, you must be as well. It is essential to existence. We are about to enjoy Thanksgiving FEASTS. The scripture is speaking of the children of Israel eating manna. I want to share two recipes with you. One is written in my Mother's hand and is for Marshmallow Cream Fudge. The other is written in her Mother's hand (my grandmother) and is for Sweet Potato Pie. When I eat these things, I am sure I am eating Angels' Food. I am making this Sweet Potato Pie for our Thanksgiving Feast. I am grateful for food.

#givethanks

Andie called in the evening and we confirmed we were all feeling well and would have Thanksgiving together in our home. They would arrive Wednesday in time for dinner and leave Thursday in the afternoon. 

Wednesday, Nov 25, we were invited to help a friend prepare food for the missionaries who serve in our ward. They were on quarantine. This was fun. We had on hand a roast. Claude cooked that while he was smoking the brisket for our dinner that evening. The poor man was so conflicted. The interior of the house smelled so good with the roast cooking and when he opened the door to the deck the smell of that brisket smoking made your mouth water. We also fixed a box full of items the missionaries could use to prepare their own meals for a few days taking things from our shelves. In a clever whim, we also put in a package with four rolls of toilet paper. Again the toilet paper is getting hard to find. I also wrote on a card that Claude had colored for them. Marissa Noe would come at 4:30pm to pick everything up and take it to the missionaries. Marissa posted these pictures of her family delivering the food to our missionaries. The missionaries were very grateful and happy with this delivery.

The concerning thing this day was our morning. We got up and started our day. Claude went to put the roast in the crockpot and I headed to take a shower. As Claude plugged in the crockpot, there was a loud popping sound and a flash in the back yard. Now, we were having a rainy day, but this pop was like an explosion. We lost all power to our home. I popped a text to Kentucky Utilities to identify that we had no electricity. The said they would check it and we could ask for an update in 10 minutes. We waited and then I sent them the next text for an update on progress. They responded they should have it fixed by 11:30am. Claude and I calculated and figured we could still make the dinner happen if we had power by 11:30am. I sent Marissa a text letting her know what was happening. I also sent Andie a text letting her know and that thunderstorms were expected during the time they planned on the 1 1/2 hour drive to Sadieville. It didn't take but about 30 minutes and we had power again. Yeah!! Sent texts letting everyone know we had power and were on track to accomplish our goals that day.  

My sister, Neffie, asked me about the stuffing recipe she had. She only wanted to make a square pan of cornbread and wanted to be sure her recipe wasn't too much for that. I took a picture of my mother's turkey and dressing recipe. I got this from my mother when Claude and I were young marrieds and I was making my first Thanksgiving dinner away from home. I sent that picture to Neffie to see if that would help. Here is my mother's turkey and stuffing recipe.

The Marx family arrived and we enjoyed that delicious brisket Claude made. Then Bailey and I set to work baking two sweet potato pies and a lemon pudding cake for Thanksgiving Day desserts. They turned out great. I sent Jake a text to show him the yummy pie. Then he sent me a response with a picture of his pie for Thanksgiving. Such a clever single guy. Very, very clever.

My gratitude post to Facebook this day was:

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

There are so many things to be grateful for. I am most grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful that the belief I have in them and their teachings guides my choices every day. I am grateful I married a man who holds those same beliefs and lets them guide us as a couple. I know my prayers are heard and answered. I give thanks to live in a country where I may worship with these doctrines and beliefs. I feel my Savior's love each and every day and gratefully acknowledge each blessing as it comes. I am richly blessed with good and difficult things to help me grow. 

#givethanks

Thursday, November 26, Turkey Day!!

This was a leisurely Thanksgiving. We had cereal and bagels for breakfast and brisket sandwiches for those wanting lunch. Since the Mini's sleep until noon, sometimes it would be breakfast and then dinner. Claude smoked a turkey and made lots of other dishes to go with it. 

