Christmas 2009

A snowstorm did not keep us from celebrating Christmas together up at my Mom's in Hayward, WI. It is the first time in a long time Mom and Ray were home with us and not in Arizona. My Aunt Gail, Uncle Chet and Grandpa also join us. We had a wonderful time playing games, eating, and just being together. Ribeye steaks on the grill can be our new tradition as far as I'm concerned!

Here are some of gang waiting to play
the dice game. I think Andy liked the
dice game better than the Auction!

Mom, Rhonda, Sheilda, Derrick pose
with Grandpa

Grandpa all bundled up ready to head
back home. Glad you could join us Grandpa!

My two beautiful nieces with
messages to Shane

Ray and Mom with another message for their
grandson.

Group Shot!


We celebrated Christmas with Natalie, Zack and Becky on Saturday. Natalie learned a new trick. They call it her Popeye face. Becky said she made this face in almost all the pictures she took of her over Christmas.

Adorable!!

Here she is digging into her Stocking

She's playing with her new radio

Here is my husband out shoveling our driveway.
When we got home on Friday someone had plowed
us out. Praise God because the little shoveling
Kelly did almost killed him. It great to have
such wonderful neighbors!!

Less than two months ago we were standing here
having a going away bonfire with Shane.

It's hard to believe Christmas is over and we are rounding the corner to 2010. Our flights are booked to San Diego so we at least get to go somewhere warm for a little bit this winter. The best part is we'll be bringing Shane home with us even if it's for only two weeks.

Have a Happy New Year!!

Sheilda

A Christmas Letter

This is a story of how God hears prayers and feels our sorrow, and how He also shows He cares in ways we never, ever would dream of.

I was having a really hard time this week and I spent a lot of the week crying. There were things going on at work that made me feel bad, and each day when I came home I was hopeful for a letter from my son Shane. It has been over three weeks since his last letter and Kelly and I really want to know that he is doing okay. I told God that all I wanted for Christmas was another letter from my son.

Well, after a really stressful day at work on Tuesday, I came home and checked the mailbox and when there was no letter again I broke down and actually sobbed. To top everything off there was a major snow storm predicted for Christmas Eve and Day. That certainly didn't help my mood. I just wanted and needed to be with my family, and the thought of spending Christmas at home without Shane or them made me even more sad.

On Wednesday, Kelly and I were both able to leave work at Noon so we could get on the road up to Hayward, WI before the storm hit. When I got home that day I got the mail and as I thumbed through it I saw an envelope with one of Shane's friend's name on the return address. I was thinking Nick sent us a Christmas card. Nick is one of Shane's best friends that he met playing football for Anoka High School, and they hung out together all summer. They were pretty much inseparable. Nick is such a nice kid and right now he is going to college up in Bemidji.

I opened the letter when I got in the house and after reading it I was crying again. It was the nicest letter I have gotten in a long time! Here is this 19 year old kid telling us that Shane is his best friend and that we did a great job as his parents. He also said if we need anything while Shane's gone to just let him know (he'd even shovel our driveway!). Nick will never know how much his letter meant to me. It came on the right day at the right time. Now tell me that God wasn't involved in this!!! I feel God was telling me that Shane can't write to us right now because of his training and used Nick to write my Christmas letter!

I know my letter from Shane will come soon, but I'll always cherish the one I received on Wednesday. My God saw my tears and He cares!

God's Blessings to you in 2010.

Sheilda

Christmas Tree is Up

I was finally able to get our Christmas Tree up this weekend. Just in time for a visit from Zack, Becky and Natalie. They came over on Sunday and we had lunch together. We had not seen them since Shane left on November 1st.

I put some Christmas music on and got busy on Saturday
getting the tree up and decorating the house. I love
having the tree lights on at night.

Here is our little dumpling Natalie. She is such
a happy girl. She entertained herself with her
slipper and it entertained us watching her.



Grandpa is feeding her dessert...Angel
Food cake. She is a very good eater.

Happy girl playing with her toys and slippers.

What a cute family!!

I had a video of Natalie clapping but my camera just died and I am not able to insert it into my blog. Next time! How can one little girl be so cute!!!

Have a great week. Hope everyone has their Christmas shopping done. I don't, but I took Friday off so hopefully I can power shop and get it done. Remember...Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!

