Notes From The Prairie

Many years ago, God laid on my heart to start a group for women, who had been abused either in childhood, or present day circumstances. As many of you know, when abused in childhood, you can carry that baggage with you into adulthood. Getting saved, helps so much! When I first got saved, God began dealing with me....on issue after issue. One at a time, He would bring something back to my memory. I had to work through it, all the while, He would give me the scriptures that I needed to instill in my soul, to get through it. It was quite a long process, which I still find myself going through even to today. I'm far from perfect! I always tell people not to look to me as being the best Christian, because I'm not. I sin DAILY. I'm probably the worst Christian on planet earth! But I do try, and I think God honors that:) Before I started the group, I asked God for confirmations. Being in the lime light of anything, is not my thing. Being in front of people, trying to lead them, is...

Thanks Janet for the joke! You find the cutest ones:)  Husband: "When I get mad at you, you never fight back. How do you control your anger?" Wife: "I clean the toilet bowl." Husband: "How does that help?" Wife: "I use your toothbrush!"

Remember my oldest grand daughter, that thought she didn't excel in anything? Well, today I just found out that she played 4 doubles matches in Tennis. She won them all! So on Monday, she has to play another match, against some of the people she already beat. If she can win this next match, she will go to state! So please say a little prayer for her. She is so excited about this! So are her Grandpa and I!  I told her that if she doesn't win this next match, it is an honor to have gotten this far. She just started Tennis lessons this past year. She must be a natural at this, to have come so far in such a short period of time! Tennis isn't an easy sport. I used to play it when I was her age. I loved it, but it really takes a lot of expertise and stamina to get as far as she has gotten! Four matches in one day, is so tiring. Remember to say a little prayer for her:) Thank you!

Today, my husband stopped in to see our grand daughters, ages three and four. A neighbor had given them a small bicycle with training wheels. They were outside having such a wonderful time! The four year old, had it mastered, he said! But the three year old, who takes after me in this area, wasn't doing too well. He said she kept going in circles. Finally, he was able to get her to turn the handle bars! He said they were sooo cute, trying to ride that bike! Aren't grand children wonderful? We have four other grand daughters too! I'm so very proud of each and every one of them. My oldest is going to be driving soon! She turns 16 in April! She plays tennis (she has some tournaments coming up), the piano (has several recitals to do), she took dance classes for years, and even finds time to go to school and help in several volunteer programs for different things. I believe one place she volunteered to help out was in a childrens home. She goes to church, and is involved in many...

She spent the first day packing her personal belongings into boxes, crates, and suitcases. On the second day, she had the movers come to collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at what was their beautiful dining room table, by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the ex-husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything, cleaning, mopping, and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days, ...

I have some flowers! Thanks to my daughter with the green thumb! She helped me with this last summer.She did most of the work! As you can see I need to clean out the beds! But it has been far too muddy. My sister in law had flowers quite awhile ago. My daughter and I were talking about that just yesterday. My sister in law lives farther south than we do. My daughter lives north of us, and her flowers haven't started to grow yet. Amazing what just a few miles can do, in the growing seasons.

This is the East side of the house. The West side, next to the church. As you can see, most of the damage was here. The rear of the house is hard to see, but mostly all that is left is two brick chimneys. So sad.

A very sad day, 3-24-07. My Grandpa a number of years ago, plastered the walls in this historical building, Inn On The Square. It operated as a Bed and Breakfast, for many years after that. In the past few years, it was bought and used as a family home. No one knows yet  how it caught on fire, but I believe there was an explosion in the basement. Look closely at the tree in front, there is a fireman on a ladder. He was cutting the branches off the tree, to keep them from getting on fire.When he cut this branch, it almost knocked him off the ladder. Notice all the sprays of water on the left. I believe the firemen stayed there all night, because new fires would spring up. It burned all day, and through the night.

News media taking pictures, and interviewing people. Firemen on top of church next door, spraying the Inn with hoses of water. In this picture, you can see the whole back of the Inn is missing. If you look closely, that's the rear half of the roof slanting downward.

