Another Birthday Surprise - More Gifts

Imagine my surprise today when I got another birthday card in the mail! It didn't have a return address and I thought it may be from my dad and step-mom as they usually send a card, but this year they are taking me to lunch. 

I opened it and was really shocked to see it was from my friend Matt. I got several packages around my birthday and asked Matt if they were from him as I didn't want to open the packages I got without video chatting the person who sent it. He told me he didn't send anything. 

I looked at the mail date and my mouth dropped open when I saw that he sent it on August 20 and it came to me on September 8th! It took almost 3 weeks to get to me in the mail! It had three stamps saying it was "non-machinable" so I think it was an odd sized card as I have seen this happen in the past where it won't fit through the automated system and I think because it didn't have a return address, it had to be dealt with by a human.

It was really a huge surprise getting that card today. It had a $100 visa gift card in it. It was a very thoughtful gift for me as this next few months is always a hard time with house taxes, house and car insurance renewals, as well as the holidays. It is so sweet that he sent a gift! He has sent me many wonderful gifts, and I shared in past blog posts, that I have not always been the best at accepting gifts from men, especially friends that are men, so he has been patient with me about that. I have one last gift that I will be getting soon that he ordered last year, but has taken time to be made and sent across the country, and I am excited to get to see it soon. 

I also have a spa gift I mentioned before from my sister that she won in a raffle and gave me for my birthday. I don't know that I have ever had such a drawn out birthday, but I am not complaining. What a fun BIRTHDAY I have had this year! 

Have a blessed day!

Partying For A Month

We've been celebrating my birthday this month. I started celebrating with Princess Two last month as seen here. She took me to sushi and a play. Then other girls started in, and I got a lovely card from Princess Three and her husband. 

I joked with my girls that I was celebrating for a long time as I have not been eating ice cream for awhile, but I have been craving a banana with ice cream for some time, so I thought I would splurge and get some and went to the store where my sushi making friend so I could support him and buy myself some sushi. 

He used to give me free sushi during covid, but hasn't given me any for some time. He offered me a free sushi while there so I picked a fresh roll that takes the California roll and adds a bit more called a Utah Roll. I also really like the Phili Roll. 

So, I got a free sushi roll. I then got some ice cream and some bananas as I figured if I am craving it, then I must need something in it. When I was checking out, the checker said, "Oh, you've had a birthday, you get your birthday ice cream." I asked what she was talking about as I had never heard of that before. 

She told me that associated foods gives you a free container of ice cream for your birthday! I guess I have never bought ice cream around my birthday before because I have never gotten a free ice cream before and I have had a frequent shopper account with them forever! 

So, I got free ice cream and sushi and feel like I have been being really blessed lately. I decided to play some Pokemon and eat my sushi in the car and listen to some music. I LOVED it when "Another one Bites the Dust" as it is like "another Pokemons down, and another ones gone" etc. It was so nice! I texted a photo to my kids telling them the partying goes on! 

I feel so blessed to have friends who do such sweet things for me. I told my children to put the free ice cream in their phones for their birthday as it is an entire container! 

Let the Partying Continue!

Fireworks and Berries with Cream

We had a very long day. The kids have been up later than they have in forever the last three nights. They usually get to bed between 6-7 each night. 

The youngest fell asleep last night before they could do their own fireworks, so the birthday boy didn't get his birthday "cake" and his mom had purchased a ton of berries for the cake. 

So tonight, they stayed up late again so we could have ice cream and berries while their dad put on a pyrotechnic fireworks show for us in the driveway. 

There were so many other things that we did today that I want to share eventually. It was a very full day, but as happens, I am tired and may never post them as that seems to happen during the busy times of my life. 

It was a fun evening and I LOVED the berries. I had a huge bowl. I was once again in heaven watching the cute kids expressions and enjoying the time with my daughter and her family. The berries were just a rainbow of delight to end the night! 

Have a blessed day!

