Next years Christmas Tree WooHoo!!

This will be our Christmas tree next year. lol I know... I know... a little bit crazy!! lol If you are a horse lover, country hick, .... and... retired... what else could you expect from someone like me. Funny thing is... I have it on and wanting to find a place to put it in the house!! Crazy! But life sure is fun when you can be a little crazy! lol

Have you guessed what it is yet?? lol

We went to Gary's favorite store today.... Tractor Supply. He is getting as crazy as me! He is the one who said make it our Christmas tree. lol He had a gift certificate and it was burning a hole in his wallet! He was going to pay on this, but I told him to keep his gift card balance for himself. (That made him happy!) :) I saw this before Christmas and thought I could make one if I took the time. With my imagination and Gary's talent I thought we could do it together. I looked at the price again today and it was marked down half price.... but... I asked the girl behind the counter how much it was. She took the price tag off and said it was 60% off. I smiled and said I would take it. hehe Gary looked a little shocked but went along with it. The original price was $100 and I got it for $40. It will out live me... I am sure! The grand kids will love it. lol The kids will think we are crazy... but it makes me happy. lol

Hope this finds all of you well and have been keeping all of you in my prayers. I think I need some prayers... to quit spending money! I think I am finished shopping! lol

Love, Hugs, and Prayers, Janie

Checkin' in

Thought that I would drop in and say hello to everyone and hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas. I have taken a well deserved break... but what did I get accomplished?? Thanksgiving and Christmas is now behind all of us. What did I get for Christmas?? Lakota got sprayed by the mean ole skunk again, Christmas night!! Thank goodness that it was 60 degrees out that night. Of course it was in the early morning hours. I was going to put him in the garage but decided to put him in his kennel. It was not raining but a heavy dew. He did not smell by noon the next day. The Lord must take care of his animals with natural elements. lol Shawnee had a tiny smell around her neck and Lakota must have rubbed up against her. I think one night of staying out taught her a lesson; but you can't teach these males anything!! lol (Sorry Randy and Tom... the truth hurts. hehehe)

Gary went to church this evening but I just did not feel like it tonight. I have sold some things on e-b-a-y and of course bought too much. I bought a shower curtain that has horses on it and one of them looks just like Miss Gracie. lol I will have to show it when I get it done (next spring haha) I bought some Native American wallpaper border and I just LOVE it. It has painted Indian horses and little drawings of buffalo in the background. I will have everything in the house pasted up with that wallpaper border. lol Hmmmm I also bought a wolf shower curtain. I showed Gary the photos and he said to get both shower curtains... so I did. We don't really buy each other something for Christmas anymore, so guess that is my Christmas gifts.

You know our life changes everyday and we should really prepare ourselves for change. I just HAVE to share this. Retirement is really different. In the beginning Gary was in a hurry to do everything! For the first time he called about car insurance the first of the year. I heard him say something about miles on the car and driving slower to save on gas. Before he retired we use to go driving down the road like a Texas tornado, bumper to bumper with the person in front of us, even though it was the person 2 cars in front of them that was making traffic go at a snails pace of 70 miles and hour. lol (The floor board of the car was getting a lot of wear and tear on it from me bracing myself). Now all of a sudden we drive down the road doing 60 miles and hour (speed limit is 65) with traffic backed up behind us and Gary telling them to get around him if they want to go faster. I just look out the window as they pass the old codgers. lol He must like going slower now because I have even experienced 55 miles an hour the last couple of weeks.

I won't be back on for the next week. I have 3 days left to get my eyes checked. Leave it to me... why do today what you can put off until tomorrow! Right? Wishing all of you a wonderful week with lots of blessings and will try to stop in and comment a little more than I have been doing. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

I goofed Up!!

Well.... I thought I was making a post on this journal and by mistake made it on my other journal!! Ugh! Sorry about that. I am too tired to re-write it in this journal so will leave a link to my other journal. God Bless and prayers for all. Janie Link below:

http://shelteredinthearmsofgod.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html

Marie Antonenette Award

Again, thank you so much for the award.

Hope that I can get this entry correct. :) I am going to put the links to the ones that gave me an award, and then will put the links to the ones that I choose. I feel so bad about not getting this done. I can not believe that I have not been on journals for 18 days. In the beginning I commented on every one's journal... then I slowed down. I miss the emails letting me know that someone made and entry. lol With the blogger reader everyone seems to get lost in the shuffle. lol All of you have been in my prayers each night.

