18 years

Well, I've been silent for a while on the blog. I didn't have easy Internet access for while and then we've been busy getting settled here in the new house. However, today Retta and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary so we have been taking it easy together today. Our day started off with Retta not feeling well and having to stay home from church. When the kids and I got home, she was feeling some better, so Retta and I packed up and went to Effingham to return some things to Menards, take in a romantic movie (Letters to Juliet) and eat dinner at Ryan's together. (thanks Mom!) We had a great time relaxing together, talking about the future and reminiscing about the past years together. We've had a lot of good years and some, not so much, but God has led us through each and every one of them and I look forward to many more years to come. EDK

Happy Graduation Lauren

Mom, Dad and I left yesterday and returned to Decatur today from a quick trip to Atlanta for Lauren's high school graduation this morning. We are very proud of her as she has grown into a lovely young lady who works hard and has a heart of caring and compassion. All of Ann's family drove down today for the ceremony and a luncheon at Mark and Molly's after the 10:00 graduation. My camera isn't great for pictures in large auditoriums so I don't really have pictures of the graduation itself except for one I copied off Facebook. I hope you enjoy some of these people shots and a picture of a part of the food table. Molly had some very impressive sugar cookies made with the logo of Lauren's college choice. It was a short time together but we enjoyed seeing everyone and honoring Lauren.

Another cool and rainy week-end. I haven't had time to do any outside work. Haven't moved my fern out or bought any hanging baskets or potted flowers (all I really can do at this condo) but everytime it gets cold and windy I'm glad they're not out there getting all beat up. Our great April weather brought on beautiful corn in the fields and most beans have been planted in the area. Now we see flooded or frozen corn plants, but hopefully most of them will come out of it OK. Farmers seem to have the love of the land in their blood and they must be total optimists to survive with any sanity. Guess I've never bought in to the joy of farming...it's too wet, too dry, hail, wind, frost, price fluctuations, the "competition" factor, yuck, yuck, yuck, and waah, waah, waah. I'm not complaining, we've been greatly blessed through the years, and live very comfortably, but I'm just saying...I don't have that farmer's blood in me even after 39 years of marriage.

Today I'm cleaning out my closet and I could complain about that too, but I'll spare you! Hope you all have a great week-end!

GIFTS

We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday afternoon and evening - all the family was there. Heather was able to get off work and join us for a while and it is good to have Kelsie home for the summer. We had delicious food and great fellowship.

This is a picture of my gifts: two beautiful bouquets of flowers and a grandkids picture frame - just right to frame our 9 grandkids in order of age from Heather to Nathan. (I hope it will enlarge so you can see it) It is so fun to see our grandchildren have a good time - just wish I had some of their energy.

Thanks to my children for making it a great Mother's Day.

GOOD REPORT

I'm very excited at the report I got from the Dr. today: cholesterol counts - improved, diabetis AIC count - down to 6.2, weight down about 5 lbs, and "everything looks good"!! Yeaaahhhh!

Angela and I had a moderately successful garage sale last Friday and Saturday -- would've been better if the weather had been decent. Cloudy, gusty winds, and sprinkles on and off both days. Inspite of the weather, I sold a lot but had a bunch leftover of which I took half to Spare-N-Share and half to Goodwill.

Not sure the time it took to set it up and take it down and pack it all away was worth it - but I have much more space in the house now and that's good. I know I won't miss any of it. The purses, by the way, did not sell and that is about the only thing I took back in the house.

Roses

As we drove into the driveway from church this noon, Lynn noticed something on the porch floor. Yes, it was a dozen roses and a sweet note that I was undeserving of, compliments of Whitney. Of course, we regret the sadness that Whitney experienced in that the Lord called her mother Debbie home to Himself at a time when she was so needed. But since He did, we have been blessed by the addition of four granddaughters to our family.

To my daughter and my daughter-in-laws, I am amazed and proud to watch you as mothers and wish you a very nice Mother's Day! Ditto to all the rest of you mothers out there. Hope everyone enjoys the special day.

Casey Knobloch family happenings

Wade practicing baseball
Casey, Wade and Mara at the Fairbury saturday night stock car races
Wades spring concert at school
Easter with the Knobloch's
Wade, Mara and Tucker posing for Easter morning picture before church

COME ONE--COME ALL

Yesterday (Monday the 3rd) I had finished a Dr. apt. and realized that the Farmer's Market was not too far out of the way home. And on the market shelf was exactly what I wanted--FRESH, JUST PICKED, HOMEGROWN, BRIGHT RED and HUGE---------STRAWBERRIES. And are they ever good, suculent, tasty, sweet--well simply A-OK!!!

