~~GRANDMA~~

Jason and Raquel came over on Christmas Eve. Jason and Derrick were going to camp out in our woods with there sleeping bags and no tents. They were also going to cook themselves some steak over the fire.

Well before they went out to do that Jason gave me & his dad a Christmas card. We had to open it at the same time. If one got it open before the other we could not take the card out until the other one got it open. Of course Derrick has to take out his knife and open his envelope (which makes me get mine open first because I just stick my finger in and rip it open).
So, we finally get to pull the cards out and Derrick is reading his. It is a Grandpa Christmas card. Derrick asked if it was a budget card and they were trying to save money. Finally I asked if they were trying to tell us something. YES, we are going to be Grandparents!!!!!!!!
Jason's mom and I got to talk Christmas morning and we are going to shop together for our Grandchild, etc. we were pretty excited!
Derrick and Jason did stay out in the woods all night. The three of us girls (Raquel, DeAnna & I) stayed in the warm house. We felt that was the smarter of the two choices but, the guys thought the opposite.

Jowers Christmas Party 2007

Saturday the 22nd we had a Christmas party for "The Jowers". We always have our Christmas party the Saturday before Christmas. Last year I was unable to be there because I stayed behind to work the store. But, this year we were able to close the store early and all of us were able to go. Below are some pictures of our crew.

Look at all them kids behind Granny.

We had gift exchange with Cheyenna because she was leaving.
She is opening her gifts from DeAnna.

Jason & Raquel

In this picture you can see David & Denny at the end of the table.
(doing what they do best - sitting & talking) hee hee
You can barely see Daryl standing off to the left side.

Here is Donny - He is the next boy older than Derrick.
Donny is playing ball with his grandson. (He has many)

Grandma is talking intensely with a great grandchild, Destiny.

As always we had a great time!

The Jowers boys and wives go as follows:
David & Margaret, Denny & Darlene, Daryl & Debbie, Donny & Linda, Derrick & Michelle.
David & Margaret have 1 daughter,
Denny & Darlene have 1 daughter, 1 son, 6 grandchildren,
Daryl & Debbie have 2 dogs,
Donny & Linda have 4 daughters, 3 sons, 12 grandchildren (I think)
Derrick & Michelle have 2 daughters, 1 son, 1 grandchild on the way.

So that makes Lue have 5 sons, 5 daughter-in-laws, 13 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren with 1 great grandchild on the way.

Our parties get bigger and more busy every year with lots more children.

Christian Nation Church Christmas Dinner

We had our CNC Christmas Dinner on Tuesday Evening. As always it was a grand time! There was fun and excitement. Lots of children. I love watching the children play.

Here are some pictures of the excitement.

Lorna, DeAnna & Tristan

Boy, did Paul & Susanna Pilmore have a big Surprise.
They are adding an addition to the
Christian Nation Church in the biological fashion.

Cheyenna is actually singing.

Ella was very intent watching the skit.
Cheyenna & I

Look Caleb's tie even matched Stephanie's dress.
Now we know that was not Caleb's idea. Cheyenna wasn't looking like she had too many friends.
I was trying to post a video clip of the skit that Sharon Hutchinson did but, it did not work.

I have more pictures maybe I can post them later.

~ Rain - My Pond ~

Here are two comparison pictures of my pond. The second one if from this morning. The first one is from a couple months ago when my pond was 4 foot low.

Brown County Republican Club Christmas Dinner

We had our Christmas party for the Brown County Republican Party Thursday evening. The was a pretty good ending to a chaotic day. We of course started the day at the daycare and had to leave to take DeAnna to Brown County General for an ultrasound of her liver, spleen, and gall bladder. She was not aloud to eat or drink anything before the test so she was starving because it wasn't done until almost noon. We should get those results today. Cheyenna had a rough afternoon at the daycare to come home to the spicket on the outside of the house pouring water. She was trying to shut it off and in the process was soaked and she called me soak and wet and very cold and water still pouring from the spicket. Derrick to the rescue - he went home and turned the water off, went and got the part and then, we went to the Christmas Dinner. (in the mean time we had to close the store very early) After the dinner Derrick went home and fixed the pipe so we could turn the water back on.