Claude dressed in his special Thanksgiving t-shirt. This episode of the television show "WKRP in Cincinnati" is definitely a classic. 

Hayden was really sleeping in so Andie joined him. How Hayden can get a good sleep all night in this chair amazes me. 

Bailey was sleeping on an air mattress in my sewing room. I had to go type a letter to Papa in the evening. When I opened my laptop, I found this sweet note from my grandmonster.

We would call Jake and talk. Katelyn called later in the evening for a video chat with her girls. 

This was my post on Facebook:

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24.)

On Friday the 13th, 1970, Claude Christensen and I made covenants to cleave to each other for eternity. I am grateful we did that on a snowy morning in Logan, Utah. He is my favorite person on planet earth. I seriously can't imagine cleaving with anyone else. Love him bunches!!

#givethanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

We played Apples to Apples in the evening. A good Thanksgiving Day.

Friday, November 27, Claude started our day with pancakes and bacon. I cut Andie's hair while the Mini's slept in. Michael made another brisket sandwich. The Mini's were fed when they woke up and then the Marx family packed up and pointed their car toward LaGrange. 

Claude and I gathered our things and headed to Georgetown. We did our walk, took Papa a treat and filled the bird feeder, picked up a prescription and had dinner at Burger King. 

Katelyn posted this cute picture of Miss Emelia in the bottom kitchen drawer. This is a right of passage for children.

Then we rested!!!

Saturday, November 28, I had a goal to start going through Christmas decorations. We are trying to pare down things we own. This includes all those Christmas decorations. While I worked on the inside of the house, Claude worked on the outside of the house. He realized he needed to cut the grass one more time before setting up the nativity. He did that and I went through all the indoor boxes and got everything out except the actual Christmas tree. That takes a day by itself. I was able to get a nice pile of things to take to Goodwill in the morning. I was able to find some treasured items to pass on to my granddaughters. I was able to find a loving home for the 4 foot tree I put up in the basement for the grandmonsters to decorate. I won't really know how much space I have cleared off the shelves until I box everything up and put it away. But, I am feeling good about this first cut through things. 

I received a phone call from Aubrey. Her husband has left her. Ugh!! We talked for a bit and I tried to listen a lot. 

Katelyn sent us this picture of her girls making peanut butter sandwiches. Raelyn is in the green shirt and Emelia is sitting on the table helping her big sister. The girls are four and one. So cute.

In the evening we turned on the outside lights. We don't have as many out as usual because of our paring down project. Claude is standing on the front porch surveying his work. I love the look this year. Simply elegant.

I will work on the Christmas tree Monday and or Tuesday. Then our home will be decorated for Christmas. 

Sunday, November 29, was a good day for Church. We talked about Ether 12 where Moroni learns the Lord will give us weaknesses to make us humble. These are some of my favorite verses. Then Claude and I read in Moroni 1-6 and reviewed the sacrament prayers. I have had tender feelings about the Atonement and how important it is in each and everything in my life. Reading those prayers together and Claude reading them as he blessed and passed the sacrament to us in our home this morning brought all those feelings to the surface. I know that because of the Atonement I will be resurrected. Because of the Atonement I may repent of sins and be forgiven. And because of the Atonement I have been blessed with an enabling power that helps me to be more than I ever could trying to do things on my own. That is the humbling part of weak things that can work to make us strong and more like the Savior. The Savior has done this for each of us. I love these teaching. 

Now, let's see how we fill this next week!!

This Last Week in a Nutshell...

How to start this Blog today? This week most of my time was spent finishing this huge scanning project. I wanted to scan the contents of a huge tub of pictures and correspondence our son has stored in our basement. I wanted to do this and then give him a thumb drive with all the files on it for Christmas. This takes days and days of time and, with staying in because of the virus, I have that time. Jake is working and does not have that time. So, I started this project some time back and finished it yesterday, Saturday, November 22nd. It feels very good to get that completed before Thanksgiving. Spending all that time scanning doesn't leave me with a lot to Blog about. Hence the quandary of how to start this Blog. I could just say, "I spent my week scanning." and close the Blog for this week. But I will add a few other things. Here is a picture of the tub with all the binders and folders I scanned. Shh...don't say anything so I can surprise Jake for Christmas.