Well, I walked away with a gallon. The lady clerk did mention that she'd take off $2 a gallon if I bought 3 gallons. I started to drive away and thought--I'm gonna go back and get two more gallons and go down to Mary's office at Cook's. Boy did they lap up the strawberries. I came home with about a gallon and a half.

We've had homemade shortcake with fresh berries. mmmmmmmm--that is so good. And, too, since we can get more at the market for about a month, Mim made eight jars of jam. Talk about "tall grass", we're in "tall strawberry grass"!

A local cultural saying is: You come see us!

I say to the EJK Blog readers: YOU COME SEE US!

My New BFF

I'm sure you are aware of the fact that me and my best friend Food had a falling out several months ago. It was a tough break-up. Although I occasionally miss our extended visits together, I have grown accustomed to seeing him in smaller doses and am quite happy with this new arrangement.

Of course, part of the reason it was so easy for me to move on was the fact that I found a new best friend. Shortly after Food and I decided to go our separate ways, someone introduced me to Exercise. "Oh, you're going to love him!" they said. "He is so much fun, he makes you look good, and the more time you spend with him the better you'll feel about yourself." He sounded pretty dreamy to me.

I have to tell you that in the beginning I felt he was grossly misrepresented. First of all, he wasn't fun to be with. In fact, I actually dreaded the time I had to spend with him. He was boring, he was difficult, and my kids were constantly interrupting our time together. I also found that he didn't make me feel good as was promised. As a matter of fact, after just spending 30 minutes with Exercise my legs ached, my back hurt, and my knees were sore. After we were together I felt like I'd been beaten up! I was questioning whether this was really such a 'healthy' relationship after all. Not to mention the fact that he was stealing money from my wallet. Yes, that's right, and he was spending it on silly things like running shoes, polyester clothing, and water bottles!

After about 4 weeks I was tempted to just end the relationship and make a clean break from him. I was starting to miss my old friend Food occasionally, and Exercise just wasn't as cool as I thought he would be. A lot of people would hear about me and Exercise and their reaction would be "Good for you - that's great that you're doing something for yourself." I'd smile and nod my head but think to myself, 'If I was going to do something for myself I would spend some time with my friend The Mall, The Nail Salon, or Her Majesty... the Dairy Queen.' But, I had told quite a few people about this new friendship so I stuck with it out of sheer determination.

And I have to admit that I'm glad I did. As the weeks progressed, I started to see the good side of my new friend. He was getting more and more enjoyable to be with, the aches and pains that he used to inflict were starting to lessen with each meeting, and my kids were finally able to respect our time together. I might even go as far as saying that I look forward to our little dates now.

How is my husband taking all of this? He has been very supportive. He knows that Exercise can be a good friend and he encourages the relationship that we've developed. Aside from the stolen money, he thinks it's a great thing.

So where is this relationship heading? I'm not really sure yet. I'm just enjoying our new found friendship and hope it continues for years to come. I hope that Exercise can be a regular part of my life, just like any other BFF would be.

I did The Lake Run last week-end. This is a picture of the boys running me to the finish-line.

Tiptoeing Through the Tulips

It's Tulip Time again in Holland. This afternoon I walked around downtown and watched the Mother/Daughter (which included one son) Dutch Dancers. A week ago I thought it would be a Stem Festival as it seemed as if a lot of tulips were already blooming or had bloomed. With early, mid, and late tulips there are plenty available to see.

Going to Tulip Time events reminds me of my first year here with Aunt Ruth, Aunt Ada, Gloria, and Mom here, and then last year Mom and Dad were here at the end of Tulip Time.

Helicopter fun

These are Jake and Malissa's two boys, Ashton and Carter, having a ball helping Grandpa get the millions of helicopters out of the gutters. Dave was not enjoying himself nearly as much as the boys, who thoroughly entertained.

Old Christmas cards

What do you all do with old Christmas cards? We've made really attractive tray favors in the past, but that's a lot of work. Each favor is different so creativity is the name of the game. Are holiday tray favors for nursing homes and such a thing of the past? I have two years of cards that are too beautiful to toss out but what to do with them?

I grew up during the Great Depression and that combined with the German work and save ethic makes it hard to discard anything that could be recycled.

Olney - Home of the White Squirrels

I just spent 4 1/2 days in Olney, Il helping Eric paint the home they will be moving into on Monday. We did 4 bedrooms, living room and family room. Everything needed 2 coats and one room took 3. I am stiff, sore, and tired, but pretty proud that I could still do it! These are my top 10 observations.

