My last post was about the Fair Queen Pageant...
The next night was a Ladie's Night Get Together held at The Holiday in town. Ladies from our church, Elm Street Christian Church and Antioch Christian church united for an evening of fellowship and food. We gathered, ate and watched a short video that featured Patsy Clairmont. I had a good time and I think that everyone else did too. I spoke to a couple of ladies from our church and hear that another night is being planned for sometime in August. I hope that I am free to attend.
On Wednesday July 10th, our family went to the Richland County Fair together. We went through the Community Building and got to see the 4-H exhibits along with fair exhibits from other members of the county. We followed that with a funnel cake and 4-H lemon shakeups. Then we went through the livestock barns and saw the animals. It is really neat to see the animals that are raised and shown by the youth, many of whom we have known for years.
Thursday, as I generally do every Thursday, I attended the weekly Godsippers Bible Study at The Masters Hands. It is a women's study and we usually watch a video series. I never fail to come away feeling so blessed to have been with such wonderful women. We are all at different places in our lives, but the one thing that ties us together is our desire to learn more about being Godly women.
On Friday, I came home from work and promptly fell asleep. If I remember right, I woke up to a yummy dinner made by my lovely husband. I love waking up to the smell of his cooking.
I've gotten into the habit of getting up on Saturday's and going out to the Farmers Market. This time along with some fresh produce, I also got a daylily that is supposed to have phenomenal blossoms. It was not blooming so time with tell on that. Also, if I remember right, a dahlia. It was blooming but that blossom has shrank. It has two buds so once it blooms I will take a picture and ask my flower friend, Amy, what it is.
The next week was just work and play, more work than play as I had a 40 hour work week.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Fair Queen Pageant
On Monday night, July 8th, Hallie and I attended our 2nd annual fair queen pageant together. While this was just our second visit, the pageant has been going on for quite a number of years. I'm hoping that this becomes a tradition with the two of us and lasts as long as it can. Last year we went with an old friend from high school that lives here in town. This year we went with a friend of mine and her cousin. It's pretty cool that the girls who are competing are girls James' age and he has known forever. In fact, the girl who won the title, I knew her mom before she was born. Her mom and dad and Anthony and I were in the same childbirth class together way back in 1995. It's really neat to see these girls all dressed up and vying on stage for the title of Miss Richland County. I can tell that a lot of work goes into the preparation for competition. They all end up on stage and you can just tell how much confidence they have gained with the many hours of practice they have put in. It's been a lot of fun watching these girls the past two years.
Graduation Party!
We celebrated James' high school graduation on Sunday July 7th. We had way too much food but had a great time and lots of laughs. Anthony's mom, my mom, brother, sister, brother in law, two nephews, two of James' friends and a girlfriend to one of the boys came over. We had grilled chicken, pork burgers, hot dogs, Italian pasta salad, cucumber/onion/tomato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, chips, striped delight, cherry delight and chocolate chip dip along with a variety of sodas. Between myself and the 3 kids, we cooked/prepared a good portion of the day on Saturday. However, our work was not in vain, we thoroughly enjoyed the company and the food was amazing if I do say so myself. I did receive several compliments so I do think it was good. James was given the option of a graduation cake or desserts and he picked desserts. He is just not that into cake. I love how all the cousins get along. Nathaniel and Coleton who are 15 months apart in ages get along great. Coleton is the tall one, even taller than his mom. He and Nathaniel got to ride bikes and go to the elementary school for a bit to shoot some basketball. Hallie and Tobias get along just as well. Tobias is 3 1/2 years younger than Hallie. They played very well together and Tobias loved playing with Charley. Charley is a pug/terrier mix, completely opposite of his dog, Dega, which is Great Dane. Even James and Tobias got along well with James holding Tobias and turning him upside down. We missed our niece, Dakota. Dakota is now working as a hostess in Marion and she had to work Sunday evening. I knew the time would come when my kids/niece/nephew would have jobs and would miss family gatherings. I'm still not ready for it though. All too soon the party ended and it was time for everyone to go home. We totally enjoyed the day and hope that our guests did too.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Thursday July 4th
This morning I got up and left the house before the kids were up. Well, not exactly... Hallie caught me as I was just about to walk out the door. I had my bag and keys in hand, I was thatclose. I ended up leaving her home with her sleeping brothers. I then went solo to McDonalds for a sweet tea and hash brown, Wal Mart, Moto Mart and IGA. Nine times out of ten, I usually wake up at least one of the kids and take them with me. Well, that is Saturday mornings. Today has felt like a Saturday all day with me being off work and Anthony working. I will be really confused come Saturday.