Sheilda

New Truck

On Saturday, Kelly and I went to Target's Kids Christmas Movie Party and saw the show "The Blind Side". I will say it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time! After that we went over to Forest Lake to look at some new trucks. Wally McCarthy had some Chevy Silverado work trucks that were in our price range. Yes, we ended up buying one! It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, because we looked at a truck that had them and it was $4,000 more. We reverted back to the stone age and have crank windows and manual locks. But hey, we saved $4,000. I think of it as two less things to go wrong!! Here are some pictures I took at the dealership. It's a 4x4 Extended Cab with a side door that opens and only 24 miles on it.

The truck is black with gray interior. It has rubber flooring...no carpet to try and keep clean. It's a beautiful truck! Now we have two black vehicles. And...Zack will never, ever get behind the wheel of this one!!!!!!!

That was enough excitement for one weekend. We haven't gotten a letter from Shane in over a week. He is in Phase II of his training which will end Christmas weekend. I know for this part of it he is now at Camp Pendleton. I still keep writing to him every other day, but pray for him 24/7.

Have a blessed week. Christmas is coming fast and we will soon be together enjoying fun and laughter with our families, celebrating Jesus birthday!!!!

Sheilda

2009 Craft Shows Come to a Close

Our craft shows are done for 2009 and it was a successful year. We just finished our second one on Saturday, November 28th at the United Methodist Church in Spooner. We will plan to be there again next year. My sister and I are going to branch out and find a one day show in the Twin Cities next year and see how we do. I enjoy primitive crafting and am thankful that I have a sister to do this with. It was also fun to have our mom helping us out and being one of our best customers! Love you Mom!

Rhonda is busy doing her thing and setting
everything up just perfect. This is definitely
her nitch and she's so good at it!


We put Mom to work making hang tags for
some of our items.

We are ready....bring on the ladies!!

I am at my post as cashier.

My gingerman family was not a hot seller,
but they are still adorable and hopefully
will find good homes when Rhonda takes
them to the Country Freckles in WI Rapids.

Reindeer, stars, prairie dolls, candles,
signs....we had it all!!!

More of our display...

...and more.

We use two old doors hinged together
as part of our display. It sure works
out great. My brother-in-law was
put to work hauling them in and out
of both our shows. Thanks Brent,
they sure are heavy!!

Door dolls, etc.

Pillows, dolls, and Milos

On the way home on Saturday I swung into a store
in Falun, WI called Grandma's Attic and found a
gold mine of vintage stuff. I only got to look for
about 10 minutes thank goodness. I might have
spent all my profits! I think I have been hanging
around my sister too much. I can now envision
changing all these into great prim creations!

When I got home I was surprised to find another letter from Shane when I got the mail. He is doing great at boot camp and is still squad leader. He seems happy and in his words, "super glad he joined." I pray he keeps that attitude for the next 8 weeks. Please continue to pray for him for strength, courage, focus, and favor with his Drill Instructors. Thanks for all your support and prayers. God Bless....Sheilda

Craft Show #1

The day finally came and it was time for our first Craft Show in Spooner. My sister and I were a little overwhelmed at first when we set up our booth. But as you can see, it all fell in to place and it turned out beautiful. Set up for the next one will go a lot faster now that we know what we're doing.

Rhonda pulling things out and getting it
all set up.




Here are a few shots of our booth and the
prims we worked so hard on! We had
candles going and a potpourri tart so
it was inviting for shoppers



As you can see we had A LOT of stuff.

This year my Mom stayed in WI.
She was our sample lady and handed
out samples of my homemade jelly and salsa.
They were both my hot sellers.
Good job Mom!!

Another picture of our booth

We had a wonderful time being together. The nice part is we get to do it again this coming weekend. Even though Thanksgiving is celebrated one day a year, I am thankful for my family all year round. I am especially thankful this week because we received our first letter from our son, Shane, from boot camp. It was a great letter and he is doing well. It's not over yet so please keep praying for him!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving

Sheilda

Deer Season...a costly one!

My husband hunts in Minnesota and has three full weeks to hunt. He got an 8-point buck opening morning. Unfortunately this past weekend him and my step-son Zack got into an accident with our truck and did some major damage. Kelly is sporting a black eye and he said the steering column is broke so I imagine Zack is pretty sore because he was driving. I haven't seen our truck and I'm not sure I really want to. So while I was home busy working on my crafts little did I know the profits from them won't even match the cost to repair the truck!