Thanks D.N. for giving me the update on the dog and cat food recall. They have found that the reason the food has caused kidney failure, is due to it containing rat poison. The rat poison that was identified, is banned in the United States. They can not speculate as to how it got into the food. If you want to read more about it, go to: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/23/pet.food.recall.ap/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular To find out what foods are tainted, go to: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

I just saw a show, called "Forensic Files". I have only watched this show a few times. These are all true stories. I'm not sure I will ever watch it again. Tonight it was about a Palestinian family that moved to the United States, and opened a restaurant. They had a daughter, who was about 16. She was very popular in school, and a straight "A" student. She was very pretty, and all of her teachers and classmates loved her. The police were called to the family residence, the daughter had been stabbed multiple times, and was dead. The father and mother told the police, that their daughter came home, and demanded 5,000.00 so that she could move out and be on her own. When the father refused to give her money, supposedly she tried to stab him. He had a few wounds on his hands, which he said he had gotten from trying to stop her from stabbing him. The police didn't believe the story, but there was no evidence to prove otherwise, since the mother collaborated the ...

I will post a website below to go to. It's about a man, who was born without limbs. Can you imagine the obstacles he had to conquer ? He has given his life to God, and goes out and witnesses. When we think we are going through trying times, if we think of this man, and how he overcame...perhaps it will motivate us, to overcome, as he did. http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

The dancers are Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell. The year is 1940. The narrators voice is Frank Sinatra's! This was filmed in ONE unedited shot! It is considered the best dance scene ever shot! Just download and play on Media Player! Well worth the time to watch! When I was little, I always had a crush on Fred Astaire:) FredAstaireEleanorPowellN.wmv 3219K Download

Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Especially if you're on the end, of being the one forgiven! But what if you're the one that needs to forgive? In my lifetime, I have been hurt more times than I would even want to count. If it's just an acquaintance, there is no problem at all in forgiving. You just decide to forgive, and make sure you don't run into them anymore:) What if the person is close? For instance a family member, a coworker who has become like family, or a dear friend, what then? The process is the same as for an acquaintance, you decide to forgive. That is always the first step. The problem is, it hurts like the dickens, to trust someone...and then have them violate that trust. It takes a long time to heal. But the healing process won't happen, until after you decide to forgive them. When a situation arises as this, I feel extremely hurt. It takes weeks or months for me to get over the pain. Immediately, however, I tell God that I forgive them. After a fe...

Thanks sis for sending this link! My husband and I both watched this, and this little boy is the cutest thing I ever saw! To be just four years old, he has a lot of talent! Also have been watching the bald eagle off and on all day, since I've had a lot of work to do on the computer. I Just left my Media Player up in the background. Ever so often, I would hear the Eagle making a lot of noise, so I would look at the media player, and found that she was off the nest! A minute later, she came back. I wondered if she was chasing others birds off? This has happened several times today. Please check out this little boy, by clicking the link below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =LQPEsa5e7K0

God speaks to us in nature, always. Here are a few amazing pictures. His Crocodile :: His Sleeping Cat :: Expressing His LOVE :: A Teddy bear :: And ONE Of His Angels :: MAN :: His Hands ::

This note is from my friends (J.C's) daughter or daughter in law. I forget which, old age, don't you love it?!! Anyway, at the bottom of that, I will post the site for the web cam. I just went to the site, and then clicked on "Live Video" and then after watching that I pressed "Live Video 2". It plays on your media player. It's simply amazing to see the Mama Eagle sitting on her nest. It looks like she is in a pine tree, overlooking the ocean! It's live too! AMAZING! Sure glad no one has a live camera on me! By the way, under " sites that I like" is also a link that she sent awhile back, of a live cam of an Owl! Check it out too! Note From J.C's daughter or daughter in law: This is the web site for the Bald Eagles we were watching last spring/summer. Last year they had 3 babies, only 2 lived. This year so far, she has laid one egg......right now if you check out the cam you'll see her just sitting on the nest with the one egg, and...

