When you have a family, collectively, as large as ours it is normal to have clusters of birthdays. September is one of those months; today is our Miss F's birthday. Happy Birthday to you Miss F. 9 yrs old and a bundle of joy, laughter and fun. As you may recall from last week, she has learned how to keep up with her two brothers in rock climbing. She did a "dead hang" for 2 min. 28 seconds. You can bet that we are proud of her! Yesterday our family all went up to Estes Park to attend a wedding of a gal that we've done since she was in elementary school. This young woman and her sister moved to our town, several months after we did. The photo below shows our birthday girl, at the very front of the kiddos, wearing a blue and white dress and blue sweater. All the grands looked so excited to be at this wedding. This line of chairs and kiddos was only one of our rows.

Papa and I, love this photo.

The beautiful bride; it was a wonderful ceremony and after the Pastor has introduced Mr.&Mrs....., the groom swept the bride off her feet and carried her out. So very romantic.

This morning I'm off to bible study; tonight we have Miss F's birthday. Tomorrow I'll be posting more fall colors for you all.
Hope you have a great day!
Noreen & Hunter

Such Brilliant Colors

Good Morning Friends, I hope you had a fantastic weekend! Fall is definitely in the air here in Colorado. As you know, hubby and I went on a road trip last week and these are some of the pictures I took with my IPhone.
Please remember that these photos are under Copywrite protection, please don't use without my permission. These photos were taken at Twin Lakes, between Leadville and Aspen.

We have been blessed to take two trips to New England in the fall; the last one was 12 yrs ago and we were in awe of the colors.  This trip reminded us of New England, in that we've never seen such vibrant colors here in Colorado as we did last week.  I will say that on the trip home from Steamboat, through the Poudre Canyon, many of the trees were already loosing their leaves. I will also say that although these photos show the color, any photo of the autumn colors, be it in Colorado or New England just don't do the colors justice.
 This afternoon, we are headed up to Estes Park to attend a wedding; I'm hoping that we not only see more colors, but also some Elk.
I hope you've enjoyed the beauty of our state. I will say that there were two towns that I was disappointed in, but one that was a very pleasant surprise(Meeker); one of the draws for me to Meeker is that they have an annual five day Sheep Dog trial each September.
May your day be filled with beauty.
Blessings,
Noreen

Come back tomorrow for part two of Such Brilliant Colors

The Joys of Childhood

Last night our family gathered to celebrate two birthdays. Kim has two kiddos, Miss D and little man, who have birthday's five days apart; it is much easier to do one party. We all, 17 of us, gathered together for a wonderful dinner, presents and dessert. Here is the birthday girl holding her little brother; it is hard to believe that little man is two and Miss D is 6.

Miss D loves cooking so was very excited to get this kit. I know she'll be making cupcakes soon.

Hubby and I found a stuffed Bison recently and knew little man would love it. He is taken with wildlife and can name many; in fact, there is a restaurant in Steamboat Springs that has game heads mounted on the wall and he can name them. He was able to name them before he could name farm animals.

When a little guy has two cousins that are older, he has already learned how to play with Nerf swords etc., so what would be more fun than a nerf sword to play with. No one had to show him how to use it either. Now he can play with his cousins.

Son in law always makes the best birthday cakes, cupcakes and desserts. Due to the different dietary restrictions, he always makes two or three different things. Last night these looked so good.

Little man is one of us that require a special dessert; he wasn't quite sure if he could eat it, but once he was encouraged he loved it.

Miss D's birthday is tomorrow, so I want to wish her a very happy Day.  She is such a sweetheart, she has a heart of gold that is sensitive and quite the sense of humor.  I love watching our grands grow and mature; it brings us such joy.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Noreen

A Teaser

This week hubby and I went on a little road trip; not little exactly, because we put over 600 miles on my car. Our initial purpose was to dig into our bit of hubby's family history; his great-great-grandparents, great-grandparents and grandmother all have roots here. Although we didn't get additional history of his family, we certainly got to see Autumn in all her splendor. Here is just a peak of photos I'll share next week.

We left early on Wednesday morning and we're settling into a wonderful hotel in Glenwood Springs by mid afternoon.  Thursday took us to Meeker and then onto Steamboat Springs, on of our favorite Colorado towns.  The weather was perfect; we so enjoyed seeing sights we'd never been to before and of the beauty of the changing colors. 
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Joy to you.
Noreen and a very tired Hunter, asleep beside me.

