Summer Happenings

It's been awhile since my last posting.  Here is an update on what's been happening the last few months.

Mary and Ken have been joining us for BINGO.  They are
totally hooked!!!  It has been fun to reconnect with them again.

Dave made this sign for our Cumberland week.  The joke
behind Doonanbogen is when we all retire we plan to have
a ranch far from any city and call it the "Doonanbogen"
Ranch.

Dave, Jan and Sam (with the sign). 

Dave brought up his jet ski and we all enjoyed it very much.
Zack, Becky and Natalie came up for the day, and Zack
took Natalie out for a ride.  Isn't she adorable!

Only three of the six cousins!  We missed the rest of you!!

A beautiful sunset over Beaver Dam Lake. 

When we got back from our 4th of July vacation, our road was
closed for construction.  For three weeks we could only go one
way.  And to get back home we had to go around
Coon Lake.  The next three weeks we could only go the
other way.  We put on a lot of extra miles!



Here is a look at what we had to drive on.  The road is now done and
I will say it was all worth it!  No more dodging pot holes!



Kelly and I went to the Polk Co. Fair and watched Natalie
clog.  Here she is clogging her little heart out!

After Kelly and I went to the State Fair on opening day, my
Mom and Rhonda came down and I went again with them.
We had a BLAST!

Here is my beautiful sister and Mom.  Love you both!

Well, after walking for two days, 8 hours each day, this is what
my leg looked like.  I have no idea what it is, but I get it
every year but never this bad!!

I was on vacation for 12 days the end of August (my stay at home Mom week)
and enjoyed every minute of it.  I started getting ready for the Craft
Show in November.  Here are the four prim angels I made.  They
turned out adorable.

I also stained our deck.  I had to scrub every single spindle on it before
I could stain! You can see the before on the right and the after on the left. 
It looks SO much better.  But next time...I am hiring it done!!!

Last but not least, I have been very busy canning.  I have 17 pints
of Salsa made already, and over 70 half-pints of jelly.  And I'm
still not done!  I also made the cute little mice for the Craft Show.
They are not done yet as you can see...they will each be holding
a flower (which still need to be made).

Well, that is what's been happening this summer.  More to come I promise.

Sheilda

Here's What's Been Happening!

I have been doing a lot except updating my blog!  We not only helped Zack paint the entire upstairs of his new home, but we also help paint the entire downstairs.  It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do for a house!

Here is the downstairs living room wall - BEFORE

AFTER - you would not believe the difference!

This will be Zack and Becky's bedroom downstairs. 
BEFORE - it was a light yellow with a lot of marks on every wall!



Becky wanted a burnt orange room - well she got it.
It turned out beautiful!

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MOTHER'S DAY 2012

Kelly and I spent Mother's Day Weekend in Hayward
and Spooner.  We had a great time being with family.

Kara and Trav.  Love you both very much!

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Natalie's 3rd Birthday
(what a doll!)



This swing set was her birthday present from ALL

the grandparents.

She loves to slide down and land in her pool
filled with water.  It was 93 degrees on Sunday
so she REALLY enjoyed getting wet!

After all that swinging and sliding she enjoyed
an ice cream treat.  So cute!



Last but not least, here is my latest creation I made
on the very rainy Saturday.  Getting ready for craft
shows!!!

Blessings,

Sheilda

Here's What's New

I guess updating my blog once a month is getting to be the norm. Shane came home on leave on January 13th for eighteen days. It was wonderful to have him home again. We got to do quite a few things together as a family.

We all went to Osceola, WI to watch Natalie in a clogging program. It was the cutest thing I have seen. I will post a video. It takes awhile to download so I wanted to post pictures first.

She is drinking chocolate milk after a
night of performing and pinching the
little girl next to her. lol

Some of her fans!



Of course we had to go play BINGO.
The girls showed the guys what it was like
to WIN (I won twice and Alecia won once)
Shane's friend Mohammed joined us (Shane
played Anoka football with him)

After a lot of online shopping we found a
truck that Shane bought. It's a 2003
Chevy Silverado with about 80,000 miles
on it. It was Divine Intervention that we
found it and I totally believe that God provided.

Here are the two travelers ready to drive 1,400
miles to North Carolina.

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Zack & Becky's New House
They closed on their house on Friday, Jan 27th. We all went over there on Saturday and helped them paint. Kelly and I went back on Sunday to finish up. It was fun, but we were exhausted.

Here is Natalie's princess room. It is actually a
beautiful purple. Once they get her bed and dresser
in there it won't may your eye hurt just looking at
the walls.

Here is a shot of the living room. It was painted
a soft lemon yellow, but it was so dirty it was
amazing the transformation this new color made.

We painted a tan on two of the walls, white
on the wall that connects to the entry way,
and then a darker brown (Hot Chocolate)
on the other walls. It turned out BEAUTIFUL.