Nathaniel and I went for his driving lesson today. No details, but let it suffice to say that "brakes" and "give it some gas" are big into my vocabulary. I know that one of these days I will look back and laugh at all of this. He needs to be confident, yet not too confident. That will come with more experience.
James grilled porkloin and potatoes today for tonight's dinner. That boy can grill! We had a yummy dinner and then went to the park for the fireworks. They always have a wonderful display. I'm thankful that with all rain, we didn't have to worry much about fire danger like we did last year. Today turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. I'm not sure of the temps but they couldn't have been too hot.
Tonight I downloaded Picasa 3. It appears to be a really cool program. I can't wait to try some test shots and try it out. Be warned, you might end up with photo overload again. :)
Lee Greenwood: God Bless The USA Music Video
It's not the 4th of July without Lee Greenwood! I can't listen to this song without tearing up. I do love this land and all the blessings that come with living in the land of the free. May God bless our nation!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Drivers Ed Troester Style
Nathaniel turned 15 way back on March 22nd. He took Drivers Ed in June and got his Learners Permit on June 18th. We've been dragging our feet in getting him behind the wheel. The biggest reason is he just hasn't reached his growth spurt. That means he can't see to drive very well. The first time he drove was the other night. We took our 1993 Ford Mustang to the Elementary School parking lot. It was evening and dark, he couldn't see where he was going. However, that is where James began driving so we went to the same spot, same car. That didn't last long. So earlier this week, lesson number two took place. Another short stint behind the wheel. This time Anthony had him drive our 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. Nathaniel is apparently not one to press the gas peddle. Tonight I picked Nathaniel and Hallie up from Bible Study. I surprised him by putting him behind the wheel. This time we were in our 2010 Ford Fusion. What kid can say they have driven 3 times and in 3 different cars? Anyway, he drove fairly well. Lots of stuff to work on, but I didn't even come a smidgeon close to losing my patience. I call that a success!! He only got to drive home as I had lasagna in the oven baking for dinner. So that was .25 hours leaving a minimum of 49.75 hours before he can legally get his license when he turns 16 next year. I'm sure there will be lots more adventures to come. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Ponderings, July 2nd
Rain has definitely been the biggest thing the past few days. It's been way too many days since seeing the sun shine. I do think it is to dry up and we will have a pleasant 4th of July.
One of the biggest things I am thinking on (definitely not dwelling though) right now is making sure we keep to our bill payoff schedule. Sunday before last, our preacher spoke on money. He used a term I keep running through my head, "Stuffitis". Sure, I want a lot of things including upgrading our camera. However, for now I'm thinking of the overall big picture: working on making our house live able in our old age. Granted, we are only, and I use that word lightly, in our 40s. However, I also know that we will only blink twice and all our kids will be gone. While this house is plenty big enough now, I want our kids to be able to bring their spouses and then my grand kids to "Grandma Troester's" house, Grandpa Troester too. ;). Lofty dreams have I! ;)
Monday, July 1, 2013
June 2013 - Reviewed
June started off with a full week of Vacation Bible School. I handle the registration/attendance position along with a very helpful assistant. Hallie enjoyed spending time in the nursery with the little ones. Anthony was off Monday and Tuesday and got to be there to help out also.
The second week of June found the boys at the annual Christ in Youth conference in Anderson IN. Christ in Youth is a week-long conference designed to take the kids into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. There is a lot of fun and games and a lot of intense worship. They left at 5:30 am on Monday and returned just before noon on Saturday. They had a lot of stories to tell once they returned.