Happy Birthday America and Grand Prince One

We were up really early this morning so we could give Grand-Prince one his birthday presents before the local 4th of July parade. 

He had gotten a few of his gifts from me early as I thought it would be nice if he could play with them while I was visiting. He and his siblings have enjoyed playing with games, toys, tents, and me! 

I had purchased some patriotic outfits for the kids, along with some fun glasses. We left to the parade and this was the first year they were allowed to collect candy and trinkets along the parade as their mom was worried

about some allergies they had to dye etc. 

They have been trying out some foods recently and this was such a fun thing for them to be able to get treats and actually eat them this year! They had a blast at the parade getting treats, and it melted my heart that Grand-Princess One noticed a little downs syndrome girl sitting near us and she kept collecting treats and toys for the girl and then running them to the grandfather as the girl was sitting on his lap. I could see that not only did it make the girl happy, but her grandfather was beaming that someone was thinking of her needs not being able to sit at the edge of the parade for obvious reasons. 

It was so nice to see them thinking of others. We also took a bag of red. white, and blue corded bracelets from oriental trading that I purchased and gave them out to kids on our side of the parade route for a block in each direction and made more than one parent and child smile! 

After the parade, the kids sorted their candy and it was the first time they have ever just been able to eat candy at will. At Halloween, they have always had to give out  candy rather than get it. They would trade any candy they received during the day for a caramel apple.

It was fun for me to see them get excited at the parade now being able to interact with the people giving out treats. Grand-Princess One waved at EVERY float and each time the driver / passengers would wave back and smile at her. She was so energetic with her smile and wave! 

It was lovely to see them having so much enjoyment from the day! I feel so blessed to live in a free country and have such a beautiful and healthy family! 

I hope you had a blessed fourth ~ Have a blessed day!

Happy Mother's Day To You and A Stranger

I had a weird experience this week. I was at a store and had an issue with a phone app in the store as the reception in that store is so horrible. There has been issues for years as the store has other stores in it and none of the apps can be used due to the lack of reception. You can't even use the stores own app in the store as it won't load! 

I am not sure why I went to the customer service on this particular day to suggest that they get a booster for the store to help with the signal. I went and mentioned to the workers that it is always so frustrating that I can't use their own app in store for many years now and have to ask for the discount or coupon as I can't get the app to load due to the bad signal in the store. I told them I would be willing to talk to management or corporate and let them know how frustrating it has been having this situation. 

They took my name and number saying they would pass the information to management. The female worker said she would get into my account and put the coupon in for my shop but she had a hard time getting it to go in so while I was standing there for a few minutes, I mentioned how beautiful the roses were they had for sale. She mentioned that she wanted the white ones as she wanted to put food coloring in them and see if they would change colors. 

I felt a little inspiration telling me to buy her the roses. In the course of the conversation as we were talking I told her I would like to buy her the roses. Of course, she want to accept them, but I told her I felt like I would like to get them for her for Mothers day, and she told me that Monday was her Birthday. I told her that was even more of a reason for me to get them for her. 

She gave me the tag off them to buy them for her but then I thought about it and the roses were in water and open already and figured out that they probably wouldn't take up water since they were already open. I then went looking for a bunch that were white but not opened yet. I was able to find them.

I had just washed a vase I had at home as a kind soul ordered me a flower arrangement and I ended up with 2 as there was a second accidental delivery as the florist in town is changing names and there was a mix up.  

I took the roses home, put a ribbon on the vase, put the flowers in the vase and filled it in with greens and wrote a card and felt to put some money in the card. 

I think the woman was dealing with heath issues as well as in our conversation I mentioned her "dew rag" and how she was rocking it. She said her hair was almost grown enough now to be able to go without it and you could see stubble / regrowth around the ear. 

I took the guy working there a candy treat as I didn't want him to feel like I didn't appreciate him but just felt like God wanted me to get the flowers for this woman. 

I dropped them off and she was very grateful. I didn't wait for her to open the card but asked if I could take a photos and I looked horrible from working in the trees and my face was bruised and puffy from my fall earlier in the week. 