Hopefully this is a better picture so you can see
the contrast. They are installing laminate wood
floors, which will make this room look amazing.
Needless to say, Zack and Becky are on cloud nine!

Well, Shane is gone back to NC and everything is back to normal. It always takes me a few days to settle back in. I LOVED having him home (and back in the good old United States). I cherish the time we get to spend with him. All I can say is God is SO good and has blessed me with wonderful boys, a beautiful daughter-in-law and a precious grand daughter. Life is good!

Blessings,
Sheilda

December Happenings

I can't believe it's December AND it's half over! I guess no snow is part of the problem. However, I am enjoying driving on dry roads. I hope the weather holds out so we can spend Christmas Eve with family in Spooner!

My flowering cactus is BEAUTIFUL
and ready for Christmas. This plant was
my elderly neighbor lady, Lena's. She passed
away probably 8 years ago, but her cactus
lives on!

I did two more Craft Shows in December.
It was a lot of work hauling in, setting up,
and hauling out. But I met some really nice
ladies and had fun at both shows and made
a little Christmas money.

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Last Saturday Kelly and I went to Natalie's
clogging Holiday Show. It was SO adorable.
I had never seen clogging and would totally
love doing it (it looks like great exercise too!)

Natalie ringing her bells during the
tiny tot portion of the show.






Video to be added soon!

You have to watch this video. I have been
playing it over and over. She is so
adorable and I am glad I had my video on!

After the Holiday Show we went and looked
at the house Zack and Becky put a bid on.
Their bid was accepted and they are waiting
to hear from their bank.

The house was built in 2007 and sits on about
an acre and a half lot. Pray that everything
works out for them and they can call this
HOME.

Have a very Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

To my son, though we won't be together again this
year for the holidays, you are in our hearts and
only a thought away. Love you very much and
we are SO proud of you!!!

Sheilda

November Craft Show complete

I was in my first craft show of the season in November. My sis came down and helped me. She's got such a decorative touch and had everything looking so inviting to the shoppers.

I have to say that my jellies were the hot item.
There were two other vendors selling jelly, but
mine was the cheapest (and the best tasting if
I do say so myself).

Next year I have to find some old doors so I
can hang stuff on them. But the makeshift display
we had worked.

Another shot of our booth.

I just finished this cute light box for the
Holiday Boutique I'm in this coming Saturday. I am
hoping to have another successful sale. After
that I am done for this season and can
concentrate on decorating my house for the
holiday.

Blessings to all my family. See you in a few weeks when we celebrate the birthday of our King! Love you Shane, we will miss you but someday we'll have a big celebration with you there!!

Sheilda

Crafting Weekend

While my husband was away deer hunting, I spent the weekend crafting. I am in a Craft Show at the Blaine United Methodist Church on Saturday, November 19th. I was having trouble getting started, my heart just wasn't in it. I missed talking with my sister about what we are working on, and sharing pictures of our projects. Her focus right now is to finish school. After I finally got started I had a wonderful time creating things again. My sister is coming down for the Craft Show, so it will be great to have her (and some of her creations) there with me.

Here are the adorable cats I made. I hope
other people think they are adorable too
and buy them!


Here's the group. Some are still waiting for
faces, but I wanted to at least show you what
I accomplished.

Snowman Door Doll

Last but not least, this lighted man and
woman snowman in an old wood cheese box.
Right now I only made one, but I am
going to try and make another being it turned
out so cute!


Along with my primitive crafts I have 49 pints of salsa, 62 half-pints of a variety of jellies, homemade laundry soap, and bird suet. Hopefully it will be a successful Craft Show.

Blessings to all,

Sheilda

November Already

Wow...two posts within two weeks. I guess we have had a lot going on around here lately! Sunday we went over to Zack and Becky's and brought them one of our rocker recliners. They needed one, and I needed to make room for the new addition you will see below!

Natalie knows that Grandpa always has a treat
for her in his pocket. She LOVES treats!!

Becky was able to finally coax her into
putting on her Princess costume so we
could see. She's the cutest Princess I've
ever seen!!!!

Like I said in my last posting...the blue recliner
did not find its way back upstairs. Zack was thrilled
to get it (and they needed one). I found this chair
at HOM Furniture on sale. It goes PERFECT in
the living room with the new floor.

And a bonus...it's a recliner.

Here is our new shed that Kelly has wanted for
years. He'd be happier if a 4-wheeler was parked
inside. But right now that ain't going to happen!

An inside look. Lots and lots of room
for storage.

One last picture. The truck is fixed like brand
new. It's amazing how they can do that. What
I thought as I looked at our broken truck with
dangling parts was, Jesus can take our broken parts
and make us brand new too! All we have to do is give
Him all the pieces!!!

Have an awesome November. Watch for deer!

Sheilda