Blessings!......

As I was thinking of a post for the Thanksgiving Holiday.....I first asked Steve, a much better writer than I, to compose a post?!?!!? He said "let me think about it..No"...he didn't have time.

So as I thought about Thanksgiving and what it means to me...this hymn kept playing through in my head. I have not sung this in church in many many years...so I don't know where it came from...but here it is.......

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
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We are no doubt, a very blessed nation. I know we are told these days that we are all going to die and lose our jobs and eat dirt and have to ride bikes to work..... I do know that I personally am very blessed, I might not have what the world calls 'wealth'. I have better....

I have a Saviour, a wonderful husband (that loves me a lot) & 3 healthy boys (that love me most of the time..especially when I make them food). I have a wonderful family, a great extended family and an amazing church family. I have never gone to bed hungry, I have a never gone anywhere unclothed, I have never been homeless and I have never walked to Meijers.

That's a lot to be thankful for!! We are not the provider of all this...it's God...he has provided for us all along the way. Let's try it today.....Counting your blessings........naming them one by one.........

Wishing on the Wishbone....

I made a turkey last Monday and saved the wishbone. After it dried for a couple days, I let the kids "wish" on it.




As you can see, Troy got the 'wish'. (He's the lucky one in our family!) Trent was disappointed that he didn't get the bigger piece, so he promptly called G-ma to see if she would save the wishbone for him out of her turkey! She agreed.......

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The Thanksgiving ritual of two children making a wish while holding opposite sides of a V-shaped turkey bone and breaking the bone apart may be rooted in ancient history.

The wish of the child getting "the lucky break" (resulting in that child holding the longer piece of bone) is predicted to come true. The loser - who gets "a bad break" - suffers the disappointment of a shattered wish.

At Peace!....

G-ma B, as we fondly called her, passed away yesterday. She was 97 years old....what a strong bloodline!

We were just up to see her on Saturday. She seemed pretty good...her mind has always been good! Her legs just didn't work that well, so she was pretty much bed ridden. She didn't appreciate having laid in bed for the last 3 years....she seemed to tell me when I would see her.

She was a avid gardener and bird watcher....she had a REAL green thumb! I swear she could grow a whole geranium off a little clipping! I could kill a whole plant in less time than it took her to grow new one. Although she was known for speaking her mind, she always had an open door policy! We were always welcome at G-ma B's! The guys use to hang out there after hunting, before Neil & Bonnie built their home up there. She always was eager to hear the deer stories!

She was a hard worker too! She helped build an addition on their farm house and probably did her share of canning and farming. She raised 4 kids, with Steve's dad being #3. Yesterday would have been Lawrence and Wava's 80th Wedding Anniversary! That just seems unbelievable...80 years!! WOW! Lawrence passed away in 1986, after a short battle with lung cancer. I never had the opportunity to meet G-pa B.....but I have told Steve...I know he would have loved me..Ü..!!!

Another chapter in the Buckner history books. I never knew for sure if G-ma had excepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I can only hope that at some point she came to know Him. I do know that someday, we will stand before the Lord and have to give an account for our lives & what we believed in. It will be too late on that day to believe in Him! Good deeds and kind heartedness will not get you into Heaven. Only those that believe on Him with be saved. We don't know when that day will come..could be tomorrow..could be next year...could be in 5o years! Being a good gardener, good dad, good mom, a shopper, good employee, are all good things to be but only knowing Jesus will be good enough! If you have never considered your relationship with Jesus...don't wait!

You Have Got to be Kidding Me!

This was an actual listing on Craigslist. I cracked up when I came upon it and had to post it! I think my sister Julie made some of these same items!

I didn't think anyone did Macrame anymore...I guess I was wrong! I just hope none of my readers posted this on CL...they might not think it's so funny!


I guess Craigslist does have it ALL!!!! Too funny!
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Macrame Hangers
Reply to: mailto:sale-926240113@craigslist.org?subject=Macrame%20Hangers [?]Date: 2008-11-19, 7:48PM EST

"The Driftwood Owl" - Macrame Wall Hanger Four-ply natural jute cord with a driftwood perch. Completed length: 24-30 ". $27.95

"The Sunshine Surprise" Macrame Plant Hanger Plant Hanger Six mm orange braided nylon cord with wooden beads. Finished length: 52 inches. $20.95

Field Trippin #2!.....

I had the privilege of going on a 1st. grade field trip this week. We visited....you guessed it, the zoo...John Ball Zoo! When Trent first told me about the zoo trip...I thought he was mistaken! Don't you go to the zoo in the spring? Well I guess NO! We actually had a pretty decent day! We did have to bundle up a bit...but not too bad!

My favorite is the Spider Monkeys. They were so comical. They were jumping all over and putting on a real show for the kids!

The other animals were all very active..as you can see they were up close and personal with us! One other year, we went to the zoo when it was fairly cool and we noticed they animals were much more active. When we go in the summer, it always seems as though the animals are hiding, trying to stay cool. Seems as though I'm saying...."see the lions ear up there by the rock" or "watch and you might get a glimpse of the bear behind the tree"...I think the kids must wonder if this is really a zoo???

We had a personal guide..Barb....you can see her in the red coat. Trent is to right of her....we only had 5 kids in out group & 3 adults!! Here is a picture of the Snow Leopard (he has a very bushy tail!) & the Tiger.

BTW...JB Zoo is redoing the monkey island....it will be open for the '09 season!

On a strange note.....If you have ever been to John Ball Zoo you will find a bronze statue out front of John Ball. I don't know when the zoo opened but my dad has a picture of himself with his class visiting by the statue!

Cards & Hunting.....

We had a lot of action this week-end.....so I'm combining posts to 'catch-up'! Saturday, was of course a Michigan Holiday.....opening day of Deer Hunting....rifle that is!!

So the girls had a card stamping class! We had sooooo much fun and got 10 cards made AND had a 'chick' lunch.

Maybe you will see one of these cards in a mailbox near you????

THEN there was hunting! Troy had his new gun so he was pretty excited to hit a deer blind! (as in, sit in one, not shoot at one!) Here he is loading his gun...I was doing a lot of ducking!! He sat by himself a couple of times...AND THEN.....here's where I know you are all gonna things we all drank toooo much....we let him & Madison go out together..WHAT??..CRAZY!!....I KNOW....What were we thinking??? A 13 yr old, 12 yr. old & a gun!!! I think about it and it still frightens me!

There they go!......

They did come back.....with all parts still attached! So all is okay! They did get to see a 4 point but Troy didn't get a shot at it. Wouldn't that be a story if he had!

FYI.....Tyler went on a youth retreat, so he didn't go hunting. Steve didn't get one yet either...maybe next week-end????

A Night of Fun......

Friday night we attended a cooking show staring.....Deanna House of House Specalties.

That's Deanna on the left, then Kristi's mom Janice Freeland, then my sister-in-law Kristi, me, niece Madison, then another sister-in-law Carrie and mother-in-law Bonnie.

We had a wonderful time out together...just the ladies! It was fun to hang out togther....we don't get to do it much as we are all spread out.

And for Deanna....what can I say?!?!! She is very entertaining! We had alot of laughs together! She was a former Home Ec. teacher turned cooking show teacher. It's very hard to describe her......lets just say, if you get a chance to see her...GO!!