LEST WE FORGET THANKSGIVING

Our 3 great grands. Cohen Joseph Arroues, 3+ months, Paisley Lynn Arroues, 3+ years, Paityn Taylor Barr, 3+ months. Wanted to show our great blessings right here as a farewell to this blog. I've found that facebook is really more to my liking. I see that those bloggers I check in on rarely post anything, as neither do I. it's been fun

'TIS THE SEASON

Making a gingerbread house withgreat granddaughter Paisley - an annual event in her brief 3+ years. Grampy had to get in that picture, too! Grammy got worn out and rested with little brother Cohen.

THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILWAY TRIP

Our date yesterday - never have been on the other side of the Payette River They are rather the same views as from the highway, of course, but it's a relaxing 2 1/2 hour ride with ice cream at the half-way point. I've heard they have a 1/2 hour pumpkin patch trip in the fall; that would be a great way to spend time with a certain little 3-yr-old we know. :o) A word about dating: We've always believed married couples should keep dating, of course! This week we decided to try something a little different: we'll trade off planning our weekly times out alone together. This was my week, and we both loved the fact it was something different, tho the RR is not something we'll probably do again. It was Senior day, and a busload from a local retirement community, Bonaventure, was there, too.

AMANDA/GRANDMA DAY

I had the rare special, joyful opportunity to spend some time in downtown Boise with granddaughter Amanda Joy Reider. She lives in Chicago now, which is way too far from Boise. We got to have her ride with us to Baker City after church last Sunday, to visit new greatgranddaughter Paityn and her family there. Amanda also had the joy of having CocoaBear the Pom ride with her in the backseat. Hmm... Good family time that day - both daughters, both granddaughters, et al. Tonight many of the fam are coming here to watch the BSU/Oregon game and have pizza, salad, fruit, ice cream, etc. Michael and Kari got tix, so watch for them on the tube. :o) And a kazillion other Boise fans and courageous Oregon Ducks. Go BSU!

MEET MISS PAITYN TAYLOR BARR!

These photos are in reverse order of how I tried to post them. Also can't remember how to label them. They are from the top: Paityn herself, Grampy and Paityn, Grammy and Paityn, Daddy and Paityn, Paityn and Mommy in a speechless, awe-stricken moment.

Born August 13, 2009, 7:21 a.m. (via midwife and water birth - awesome! but I haven't asked for permission to show you those pix.) 7# 1 oz, 19". What a privilege it was to walk into her home in Baker City, Oregon, just one minute after she was born! We were there the day before and stayed in motel until the morning. All these photos are in her first hours of life; some in first minutes.

Parents: Drew and Christa Barr. (Our granddaughter)

On our side:

Grandparentds: Thom and Denise VanArtsdalen (our daughter)

Great-Grandparents: LeRoi and Juanita Arroues!

We have had the extreme privilege of being at the births (or just minutes after) of all 3 of our precious great grandchildren (Paisley, Cohen, - see previous post below - and Paityn)

Thank you, Lord!

MEET GREAT GRANDCHILD #2

Here he is: Mr. Cohen Joseph Arroues! Born Aug. 3, 2009, 9# 7 oz

My 70th

WOW!WOW! WOW! Did we have a great weekend! I have so many precious memories and photos. I'll try to share them on the blog soon. Meanwhile, the photo above, with my brother Ron and brother Frank gives you a little taste of the fun. LeRoi and our kids & grandkids outdid themselves with a grand party one night - have to tell you about it asap! Meanwhile, I have a new and fun learning curve - Their gift of a complete Wii set, including WiiFit, was beyond my imagination! "I will praise the Lord at all times!!!"

I KNEW THIS NEW BLOG DEFINITION WOULD BE COMING!

My widdle brudder Frank and his new bride Diana

You probably already saw wisdom on what a "BLOG" is from my brother Ron. If not, click on March (9) to the right under Blog Archive and scroll down to it. Now I have one from my brother Frank. I could ALWAYS count on my dad and 2 brothers to top each other in any humorous situation! I surely do miss our hilarious, beloved dad; but I'm looking forward with gleeful anticipation to the visit Frank and Diana and Ron and Vonnie are planning here the April 24th weekend. Wow! Can't wait!!!

