Praising God

Trent & I were luck enough to attend 

The Rock & Worship Roadshow on Friday night Nov 4th at the VanAndel.  

This was the first concert Trent has ever been to!

This was a pay-at-the-door kind of concert..so we didn't have to pre-buy any tickets.  

I was pretty sure I could drive to the Arena with out the GPS..so we took off Southward.  Well, if you know anything about how directionally challenged I am, you will  understand the above statement!!! As soon as I got off 131 on Pearl, I knew I had gotten off too soon..so I took the next right..and Trent's eagle eyes spotted the Arena, we went around the block, parked for $8...just like we knew what we were doing!!!  The line wrapped almost all the way around the block..so we quickly made friends with the people in front of us while we waited..so not like me!!!!  We soon found out she was a nurse and he was a pastor in Petoskey..they were down visiting their kids for the day.  He actually is from a sister church in Traverse City, New Hope Community were the Isenharts go..small world!!!  And to make things even funnier..when their kids joined them in line...they were taking pictures together..and they were trying to get everyone in..I said I would take the picture for them...the guy behind, thinking we were all together, piped in and said "hey I'll take the picture of all of you!"  Hahahaha  A family picture of them, with me tucked in the middle!!

So, after a long wait, in pretty decent weather for the first of November we got in.  It was not very hard to find two seats together..so we had pretty awesome seats...well, if you consider sitting under 14 speakers awesome..than this was your seat!!!

Waiting for the show to start...

more waiting

the 14 speakers over our head

Trent with a shot of the crowd!

Hawk Nelson

Matt Maher ( my personal favorite)

Matt Maher & his band

Trent and his glow cross

MercyMe...they were excellent too!!! 

Trent was getting a little tired of it around 11pm ..so we were thinking of leaving...just then MercyMe started playing....I can only Imagine!!  Ummm...sorry Trent, we have to stay for this one!!!!!  Most Excellent!

Other groups were Jars of Clay, Tripp Lee (some rapper dude) & Group One Crew.

Some of the things I noticed.....

*There were a lot of teens there..PTL!! Sometimes in this world, the news gets me down and I feel like the world is going to Hell in a hand basket.  Sometimes I get thinking that the kids these days are horrible..and that there is no one good left.  I start thinking this generation is all about themselves and God is nowhere to be found!  Well it did my heart good to see so many kids attending and genuinely praising God!  GOD IS STILL ALIVE!!!!!

* I can not text fast....Steve texted me around 9 to asked if we were still there..I was trying to reply...do you even know how many times I had to backspace to correct my spelling!  Talk about embarrassing, I was trying to cover up what I was doing so the others around me couldn't see ..I didn't want to be the butt of their jokes!!!)

* I brought my camera--I might as well brought a 8 track player!!!  I felt like the kids around me were whispering....what is that?  does it take pictures? Nobody carries a camera (at least kids under 25)..they all use there phones to take pictures.

* The music was really loud-it took me two days to get my hearing back.. maybe that had something to do with our seat selection???  maybe I'm getting old???

* It was so good to hear people praising God!  I am not a singer in any way, shape or form...I couldn't carry a tune if it had a handle..but when the music is that loud..you can sing at the top of your terrible voice and no body knows how bad you really sound!

*Trent still loves to go places with his mom (well..if there is fun & food)

We had a great time together and even enjoyed a McFlurry on the way home! 

Ahhh to be 3 again...

Happy 3rd Birthday to our little Jaxi!

Here she is 3 years ago as a puppy.

Awww...isn't she cute!

Here she is now...all grown up!

Ears down 

side ways eyes 

serious look! 

a Boy and his dog! 

Jaxi is loved by all but I have to admit, she loves me the most..only because I feed her the most.  She likes Troy the least..only because he shot a Nerf bullet at her and she obviously has a good memory!  

We love our Jaxi..Happy Birthday little Miss!

What's for Dinner??...

That's the question I often hear at the Buckner Homestead!

I thought I would post this recipe that's easy & well liked by everyone...which is always a plus!!!!

~Easy Meatballs~

2lbs ground beef

chopped onion (I usually use dried onion..'cause I'm kind of lazy!)

salt/pepper

1c oatmeal (I used GF bread crumbs, I think you could use crushed crackers too) 

1/2 c milk

2 eggs-beaten

mix above together (I usually mix this together with my hands...quicker that way!)

and form into larger than golf ball size balls..put in 9x13. 

They should look like this:

the sauce:

1c tomato sauce (small 8oz can)

1 c ketchup (or you can use 2c ketchup if you don't have tomato sauce on hand)

3/4 c brown sugar

3T mustard

2T Worcestershire sauce

salt /pepper

mix together and pour over uncooked meatballs.

Bake in a 350 oven about 1 hour (depending the size of the meatballs)

This should be what the final product looks like:

 Oooo...I want to have some of these for dinner!!!

TOO FUNNY!!!!

****** 22 ADULT TRUTHS ******

1 Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind-of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay. .

17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

21. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

22. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

A Dream...

A small dream has died. 

A dream of restoring a 1962 Ford Falcon.

A couple years back Steve and the boys had a dream of restoring this old relic.

 The dream wasn't a huge disappointment.  We had a few difficulties along the way getting the body work done...so that was a frustration.  A year ago we brought the car home unfinished and stored it in our garage. Not really having a place to finish it & the boys loosing interest...we covered it with a tarp.  We were getting a little tired of working around it and winter was coming (the real reason!!!) so we decided to part with it.  We can't feel to bad about it..the boys learned a lot about cars, engines, body work and most of all, they spent time together....priceless!!!

Well, after many attempts to sell it on CL we finally nabbed a buyer.

Let me just say he was the most unlikely buyer I could imagine.  I would imagine a 66 year old retired guy that owned one of theses babies in their teen years.  He is.... less than 30 year old, married with 2+ kids and is an attorney!!  Go figure!!!

Anyway ...he came up with the cash!  He came Saturday with a car trailer and took that baby home.  He left the engine with us till Thanksgiving week-end as he ran out of room on the trailer.

I swept out the garage and Steve proudly pulled the Lincoln in that spot!!

October

I know I know where have my posts been....

in my mind!

This going to be a summery of October since the month has passed us by...

to start out we had Our Annual Family Fall Party at the Ponderosa.

Here are  kids giving me there back sides...every time a walk anywhere's near them with a camera, they run like mice!!!!

the basement 

around the fire 

hayride 

Steve & Joanne

The guys 

Uncle Jim, Cousin Jim, Steve & Daren 

_______________________________________________

Steve bought a new-to-us vehicle and we had to do more repairs than we had intended.  Some he could do and some he couldn't do.

One Saturday, Steve and Troy spent about 5 hours under the front axle replacing something that makes it go voom! Here they are sharing a father-son moment...priceless.

I'm sooo grateful for a husband that has a working knowledge of just about everything...and he has done a good job teaching our boys about repairs and ownership. 

______________________________________________________

Next was pumpkin carving time....

I carved one for my neighbor man Bob 

Trent carved his all by himself...he wasn't too happy with his first attempt..so he ended up with a three faced pumpkin 

and then we had a school party...

Here is Trent as a Red Wings Hockey Player 

____________________________________________

Troy attends KCTC in Grand Rapids.  He is enrolled in the IT program.  They had an open house so parents could come see what their kids are up to.  He is showing us the computer he works on.  His friend Tyler (which attends also!) is to the right of Troy.  These boys get up every school day around 5:15 to ride the bus down to KCTC.  So proud of them! 

Well that about shapes up October for us.  Soon coming...a concert and a dream...check back!