Many years ago, when our daughters were little, our middle daughter wanted a hamster. She picked out a Teddy Bear Hamster. He was very small, two colors, and long hair. Cute as he could be! But to me, he still looked like a mouse with long hair! Anyway, our daughter took such good care of him! She loved him immensely. She even loved him after he bit her little finger, badly enough, that I had to take her to the doctor! One day she came in crying, and said he was sick. I went to look at him, and she was right. Poor little guy was laying on his side, breathing heavily. My husband came home about then, and we wondered what we could do. My daughter was so upset, we had to do something! So we called the veterinarian. He asked me how old the little guy was, and I told him we had had him for three years. He chuckled, and said that usually they only live for a year, if that! The Veterinarian said that we must have taken very good care of him, since he was 3 years old. He went on to explain the...

Can you believe how much our little Angel has grown? Mommy and baby are doing fine! We are all so happy for all of them! Grandma and Grandpa went for a visit. I don't think wild horses could keep them away! :o)

Now there is a new recall on Dog and Cat food. Some pets have had kidney failure and died. I will post the link to go to and read. At the end of the article, is the total list of brands affected. It is NUMEROUS. We just bought one of those brands for our dog. I can't believe there has been so many recalls on items lately. Thanks DN for sending me the link! http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/17/petfood.recall.ap/index.html

My Mom likes to force books on people. She has been trying to get me to read a book, that I totally disagree with. It is written by a well known psychic. What makes this lady more dangerous than most, she laces the truth with lies. Remember my post on "The Truth About Lies"? She bases her beliefs, supposedly on the Bible. She even calls herself a Christian. Unfortunately that is why my Mom has bought into the lie. I have tried to talk to her about it, but she just won't accept it. My husband has talked to her too. Since Christmas, Mom has been trying to get me to take this book home, to read. She gave it to her sister, and she read it. A few weeks ago, just to get her to stop trying to force it on me, I took it home. I had no intentions of reading it (since I totally disagree with psychics anyway), so I put it in a box, under my desk. I don't want to open my mind up to those things, since it is strictly prohibited in the Bible to do so. Saul and his son in the old te...

This is really cute. This baby reminds me of my three year old grand daughter. She giggles and laughs just like this baby! What a sweet laugh:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =5P6UU6m3cqk

The "Bogus Story" joke, reminded me of a true story. Long time ago, my husband and I were in Kmart . He was in a bad mood for some reason that day. Now for those of you who know him, you know he usually isn't that way. (I can hear KS's "AHEM" right here:) But we were standing in a huge line, waiting to be checked out. There were lines to the right and left of us too. There was a lot of noise, people talking, sales being announced over the intercom, and carts clanging. Anyway, he looked at me and started complaining about something AGAIN. I'm not sure what came over me! It was one of those moments when you say something, that you're just as shocked as the person you say it to! Have you ever done that? In a stage voice I said, "You have been soooo testy since that sex change operation, maybe you need some more hormone shots!!!" It was as if the whole Kmart had stopped! Everyone became quiet, and all eyes were on us! Lines to the left of us...

My "adopted daughter" D.N. sent this joke to me! D. was quite young when we moved to a little town, many years ago. She adopted my husband and I, and we adopted her! I believe she even gave us adoption papers when she was little! To this day, she calls us on our birthdays, and sends e-mails! Thanks for the joke! Love ya honey! I was in Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina for my dog and was in line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. Duh! I was feeling a bit crabby so on impulse, I told her no, I was starting the Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care unit with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IV's in both arms. Her eyes about bugged out of her head. I went on and on with the bogus diet story and she was totally buying it. I told her that it was an easy, inexpensive diet and that the way it works ...

This is one of those embarrassing moments, that I hope to never have to go through again! So please, don't tell anyone, okay ? This happened many years ago. I was up late one night, trying to get a few things done, before going to bed. I had cleaned up the kitchen, and was doing a load of laundry, since my daughter needed her gym clothes for the next day. My husband and daughter had already gone to bed, and I was the only one up. All of a sudden, I heard a crash in the bathroom. So I ran in there to see what had happened. My daughter had left an empty glass on the sink vanity. Rookie, our sweet little gray cat, had jumped up on the vanity, knocking the glass into the toilet. Luckily, the glass hadn't broken....but to my horror, something else had. When I went to pick the glass out of the toilet, I found a huge chunk of the side of the toilet had broken! Now, my husband doesn't like cats too much, so I knew he would be furious if he found out. So I decided to try to repair i...

My sister in law says that this picture shows how she feels after working in her flowers! Actually, this looks more like me when I first wake up!

