CONGRATULATIONS M&M LaFOLLETTE

We had a wedding tonight at our house.

Aaron & Kelly were married in front of our Christmas tree this evening at 6:00 PM.

They are officially Mr. & Mrs. Aaron LaFollette.

Welcome to the family Kelly, we love you very much.

And.... we found out that Ashley and Travis are having a baby boy!!!!! Can't wait. So our Christmas was filled with lots of excitement.

And most of all I am so thankful that Jesus was born today. Thank you God!! Your present will always be the best. Happy Birthday.

Do I like you or Not?

Eden had a fine time standing there looking at Santa. But she wasn't too sure she wanted him any closer than this. This was the Santa from Ashley's law firm.

Santa started talking to her and she started backing up. That's enough of that.

But eventually they came to an understanding and they had a nice talk as Eden told him that he says "Ho,Ho, Ho". I think it went a lot better than we were all expecting.

Merry Christmas friends and family. Stay tuned we have some great news to share but we have to wait until after Christmas. We love all of you.

Guess Who's 18 Months Today?

"Ok, I'm so not happy with this arrangement"

Eden and her Bubba

Little Miss Eden Rae

Ahhhhh.... My Doodle Bug and My Pookie Pie

Our Best Girlies

What a fun Christmas we'll have this year.

Happy Year and a half Pookie Pie. Your Papa and Maam love you tons!!! Keep growing and learning.

Dum is home

Reading time with Uncle Adam

Making Uncle Adam read when he just woke up.

Eskimo kisses for Uncle Adam

she was so excited because Uncle Dum was back. She loves her uncle dum.

All Dressed Up

Eden loves to play music on the piano. She pounds only a little the rest is actually touching keys and seeing how they sound.

Ahhh..... the applause afterwards is always an incentive to do our best.

We love to watch her play and sing.

All dressed up to go to mommy's work and see Santa. Maama bought her this new dress and shoes to surprise mommy.

She loved her new shiny black shoes. She kept trying to see them under her poofy dress and when she'd bend down to look she'd fall backwards. It was all too cute. They are her first pair of black patent leather. Rumor has it she was shy when she saw Santa. Ashley is bringing the disk so I can scan the pics she took.

Fetus LaFollette

Here is the first pictures of Aaron and Kelly's little one. We affectionately call it Fetus LaFollette. Aprox. due date is now July 21. They say it's the size of a grape.

Psalm 139:12-17

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Oh little one, you are precious to all of us but especially to God. For you are His masterpiece, his beloved work of art.

Tea Party

Eden and Grandma having a tea party. We even got to have strawberries this time. Yum.

She was watching Dora when I took this picture. Thus why she is staring like she is captivated by something. I love the fact that she put on her tutu to have the party. So much fun.

Reading with Grandpa

Dean had just gotten home from work. Eden loves her papa. So as soon as he gets into the office she runs in and grabs her penquin book. She promptly lays on the floor at his desk so he can't sit down at the desk. So Dean gets down on the floor and starts to look at the book with her. She turned her head, looked at him and got up on her knees and pushed his shoulders and told him "up". So he gets up and she goes back to reading, so he gets down there again and she is just floored that he is on the floor just like her. It was so cute I had to take the pictures.

Budding Reader

I was in the bedroom putting the laundry away and I hear from the bedroom "Hi Dora, blah, blah, blah" turn the page and then start over again. I came out of the bedroom and this is what I found. She was reading her Dora halloween book to her kitten. I must read a 25 books a day to her. She loves her stories. I just loved the fact that she was doing the reading this time. How precious. Grandma the librarian thinks this is just fine.

Expecting

We have just been told that Aaron and Kelly are getting married in December and they are expecting their first baby in July. We will be the proud grandparents of our first LaFollette grandbaby. Can you believe that we will have four grandchildren next summer? Wow!!! I never thought I'd have these blessings so soon. Congratulations to AARON & KELLY!!

We Can Count On Him

I was thinking the other day about what a whiner I've been lately. Kind of wallowing in self pity and depression. Between small group, church and reading my bible this week I've decided I can count on God. I may not be able to count on others for my self contentment and honest answers, but I can count on God.