Here are some pictures from the Dinner. I was unable to get all the pictures that I wanted because I have been having trouble with my battery charger. I some pictures of some of the candidates but, not all of them.

In this picture you will see Peter Schmidt (sitting next to DeAnna)
This is Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's husband.

This is Tina Meranda (Brown County Clerk of Courts) and her 2 sons.
Mariah Votel (president of the republican club until yesterday)
she is a candidate for Recorder and standing with her is
Rick Eagan, candidate for Commissioner.

This a picture of the Club officers being sworn in by Judge Ringgold.
From left to right, Bev Lamphier, Treasurer
Pam Layman, Secretary
Me (Michelle Jowers), Vice President
Tom Cunningham (DeAnna cut him off of the picture), President
Judge Ringgold, candidate for appellate court

Paul Hall, Brown County Republican Party Chairman
is having us wave at the sky as Jean Schmidt is flying home from Washington.Tom Niehaus, State Senator
This is Doug Green, Brown County Auditor. He was singing for us.
DeAnna wanted a picture of her and I so, here it is.

Below is a video clip and I will try to tell you who they are.
Starting on the right and going left. Scott Gussweiler-running for judge in Brown county (currently lawyer), Connie Patrick- Employee of Treasurers office and candidate for treasurer, Warren Wagner- Candidate for Treasurer, Amy DeClaire-candidate for Recorder, Judge Ringgold, Gail DeClaire - current Treasurer and candidate for Clerk of Courts, Mariah Votel - candidate for Recorder, forgot his name - candidate from Warren county for Appellate court, Tina Meranda - Clerk of Courts, Rick Fulton - candidate for Commissioner, Rick Eagan - candidate for Commissioner, Don Newman - candidate for Sherrif, Tammy Wenninger - wife of current sheriff. (I think that was everyone)

I have a video and was unable to get the video to upload from my internet service so, I will try again at another time.

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHEYENNA~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHEYENNA!!!!

~CCC~

Cheyenna's Birthday was 12/4/07. She is the big 21 now!

Oh my how the time flies!

We did ice cream cake. She is not a big cake person.

Here she is showing Gramms her new camera and Granny is being very intent.This is a typical look for her to give her sister. Her sister touched her camera I do believe.

What a pair.

Cheyenna is a beautiful young lady!!!! It seems like only yesterday she was just starting school.

~First Snow of 2007/2008 Winter ~

This is what I walked out to at 6 am this morning. It is quite pretty.

DeAnna was very happy that it is packable!

~Update on DeAnna~

We had all our visits yesterday. They drew her blood to check her liver and do a couple other tests on her that I have no idea what they were. We also went to Childrens for the MRI.
They did the MRI without contrast and the Radiologist looked at it and decided they did not need the MRI with contrast so, DeAnna was very happy! She had asked Lorna to pray for her that she would not have to have the IV. God is good!
I do not have any idea what it means that they did not need the second one ~ good??, bad?? don't know.
But, we are supposed to go back to the Doctor to go over all the results on Friday the 14th. I do wish we did not have to wait so long.

Thanks for your prayers! We should know something in a week and a half.

~~Please PRAY for DeAnna~~

We have an appointment tonight @ 6:00 pm at Children's Hospital Mason campus for an MRI with and with out Contrast. We also have a doctor's appointment today at 2:00pm.

DeAnna has had trouble for quite a while with dizzy spells. We have had a few doctors visits for that and they have performed all the blood work. The problem is that a couple weeks ago she told me that everything goes purple on her when she gets dizzy. She says that she told me that along time ago. But, either she thought she told me or I did not hear her. Either way I took her to the doctor last week and they are doing an MRI tonight.