The River by Beverly Lewis

The River is Beverly Lewis' newest book; it accurately portrays life among the Amish and gives us another glimpse and understanding into their lives.This is a story line that draws the reader deeper into each page with the rich characters.  The story takes place in Eden Valley, Lancaster County, Pa. in 1977.  Two sisters, Tilly and Ruth, have left their family and chosen to live in the outside world. They are plagued by unresolved relationships when they return  for their parents' wedding anniversary, as well as seeing their father who is gravely ill. Returning would mean facing memories of a  family tragedy that tore the family apart and left Tilly guilt ridden; she is reluctant to return to her parents home.  Although married to an Englisher, Tilly holds onto many of her Plain convictions.  Ruth, the younger of the two, left her family and community with a broken heart; although she remains single, she never got over her broken courtship with her Amish beau. The reader feels the heartbreak, bitterness, unforgiveness that that Tilly has lived with.  Will these sisters return for good to their family and beliefs or will they make peace and return to the outside world?
While this book held me captive, I did foresee where the story line was headed.  I love all Amish stories and this one was another great book from the author.
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publisher, provided me with this book in exchange for my honest review. 

Go Climb A Rock

Happy Wednesday to you. I am out and about today, looking for majestic colors of fall. I wanted to share some fun pictures with you. Almost all of our grands, except the very youngest ones, have taken indoor rock climbing classes. This last Monday was the final night of our two granddaughters' class, so of course hubby and I had to go. You all may remember that in college I was a rock climber; I absolutely loved it, but it was one hobby that went by the way. You can imagine how it thrills my heart to watch our grands climb. Here is Miss F, almost 9; she is a natural climber and really enjoys it.

This is Miss O, she will be 7 in a few months. 

This next move is called a Dead Hang, because as you can see, you are simply hanging by your hands. Miss F is amazing; she was able to hang, just like she is in the pic, for 2 min. 28 seconds.  People, do you know how long that is?! For those of us moms, we remember how long one minute was when we were in labor.  She last more than twice as long as the other students. 

A bit harder for little sister, but I imagine she'll be catching up to her big sister soon.

I am so proud of all of our grands for taking these classes, at different times; I'm especially proud of those who don't enjoy climbing and conquered their fear.
I hope you have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
Noreen

The Birthday Boy

Today our little man is two. Happy Happy Birthday to you.  This little guy is such fun,  possesses such an incredible amount of energy and curiosity as well as loving.  He is all boy and he keeps us on all our toes, he is quick and his reasoning is beyond just two years old.  He has enriched our lives so much and being the youngest in his family of four sisters, he is always under someone's watchful eye.  He will have a birthday party on Friday with his sister, whose birthday is on Sunday. 
We love you so much and can't wait to watch you grow and mature.

Nana Noreen & Papa

Happy Fall

Autumn blessings from my heart and home to yours!!! I always love this time of year; many of the things I love are Mums, Changing Colors, Autumn Candles, Hot Tea on a regular basis in the evening, football, quilting and hearty dishes like Chili. In fact, I made a big pot of Chili yesterday; it is the only chili recipe I really love. So I'm sharing a few of my favorite things today-this tree is in our neighborhood and yesterday as I walked Hunter I spotted it. I can tell you that many Burning Bushes on the street are quickly turning a bright red-another plant I love, but we don't have any at our new nest.

The next photo is one I found years ago on the internet-I love it.

Finally, this little man as we call him, was helping his dad mow the lawn yesterday. In actuality, daddy was really mowing it and little man decided to help. Once our son-in-law stopped, this cutie kept pretending. He just thrills us-he is so blasted cute!!!

Today Hunter goes to the groomer and I'll be happy with his being cleaned up a bit. Thankfully, we don't let him get really shaggy, but I always know he needs to go when I start noticing mats.
I hope you have a great day today and that you are seeing sights that show Fall is here.
Joy to you!
Noreen

Mr. Chewy

As many of you know, we are followers of Mr. Chewy and love their blogger program. Yesterday, Hunter got a box at our front door. It is almost like he knows that the box will contain items for him. Although this months samples were canned food, he seemed interested. We choose to sample Merrick Limited Edition Homecoming Holiday grain free food.

After I opened the can he was very interested and even gave it a taste test.  Typically, Hunter doesn't like canned food unless it is the really inexpensive brands that offer no nutritional benefits.  He doesn't typically  do anything but walk away when he smells canned food but he gave it a taste test,so it was a good sign.

As you can tell, he was mighty impressed with this food.   This flavor has Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Butternut Squash in a Gravy.  I am very impressed because it is not only grain free, but natural.  Another added benefit is that my picky pup loved it.  Hunter gives Merrick Homecoming Holiday food a:

A Big Thank you to Sydney and Andrew at Chewy. com
If you are a blogger and are interested in this program, let me know and I'll get you the information you need.
We've had a very productive day and now it's time to clean lunch dished and then visit you all.
Enjoy your weekend.
Noreen & Hunter

It's Thankful Thursday and I'm thankful for another day! This photo was taken at sunrise Sunday morning, as we drove our friends to the airport. I'm not one that usually sees the sunrise, unless it is when we are in the Islands. It was a beautiful site though and I was glad to be with our close friends while viewing it.