I will try my best on doing this correct. Many others have already gotten the award so wanting to make sure that those that are so nice to comment on my journal gets an award also. I haven't been doing too good on the journals lately.

For those that I chose; please try to make an entry like this and put the Marie Antoinette Award in the title line.

1. I put the award in the subject line. Marie Antoinette Award.
2. I put the link to Missy, Melissa, and Alice.
3. Now I have to choose 7 or more journals
4. Like Missy, if you all ready have one... well then you will have 2 or 3. lol
that just means that you are well liked. :-) lol

Here is Missy's, Melissa's, and Alice that I got an award from:

Missy Learning To adapt


Melissa Just Another Day in Paradise


Alice As always Alice


7 that I choose I tried to get those that have not received the award. :-)


1. Rose Everything Is Going To Be Alright
Rose is a bus driver and she has some stories to tell about the kids on the bus. Never know what the kids are going to say or do. She is a fellow Christian.

2. Terry Ann A girlnexdoorcreation
Terry Ann is my daughter and sends me graphics and such. She makes tags and etc. Terry Ann does not feel good many times because she has RA. She always sends me links to pray for someone who needs prayer.

3. Tracy Just Being Who I Am
Tracy doesn't feel good a lot of times. She is always kind and friendly. She has some children.

4. Sheri Just Another Day
Sheri just recently went through a divorce, has a teenage son, grandchildren, and always on the go. She reminds me of myself.... we are both Scorpios! Watch out everyone!! lol She is real sweet lady and always kind and friendly.

5. Juli Mistress-vampara-pandoras-box
Juli is my daughter-in-law. She is real sweet and is also in making tubes and graphics. She also sends me tags with wolves and Indians.

6. Roberta Bert's Words
Robert is an older person living in Florida. She has a cat and like me she has had some issues getting blogger up and running. :)

7. Kath My Simpler Rhymes
Kath is so funny. I really laugh when I read her journal. She rhymes everything!! How does she do it?? She is a sweet person and always praying for others. I am sure that she is busy right now going on her little trips. She lives in England.

I sure hope that I have time to comment on every one's journal. I am having a hard time swallowing... hmmmm I think I have caught something some where! Best call my doctor tomorrow to get some medication.

Wishing all of you a wonderful week with lots of blessings.
Love, hugs, and prayers, Janie

Just a quick entry

Soooo sorry that I have not made any entries in 18 days! I have just been too tired and have been busy. I have not been able to sleep at night. :( I use to be able to sleep like a log but recently I have not been able to go to sleep with Gary's snoring. :( Last night he woke me up 2 times in the night. Hmmmm I was not too happy but nothing I could do about it. lol I did finally tell him today that he had been keeping me awake. His reply was that I was snoring this morning.... daaaa 4 hours sleep... who would not be snoring! lol The last time I looked at the clock when he woke me up and it was 4 a.m. lol I am always going to lay down and take a nap but never do. Tonight I did sleep from 7:30 until 9:30. Now here I sit at almost one in the morning. lol

I want to thank Missy, Melissa, and Alice for the lovely reward. Thank you sooo much. I have the entry half finished. :) I have been working on it.

Even though I have not made an entry... all of you have been in my thoughts and prayers, and still are. It is almost 1 a.m. here in Kansas and I have to go to Assistant Living in the morning and sing 2 songs. Last week I sang: Old Rugged Cross and Precious Memories. They all like to sing with me. Wishing all of you a wonderful blessed week.
Love, hugs, and prayers, Janie

Being Human

We are all human; are we not? Funny how we can go through this world and somehow carry the world on our shoulders. Friends and acquaintances seem to have a little effect on us.... but yet when someone that we love; or should love us... hurt us so deeply.

Being human we have this image of ourselves and what we are. Sometimes it is hard to visualize how we appear to others. We have these little kinks in our personality that became part of us through no fault of our own. The way our eyes look at others, our body language, our expressions, our language when we express ourselves, loss of words at times, our temper, and our dignity.

What life throws at us is the outcome of who we are and how we respond to life's situations. Most have not had the choice of how they were raised, rich or poor, sickness, handicapped, or how they have to live. We do have a choice in many things. Many times our own choices have determined where we are today and the happenings in our life in the present. Many times we have to stay in the situation that we have gotten ourselves in; simply to protect our children from a worse situation, or being secure.