Also, she is going to the doctor today @ 2 because a few weeks ago she had a virus and when she was examined in the doctors office her liver and spleen were both very swollen. Now that she is over the virus her eyes are very discolored and so today she is going back to have her liver checked. My sister in law (which has been an emt for years) was very concerned when she saw DeAnna on Thanksgiving and thought I should take her back to the doctor. I called the doctor and they said the same so, we are going back today.

Please pray and I will keep you updated as we figure out what is going on. Several months ago she was diagnosed with mild scoliosis and (I forget what is is called but, her back not only curves side to side but, front to back).

THANK YOU!

Women of Worth November 2007

I had the privilege of going to the Cincinnati Chapter Women of Worth last night. I was invited by the women of the Afton Wesleyan Church and rode with them. We had a very nice meal to celebrate Thanksgiving. I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all that prepared food and set up the room for all of us to enjoy. It was very nice and the food was great!

Below you will find some pictures from the evening. The decorating theme was children's gifts and the speaker spoke about loving your children. What she had to say was very inspiring and moving. God really used her I believe to encourage the women! I know she really encouraged me!

They also showed us a couple of things that are easy to make and fun for kids that does not cost very much. One of them was home made ice cream. Katrina Hutchinson was very helpful and was shaking the ice cream and then she took it around for everyone to taste. It really was pretty good. I was impressed.

They showed us a little candy bouquet of flowers it was very nice and easy to make.

Here is a craft that is pretty, easy and the kids would love. This is an advent calendar in the design of a Christmas Tree. Take toilet paper rolls, colored foil wrap or tissue paper, fill the toilet paper rolls with treats, wrap them and tie the ends. Stack your rolls in a triangle design to make your tree using double sided tape to hold it together, use ribbon around it to dress it up. You can use 25 for the 25 days before Christmas. Allow the kids to open one each night and take out the treat all the way to Christmas.

Below is a slide show of the rest of the pictures that I took that night. Be sure to notice the decorating chains. They were very neat.

I want to thank Amy Mason for inviting me to go. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday to my Baby!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEANNA!!!!

Today is DeAnna's 13th birthday. Time sure does fly by. It was just yesterday the she was painting pictures of her hands to give to me. She is growing up to be a beautiful young lady!

Here is a picture of her with one of her very
favorite people ~ Her Grandma.
This picture is just 2 years ago. My how she has grown up!
My........Look how she has changed only from Easter this year.

This has been a big year. I turned 40, my brother and family are leaving to go across the US, my baby turns 13, my oldest daughter will turn 21 in less than 1 month and we are going to sell or shut down our business.

Matty's new hair cut

Matty is pretty much afraid of everything. I got the camera out and she started cowering down and moving away from me. I do not know why she is afraid of everything but, she is. Hope you enjoy the pictures. She just got her hair cut a couple of days ago.

She moved away from me and laid down.

Here she is running from the camera and getting
ready to hide under Derricks chair.

~Just Life~

Well, if anyone has any ideas for me to paint my room I would really appreciate it. My new bed set is Gold and my new curtains are gold and Burgundy. My carpet is Mauve. So, tell me creative people - should I paint my walls burgundy with some gold in them or just gold or what? I am not creative at all!

If I can remember to buy light bulbs for my room I will take some pictures and see if you can get any ideas for the walls.

Also I will get a picture of Matty's new hair cut today to post. She is really cute!

Pictures from Surprise Birthday Party

I told you that I would post some more pictures of my surprise party as soon as I got them. Well, here they are. As you can see in the first picture I am a bit surprised. (not a very good picture)

They were kind to me and did not want to
have to call the fire marshall for a birthday cake.

This is my little buddy from the Daycare - Cordell.
He is talking to me very intently and wants to know
what my "number" is. (he was asking how old I was)

Cordell wanted to sit with me while he was eating
his cake and I was opening my card.

Denise gave me an awesome little scrap book from the surprise party they had after church on my birthday. It is very cute. They also got some unsightly pictures of me. I think that she said Lorna put the book together for me. I thank them very much for there kindness!!!! Denise gave me the book last night at the ladies night out event.