Claude and I worked together on Tuesday, November 17th, to clean out the pictures we have stored in the basement. There were two huge boxes full of pictures, frames, trophies and plaques. I have made peace with taking pictures of most things or scanning documents and tossing the things away. Claude has not been doing this. But he is learning as we work at cleaning and emptying out things in our home. We spent the morning and managed to empty those boxes down to just a few items. Three are pictures that our grandmonsters want. We will hold on to those and get them to Michigan at some point. The only other items are a few pictures of my parents. We used them to display at Mimi's funeral. Papa wanted them displayed at his funeral. So those pictures will be kept. All other items are scanned or photographed. Claude has taken all the frames that were in good shapes to the Goodwill. Our home is a bit lighter now!

In preparation for Christmas, I managed to get the Christmas cards addressed and ready for mailing. Claude spent this year with his colored pencils working away at coloring Christmas cards. He spends his evening coloring and loves to color things that will be useful. He usually is coloring cards we can use to mail to people. We were happy to find two books of Christmas cards and I used every one of them. The other thing I did was order gift cards for some of the Christmas presents. I am almost done with the Christmas gifts. Another item or two to come in the mail and that will be done. Love having the gifts purchased before Thanksgiving. 

Jake notified us on Thursday, November 19th, that he would go back to working from home. He may work in his office once each week to relieve someone else who needs to work from home. Michigan is in the top five of states with the Covid-19 increase. Working from home is a good thing. 

Friday was a day I was looking forward to. Pres. Russell M. Nelson was going to address us. It would be a short message but very timely. He spoke of difficult times and how we can deal with them. He challenged us to recognize things we should be grateful for and express gratitude for these things. He challenged us to flood social media each day for the next seven days with the acknowledgement of gratitude. That will take us to Thanksgiving. He concluded by offering a prayer. It touches my heart when a Prophet of God prays for and with us. I wanted Papa to have this address and, fortunately, I found the script that afternoon and was able to copy and paste it into his letter I wrote Friday evening. I have posted on Facebook on Friday, Saturday and today, Sunday. I will share those posts here.

Friday, November 20, 2020 Facebook Post

Sunday, September 13th, I started a gratitude journal. Every night I pause to record 5 things I am grateful for in the day. Big or little. Doesn't matter. Today I listened to a Prophet give a tender message to us to help us deal with difficult times. He counselled us to post something we are grateful for on social media for the next 7 days. I was happy I started the gratitude journal. Today I am grateful for watching my father always pause and say a blessing when they brought his meals in the nursing home. Such a small but great daily example of gratitude.

#GiveThanks

Saturday, November 21, 2020 Facebook Post

I am grateful for the little things. I truly believe the little things bring the most joy. Think about a moment in time when you quietly smiled to yourself at something said, a thoughtful gesture seeking no reward, a memory that brings happiness. All those little things make a happy life. One of my favorites is a hubby always willing to indulge my need for a plain biscuit and a soda. A little thing that means the world.

#GiveThanks

Sunday, November 22, 2020 Facebook Post

Genesis 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good...

I am so grateful Claude Christensen and I have been blessed to enjoy traveling together. I will share a few pictures of some of the wonderful places we have seen and enjoyed. Grateful for the wonderful earth in all its diversity. #givethanks

When we visited Michigan in August for Aubrey and Jack's wedding, our daughter and her hubby, Nissa and Todd, gave us ground venison. Claude made chili for us on Sunday, November 15th. He told Nissa and Todd he was naming it Todd Tyler Memorial Chili. It was absolutely wonderful. A great meal that we totally enjoyed.

We did go to Georgetown on Monday and Friday to deliver a treat for Papa. On the Monday's walk I had Claude pause and I took a picture of us on our walk.