We celebrated Father's Day by attending worship services as we do almost every Sunday. Then we went to Vincennes to Applebee's. James treated us to lunch since he had a gift card that he had not used and had no plans of using. Such a great kid! I am not sure what else we did for Father's Day. I know it included a quick trip to Hibbett Sports and Wal Mart.
I got a new bicycle on the 18th. It is a single speed, coaster brakes bike... just perfect for me. If it would stop raining, I would have more ride time in. I've walked quite a few days during June so I don't really want to do all biking but I need to establish a schedule so I can get both forms of exercise in. I'm not really dieting but I am working on watching what I eat. I've been trying to include more vegetables and fruits into my diet. I've discovered that I really like yogurt/milk/banana smoothies but am sort of burned out on them. I need to try other fruits to start my morning out.
Bright and early on Saturday morning the 22nd, we headed out to Evansville to the 4-H Center so that Anthony and James could participate in the most colorful run of their lives. It was a warm day (2nd day of summer and summer came in like a lion) but they got to get their color on. It is a 5K run where they spray colored corn starch at you and you are given a baggy of color to throw also. They also had liquified color they were spraying on people before the run started. Although hot, it was a good time. Then we had lunch at Bob Evans. We were served by what has to be the best server ever. She was so friendly to us and most definitely earned her tip. She treated us like family! After a trip to Best Buy and a couple of other stops we headed for home. I had received alerts on my iPhone that Richland County was receiving a large amount of rain. Well, as we were passing the Parkersburg curves, water was starting to go over the road at one of the curves. We continued north and passed through some more completely flooded over the road areas. Just north of Calhoun, we came to a stop and cars were turning around. We traveled some more roads and each time came to the point of having to turn around. Shortly thereafter, we discovered through Facebook that Route 130 was back open. We finally arrived home about 13 hours after our day started.
Anthony and I celebrated our 21st Engagement Anniversary on the 26th. We went out to Monical's where we each had an Italian Beef sandwich. We had a Buy One Get One Free email from their "dipping club" so it was one of the cheapest dates that we have had. We have had many dates in the almost 22 years that we have been a couple.
I've also started taking more pictures with my camera. I've experimented quite a bit with the different settings and have gotten pretty good at it. I will be sharing some of those pictures or they can also be seen in my Facebook albums.
Nathaniel completed his Drivers Ed classes this month. He was at CIY when the other kids got their learners permits so Anthony and I took him on the 18th. He still needs to drive with the instructors and will need at least 50 hours driving with a parent so Anthony and I have our work cut out.
June went by extremely fast also! I can't believe that this year is half over! Hopefully I will get into the habit of blogging more often. I really enjoy it but just don't take the time to "put fingers to keyboard" said instead of "pen to paper". :)
The second week of June found the boys at the annual Christ in Youth conference in Anderson IN. Christ in Youth is a week-long conference designed to take the kids into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. There is a lot of fun and games and a lot of intense worship. They left at 5:30 am on Monday and returned just before noon on Saturday. They had a lot of stories to tell once they returned.
We celebrated Father's Day by attending worship services as we do almost every Sunday. Then we went to Vincennes to Applebee's. James treated us to lunch since he had a gift card that he had not used and had no plans of using. Such a great kid! I am not sure what else we did for Father's Day. I know it included a quick trip to Hibbett Sports and Wal Mart.
I got a new bicycle on the 18th. It is a single speed, coaster brakes bike... just perfect for me. If it would stop raining, I would have more ride time in. I've walked quite a few days during June so I don't really want to do all biking but I need to establish a schedule so I can get both forms of exercise in. I'm not really dieting but I am working on watching what I eat. I've been trying to include more vegetables and fruits into my diet. I've discovered that I really like yogurt/milk/banana smoothies but am sort of burned out on them. I need to try other fruits to start my morning out.