The ladies night was very nice and refreshing. Deanna's new edition on her house is very pretty! She has very pretty decorations and colors! It was also very kind of her to allow us in her home for ladies night out.

****Wisdom****

Did you know that the word "Wisdom" is in the bible (KJV) 234 times and is in 222 verses? Do you think that God is trying to tell us something? Should we seek for wisdom? Or should we just go along status quo?

What does Wisdom mean?

Webster dictionary says: (1) a: accumulated philosophic or scientific learning: knowledge b: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships :insight c: good sense : judgment d: generally accepted belief wisdom among many historians — Robert Darnton>(2): a wise attitude, belief, or course of action3: the teachings of the ancient wise men

A standard philosophical definition says that wisdom consists of making the best use of available knowledge. As with any decision, a wise decision may be made with incomplete information.

Aristotle defines wisdom as knowledge of causes: why things exist in a particular fashion.

In the Christian Bible, the magi (or "wise men") are sent by God to give the newly born Jesus three types of gifts. Wisdom is also represented by the sense of justice of the lawful and wise king Solomon, who asks God for wisdom in 1 Kings 3. Proverbs 9:10 says: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and 8:13 "To fear the Lord is to hate evil;". The Catholic and Orthodox deuterocanonical books of the Bible include the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon).

There is an oppositional element in Christian thought between secular wisdom and Godly wisdom. The apostle Paul states that worldly wisdom thinks the claims of Christ to be foolishness. However, to those who are being saved Christ represents the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:17-31) Also, Wisdom is one of the Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

God thinks that is worthy enough to be a gift of the Holy Spirit, and that it is worthy enough to put in the bible 234 times....do you not think that it is a good thing for us to seek the Wisdom of the Lord? It takes wisdom to make decisions that we are faced with in life. It takes wisdom to be a parent and raise your children in the manner that the bible teaches. It takes wisdom to know when to speak and when not to speak. It takes wisdom to choose the right job. It takes wisdom to choose the right mate, etc., etc., etc.

Life without some wisdom is a life of destruction??? Would you say that could be true? What if you just do not have knowledge???? Do we need to seek knowledge before we seek wisdom???

I believe that we need to gain knowledge in order to have wisdom. How can God give us Wisdom if we refuse to gain knowledge? Of course we need God's help to gain knowledge but, we have to want the knowledge in order to gain wisdom.

I am asking God for wisdom and am committed to gaining knowledge in the process. What is your take on this issue?

Life Changing Events.......

This past week has been a big week for my life. Actually the past 2 weeks.

~~On Wednesday, October 10th I was working at the day care and got this over whelming feeling that Jamie was going to call me and tell me they were moving. Now we had discussed the fact that my youngest brother was trying to get them to move to Nevada for a long time but, that was never really an option. So, 2 hours after I started having this feeling Jamie called me on my cell phone. I looked at my phone and it was 10am. I knew what she was going to say and could not bring myself to answer my phone. I finally called her back about an hour later......She told me they would be moving and that Michael was going out there first to make some money and come back to get them.

I was devastated. I know my brother has to do what is best for his family. (at least what he believes is best for his family) I also know that most of the reason for me not wanting him to move is very selfish!!! My youngest brother has 2 children and lives in Las Vegas and I rarely get to see them but, it has always been. My mom lives in California and I rarely get to see her, and, it has been for a really long time. But, Michael he has been here for close to 12 years. I have been around all of his kids since they were born. I was actually in the hospital when 3 of them were born. There 4th child was born on my birthday. I would prefer to see them go to another country on the Mission field serving the Lord with all there heart but, not to Las Vegas.

Since I was 15 years old I have only lived with my mom less than a year (that was my senior year). Other than that I have been away from my extended family. I ran away 2 weeks after I turned 15 and moved back home my Senior year then when I graduated I went into the Air Force. My youngest brother, Martin, (once grown) has always lived many miles away from me. My middle brother, Michael, well.....that has been different. He lived 2 doors down from me for almost 3 or 4 years. Life is going to be very different!