I mentioned we went to a Sculpture garden on Saturday morning and this is one of my all time favorite pieces. Maybe, it's because I cherish my role as Nana.

This is one of my other favorite pieces-you can just imagine a grandfather like this. This statue is so realistic, it is just an amazing work of art.

I've already been out walking with Kam and it was a bit shorter that usual. Her pup, Lexie, has been a bit slower and we just wanted to make sure she was feeling o.k. Later, I'm hitting one of my favorite stores, Fine and Funky, for their Fall Clothing sale. This afternoon, I'll have two more grands over for sewing lessons. I'm so thankful for Pinterest and the info that you can get there. I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoying the beginnings of fall. For those of you who are in Ca. amidst the smoke and wildfires-be safe my friends! I am thankful for those who serve to protect us-especially the firefighters. I am thankful for living in a time as this.
Hugs, Noreen

A Handsome Pup

Happy Wednesday to you. This morning, Hunter and I are joining two friends and their pups walking around our local town lake. It has been quite awhile since I joined these gals; I am looking forward to it, as I'm sure Hunter will be to when he recognizes where we are. Yesterday, it was in the high 80's and since Hunter was smelling pretty doggy, I decided to give him a bath. I just have to say, he is one sad looking pup at the beginning. 

After the bathing is over, we begin the long process of blow drying his hair.  He doesn't mind this to much.

The end result was well worth it; however, I must say that he looks dry but after about thirty minutes his hair gets curly again.  

 
 I hope you have a wonderful day; I will be as I've got two granddaughters coming over for sewing. Now I just need to figure out our lesson; why I ever threw out our books from our "intro to sewing", I don't know. I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Joy to you!
Noreen & Hunter

More Of The Herd

There is nothing that makes my spirit sing more than being outdoors and seeing wildlife. Here are a few more photos from Rocky Mountain National Park. These creatures are so beautiful; I hope you agree.

Today I am starting a new ladies study with some friends at a new church.  I'm very excited to be again studying the Bible and spending time growing with close friends and hopefully new friends.
Yesterday I not only walked 2.5 miles, but also got out my bike and road almost 4 miles; I hope this starts a trend for me. I've missed riding and right now the weather is perfect.  I hope you have a day filled with the beauty of the great outdoors.
Blessings,
Noreen

Joy In The Moment

Happy Monday Morning to you! I want to challenge you to find joy in each moment today. 
Here is some inspiration.

His rack was huge.

On Friday, we drove up to Idaho Springs to pick up our good friends from California. We had planned a get away prior to meeting them, but do to weather concerns, we choose to postpone the trip. We did head up early though, to do some antiquing and see the historical part of Golden.  Although we didn't have a lot of time, we will head up there sometime soon.  After picking up our friends, we came back home; had a wonderful visit and dinner.  Saturday morning, after a nice breakfast we took them to a Sculpture Park before heading up to Estes Park to have lunch.  Our friends haven't had a close up look at  large herd. We took them into the Park; they weren't expecting to get a close look and were so excited.  Although the third photo looks like the biggest bull is going to bugle, he just opened his mouth but made no sound. In all the years we've observed Elk during rutting season, I have never seen this behavior before.  There were two other bulls in the vicinity, one was very young and just getting horns and the other was mature, but clearly not the head. This is not the bull that we saw about a month ago; we also saw many of the doe's with radio transmitters on them.
Our friends have known us since our daughters were toddlers, so it was fun for them to get to say hi and see their kiddos.  We are hoping that they will be moving out here in the next year, in order to be by three of their four daughters.  They come to Colorado many times throughout the year; typically we get to see them at least once or twice. 
We took them to the airport yesterday morning and then had a productive day at home.
Today, I am walking with Kam and then have to return some dog food I got that bothers Hunter's digestive system.  We are back to beautiful weather, after a week of rain; I am very thankful and hope to get in more walking and biking.
Hope you have a great day.
Blessings,
Noreen

Good morning to you, this is for all my chicken loving friends.  I love seeing all the chickens roaming free in Kauai. Not sure about being awakened before sunrise by them, but they are so fun to watch. I love the bright colors of this big guy.