FRANK NATION’S WORD OF WISDOM ON BLOG April 14, 2009 I grew up in a tough part of the city. We had our space and nobody dared cross the line and enter our blog. Sometimes neighbors would set up a road blog just to ensure the safety of others. I finally got out and moved to the beach. People didn’t know in those days about skin cancer. Now you have to put sun blog on or you’ll crock. I eventually got into sports and played football. At first I was a defensive line blogger; then they moved me to a running blog. What ever the meaning of the word blog, nothing will blog the path to happiness and success as long as you blog out all the bad stuff.

PAISLEY'S 3RD BIRTHDAY

Our Precious Paisley Lynn Arroues turned 3 yesterday, and I just can't resist sending you some of my photos from the KID ZONE party! God has blessed us with her joyful presence in our lives. IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PARTY PHOTOS, CLICK ON "PHOTOS" UNDERNEATH "PAISLEY'S 3RD" TO THE RIGHT

NEW LIFE

CHRISTA AND DREW BEFORE FINDING OUT! This is the profile of a 20-week fetus - a little girl - her nose is an exact copy of her mommy's! Her little head and nose are facing UP. This sonogram photo was taken just yesterday. I could show you one of a same-age little boy, too; but I don't have access to it right now. These tiny, tiny precious creations are our next great-grandchildren, expected in August. We had a big family get-together yesterday to celebrate these new babies-to-be, and you may see the horde of photos I took by clicking on fetal fotos. We were not a complete family yesterday, but 12 of us were privileged to be together. Son-in-law Greg is very sick with flu, mommy-to-be Paige had to work, Justin's girlfriend Dallas had to work, and others who were missing live out of town. It would have been almost miraculous to get everybody here at the same time, but I took all these photos for them. They were taken at Fetal Fotos, where Christa and Drew learned they're having girl, and at our house. JUST CLICK ON fetal fotos at right. The two lines above it are useless.

BARE TREES

Our dear friend, Don Watson, up in Cambridge, Idaho, commented on our Oregon photos, and I just had to share this portion of his comments: "...all of the bare trees. They too have enticed me. The lesson I learn from them is that when the tree is bare and devoid of leaves that is a picture of my life with out Christ. Bare of any covering and naked with out Christ and as the leaves cover many faults in the tree so does Christ's blood cover my sins and makes me acceptable." Thanks VERY much, Don!

Happy Birthday, Diana

A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our dear sis-in-law, Diana Nation! Everybody say YEA!!! Diana, you and Frank have a great time hangin out with Charlie Daniels and his band tonight!!! Can't wait to getcha here in April! Love you, Juanita and LeRoi

March 5-14 Oregon delights

Gorgeous trip and beautiful visits. Should have taken more pix of people, but scenery is always overwhelming me, and so here it is. If you don't like scenery much, just don't bother with this one. But you CAN see Denise, Thom, Christa, Drew, LeRoi, CocoaBear and me! Click on photo site to the right

"What is a Blog," by my big brother Ron,who used to be a pollyblog

I think I finally figured it out. I didn’t ask my grandkids by golly, I figured out myself! Ribet, ribet, ribet ! What is that ribet sound? I don’t know, it sounds like it is coming from the fishpond. Oh wait a minute I know what it is, it is a blog. A blog? Yes a bull blog. I remember last spring when the pond was full of tadboles, now they have become blogs. Some of them will actually become bull-blogs. I remember long ago when Uncle Walt and I used to go to the Sportsmen’s Inn in Costa Mesa. We always had some drinks and then a great meal of pasta with red sauce and blog legs, uhm good! I still recall play leap blog with my cousins and neighbors do you? You may wonder how I became a handsome prince. You don’t know but I used to be a bull blog. One day a beautiful lady in a long dress carrying a stick with sparkles on the end came up to me ( I thought she was going to hit me with the stick) but no she bent over and kissed me. Ta dhum I became the handsome prince you now know and love, you do love me don’t you? After all, I am a handsome prince. I saw the lady some time later and felt so sad. Her face was covered with warts yuk! Turns out, she was not the sweet fairy lady we thought. She was a wanton wench running around the countryside kissing every blog she could find. How disgusting and to think I used to want to marry her. Do you know the song “ a bloogy day, in ole Londontown”? Last time I was in San Francisco the blog was thicker than pea soup! I think I had more to tell you but my mind is getting a bit bloggy! Ha, and you thought I needed to ask my grandchildren what a blog is, ha

Congratulations, Ronald Valentine Jones!