1. If your pants get ripped on day one, you can wear them 3 more days with a little duct tape repair.
2. If you are in a town where absolutely no one knows you, you can go to Walmart as you are...looking like you've been painting for days (I did not wear the duct tape pants, though.) When I got there and looked around, I saw most people looked as bad as I did. Some even had paint on their clothes, and I don't think they had just come from a paint job.
3.If you let 3 teenagers pick their own bedroom paint colors, you get some wild-looking bedrooms.
4. If the paint is brown and the carpet is variegated brown...so much the better for paint drips and spatters!
5. I thought I was the only one who could trim the top edges. After I struggled and wasted a lot of time on 5 rooms, as this was a really difficult ceiling edge, I found Eric edging out the last big bedroom, with almost a perfect edge! "Well, Mom, I painted at least 20 whole duplexes when we lived in Athens, Al." Now you tell me!
6. In my book it's OK to get some paint on the woodwork, but please, wipe it off immediately! The lady who painted before us left white paint dripped and swiped all over everything.
7. If all you've got to clean with is dishwashing gel, go ahead and use it! It not only cleans, but leaves that little extra sparkle!
8. Time goes fast when you're painting. About the time you think you should stop for lunch, you realize lunch is past and it's time for supper. I lost 3 1/2 pounds!
9. I was ecstatic that I didn't fall off any ladders, knock over any paint cans, or have my back go out...but I did manage to pull down one whole set of window blinds, damage one ceiling fan, clog up the garbage disposal, and wear out the CD player.
10. Olney might be called the Home of the White Squirrels, but I only saw one squirrel and he was definitely gray - dark gray, not to be mistaken for white.

Oh, and one more, I went 4 1/2 days with no cell phone service, no internet, and no TV! and I survived! Glad to be back!

Request and question

Request: This morning I sent an e-mail update to the blog list but several were returned - Linda, Cathy, Eric, Cleve, and Judy. Apparently I had old e-mail addresses, so could someone who received my e-mail forward to the above if you have current addresses?

Thank you to those who have responded - we really appreciate your interest and prayers.

Question: Well, spring is pretty much over, but I have wanted to ask what your favorite spring tree/flower is? As for me, I love dogwoods. I just love it when they start to bloom. Their season is now over, but I really enjoyed them this year.

So - what is yours?

Pre-School Prom

On Friday, they had a prom for the preschoolers at Nathan's daycare. We dug up an old tux, and he came up with the glasses and hat idea. Here are some pics of him trying on his tux the night before, and at the dance the next day.

He thinks he's pretty cool!


All the kids throwing balloons around:


With a good friend from his class:

Heiniger Family Update

We moved about a month ago. We're still in the same town, just a bigger house. In fact, we're pretty close to Angela and Jerry. (Does Heater babysit?)

Ethne is finishing up school in a few weeks. She lost her first tooth last week.

Catie surprises us every day with her imagination. I don't know where she comes up with some of this stuff.

Riley and Gavin are 9 months now. Hard to believe I was on bedrest a year ago, thinking we'd have micropreemies. Look at them today: They both are healthy, happy, and active. VERY active.

Brett is still working at Caterpillar. I'm starting to run again. We're both looking forward to the Klop Family Fun Run. Hope to see you all at the reunion this summer!

GOOD MORNING

I really have nothing of importance to post, just getting tired of seeing the turkey - yes, it was a beautiful turkey and a beautiful girl - but time for a change.

It's a lovely sunny day in Gridley but supposed to turn cloudy later. Jerry's volunteering at the hospital this morning. I plan to get the laundry done and the house cleaned while he's gone. That means I have to get away from this computer asap.

We've been working at putting a bathroom in our basement. Big job but hopefully it will be finished before the EJK reunion so out of town guests who might use that bedroom will have their own private bath. Plus I won't have to run upstairs every half-hour when I'm downstairs sewing!
Jerry installing lights - good story to go with that project, but that's his story to tell. Can you believe he was confined to a recliner and a walker just 9 months ago!?! Praise the Lord.

My Daughter the Turkey Hunter

Mary Lee had a day out of classes on Wednesday due to a huge competition taking place on campus. So she came home Tuesday night, and you can see what she did with her dad on Wednesday morning. Both were very happy with her success!

Hands, Part II

Some of you rec'd an e-mail from Ada about Grandma's hands. (It was neat - maybe she can post it on here.) Here is the accompanying pic.  Anyway, it reminded me of a previous post by Judy, shown below.

