I need a New Year's Resolution that starts early to use my camera more. I think I've mentioned that before. I seem to think I can't make a post without a picture to go with it.

Last weekend we had a wonderful time with family and friends celebrating grandson Dalton's 12th birthday and John and Beth's mutually shared birthdays (which were several weeks ago). Good food and a game of LRC with the kids. AND, Leah went to a movie, her first outing without Caleb. We passed him around 7 different women all evening. He took his first bottle and it went very well.

The next day was my Dad's 84th birthday. We traveled to the Amana's for dinner at the Ox Yoke Inn and met my Sister Carolyn and niece Lauree. Following dinner a Christmas show at the Old Creamery Theatre and then the drive home. I think we were all tired by the time we returned but Mom and Dad seemed to enjoy the outing.

This year for Thanksgiving we decided to leave town. We took a trip to Branson. We traveled 1/2 a day on Thursday. Our Thanksgiving meal was an evening buffet followed by a show on the strip. Friday we went to Silver Dollar City. It was perfect....68 degrees and Sunny. The Christmas lights in the evening were absolutely AWESOME and well worth the drive down. Came back home on Saturday and was glad to have 1 day home before going to work tomorrow. Which brings us to today so now you are caught up on our lives.

11-08-09 #2

We finally decided it was safe for Daddy to visit Caleb even though he is still suffering with some pain with the shingles. So here are the great grandparents along with the rocking horse Daddy made and mom supervising and helping with the painting/staining. It will be awhile before Caleb is ready to tackle the horse but I told Leah it would look cute under the Christmas Tree this year.

I'm a week behind. Last week Sunday our church had fall festival. Jim proudly brought his hand crank corn sheller. In the field behind the church we grew sweet corn and popcorn. The kids took turns pushing the corn cobs down into the sheller and hearing/watching the popcorn get stripped from the cob. Everybody loves doing this. We use to have a corn sheller at the farm but it was destroyed in a fire several years ago. Jim bought this sheller at an auction earlier this year and now is in heaven shelling popcorn. He also picked sweet corn, let is dry on the cob and shelled it. Tonight, as I'm typing, he is putting that shelled corn into the "Magic Bullet" and grinding it into corn meal and making cornmeal muffins. Except for the electricity to grind the corn, we are living the life of the prairie days. It would be much cheaper or at least faster to just go buy a box of cornmeal at the store, but not as much fun for Jim. When the popcorn is dry he will bag it up and take it to church to hand out. He is also planning on bagging up some of his cornmeal to hand out. I married a farm boy.