Hebrews 13:8 says...
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

God is eternal, infinite, sovereign, omnipotent, omnisciet, omnipresent and immutable. In addition, He is perfect love, grace, patience, and compassion. He's holy, righteous, just and faithful. God is all of these things every day, all the time, and I can count on it because it says so in the Bible, and I believe the Bible to be absolutely true.

In my life, I've seen thousands of fads come and go, philosophies of life change like the weather, political systems overturned in revelutions. Nothings stays steady. Except God! The essence of His being is always the same: yesterday, today , and forever. We can trust Him and His word. If I live to be 110... I know I can count on Him.

Breakfast with Papa

Eden loves to eat Bagels and Cream cheese with Papa

Mmmmm.... num, num. And some of the cream cheese actually makes it in.

GOT MILK?

In the big chair, stealing a moment with Papa

I have to say he is her favorite person right now.

This morning Ashley was throwing up in the bathroom, dry heaves, and Miss Eden was moving mama's head so that she could see and make some noises just like mommy. I wish there had been a camera in the bathroom. That would have been funny to see. LOL

Busy Weekend!

Working Zoofari with the Village Inn team

Showcasing the pie selection for the night and Mary's decorating

When the boys from Village Inn Decorate, it's usually just a table with pies and spoons. So, this year I made them decorate their table . I went with the Patriotic theme considering the week, plus we all know Village Inn makes absolutely the best pies around.

Ok, Maybe our table location scared us at first due to Uhhh... the smell. But the quickly fixed the issue and the night went by quickly. Plus we had a baby elephant to watch run around looking for the banana's.

We went to Barnes and Nobel to see one of Kings Avenues teachers at her book signing. Yes, Ms. Sophia McMorris is an author. Her book is titled "Shattered But Not Broken". It was neat to see some of the parents and students there to support her work. Best Wishes. I hear she's already working on Book Number 2.

Adam had a great game yesterday. 10 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble. And the Earlham Quakers won their 4th straight game. That's just great and we're pleased for Adam. Plus he had a great midterm report, so college is going well for him. He's been leading FCA every couple of months. Can't wait to see him in 11 days.

Dean sang with the men's choir today at church. They sang the Military services hymns. I always get quite choked up. Knowing Chris died while in the Army is always a little sad for us. Dean cried up there and so did I when they had someone play taps. I know he's home with the Lord, but I miss his cheery voice and the bantering we all did together. It's hard to lose someone so close. But the men sounded great!!

I've been struggling a lot this week with my blood sugar levels. I've been experiencing some serious effects this week. I've had it happen a couple of times before, but nothing like this. My body just starts to shake uncontrollably, my vision gets blurry, feelings of anxiety, suddenly feeling starved. I'm pretty sure it has to do with hypoglycemia. I can't get in to see the doctor until November 25th. So if you'll just keep me in your prayers I'd sure appreciate it. Yesterday's occurrence lasted far too long.

The Passing of Admendment 2

I have to say, in all of the election stuff, I am most pleased to see that Amendment 2 passed. Defining that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It says that we have stated that we want to define the meaning of the word marriage, not liberal judges, not schools wanting to teach our children what the world wants to hear.

Marriage was God's idea. Genesis 2:15-25 God made a perfect world. Vs. 24 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh".


God expects several things out of a marriage:
to help us live holy lives before God
to help us overcome our selfishness by applying the relationship of Christ to the Church.
to help us become all that we can be in the eyes of God
marriage is the way to produce children and enjoy another in the love process
marriage is to be taken seriously (Ephesians 5:22-31, Mark 10:9)

We need to be actively seeking Gods will daily. We need to be on our knees praying for the sanctity of marriage. The world sees it as something easily discarded or not to be taken seriously. God's word tells us differently. I pray that we all will live a life of grace and that we continue to teach what God's word says to the youth coming up. So that they can have long fulfilling love lives and inherit the kingdom of God.

New Pics from Sears

Have I mentioned it was a lot easier to get pictures taken back at 12 months compared to 16 months? I felt exhausted after her 1/2 hour session. She wouldn't stand still, we had to work hard just to get her to focus. We're lucky that we got any good shots from this little princess. I praise the photographer from Sears for her patience and her understanding. This girl has done all Eden's shots since she was 9 months and let me tell you I hope she gets paid well. She deserves it. Oh well, we won't need more shots until she's 18 months.