I did make one choice in life that I will never regret; accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. If you have not accepted Him yet, then you have no idea of what I am talking about. Life still throws things my way and I still get hurt by those that I love. How we handle those situations depends on us. We can either let the hurt conquer us or make us stronger .... maybe for harder times that will come our way in life. When someone hurts me I can call on my Lord and He wraps His arms around me. It does not stop all the pain but He never lets me receive more than I can handle. Paul wrote this about the thorn in his side.

Corinthians 12: 9-10)
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

None of us can be perfect. Each of us handle situations in a different way. God told us that there is Faith, Hope, and Charity; but the greatest of all .... Is Love. He commands us to Love One Another. Silence is not a sign of weakness; but rather a sign of strength. It is so hard for me to be silent at times; but words can never be taken back. Out of all that we want in life I feel like all of us; no matter how vile we are, want to be loved.

My prayer for you today is: To feel loved and needed. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

My Birthday

I got up this morning and I figured Gary was in the barn. I turned the coffee pot on to have a fresh cup of coffee. For the last week I have been putting his coffee in a thermos. He gets up at 5:30 and I get up at 8:00. By the time I get up the coffee taste like it is almost burnt. lol I thought it was taking him longer to feed the horses and clean the stalls this morning. While I was drinking a cup of coffee he walked in the door with 12 red roses. The local grocery store did not have red roses and he drove 12 miles to the next city to buy me red roses. lol One of the roses was broken so I took a close up photo of it. I also got a Kirby vacuum but the lady told me not to tell anyone what I gave for it or she would go out of business. lol She has to meet a quota each month to keep her license.

We went to the Assistant Living today and I sang "Why Me Lord" and "Roses Will Bloom Again". Need to practice some new songs. Have forgotten the words to many of them that I have sang over the years. I got my hair cut last week and I really needed a hair cut!! This is the style... something that I can just run my fingers through! So easy! I took the photo in my 3 way mirror. lol Here is a photo of the last jacket coat that I bought on ebay this summer. This is the back of it.

Hope all of you have a wonderful week with lots of blessings. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

Skunked AGAIN!!

Hmmm Wellllll.... Lakota and Shawnee got skunked again at 1:00 a.m. in the morning!! The minute they walked in the door I could smell it. They stayed outside last night and it was pretty cold. Around 38 degrees. I was going to put them in the garage but Gary said to leave them out because they have to learn. They do have a dog house to sleep in outside. We had a bottle of VET Thiotrol Spray. Gary also went to the vet's and bought another bottle. Lakota HATES skunks!! The last time he was the only one to get sprayed. They usually get it right in the face and the chest. I sprayed them 4 times this morning. They finally got to come in around one this afternoon. Be sure and keep an eye out for that skunk.... because I am sending him your way!! lol

Lakota was really happy to get in the house. I asked him if he got sprayed by a skunk in the 2nd photo. He later went to the dinning room and laid under the desk. I was trying to make him go lay where I put the towel.

Shawnee was glad to get in the house. Asked her if a skunk sprayed her in 2nd photo. She later stretched out on the towel and took a nap. She wants to do what I tell her. She is a very good dog... both are but Shawnee wants to please me. They are both exhausted and glad to get back in the house. The skunk spray is really strong and gives me a headache! I tried tomato juice and it did not work on Lakota. This Vet brand has a sprayer on the bottle and it works sooo much better than Skunk Off. It also has twice as much as Skunk Off.

Wishing all of you a blessed Saturday. Prayers & hugs, Janie

Pictures 23 years ago

In 5 more days I will be having my 65th birthday!! How time flies!! The Lord has blessed me in many ways. In 1985, 42 years old, I did a gospel recording. These are a few of the pictures that were taken for my cassette. I chose the one where the dog looked better! It was not one of these. Too funny! Charity was scared to death getting her picture taken. I am the same age that my daughter, Terry Ann is now.

A couple of years later I went to Olan Mills and had some more photos taken with Charity. lol She did a little better the next time.

Charity was 10 and 12 years old in these photos. She lived until the age of 16 1/2 years old.

Wednesday Gary, Terry Ann, Carlie, and I went to the zoo for a school activity. Terry Ann had a group of 4 little giggling girls to escort around the zoo. They were all so cute! First photo is Carlie and then all the little girls together.

They are all cute at this age. Gary asked the little red headed girl if she had a boyfriend. Most little girls will say "No!" Well this little girl told Gary that she had a boyfriend and she kissed him right on the mouth!! lol Too funny! We left early and I asked Terry Ann if they all had fun. She said yes and they wore her out! To have that kind of energy now!

Wishing all of you a blessed Friday and weekend. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

10 Predictions

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins The Election:

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.
and God approves this message!
ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS REALLY IN CONTROL?!!