Conversation with Ben:

Ben: I know why you're my grandma.
Me: Why?
Ben: Because you're my mom's...you're my mom's...because you're my mom's...
Will: She's Mom's mom.
Ben: Yeah, you're my mom's mom. And her hands are real smooth...and your hands are...popping out.

Just this week Reagan was looking at my hand, poking at the veins, and said, "You're hand is just like Grandma Great's."  (my kids/grandkids say Grandma Great instead of Great Grandma).    *sigh*

Cathy

Watch Your Mailbox!

Watch your mailbox for EJ Klopfenstein reunion news, coming very soon! We've had some interesting ideas presented that I hope will pique your interest. Mark your calendars for July 31! You won't want to miss it!

more of our "Easter" week-end

We were glad for a warm weather day so the children could be outside. Uncle Preston hid the plastic eggs filled with candy all over our yard. It is an annual event the children enjoy. There were 19 of us for a roast beef supper since Glenn's Aunt Marilyn joined us. We missed our KC family. Carol

WEEKEND WITH GRACE AND OWEN

We got home around 9:30 last night after spending three enjoyable days with Grace and Owen. I took my sewing machine and they both had fun with it. With ideas from Owen's craft book and a trip to Joann's fabric store for supplies, we had a very productive weekend.

Grace is sewing squares together to make a pillow. She plans to redecorate her bedroom soon and these colors should fit into her decor.

She did a great job sewing all these squares. The fleece fabric is very stretchy and slippery and difficult to work with especially for a beginner's project.

Owen and Grandpa made a plaque for his blue and red bedroom. He has a new "loft" bed which he and Drake will be putting together soon.

Owen and Grandpa spray-painting an airplane that they made from materials found in their recycling bucket. This is one of two airplanes they made.

Grace, Owen and the completed projects. The little striped bags were their "learn to run machine/practice" projects.

Slight Change in Commenting Structure

Several weeks ago I changed the settings on my personal blog so that people would have to type in the letters shown before commenting. This was because there were more and more random ads and spam comments appearing on my own blog. I just realized that that affected this blog as well, since both are under my name. Hope no one minds this extra step, as we were starting to get spam comments on the EJK blog as well. Please don't let it cut down on the volume of your comments.

Have a good week - I'm back to school this week. Kinda hard after 10 days off!

Our "Easter" week-end

We're having most of our family here for "Easter" dinner tomorrow. Bruce & Elizabeth's family stopped by briefly enroute to Forrest where he is helping serve Communion tonight. I got a quick picture of Laura & Sarah with our blooming Rhododendron bush. I enjoy spring flowers very much! Carol

I SAW CATHERINE

This morning, during the Today Show, I was "spacing out" during the commercials as I usually do. All of a sudden I thought "that looks like Catherine" then immediately realized that it was an Evergreen commercial and it actually was Catherine. I just got a momentary glimpse of her, but she looked good. It was so exciting!!

Photo

They might not want me to post this - but it's too nice a picture (taken by Mary) not to share. :-)

Pollen, pollen everywhere

I am looking out the window at a yellow haze. Tree pollen is dusting everything. Roads and parking lots are yellow. Cars are covered. There's a yellow film on top of the lake or any other standing water. I'll have to vacuum the furniture on the porch before we can sit out there, and clean the glass table tops out there before anything can be put on them (but not until right before we're going to use them, because all will soon be covered again). And everywhere you go you hear people sneezing! The only way to get rid of it is to pray for rain. Does any other part of the country have pollen issues this bad?!!

A Night of Terror - in Memory

April 3, 1974 - Do you remember that night? It is still vivid in my memory.

On the way to Wednesday evening service, we saw a huge cloud with a very unusual color . . . Dad commented, "Something's going on in that cloud."

When we got to the church building, no one was there. Finally a teenager who attended came and told us there had been a tornado. We went driving around and little by little news trickled in of who had been killed or injured, whose homes had been destroyed. We stopped at the hospital on the way home to check on some people.

After arriving home, another tornado, this one in our town. Mom and Dad had no idea of the extent of the storm and had gone to another hospital to check on some other people, not realizing that there was another tornado just a couple miles south of us. (For the younger readers, weather reporting was nowhere near what it is today!)

All in all, I remember having a double funeral at our church for a couple who was killed. I remember the many who came to help rebuild and who sent clothing for us to distribute. I remember that night putting a healthy respect of tornadoes in my spirit. I remember this date every year as a Night of Terror.

Mom had this picture of Dad and Grandma in her later years. Looks like a good conversation! Hope everyone has a blessed Easter weekend.