And on Friday, I took my new hat to wear on our walk. Claude did grocery shopping on Wednesday. He happened upon a hat that had purple. He purchased it and brought it home as a treat for me. Isn't that thoughtful. It is a Miracle-Gro hat and is made for gardening. I love this hat and how thoughtful Claude was in being an impulse buyer and getting this fun floppy hat for me.

On Friday I found a cute joke and sent it to our Mini's. It was called a 'Dad Joke'. "Do they allow loud laughing in Hawaii? Or just a low ha?" Such silliness.

Our daughter, Andie, has had to adjust her teaching so many times this year. It is not over yet for teachers adjusting. Kentucky has gone back to on-line school with the increase in the corona virus. Andie is working from her classroom at school a lot of the time. I ache for what our teachers are being asked to do to try and get an education in our children during this virus. As they are asked to move from virtual to in person and back to virtual to allowing parents three times during the year to change their choice of virtual or in person. Every one of these things increases the work load of a teacher immensely. And yet...our daughter smiles and gives it her very best for these little ones. Good grief, she had them outside for a funeral for a mouse that was in their classroom. Yep, if she teaches your little ones, you are a richly blessed parent. Be kind to teachers.

That about sums up this last week. Now we shall move on to see how we can productively fill another week while avoiding the virus...

A Saturday on the Road...

Saturday, November 14, 2020 we were reeling from the turn for the worse with Covid-19 in Kentucky, indeed, in the entire United States. Claude and I talked on Friday evening. The reports were the worst week so far. We were getting positive numbers each day over 3,000 people. The counts for Scott County positives put our county in the red zone. In fact, of the 120 counties in Kentucky, over 90 of them are in the red. The positivity rate was now approaching 9%. Schools were going back to on-line learning. We were all urged to be very careful and stay home as much as possible. Families were encouraged to only have those who actually live in their homes in for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not a pretty picture. We were discussing what we could do to keep our lives from being the same routine every day. By the time we went to sleep Friday night, we had several possibilities that would work for us. 

Saturday morning, we decided to get out together and go for a drive. We got ready and hit the road, stopping at Hardee's first for a biscuit. We would drive to Georgetown and pick up Hwy 460. We determined we would drive Hwy 460 all the way to West Liberty. Just before we got to Hwy 460, we stopped at Broke Leg Falls. Papa and I found this neat stop when we were doing drives. I wanted Claude to see it. In the 1940's people had to pay 10 cents to see these falls. In the 1960's the state of Kentucky leased the property from private owners and developed it as a State Park. In 1988 the state turned the property back to private owners. In 2002 Menifee County purchased the property and made it a County Park. In 2012 a tornado ripped through this area and destroyed the park. The man-made structures are being repaired or replaced. The rest is being left to Mother Nature to let the growth come back naturally.

These are pictures of Broke Leg Falls.

Claude wanted to see Cave Run Lake. We would take Hwy 801 around the east side of Cave Run Lake. We stopped first at a pull off to just look at the lake. We watched two speed boats racing across the lake.

Our second stop on Cave Run Lake was Muskie Bend. We would walk along the edge of the lake. I loved the flag someone placed in the edge of the lake. They supported the flagpole they made with rocks and taped solar lights to the pole so the flag could stay there all the time. I was fascinated with the tree roots I kept seeing. I also loved when I walked through what felt like a curtain of little pinecones on a tree. 

The final stop was at Shallow Flats. This is a wetlands area. When Papa and I stopped here it was a different time of year. There were lots of birds enjoying this area. This time of year they have all flown south for the winter. But the spot is still very pretty.

We left Cave Run Lake and drove north to Hwy 60 and took it back to Mt. Sterling and then made our way to the Interstate for the drive home. It was a wonderful ride. Great to be together seeing things Claude had not seen and enjoying the beauty of Kentucky. Even without leaves on most of the trees. It is simply a beautiful state in which to live.