Wishing all of you a wonderful week with lots of blessings. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

Me, Myself, and I

I never will forget the first time that I was invited to dinner at a boyfriend's parent's home. We were sitting there eating and his dad looks at me and says in a sarcastic remark!! "Hummp! I know some of your relatives and you sure have a lot of skeletons in your closet!! I worked with your grandpa a lot of years." Hmmm I thought for a couple of seconds and then very calmly said to him, "Very true! But what can you tell me about me?" He could not tell me anything. From that day on the man seemed to respect me. Funny thing is.... that was just one side of the family!! lol Blood is also thicker than water! This boyfriend was the brother to my aunt's husband. Her father-in-law told the family what he said to me!!! She got mad and said, "Yes and do you know who else she is related too? Me!!!" hehehe Too funny!!

I am responsible for myself. We all live with choices every day. It is your choice to choose what choices that you want to make. I have made a lot of BAD choices in life! Thank the Lord that He forgave me for those choices that I made. It is really hard to eat crow.... but what is really hard is eating those feathers!

I have removed my email address from my journal. Recently I have been receiving spam emails. I use to never get spam emails. That is the only thing that I can relate it to. Sorry if it is an inconvenience to anyone.

Wishing all of you a blessed week with lots of blessings. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

3 Generations

One day I took a picture of some pictures. They are not as good as the original. Thought I would share them. The first one is of me, 2nd one is of my son, and 3rd one is of my grand-daughter (Terry Ann's daughter Trista). We are all around the age of 4 years old.

Wishing all of you a blessed Friday and Happy Halloween. All are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

Statue Of Cherokee

This is Cherokee the day we had to put her down. She was huge. She weighed 120 pounds. She was such a good dog. We buried her on the pond dam. Shawnee is the one standing beside her.

Wishing all of you a blessed Sunday. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

We Are Harley's New Owners lol

About 4 months ago we had to put our burro, Gus, down. He was about 21 years old. The neighbors east of us owned Harley. He got out all the time and was in a tiny pen. She stopped at the end of our lane and asked Gary if he wanted a burro. Harley is 11 years old and we were not sure if he would get along with Speedy Moon, a miniature stallion. As you know he did manage to get out within 1 1/2 days!! lol He was VERY verbal the first 4 days... crying to go home which is less than 1/2 mile east of us. The last thing the lady told us: "If he does not work out, we will come and get him." Well, I think he is very happy here now. At first he was even scared to come in the barn. Horses and burros are very smart when it comes to TIME!! If Gary is 5 minutes late feeding.... Harley is bawling his head off!! lol Yes, he has gotten spoiled!! I bet if we took him back to his previous owners he would be bawling his head off to come back here! He seems to really like it here now. Wherever you see Miss Gracie... you see Harley.

We went to see the movie "W" with Terry Ann today. Gary said the movie was a flop just like Bush. hehe Never know what Gary might say. lol Terry Ann took some pictures of us in front of the theater. I hate to have my picture taken anymore. At my age what pictures are good!!!??? lol I took some of Terry Ann... but have to ask if I can put them on here. hehe

Hope all of you have a wonderful week. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

Mule Train

Too funny! I actually found this song on the song list! It was popular when I was in the first grade. My mother worked at my aunt's cafe at the time. There was this truck driver by the name of Barny who ate there all the time. He drove a Camel Cig. truck. lol He played this song on the jukebox all the time. Years ago we had bunch boards and you could win something. He won a little tiny gold pocket knife that I thought was great!! He gave it to me. I still have that little pocket knife in my old jewelry box. lol Since I am going to make an entry about Harley I thought that song would make a good song for this time. hehe

Harley is doing great! I bet he might not even want to go back to his owners. He has a barn to go into when it is raining and gets fed grain of a morning and evening. He was standing by the fence watching me a couple of days ago.

He stood there and let me pet him. His mane is really strange looking. Looks like a hook rug or something. He has the cross mark on his back. The kind that Jesus rode on Palm Sunday. He already STINKS!! because he is already SPOILED!! lol

I hope that this finds everyone well. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

More Animal Photos

Well I guess I can say I am 2/3 well. lol I still have 3 more days of pills. I don't think I have coughed this much in a long time. I believe I had a bad sinus infection before everything got bad. I do think I will live. lol Our friends that go to Assistant Living on Tuesday; also got the same thing I have. Church or Assistant Living is where we got it. hehe

I have stayed pretty close to the house but today we drove about 60 miles northwest and went to Burden, Kansas. It is Yoder Concrete statuary. I finally got the White German Shepherd to put on Cherokee's grave on the pond dam. I also picked up a white wolf, small unpainted German Shepherd, and 2 concrete blocks to put on 2 graves; one for my mother and one for Gary's mother. I had to buy one block that was unpainted but I can do it pretty easy. I forgot to take my camera when we put the German Shepherd on the pond dam, so will have to post it next time.