We have never been able to do much as far as taking vacations. That is a luxury that we usually can only afford something small and for a couple days. Not trips to the west. ( that is why I have only been out there 2 times in all of Cheyenna's years)

So, anyway back to events....I am told that they are moving.

~~On Monday the 15th we had a birthday party for Tahner because his birthday is also Wednesday the 17th but, Michael was leaving that day.

Here is his cake.

~~On Tuesday the 16th we were supposed to go play games with some friends and it ended up being a surprise Birthday party for me. (I guess since I was going to turn 40 on Wednesday the 17th they thought it was a big deal) Here are a couple pictures. (I was having a really bad hair day from the rain. It was very curly and frizzy.) Sara has a couple more pictures but, I do not have those yet. I will post those when I get them.

I was feeding Taressa my icing. She was loving it!

~~On Wednesday the 17th I turned 40. (:-o Not a real big deal but, it was kind of a weird feeling when I would say I was 40. Also, I was flipping through the radio stations in my car (which, I rarely do) and ran across a song that was one of mine and my friend DaNel's favorite songs when we were teenagers and in our early 20's. The song was ~~Boston - More than a Feeling~~ It was on WGRR the OLDIES station.. :-(

Then, I took Michael to the airport. Jamie was doing well until it was time for him to leave. I felt so horrible for her!!!!! Nothing I could do!!! Nothing I can do for her while he is gone except pray for her and be there for her where I can.

You would not believe what just happened. I am sitting here at the store writing this blog and all of a sudden I heard something hit the papers (splat) that were stacked up beside me. I look over and it was a spider about the size of a half dollar. It dropped from the ceiling and landed about 6 inches from me. Oh me oh my I do not like spiders!!!!!!! I finally found it and killed it. But, it was really scary - it landed right next to my open purse also. Thank the Lord it did not land on me or go in my purse I might have had a heart attack.

I took some pictures of there family before we left to go to the airport. It was hard taking him to the airport. But, we had a really nice talk on the way. We talked about what God has done for them and how important it is to take care of his soul and the souls of his family. We talked about how important it is for him to get in a good church and become the spiritual leader of his home. I thank the Lord for the words that He gave me and the nice conversation that Michael & I had. I want them to make it to heaven! He truly believes that he is doing this to better take care of his family. I pray that this is the right decision for him.

Tahner would not let me take his picture until
I took a picture of his caterpillar.

Wednesday night at church Sister Truesdale made 130 cupcakes and brought them for a surprise. She also made a big poster board that said "Happy Birthday to Michelle, Brittany, and Tanner". (Our birthdays were all on Wednesday.) Jewelie Hoopers birthday was also on Thursday the 18th. She taped the poster board to the trunk lid of there car and served the cupcakes out of the trunk. She is really an awesome person and I thought that was very kind!! It was also way over the top! Too bad I do not have any pictures from that or I would post them. But, maybe she will post them because she had Dan taking pictures of everybody.

~~Thursday night the 18th - Derrick was supposed to leave for Red River Gorge on a camping trip with Jason & Raquel and to meet several other people that left Thursday morning. Because of a weather forecasts of severe storms Jason & Raquel stayed the night and they left Friday morning for Red River Gorge. He will be back Saturday night. (It is good they waited to leave because there was a pretty bad storm Thursday night.)

God is really awesome and gives us grace as we need it. I thank him for how he has been helping me through all of this and more. I got to the point on Tuesday morning that I was telling God how he has promised not to give us more than we can bear. I was standing on that promise and He came in such a very special way with just what I needed at the time!!! I love the Lord with all my heart and want to draw closer to Him! He is the reason that I live and OHHHH...What a REASON!!!!!

Thank you very much to all of you that take the time to read my blog. Next post I will tell you about life after 40 :-) hee hee.