Trick or Treat

Jullian as a YUGIO Character

Eden at Tinkerbell with her mama

Eden trying to keep up with Jullian

Tinkerbell and her royal chariot.

Eden didn't like the masks. She was checking out her Bubba.

We had a great time walking around the neighborhood, except for the GIANT mosquitoes. Those were not a hit with me as I have bites everywhere this morning. Did I mention that Eden pooped half way up the street. I was walking and it smelled like someones septic tank had given out. So I asked Eden and she said " I pooped". What a kid.

We're taking the kids to the last night of ZooBoo tonight. As Ashley and Travis are having their annual Halloween party at their place. I've got to say it's pretty nice being a Grandma. I like getting them, playing and the giving them back . Very Cool.

Updates

Let's see...

Ashley has horrible morning sickness. Baby has a rapid heartbeat 178.
Adam has his cast off and is in a splint full time except to type his term papers.
Adam is on major antibiotics for an infection.
Eden is throwing tantrums these days. NO FUN. Suggestions welcome on how to deal with these.
Frustrated over caring for my mom. Very exhausting. Not having a positive heart at times. I am good to mom, but just vent to Dean about everything I have to do to care for her. I'm trying to keep 1 Peter in my mind. I just keep reading it.
Jullian needs to see a shrink for his ADHD to see if that helps his Ticks that he's having. They are getting worse.
Lost 15 lbs on Jenny Craig. But it's way to spendy so I won't be continuing that after November. Love the support I get there and I've learned true portion sizes. I've also learned to have a low sodium diet.
We're going back to Kings Avenue for church. Dean's happy there.
Love spending Monday nights with our small group. (Stricklands, Whitakers) Great friends.
Love the colder weather. Fun to be able to wear sweaters during the Fall. Not a usual occurance here in Florida.
I missed seeing the Councils because we were in Indiana. I'm pouting big time.
Having way too many migranes and NOT enjoying it.
God is so good, all the time. Need to learn to praise him even in the tough times.
Being more intentional about praying for others during the day. Not being so self centered but looking outwardly to others.
We're bowling with Aaron and Kelly on Sunday nights and loving it. Fun getting to spend quality time with them.
Looking forward to November and making my praise/thankfulness jar.
Grateful Dean has a job during this uncertain time for everyone.

This was the picture in the Richmond Indiana Poladium newspaper on Sunday. Dean and I are cracking up because it looks like he is an amputee. He's supposed to get the cast off on the 28th of Oct. I'm praying they leave it on since he has four more games to go. I don't think it's completely healed yet.

Weekend at Earlham

Can you say PAIN!! He got hit in the hand during a tackle.
The coach said he looked like "Hell Boy" #35
Ahh... the sweet smell of Victory. The team has to sing the school fight song to the crowd after they win a game. This was the first win of the season so they were eager to please.
Wow, this is what fall looks like!! Look at those leaves.

Dean and I went up to Indiana to see Adam at college. We try to get up there at least once during his football season to watch him play. We didn't know for sure if they would play him considering he is still in a cast with his broken hand, but they did and the pictures are of him wrapped like crazy. He had moments of serious pain, but he was glad to be back on the football field. And it was sure nice to get to see him. The team won their first game and the coach said he was setting up a bed for us at his house. He was keeping us for the next four weeks. Let's hope they can win the next couple.


We took him and his two best friends out for dinner on Friday night. I don't know when I've ever laughed that hard. Those guys are a riot. And you should try shopping with those beasts in Walmart. What a hoot. Remember we're talking HUGE football players. Things are being thrown over aisles like footballs, they are aiming for the cart while another one is running away with it.


And did I mention it was COLD!!! Leaves are changing colors, wind was blowing off of the lakes and Sunday morning we had to use our credit cards to get the frost off of the windshield. BRRRRR....

And.... I just have to say that Penn state has broken their Michigan losing streak. It was a stressful first half of the game on Saturday night, but we came out victorious. Now if we can win Ohio this week, things might look good for a BCS bid. Go Nitnany lions!!!