Our long-time good friend Ron Jones, from California days, has identified our beautiful bird featured on a previous blog. NORTHERN FLICKER. Way to go, Ron! Ron says a flicker was in his and Mary Lou's yard in Orangevale, CA, recently,with "ID" tatooed on his chest and that the one in our yard is the same one. You can't always trust what dentists tell you!(That's one of our friendly mourning doves in the foreground.)

Who is YOUR hero?

This is my Aunt Marge and Uncle Bill. They spent many, many years in the jungles of Bolivia and Ecuador bringing God's Word to those who didn't have it in their language. Uncle Bill was a "jungle pilot," and Aunt Marge was a "hostess with the mostest" to whomever visited their compound in the jungle. That included presidents, generals, Americanos, and of course, the Indians who lived there. I believe Aunt Marge turns 90this June 3, but don't tell her I said so! I could tell you many, many family stories of my growing up around Aunt Marge and of WHY she is my hero-in-the-faith! But I am putting their photo here today to ask you to pray for them. Uncle Bill has numerous health issues, and so does Auntie Margie, who just learned she has breast cancer! She will learn in a couple weeks, which direction the medicos want to take, after the lumpectomy she had last week. Are they discouraged!? NO!? Their faith and determination to "keep on keeping on" are serving them well now as always. By the way, they live in the Wycliffe Bible Translators "retirement apartments" in Tucson now. "Retirement" in quotes because you've never seen more active retirees than those who live there! Thanks for your prayers for them.

A CHANGE IN THE WIND

Good morning!

We got back last Saturday from a beautiful vacation! Spent 4 such special nites with daughter Denise and Thom (and CocoaBear the Pom), in Grants Pass, Oregon, and then 3 delightful nites at our favorite place in Yachats, Oregon. Yachats (named for an Indian tribe) has some of the best rugged, wave-crashing, spectacular shoreline of them all! Also got a short visit in with our granddaughter Christa and Drew in Baker City, Oregon. They are expecting our 2nd or 3rd great grand in August! Grandson Sean and Paige are expecting our 2nd or 3rd great grand in August, too! They just found out it's a BOY, and almost-3-year-old Precious Paisley has named her little brother "Football." Those two wee little blessings are part of the change in the wind. Also, I'm changing the focus of this blog very soon. Will tell you about that asap.

Photos are Yachats, Denise, LeRoi and CocoaBear off for a walk. Juanita and Denise, Cocoa Bear, Christa and Drew

PRAISE HIM!

The birdies in the treetops Sing their song; The angels chant their chorus All day long; The flowers in the garden Blend their hue; So why shouldn't I, why shouldn't you, Praise Him, Too!? author unkown. This song my mommy used to sing to me when I was a toddler has been running thru my mind for a long time, especially since the "birdies" are enjoying our feeders so much these days. I just had to share it with you! Any photos I share are taken by myself.This is a mourning dove.

EQUAL TIME RULE

The one in the back is Frank. Here's my other nutty brother, Frank. I am so jazzed about both my bros coming - their wives, too!

THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL ENDORSEMENT

Ron is the one on the left My brother Ron wrote today: "I have no idea how to access a blog, what to say to the blog after I access it, what it likes to eat or drink, what language it speaks and whether or not I would want to be seen in public with it. Please help me know about your blog and how to access it. By the way, is accessing the same as asking it out for a date or what?"

That email is why I'm so jazzed about seeing my two brothers and wives when they come for my 70th birthday in April! BOTH guys are nutty!. :o)

COMMITMENT! DETERMINATION!