Bright and early on Saturday morning the 22nd, we headed out to Evansville to the 4-H Center so that Anthony and James could participate in the most colorful run of their lives. It was a warm day (2nd day of summer and summer came in like a lion) but they got to get their color on. It is a 5K run where they spray colored corn starch at you and you are given a baggy of color to throw also. They also had liquified color they were spraying on people before the run started. Although hot, it was a good time. Then we had lunch at Bob Evans. We were served by what has to be the best server ever. She was so friendly to us and most definitely earned her tip. She treated us like family! After a trip to Best Buy and a couple of other stops we headed for home. I had received alerts on my iPhone that Richland County was receiving a large amount of rain. Well, as we were passing the Parkersburg curves, water was starting to go over the road at one of the curves. We continued north and passed through some more completely flooded over the road areas. Just north of Calhoun, we came to a stop and cars were turning around. We traveled some more roads and each time came to the point of having to turn around. Shortly thereafter, we discovered through Facebook that Route 130 was back open. We finally arrived home about 13 hours after our day started.
Anthony and I celebrated our 21st Engagement Anniversary on the 26th. We went out to Monical's where we each had an Italian Beef sandwich. We had a Buy One Get One Free email from their "dipping club" so it was one of the cheapest dates that we have had. We have had many dates in the almost 22 years that we have been a couple.
I've also started taking more pictures with my camera. I've experimented quite a bit with the different settings and have gotten pretty good at it. I will be sharing some of those pictures or they can also be seen in my Facebook albums.
Nathaniel completed his Drivers Ed classes this month. He was at CIY when the other kids got their learners permits so Anthony and I took him on the 18th. He still needs to drive with the instructors and will need at least 50 hours driving with a parent so Anthony and I have our work cut out.
June went by extremely fast also! I can't believe that this year is half over! Hopefully I will get into the habit of blogging more often. I really enjoy it but just don't take the time to "put fingers to keyboard" said instead of "pen to paper". :)
May Recap
Wow, time sure has a way of getting past me. May and June 2013 were jam packed with stuff going on.
James went to his prom on Friday the 3rd and then he went to Mount Carmel's prom on Saturday the 4th. He looked more than handsome in his tux. We used one of the pictures I had taken for his graduation announcements.
May meant several award ceremonies for the kids. Hallie had athletic awards which she received a letter in cross country which she had participated in the fall and then she received an O for her track participation. Both boys received academic achievements awards from ERFAE for being on High Honors all 3 of the first semesters. This marked James' 7th year receiving the award and Nathaniel has achieved the same goal each of his first 4 years that he was up for the award. Hallie had too many B's to receive an academic award but hopefully that will change with the 2013-2014 school year. Another awards night was the annual music awards. James and Nathaniel both received pins for their participation in marching band. We also had James' senior awards night. As this was our first experience with a senior, we didn't know what to expect. We started off with dinner and James and his fellow honors seniors receiving a medal and honor cords to be worn during graduation. Then we went to the high school auditorium for the rest of the awards night (not all students receiving awards received honor cords and medals so it was separated). James received a certificate for his first year tuition waiver through Olney Central College. All students in the upper 30% of their class received this waiver, very generous! He also received cash awards from the Olney Chamber of Commerce and Petroleum Club. We are very grateful for these awards.
We had a wonderful day celebrating Mother's Day. We went to church services and then to Effingham Cracker Barrel. It was a beautiful Spring day and God blessed us with just the right amount of cotton-ball clouds in a bright blue sky.
May ended track season. James ran his final high school race by competing in a 2 day sectional event. The meet was postponed after a few events so they had to go back the following Monday to complete the event. Olney did very well this track season and both boys were proud to be on the team. Nathaniel suffered from sore feet at the beginning of his season so he didn't get to participate in as many meets as we would have liked. Hallie also ran track this season and I think she will be a great runner if she chooses to keep it up.
On May 15th we attended Baccalaureate services. They were very motivational and James' friend, Seth, gave a wonderful speech/sermon warning his fellow graduates not to fall into the ways of the world but instead to stay on the right path and to stay away from alcohol/drugs as they enter the world on their own.
