To Savannah

We left home about 6:30 am.  It was a nice drive down, but there was a detour around Atlantic.  Becky took Haley to afternoon practice of CC and band and to register for classes at SHS.    Wow, a Freshman!!!  Kane and I took Torren to football practice, then we looked around at Orschelands, got jalepinos at Brothers, went to a park, walked one mile on a trail, and then went back to get Torren.  Denny drove to KC airport to get Matt, who had been in Minneapolis for work, and taking care of Rose when her folks went to a concert.  TOMORROW Denny and boys tackle the basketball hoop.  Jensen's first day at school picture!  They have rented a house and sent us videos with the kids giving tours.   Looks like  great place.  I love it so much that we have that message/video contact with them.

Jack Day

Headed north at 6:30.  Jack was asleep when I got there.  Mandy and Jason left for work and Jack slept until 9 and then slowly woke up.  So fun to watch him in the crib moving and waking up slowly.  We finally got breakfast about 9:45.  The carpet cleaner scares Jack.  We went to town and strolled for a long time.  We went past Megan's and Jordan's and Jack and Jean's place on Webster Street.  Then to the end of the trail and back to down town.  We had ice cream at the Pharmacy, got gas at Caseys and groceries at Hyvee, then home to toddle around.  Such a fun day!!  Thank you Jesus!

Usually Jack is awake when M&J leave for work...
not today ... and I was forewarned that it is not good to awaken a sleeping Jack.
Well, I didn’t hear from the guy until 9.   Unbelievable!!!
Then I just sat in his room with small light on ... as he rolled from side to side smiling at me ... picked up monkey while he was lying down ... put his head down to rest ... rolled to big soft blanket ... tried to reach a book in book case while sitting in crib ... rolled back to soft blanket ... did downward dog ... reached for monkey and bit it’s head/passifier ...  back to lying on soft blanket... repeat all activities ... and after 20 minutes decided to stand in his crib and so I lifted him out and we are having breakfast at 9:45.

Hurrah!!! I got to play softball

Up and walked 4 this am.  Airbnbers were leaving to go home to Laribee Wyoming ... and took Pebbles.  :)  It was hard to go to SS the first time when we were not taking the grands for donuts.  Mary Kay came over for lunch after church.  She warned me of the proverbs verse about not spending too much time with friends.  I told her just to make sure she left so we could take naps this afternoon.  After my nap I went to IG; church softball team was playing at 4 and 5:30.  AND they let me play.  Now I did NOT get on base.  I did not even get a hit.  I got about 3 balls in left field.  None of the balls went thru my legs.  :)   BUT I can no longer throw the ball overhand.  Now that is heart breaking for me.  (It is hard to roll the ball to second base, but it does get there.)  I also feel heart broken because I have not been able to do cart wheels any more.  (I have not been able to do cart wheels since I had rotator cull injuries.)   It is NOT the pits getting older!!!  I am just so happy I can do a faxsimimally of what I used to enjoy.  After the 2 softball games, Renae and I walked the trail.  So nice to visit and "feel the loss" together.  At home Denny was working on Awana all afternoon.  Great talk with Lisa VK tonight about Awana.   Rose got tired during supper.
                                                       MISSING DONUT TIME !!!

Good by Pebbles!!

Jensens head to church on Saturdays

Up and going on a 4 + mile walk.  It was the first time I have gone for a walk in the drizzle.  Warm, but wet and nice.  I filled pickle jars from last night with brine and made a batch of kumbacha.  At 9 MaryKay came and we went to Dose garage sale.  She bought a chair at the furniture place and I bought some dishtowels and dishcloths and some shell napkin holders (for the Clay county Fair).  There were wedding lattice at the store so we stopped at Laura's and she came to take a look (FEEL really).  We had coffee at the Godberson patio.  Home for lunch.  The airbnbers came from Wyoming and were real happy to be here, but the wedding was at 2 in Sac City, so just a quick stop.   Denny spent most of the afternoon listening to Awana podcasts.  Me, I am in the bed just working on deleting pictures from my camera and catching up on the blog.  Anabel walking to church today.  Evan looking out car window.  Brooks in their kitchen area in their temporary guest house.