Here's a cute little basket I got at a thrift store.
I painted it to prim it up. I threw in
some Sweet Annie, evergreens,
a few prim candy canes, and a cheese
cloth bow...and it turned out adorable.




I am totally done making the things I had planned
for the craft shows. I dug out this star pattern
and decided to make a few of them because
it felt strange to not be sewing and priming
something.

Friday is the big day I head up to Spooner to set up for the first craft show. I hope we have a big crowd of ladies. Even if we don't it will be fun to be with my sister, mom and niece. I am missing my son and this will help take my mind off him. I can't wait to get a letter and hear how he's doing at boot camp. He better say he's loving it otherwise I'll have to write him back with some tough love. He doesn't need to know that I miss him very much! All he needs to know is that I am waiting to see a United States Marine on January 29th.

Pray for Shane and all our service men and women! We owe them our freedom!
Sheilda

Almost Ready for the Craft Shows

I can hardly believe that next Saturday is our first craft show. I am so excited to head up to Spooner and spend time with my sister, mom and nieces. It will be a busy weekend getting set up, but that's half the fun. My sister has the knack of making our booth look inviting and beautiful. My job is to man the cash register! This year my mom will be joining us because they sold their home in Tucson, AZ and are staying in Wisconsin! We are all looking forward to having them home for the Holidays!

I couldn't tell exactly what I had on hand so I
gathered everything in one area. For all the hours
I have spent crafting this year it feels like I should
have so much more. But, I have a feeling our booth
is going to be pretty full!

These snowmen now have arms, scarves, ear muffs
and have been sprinkled with glitter glass.
I love the snow effect (I hope everyone else
does also).

This was a table runner I got at a garage sale.
It made a beautiful fall picture.

A flock of Milo the Cardinal. I got pretty good
at making their feet. I just hope I remember how
I did it if I make any more next year!

An up close look. I sprinkled a few of them
with glitter glass.

That's it for now. I have a few more projects to finish up and then it's off to Spooner. Crafting helps me stay busy while Shane is at boot camp.
Please continue to pray for him.

Thanks for your support!

God Bless!

Sheilda

Off to Boot Camp

Well, the day finally came when Shane was off to boot camp. I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't realize how hard. Praise God for the support of family. My Mom, Ray, sister and nieces came down to spend the weekend with us. It was a great time being together and I love them all so very much!

We had to have Shane to the Recruiting Office in Coon Rapids
at 4:00. They let Kelly and I take him down to the hotel. We
were able to have dinner together before we had to take him
to the hotel and leave him there.

Our last family picture until January when
we're standing beside a true Marine!
See what he's got in his hands? That's all
he took with him and the clothes he's wearing.


Shane and Dad

Shane and Mom
Love you Shaner DD!!



Saturday, Alyssa and Kara ran in the Monster Dash around
Lake Harriett and Calhoun. They talked Shane in to doing
the 5K with Kara. Alyssa did the half marathon.
Rhonda and I went as cheerleaders. If Alyssa has her way
we'll all be running a race in the spring. You all did AWESOME
and I am so proud of you. It was a fun day!!

Alyssa, Shane and Kara...running cousins!



Sunday, Zack, Becky and Natalie came over to have lunch
and say goodbye to Shane. I think I actually saw Zack give
Shane a hug!!!

Natalie enjoying her biscuit.
Did I happen to mention she's adorable!!

We had to leave in a hurry because we had to get
to the recruiting office. Zack and Becky got the
honor of cleaning out Shane's car. We gave it
to them. It needs a lot of work, but Zack will
have it fixed and running again in no time.
You should see the mound of clothes they
dug out of it. No wonder I couldn't find any of
Shane's stuff!!

Shane posing by his car for the last time!
He was sad...a lot of miles were put on that
car over the summer.

Cousins FOREVER!!!

Shane and Auntie Rhonda

Shane and Granny. Sorry Grandpa Ray,
I meant to get a picture with you also, but you
must have been down fixing our wood stove.
Thanks for doing that for us!!

Please keep Shane in your prayers. God has wonderful plans for him, I truly believe that. However, it was hard to give him his wings to fly.

God Bless all the military men and women and especially their parents who had to let them go!!

Sheilda