The kids and I went to Marion on Saturday the 19th to visit with family. Dakota, our niece, had graduated high school on Thursday night and Coleton, her brother and our nephew, was to graduate 8th grade on the 21st. Our brother in law's sister and her fiance, along with his father and step-mom, were in town to visit and to attend Dakota's graduation. It was the first time I had saw Kristina and Weldon since May 2004 when Carolyn and Ray got married. It was wonderful to see them and for the 6 kids to get together and spend time together. That does not happen often enough.
High School Graduation was held on Sunday May 19th. Generally it is held the week before on Mother's Day but they had used too many snow days and had to wait a week to graduate. I was fine with that as it was a highly emotional day for me, not sure how I would have done with it being on Mother's Day.
Monday May 20th marked the last day of Hallie's 6th grade year and Nathaniel's freshman year. Again, how does it happen that I now have a high school graduate (college freshman!), a high school sophomore and a 7th grader?
James went to his prom on Friday the 3rd and then he went to Mount Carmel's prom on Saturday the 4th. He looked more than handsome in his tux. We used one of the pictures I had taken for his graduation announcements.
May meant several award ceremonies for the kids. Hallie had athletic awards which she received a letter in cross country which she had participated in the fall and then she received an O for her track participation. Both boys received academic achievements awards from ERFAE for being on High Honors all 3 of the first semesters. This marked James' 7th year receiving the award and Nathaniel has achieved the same goal each of his first 4 years that he was up for the award. Hallie had too many B's to receive an academic award but hopefully that will change with the 2013-2014 school year. Another awards night was the annual music awards. James and Nathaniel both received pins for their participation in marching band. We also had James' senior awards night. As this was our first experience with a senior, we didn't know what to expect. We started off with dinner and James and his fellow honors seniors receiving a medal and honor cords to be worn during graduation. Then we went to the high school auditorium for the rest of the awards night (not all students receiving awards received honor cords and medals so it was separated). James received a certificate for his first year tuition waiver through Olney Central College. All students in the upper 30% of their class received this waiver, very generous! He also received cash awards from the Olney Chamber of Commerce and Petroleum Club. We are very grateful for these awards.
We had a wonderful day celebrating Mother's Day. We went to church services and then to Effingham Cracker Barrel. It was a beautiful Spring day and God blessed us with just the right amount of cotton-ball clouds in a bright blue sky.
May ended track season. James ran his final high school race by competing in a 2 day sectional event. The meet was postponed after a few events so they had to go back the following Monday to complete the event. Olney did very well this track season and both boys were proud to be on the team. Nathaniel suffered from sore feet at the beginning of his season so he didn't get to participate in as many meets as we would have liked. Hallie also ran track this season and I think she will be a great runner if she chooses to keep it up.
On May 15th we attended Baccalaureate services. They were very motivational and James' friend, Seth, gave a wonderful speech/sermon warning his fellow graduates not to fall into the ways of the world but instead to stay on the right path and to stay away from alcohol/drugs as they enter the world on their own.
The kids and I went to Marion on Saturday the 19th to visit with family. Dakota, our niece, had graduated high school on Thursday night and Coleton, her brother and our nephew, was to graduate 8th grade on the 21st. Our brother in law's sister and her fiance, along with his father and step-mom, were in town to visit and to attend Dakota's graduation. It was the first time I had saw Kristina and Weldon since May 2004 when Carolyn and Ray got married. It was wonderful to see them and for the 6 kids to get together and spend time together. That does not happen often enough.
High School Graduation was held on Sunday May 19th. Generally it is held the week before on Mother's Day but they had used too many snow days and had to wait a week to graduate. I was fine with that as it was a highly emotional day for me, not sure how I would have done with it being on Mother's Day.
Monday May 20th marked the last day of Hallie's 6th grade year and Nathaniel's freshman year. Again, how does it happen that I now have a high school graduate (college freshman!), a high school sophomore and a 7th grader?
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