My sister in law always takes pictures of her first flowers! Look at this years! She has the prettiest flowers! We want to see more of your flowers as they come up! Today I babysat with the four year old grand baby....while the three year old went to the doctor with her Mommy. Miss Curly didn't even cry when she got her shot! Just don't call her a Cootie though! Today was HOT and WINDY! When you live on the prairie, you can see for miles around, as you drive. At least before the farmers get their crops in! Today on my way to my daughter's...I thought I saw a HUGE cloud of smoke. As I got closer, I could see that it was birds! There was 100's of them! Before I finally got close to them, I saw them all land in trees, near a pond. The tops of the tree's were FULL of birds! I wish I could have gotten close enough to see what kind they were! (Kind of reminded me of that Alfred Hitchcock movie) I bet they were coming back to the prairies, after spending the winter down so...

Thank you J.C. for all the wonderful pictures! I love moose:) I worked on the East Coast for two weeks, and hoped to see one! Didn't see any at all:( This may be the closest I get!

Just a little note about four of my great nieces, and 2 of my great nephews, 2 nephews, daughter, and future son in law! K.O., my great niece goes to Wesleyan College in West Virginia. She just received the Fulbright Grant, which is very difficult to do! This is awarded to very few. The program was first established in 1945, by Senator J William Fulbright, "to promote a mutual understanding between the United States and people of other countries." To learn more about the Fulbright program go to" http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htm". K.O will be teaching in Thailand! Way to go! K.O.'s sister, E.O. is a sophomore at the U of I. She is an Illinet (Which is a dance team that does routines during the games) there...and just tried out and won co-captain for next year! Way to go! D.A, my great nephew, has just finished Junior College, and is now enrolled to start at ISU in a few months! My favorite college! Also his sister, M.A. will start at the U of I this fall! ...

For those of you lucky enough to miss this melt down, it was quite funny...although hard on the ears. It all started one day when she had gotten all the cooties out and put them together. Then, she put four of their little chairs in a row, and placed a cootie under three of the chairs. Then, she laid down under the fourth. I unwittingly initiated the first melt down that day by assuming that she was pretending to be one of the cooties...apparently that was not what she intended. Needless to say, things really hit the fan when I suggested I try pulling a "cootie leg" off her....all in jest of course. In the end, there was screaming, crying, and inisting that she wasn't a cootie and did not have a cootie leg. After much yelling, I ditched the cootie leg, suggesting we take the rather loud cootie's "mouth" off...this elicited a renewed fit....with a vengeance. To this day, if you suggest she's a cootie, you may as well take cover..... Posted by the Mother o...

My daughter sent me this link: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/03/12/salmonella.peanut.butter.reut/index.html Copy and paste it into your browser. I guess that the Peter Pan and Walmart's Great Value brand of peanut butter, was recalled to the date 2006. Now they have found the tainted batch to go back to 2004. The code on top of the lid starts out with the numbers 2111. I don't know about you, but I don't think I would eat peanut butter that had a date of 2004 on it:) From now on I think I will buy Jiff:) Remember their slogan, "Choosy Mothers Choose Jiff"!? Now I know what that means!

Here's the newest picture of our littlest angel! Isn't she the prettiest little thing you ever did see? As I said before, I can't wait to hold her! I hear that she is keeping Daddy and Mommy up late at night! Until 1:00 AM! I remember those days! There is nothing in this world more sweet than a little child! :o)

A friend of mine from the East Coast sent these pictures to me today. I believe her daughter took the pictures. She stated in the e-mail, that she didn't believe the baby bear was an albino, because it doesn't have a pink nose or pink eyes. Amazing! Isn't the little white cub cute? Thank you so much for the pictures!!! I love pictures like this! Her daughter was also the one who sent the picture of the owl. I believe she helped in nursing the owl back to health. Under my "Sites That I Like" is a link that her daughter sent as well. It is a live camera of a mama owl and her babies. Also amazing! Check it out! Thank you J and daughters!

