What a joy it is to be able to see this beautiful little child on a weekly basis. She and Creed add a lot of happiness and love to my life. For this I am very grateful.

Singing The Blues

Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

They’re slowed down because you can’t escape or run away;

you can only go through what life puts before you.

It’s amazing what happens when we tell our story.

Things aren’t quite as bad as we thought.

Oh, they may be bad alright,

but naming them takes away their ruthless power.

A little perspective helps too.

This is what I love: when you sing the blues you go through them.

And it’s really the only way.

Oh, I’ve tried other ways. Haven’t you?

The old Spiritual explains it though:

You can’t go around them ‘cause they’re too wide;

you can’t go over them ‘cause they’re too high;

and you can’t go under them ‘cause they’re too low.

I guess I’ll just go through, and try to keep singing. (Of course, anyone who has heard me sing, might ask that I investigate another way.)

Mah Jong

So I have a friend who goes to church with me. She has been asking me numerous times to come and play Mah Jong with she and her neighbor. I finally decided that I would count it as missionary work, :) and give it a try.

I must say that I LOVE games. Always have. This is not the Mah Jong that you play on the computer. This one apparently is played by the Jewish women of New York (which is what and where my neighbor is) for blood and money! She is a typical Easterner and is very too the point, a little bossy, but very nice and very excited to be training some “competetion.” Little does she know, I have no money :), am not that competitive, and am anemic!

It is pretty fun, but she wants to play twice a week. I had them all over to my house on Monday and they stayed from 12:00 to 4:00 and I had to scoot them out!!!!

My one and only winning hand!

I’ll let you know if I become competitive. Stay tuned.

TYLEE AFTON JARDINE HAS ARRIVED!

Yesterday was Jacqui’s birthday and guess what she got?  A new niece, Tylee Afton Jardine, weighing in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and 19 inches long.  I swear she is a clone of Creed. 

One proud daddy.

Of course, Jacqui fits right in where ever she goes and the hospital is her home away from home!

Laurie is here to help take care of the Jardine household, Creed is not allowed to visit because of the HlNl virus. 

I am sure there are more pictures to come, but we are so grateful for another healthy little princess.  That makes our count, 6 Princesses with one more on the way, and three little men….We are very blessed.

OH, FOR A SMOOTH WALL!

I finally have pictures of the walls that I painted in Tara’s house.  I used to tole paint all of the time, and had the opportunity to do it on a bigger scale, by painting a room for Gage.

At the time, Home On The Range, was the big movie. So a Little Patch Of Heaven, was from the movie.

 

 Not a good angle of the barn, but you get the idea.

Loved the pigs in the mud!

 

 

Chicken coop and pond with little duckies.

Horses, sheep.

My favorites, the cows. Reminds me of my childhood.

 

As close as I have come to planting a complete garden.

That’s all folks!

Wise Advise

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio *"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me... It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more: 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone... 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will.. Stay in touch. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 13. Don't compare your life to others.. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 27. Always choose life. 28. Forgive everyone everything. 29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.. 32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 33. Believe in miracles. 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or did not do. 35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. 37. Your children get only one childhood. 38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 42. The best is yet to come. 43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 44. Yield. 45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Family That I Grew Up With

Family has always been one of my greatest blessings. My whole life has been made up of people surrounding me that I love. I will try to concentrate on one side and then the other.

Malone’s

Marjory Blanche Swan Malone was my paternal grandmother. Man did I love her. She was so sweet and kind, loving and soft! ( She was fluffy and I loved to lay on her and have her rock me.) She was a scrub nurse at the hospital and no matter where she went, she would call in and leave a number where they could reach her. I think it gave her life purpose. She loved to have people over for dinner and when she did, she would set the table so prettily. That is where I got my love of dishes. She never had anything material really, but she loved pretty dishes. She made fried rabbit that would melt in your mouth.

Mike, Diane, Kelly and I would always go over to Grandmothers’. She would give us anything to make forts in her backyard and always help us.

We would stay all night and when I did, I slept with her. She would leave her false teeth under my pillow, every time, and ask me in the morning, where her teeth were! At night we would eat fried egg sandwiches, (how did I do that?) and watch Peter Gun on TV. I can still hear that music in my head.

She loved Easter, and we always had an

egg hunt at her house, among her flowers. She especially loved Iris’ and I can see her bending over, hands behind her back, smelling her flowers.

Grandmother loved to play canasta. She taught us kids from a young age how to play and I still do to this day. She taught Diane and I how to play Jacks and we used to do that for hours in Oklahoma. Grandmother loved to swim. We used to go to the lakes around Porum all the time. I grew up camping, water skiing, and swimming. Grandma wasn’t skinny (it didn’t matter to her, plus I thought she was beautiful) and would put on a suit with the best of us. I got some of my worst sunburns in Oklahoma at her house! :(

Grandmother was a strong member of the Bouciant ?, the women’s arm of the Masonic Lodge. My Dad and Uncle Bud, and my Grandfather Malone, all obtained the highest rank in the Masons. This is her, very proud of her two sons.

One year, she was the chairperson for the cancer drive in Liberal. I used to go downtown and sit in her office with her. She was a good member of the Methodist Church and I went with her there on occasion.

My grandmother was one of the sweetest people. I never heard her talk badly about anyone, she never swore, drank, smoked, or was uncouth in any way. She had a very, very hard life. Her mother died when she was 4. She was basically raised by an older sister who was nothing like her. She married and was pregnant ten times. Three miscarriages, one stillbirth, two children died from Hemophylia, and another one from Meningitis, and three children who lived to adulthood, my father being one of them. Diane’s dad, Uncle Bud, and my Aunt Martha.

Aunt Martha with Mike……

She lived with Arthritis that was very painful. I used to want to just hug her and hug her, and sometimes she would just wince, not complaining.

She would write to me in college and I always loved her letters. She passed away in her early 70’s, watching her favorite show, General Hospital. :) I could go on and on, but will save it for another post. I hope that I am like her in just a few ways. I love you Grandmother.