Here is the white wolf. Thought this was funny when Lakota smelled the back of of it. hehe Sorry, no smell Lakota. lol

This is the block for mom and I will paint the other one for next Memorial Day. I like to get things like this as much as I do flower arrangements.

Thought I would show a couple of photos of the miniature horses. This will show how small they really are.

This is Snow Satin with Gary.

This is Speedy Moon with Gary.

I have commented on some journals but just have not felt too good so will have to get caught up. Hope this finds everyone well. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

Sick

Wow! I have been sick. Started out last Tuesday with a sore throat. By Saturday evening it had gone down into my chest. One of the worse ways to get sick is from shaking hands with everyone at church. lol I do not like to shake hands with men. lol I have using germ-X after shaking hands with everyone and have not been sick for quite a while. I did not use it the last couple of times after shaking hands. Found out a couple of kids have strep. I shake hands with all the little kids too. lol

Went to the doctor yesterday and he gave me Erytab, the only thing I can take. I am even allergic to dental metal. lol I went to bed last night in my jeans and a sweatshirt. Was freezing when I got up this morning. My head feels like a watermelon! It rained a lot last night and still raining this morning. Gary is going to keep the miniatures in the barn. It is a cold rain. Winter is not far away. :( I won't be going to Assistant Living today, dinner tomorrow night, or to family thing on Gary's side. Good excuse for that. lol

I am sure that I will be slow at commenting on journals for a couple of days. Eyes, ears, and head hurts. Wishing all of you a wonderful week with lots of blessings. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless, Janie

Thank you Terry Ann for tag.

Host Of The Wild Lead By A Child

I love this photo of my grand-daughter and the lion.

God Bless and all of you are in my prayers.

Hugs, Janie

A New Day

The song playing is God On The Mountain that I sang Tuesday. Tuesday morning 5 of us went to the Assistant Living. I sang 2 songs, husband gave the lesson, other 3 read, and all of us shared and talked about the lesson.

Things are not looking very good for the United States right now. As one person said to me that I am so peaceful in a world like this. I guess I can say that I feel like God is in control. We are a people that like to think we are all in control. I think all the tornadoes, hurricanes, and etc. has told us who is in control. Deciding on who to choose as president, that is a free choice. I do not like to argue over who I am voting for. You might not like who I am going to vote for and I might not like who you are voting for. I do know one thing: Gore said 8 years ago that within 12 years Social Security is going to be gone. I agree with him.

Wishing all of you a blessed day. God Bless, Janie

Fond childhood memory

The song playing is "I Love You Because". Everytime I have heard this song I remember my mother sitting near the radio waiting to hear the song that my dad dedicated to her on their anniversary. I was 9 years old. Many songs bring back so many memories to me. Wishing all of you a wonderful week with lots of blessings. All of you are in my prayers. Hugs, Janie

(Leon Payne)
I love you because you understand, dear
Every single thing I try to do
You're always there to lend a helping hand, dear
I love you most of all because you're you.

No matter what the world may say about me
I know your love will always see me through
I love you for the way you never doubt me
But most of all I love you 'cause you're you.

--- Instrumental ---

I love you because my heart is lighter
Every time I'm walking by your side
I love you because the future's brighter
The door to happiness, you open wide.
No matter what the world may say about me
I know your love will always see me through
I love you for a hundred thousand reasons
But most of all I love you 'cause you're you...

Animal Photos

Harley (Houdini) lol must not have ever had a barn for shelter. He does not want to come in the barn. He cried for 2 days, but I did not hear him much today. :-) He is use to a woman. I guess he woke her up every morning baying. I am trying to get him to come to me in these 3 photos.

While I was trying to get Harley in the barn, Miss Gracie was eating.

Miss Gracie looks like a big horse when she looks over the stall. lol

But this why!! lol She stands in her feeding bin to look over. lol

Poor Shawnee (female) and Lakota (male)... they just don't understand why they can't go in the stalls.

Wishing all of you a blessed week with lots of blessings. All of you are in my prayers. God Bless and hugs, Janie