Life can be rather challenging at times, to say the least. If you reach deep within, during one of those times in your life, you may be surprised by what you find. If you look back in history, during the periods of tragedy, you will find nougats of wisdom, bravery, and creativity. Some of the most renowned artists and writers in times past, were going through great personal turmoil in their lives. Which in turn, came out in their art and poems. They produced great art and literature. Some of the poets for instance, you could feel their anguish and unending sadness. Which was recorded, if for no other reason, to let us know that none of us are alone in these feelings, at times. During times of war, you will read about bravery. Men who put their lives on the line, to save another one. You realize as you read about it, that if they had sat down to think about it, they may not have done it. Then you wonder if you could have been as brave as they had been. At times like these, even under ho...

This week I played Cooties with my 3 and 4 year old grand daughters AGAIN. It's their favorite game! This time, I didn't come in last. But only because the 3 year old defaulted the game, by going on a walk with her Grandpa. I explained to her if she went, she would lose the game. But she decided she didn't care. Her loss! I watched the 4 year old carefully, and couldn't catch her cheating. But somehow, she rolled whatever number she needed on the dice, to build her cootie. She won again! I was so frustrated, at her uncanniness of rolling just the right number! She ALWAYS wins at Cooties! Later the 3 year old returned from her walk with Grandpa. My daughter asked the 3 year old if she was a cootie. Have you ever seen a three year old have a melt down? It was scary! She flung herself on the floor, kicking her legs and flinging her arms...screaming, "I'M NOT A COOTIE I'M NOT A COOTIE!!!!!!!" Perhaps she had played Cooties with her 4 year old sister one t...

Spring is in the air! My youngest daughter called me, and told me she was out getting her flower beds ready today! She has been planting seeds inside, so that they will be ready to transplant outside when it's time. She has her vegetable garden all planned, and seeds all bought! She doesn't get this from me! Even when she was a little girl, she was absorbed in planting seeds. For weeks I saw her busy outside, running small glasses of water over to my planters. I didn't have any flowers planted in them at all. I wondered what she was doing. But it was keeping her busy, and she seemed to enjoy it. Weeks later, she came in to get me. She wanted me to go outside with her, to show me something. So we went outside. There in the old planters, that I never got around to planting anything in....were MANY maple trees! The little whirly seeds that float in the air, she had picked up off the ground....and planted! She took such good care of them for all those weeks! Nurturing and wat...

This is the new addition to our family!!!! Isn't she precious?????? Happy Birthday KGA ! You're a beautiful little girl! Was able to post the new picture, and just knew her Aunts, Uncles, and everyone else would want to see her debut! There is nothing in this world more sweeter than a new born baby! Again my congratulations to her Daddy, Mommy, Grand Parents, Aunts, and Uncles! May God place angels all around you, to protect and guide you...since you are the littlest Angel of all! God bless you, and your Mommy and Daddy...... ALWAYS!

If you have been one of my regulars on my site, you may notice that it looks different! Thanks to my youngest daughter, she is revamping my web site! I think it looks a LOT better! She may be doing more changes as it goes on, and hopefully I can get my daughters and grand daughters to start writing too! As far as I'm concerned, this is a family blog. If anyone has anything at all to write, or pictures to post...please e-mail me! Great job KLS!

John Inman died today at the age of 71. For those of you who don't know him, he was an actor for a BBC sitcom, that our family just loved. The show was called "Are You Being Served". The girls and I would sit up until 10:30, to watch the show every night. Most of the shows were reruns, but we didn't care! John played the endearing "Mr. Humphries ".....who worked in a Department Store, in England. My middle daughter e-mailed me the web page, about his death...and said, "A very sad day, I lost my first love." She was fortunate enough to meet John Inman a few years back, at a banquet held for him. It was fund raiser for PBS. She was so thrilled to get to meet and talk to him! She told him that she had watched him for years, since she was little. They talked for quite awhile, then he gave her a hug:) We will miss you, Mr. Humphries . http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070308/tv_nm/inman_dc

Here are some pictures of the wildlife here in the Midwest. As you can see, there's quite a menagerie here....and they all seem quite busy! And some people think the Midwest is boring! Not to these little critters! "Hurry up, we're late!" picture by: KRK "I can't eat another bite!" picture by: KRK Dinner Time! Picture by: KRK Barred Owl Picture by: J Baby Deer Picture by:KRK *If you have interesting pictures of the wildlife in your area and would like them posted, feel free to email them to me.