"For He guards the course of the just,

and protects the way

of His faithful ones."

Proverbs, 21:8NIV Good morning! I think I left this guy off the list of our yard birds. He comes about every 2-3 weeks or so and gives us so much pleasure! And some laughs, too. That feeder is designed to keep large birds like this one away! When one of the big guys tries,he doesn't last long. I'll just leave his name off today and see if you can name him. Beautiful, determined guy who always comes alone. If you are the first to send me your photo and his name, I'll feature you here soon.

SOMETIMES IT TAKES A WOMAN! If you are the first to send me your photo and the name of the woman in the Bible who BUILT 3 CITIES, I'll feature you, too

A DOVE AND A PRAYER

THE PHOTO FOR TODAY, OUR DOVE, IS WAY DOWN AT THE BOTTOM! HELP, SUNNIE! I WANTED IT NEXT TO THE POST, AND I CAN'T FIND A WAY TO GET BACK TO THE "GADGETS." Sincere thanks to ALL of you who wrote back to my 1st post right away! How fun. Thanks especially, to Sunnie, our neighbor who helped me get this started. She's my go-to person to stay on this learning curve. I neglected to metion how much we love BIRDS! LeRoi keeps our two feeders in the backyard filled, right outside our big dining room window, and boy, do we love those birds. Want a list? Here it is: sparrow, house finch, gold finch, pine siskin, Oregon junko (also gray version or something like that), dove, starling, grackle, chukkar (YES, we're sure! but I have to confess, it was in neighbors' yard; we could see it from our window, too.), robin, barn swallow (oh, the babies!), red wing blackbird, indigo bunting, etc. Herons fly over once in awhile, but they don't count for our yard. Speaking of birds: HERE IS A PHOTO OF A DOVE WE "SAVED"! As we sat enjoying the birds recently, a dove decided to leap from the ground (where they eat the finch leftovers), and dive right at us! SMACK! He went face first into the window and was propelled head down into the snow! I immediately went out to lift him so he wouldn't smother. There were a few red blood spots in the snow by his head, and he was totally knocked out. Oh, I was so sad as I lifted him, cuddled, petted him and baby talked to him. There was blood all around his beak.I placed him on an outside pillow, and he just sank into the comfort with no response. Soon, he began lifting his head and laboring to breathe, but his eyes remained closed. I went out several times in the next couple hours, to encourage him to wake up ("Stay with us, little buddy! Open your eyes now"). Ah, he occasionally opened his eyes, as I watched from the patio door and prayed my heart out! "God, you love the birds; PLEASE HEAL THIS ONE! PLEASE, PLEASE HEAL HIM!") The reason I'm telling you about this prayer is that I don't usually pray so fervently. I meekly ask the Lord, "If it's your will, and it's for everybody's good, I know you can heal. But I only want your will to be done in any case." Well, after my dove prayer, I learned a lesson. God WILL do what is best, and I have the access to Him thru our Savior Jesus Christ to plead for others. He KNOWS I wouldn't want anything if it wouldn't be His will. From a recent study of prayer in the Bible, I learned anew and very strongly that He wants us to intercede for others. I knew that, of course, but I have a new appreciation for the ability to plead with him, just as I would have with my human father! So that's my sermon for the day, and I know you are wondering what happened to the dove. Well, we had to leave for 2-3 hours, and when we returned, he had got off the pillow and was against the wall, standing up. LeRoi and I both gave him food and water, which he didn't seem to want; but it didn't scare him at first. Finally, he jumped up to a footstool, where I went out to see him again-- ZOOMFLUTTER!!! Right off to our fence, where he was immediately met by another dove out of nowhere! Yep, they both perched there awhile and soon flew off together. We think he was back the next day, as he came right over to the patio to eat some of the food we had scattered there. Thank you, Lord! P.S. From my writer/editor days, I am very aware of typos and, especially, grammatical errors. Well! On my title above, there is no apostrophe in "Grammy's" Blessings! Horrors! They won't put it there even if I type it!