Today I am thankful that I have eyes to see, ears to hear, arms to hug, love to fill my heart ,as well as my other senses. I am so thankful to be living this life and that I am surrounded by those I love. I am so thankful that my sweetheart planned our trip to Kauai. It was such fun just to spend time alone together without golf. O.k. it was fun for me! I am thankful to be back at home now with hubby, doing those things I love the most-spending time with the grands and their parents, walking Hunter, quilting, enjoying football on t.v.(until we moved here I hated watching it on t.v.), spending time with those that mean the most to me and savoring every minute the Lord grants me. I am trying to kick up my exercise a bit-I did a fast walk Wednesday and went on a quick 2 mile ride. I am thankful for the dear friends who will be here with us for two days.  I am thankful that I live in such a great Country and enjoy the freedom that others secure for us.  I am thankful for Grace each day.
May your day be sweet and filled with thankfulness.Hugs, Noreen

Let Us Never Forget

We Will Never Forget

I can vividly remember right where I was when these attacks occurred.  I think we all can.  I'm here to say I will never stop being grateful for those who fought to save lives and I won't forget those who lost their lives or the lives of their loved ones.

Noreen

Happy Wednesday.  I can't believe how quickly our weather has gone from the end of summer to the beginning of a different fall.  It rained all of yesterday and aside from a haircut and quick walk, I spent most of the day inside quilting.  Today, we had to pass on a walk because once again the weather is not cooperating.  For those who live in wet areas-like the west coast, the rain might not bother you.  We aren't used to it that much and walking just doesn't sound fun right now. 
Instead, we will be going grocery shopping and getting the house ready for our friends-no I didn't do it yesterday.  We cancelled our trip to the mountains for several reasons-the first one was the weather-flash floods, heavy rains etc.   However, the main reason was we really wanted to explore the three towns and wouldn't do it as much if it is pouring rain.  We don't want to sit in a hotel room, when we could just as easily stay home and enjoy the days. 
I hope you are embracing whatever weather you are having; for those in Phoenix, I pray you will be protected from the floods.
Blessings,
Noreen

Costume Party

Happy Tuesday to you! I wanted to share a couple of photos of our daughters' families, as they were preparing to attend a masquerade party this last weekend. Our oldest daughter's family dressed up as whacky campers. 

This is our daughter Kim; the girls all choose an international theme-picking a country and dressing in attire that they felt represented it.

Kim's family; the boys were golfers and the girls all did an amazing job with their costumes. 

This is an annual event at their church and everyone gets very involved in deciding what to wear.
Yesterday was very busy~first my dr. appt., he kept me waiting over an hour. I'm sure this didn't help my blood pressure when they took it numerous times.  He fully believes that if I change my eating habits to a more "plant based" diet and start exercising more, my blood pressure will come down.  For now, no medications which I'm pleased about.  I just don't want any issues cropping up; if in three weeks time, my blood pressure is still high I will have to go on medications.  More walks in my future and also potential bike rides. I can say that when I walk with my neighbor, it is a slow pace.  So I will still walk with her several times a week, but also walk another time or two in the same day.   I know I'm heavier than I should be and that also contributes to my elevated blood pressure. After that, I watched two grandsons and one granddaughter and then last night we had Kim's girls here so mom & dad could go birthday shopping for two kiddos.  We played Quirkle-it is so fun that the girls are getting to that age of playing games. 
Today, I am walking with Kam and then have a hair cut.  When I get home, I will need to start housecleaning for our guest who are coming on Friday.  No stitching today.
It is a new day, filled with new blessings; won't be seek them in your life?
Hugs,
Noreen

It is hard to believe that it was just a week and a half ago that we were in Kauai. The days pass so quickly, reminds me we need to savor each moment. On the last day, hubby and I drove to the old Pier near the airport. As many times as we've been to this island, we never had ventured here.

There were some locals fishing-it reminded me of what it must have been like decades ago.

I do love visiting this island, but I love being home. I had such fun with the granddaughters sewing this week and watching a movie with two grandsons-it warms my heart.
 The weekend was pretty relaxing~I took my neighbor to a local store that is only open two weekends per month. They have all sorts of accessories and the prices are so cheap.  I bought a necklace and earring set that was marked $11.95, but because I brought a friend, I got five dollars off.  Hubby and I went and toured a new vet clinic that is about 1 mile away from our house.  We were very impressed with the state of the art technology they have; they are big proponents of getting your dogs teeth cleaned annually.  I didn't ask what a new client work up would be, but I'm sure it will be pricey.  Hunter is fine where we go, it is just a bit of a drive now. 
Yesterday I had a pretty relaxed day; hubby had to work and so I've was on the computer, took Hunter for a walk, took a nap-but didn't really sleep, watched the 49'er game and worked on my quilting. 
Today I will see my doctor and see what he suggests about my blood pressure.  I am happy to announce that it has been going down slowly, but is still higher than normal.  Since we will be heading to Leadville this week, I don't want any issues with it, due to altitude.
I hope you had a great weekend and are sensing the changing of the seasons.
Blessings,
Noreen & Hunter