The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

The turkey shot out of the oven, and rocketed into the air
It knocked every plate off the table, and partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner and burst with deafening boom,
Then splattered all over the kitchen completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows. It totally coated the floor.
There was turkey attached to the ceiling, where there'd never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance. It smeared every saucer and bowl.
There wasn't a way i could stop it. That turkey was out of control.

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure, and thought with chagrin as i mopped,
That i'd never again stuff a turkey with popcorn that hadn't been popped.

(By Jack Prelutsky)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

35 years

I am married to a man who doesn't like me to post anything about him. He's a private kind-of guy. So i won't mention his name, but those of you who know me know who i'm talking about.

We are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary this year. Hard to believe we are old enough to be married that long but considering we got married when we were 5, the numbers work out. :~)

I could go into a whole long dialogue about our marriage, the ups and downs, the work, the fun, the details, all the moves from location to location for school, etc. But i think i won't. Let me just say this: i married a young man who was motivated to get his education and to be successful. Not successful in a worldly way, but successful in life. He has been so patient with me and my faults and short-comings over the years. He has tried to be a good father, and a good grandfather. He has tried to be a good son also. I believe he has been extremely successful in these goals.

We have been richly blessed. But mostly, I HAVE BEEN RICHLY BLESSED to be married to this man for time and all eternity. So dear, if you read this, just know that i love you, i am proud of you, you are my best friend, you are my everything. Happy#35 and here's to many more!

My Best Birthday Gift Ever!

If you are a serious follower of my blog you might enjoy this story!

Today is my birthday. My kids invited us over for Sunday dinner...they all got together and planned it, did all the cooking, cleanup, etc. Believe me, that was a wonderful treat all by itself.
(By the way, when i say kids, i include my niece Kari in the group.)

They seemed especially eager for me to open my presents. I reminded the grandkids that the usual sequence is: dinner, then cake/ice cream, then presents. However, the adult kids said no, that we were going to do things differently this time. I was to open the presents first. I could tell my kids and grandkids were very excited about whatever it was that they had gotten me.

I got a wonderful, cuddly new bathrobe, a beautiful grandmother necklace with all the grandkids' names on it custom made from The Vintage Pearl, a box of chocolates, and a Willow Tree statue of an angel holding a kitten. That was tender for me, after having just given Myron's kittens away about 10 days ago.

I thought the presents were over, when in came a large black plastic tote. "OPEN IT, OPEN IT!!" everyone was saying. I am one who likes to take my time shaking, guessing, etc., but they insisted that i just hurry up and open it. In fact when i acted like i was going to shake it, they all about had a fit. So, i opened it.

What was inside, but one of Myron's kittens, the black striped one that i was so fond of and had been missing so badly. In fact, i had just told my mother this morning that i was going to call the vet tomorrow and see if they had found him a home because i really missed that one. It turns out that my kids knew that i was missing that one and they called the vet and found out that the vet's family had taken it home. The vet's wife, Sandy Francis, when she found out who wanted it and that it would be a surprise for me for my birthday, said we could have it back. What a huge surprise! I admit, it made me cry to see that little face again and know that this time i can really keep him. I had tried so hard not to get attached, before. Now i can and i am!!! The kids video taped it, i guess, and are thinking of putting it on youtube. If they do, i will post a link.

The kids didn't ask Scott, but he is secretly pleased to have him back as well. Sandy said the only condition is that we keep his new name as a middle name. So Rascal Reese as a new, permanent member of the family.

By the way, Myron was so excited...they had not forgotten each other in 10 days time. She has licked and licked and licked him. How sweet!

Thanks, kids. You did it right!!!! I love you all so much!!!!

TEAM KALE

On Saturday, most of the family put on our "TEAM KALE" jerseys and headed to St. Joe for the 2nd annual Austism Awareness Walk. There were snowflakes in the air, and we nearly froze, but we were able to raise and donate several hundred dollars to help with autism awareness.

Kale, the man of the day, had fun jumping in the inflatable jumping cage, throwing bean bags at the targets, and just running around.

We love you Kale, and we pray every day that you will be able to learn and develop and someday be able to talk.

Front: Kaden, Kale, Brylie Back: Kelli, Trey, Taylor, Jake, Nicole, Heather, Kari (Curtis was out of town and Scott was on call and not able to leave Maryville)

Huge thanks to the Bates Family, Patty, and Jenny, for also braving the cold and walking with us. We appreciate it more than you know.

Goodbye Kittens...

After much deliberation and pondering, we decided to give the kittens to the vet, who will find new homes for them. We will miss the entertainment of watching them roll around on the floor, running and jumping all over the place, and mostly seeing them grow and learn.

This decision has not set well with the younger female family members who think we are so mean for not keeping them. However, kittens like to shred draperies, leather furniture, shoes, stratch my bare skin, and we still feel like 2 cats at the house is more than enough.

I cried after i dropped them off at the vet's. It was hard to let them go. Myron has been looking for them ever since. I'm glad she can't talk, or she would be yelling at me too.

The Importance of Walking

Walking can add minutes to your life.
This enables you at 85 years old
to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing
home at $7000 per month.

My grandpa started walking
five miles a day when he was 60..
Now he's 97 years old
and we don't know where he is..

I like long walks,
especially when they are taken
by people who annoy me.

I have to walk early in the morning,
before my brain figures out what I'm doing..

I joined a health club last year,
spent about 400 bucks.
Haven't lost a pound.
Apparently you have to go there.

Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise',
I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

I do have flabby thighs,
but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day
is so when you die, they'll say,
'Well, she looks good doesn't she.'

I know I got a lot of exercise
the last few years,......
just getting over the hill.

We all get heavier as we get older,
because there's a lot more information in our heads.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

(thanks to my friend Tammy Ras for this one!)

Hooray Freshman Spoofhounds!

This is a true story and i couldn't be prouder of our freshman football team.

The Maryville Spoofhounds (our team) are in green. Watch the video and then read the newspaper story, and you'll see why our town is SO PROUD!

You'll have to copy and paste these into your browser....sorry. But it's worth it! You might even get tears in your eyes. I did!

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ylwXOxKb7I
KC Star newspaper story: http://www.kansascity.com/703/story/1452971-p1.html