Denny also made a gallon of pesto tonight.

Doing little or nothing at home

 Walked 2 miles this am after starting a drip hose on some flowers and haphazardly putting cords around my dahlias and the stakes I put in the ground when I planted the dahlias.  Man, I should have done that along time ago.  The plants were all spread out.   Then several cups of coffee as I watched the news, then out to the hammock as I read the Bible,  then move the drip hose, then pick some cukes before Keelie eats them, back to the hammock to work on blog, back to changing location of the drip hose,   The Grass hopper part came and Denny fixed the grass hopper and mowed the soccer field.  Denny mowed the area he plans to seed grass for Bethany's wedding.  Then he sprayed plant killer so he can till it up after the plants die and it rains.  My phone came and Denny spent a lot of time during the day getting it all programmed.  I mowed the lawn, kept moving the drip hose, and then walked 2 1/2 miles before taking a shower, picking more cukes, and shutting off the water.  At night we made 3 half gallon jars of refrigerator dill pickles.  First time ... hope they turn out.  And I made a batch of kumbacha. Did everyone know that I love being retired?  Thank you Jesus.
Mo Jos in Colorado.

Happy anniversary Mandy and Jason

Four Years!!! Praise the Lord!!What a fun wedding!!  What a fun life together!!!  And now Jack,too.

I started bread machine about 5 when I got up.  Walked 4 miles.  When I got back I made another batch of buns.  Denny made pesto; I got basil leaves and garlic ready.  Denny made pico de Gallo; I got cilantro leaves and garlic ready.  I went out and cut flowers, but did not have time to put them in bunches.  I baked some buns then at 11:30 I went to help with widows' luncheon.   Mary Kay had already stopped at the CSA barn and taken the 21 white pitchers of flowers to church.  Nice bunch of ladies, but a couple of them didn't like it that I started them with only a half of a cup of coffee because the majority of the coffee was not ready.  Uffta!!!  When I got home at 1:15 I baked a pan of brownies.  Study was 1:30-3:30.  We started in the sun room and then I asked them if they would mind meeting out in the CSA barn so I could put some bunches of flowers together.  I put 12 flower bunches together and listened to the prayer requests and the chapter reading.  They left and Denny and I went to the IG FM 4:30-6:30.  We sold all of his pico deGallo and 6 pestos.  Plus 7 flowers 3 buns  $5 of sunflowers and some bars.  Pretty good night.   I got groceries and we went home to chill on the deck.  It was so nice to have Missy call on her phone and to hear what the kids shared.  All of their tubs and checked luggage arrived.  I headed to bed and Dad "whatsap"ped with other 3 kids, so I came back out to the deck.  Matt and family are in Colorado Springs for Jenny's family reunion.  It looks like so much fun!!!

Jack Day

I headed north and was going to take the road that goes to Quimby, but NO that road was closed, so back to Holstein and I just took 59 to Cherokee.  Fun Day!!!  I put Jack down for a morning nap, Jan came about 11, so we woke Jack up at 11:20.  Wednesday is the day Jason takes care of the hot tub and so we had lunch with Dad.  Jason took the stroller to the office and so we met Jan in town and walked 4.5 miles on the trail by Spring Lake.  After I got home we ate yummy leftovers.  I went out to pick zinnias and about 7 Mary Kay came to help with flowers.  We put together 21 bunches for the widows' luncheon tomorrow noon.  We visited outside CSA for a lovely long time after we got done with the flowers. 

The Plastic Pink Pearl Necklace The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening pink plastic pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!"
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.
"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.
On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."
"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"
"Daddy, you know I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"
Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her plastic pink pearl necklace. With a little quiver,she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.
He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the plastic pink pearls so he could give her genuine treasure.
What are you hanging on to?

One night before the Jensens left we were all spending time together and Brooks shared this devo he heard at Hidden Acres camp.  As they were leaving I wrote to the family ... that they were my pink plastics pearls ... so hard to give up ... But I am trusting my Father.  Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean to to your own understandings.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your steps.