I figured that God doesn't wait for you to look your best when he asks you to do something for others, so even though I had been working in the yard and ran to the store for a few items, I figured that I went when I did as God wanted someone to let her know she mattered or God cared. 

I had also been praying for a way to "pay it forward" as a kind person gave me some money recently and I got flowers recently as well, so I used some of the money I was given to buy the roses and put in the card! I have always found that if I pay tithes on anything I am given and pay some of it forward, I am blessed more! 

I am so blessed to have five amazing daughters that support me and always remember me on Mother's Day. Some other moms are not so blessed. When I was a single mom and my kids were young, I know that kids can't get things for Mother's Day with no funds etc, but they always did service, giving foot rubs etc. This woman mentioned a son and younger in age so I don't know if she had anyone to buy her a mothers day gift or not, but I felt blessed to be able to do something for her birthday and Mother's Day for her. 

I am grateful to my friends who gave me money when I was low on funds, and I am grateful that God allowed me to find someone to pay it forward to who may need it! I am blessed! 

I hope you had a great Mother's Day! Have a blessed day! 

HAPPY EASTER - New Beginnings

I got some wonderful new recently and it revolved around Easter, so I wanted to share a post about this for Easter. 

There was a family that moved in to our area that the mother was marrying a neighbor. Some of the kids struggled with the move and some thrived. 

The middle son got into some struggles halfway through high school and got into drugs. After school, he got really deep into hard core drugs to the point of stealing anything of value in their home and selling it for drugs. 

A few years back, I felt strongly that I needed to spend some time helping his mom organize her home. Coincidentally, at that time, he just happened to get out of jail on probation, and as I spent everyday working in the home, I would talk to him about life and how God sees him. I had one specific day that I felt impressed by God before going to share with him that he is like Jean ValJean from Les Mis. 

That day, we had a really good discussion about how when you accept Christ as your Savior, there can be a huge change in your life. You can let go of the bad, sad, and anything you are willing to let go of if you can just open yourself to accepting that you are worthy to start fresh. 

He relapsed right after that and that relapse was the bottom for him. After that, he moved and started a program and cut people out of his life that were not good influences. It has been a long process but I have checked in regularly with him as he was friends with one of my daughters and I care about him and his family. 

As I have texted him since he has started on that path to "healthy" he has shared that he had a girlfriend who is super positive. He told me he had to cut a friend out of his life, and told me that he was going to church. This last month, when I texted him asking how he was doing, he told me that he was going to get his priesthood back! In our church, this is a big thing. You have to live a wholesome life for a long amount of time before you can hold the priesthood. You also have to live a good life to keep it. 

I could tell how happy and proud he was to share that. I was helping his mother recently and she told me that the entire family was going to be together over Easter and he was going to get ordained to the priesthood while everyone was together!

I have been reflecting over how amazing GOD is as a loving Father. Of course a father would accept a son back who was lost! What keeps us from his is our belief that we can't be forgiven or we can't forgive ourselves for the things that WE have done in the past. 

Easter is representative of new beginnings, the egg. Fresh starts. Christs atonement. Hope. I can't think of a better day or time for him to renew himself! Surrounded by family and recommitting himself to Christ. It is such a wonderful thing. 

I LOVE that he is doing well and I could tell how happy his mother is with where he is after having to go through so much with his past. I am so happy for both of them. I know how much joy I find for both of them, so I can't understand how much joy God must have with where he is. 

I love that each day can be a new beginning and fresh start but especially at this Easter time. 

Have a beautiful and blessed day!

Happy Valentines Day - Lovely Valentine Song

Happy Valentines Day Friends! I am glad to share this cute video of my grandchildren wishing a Happy V A L E N T I N E S Day! 

I don't share about my grandchildren much on my channel trying to keep them safe, but their mom sent this video and said I could share it with you all! I feel so blessed to have such cute grandchildren! I am so lucky to have such cute Valentines in my world!

I was able to send each of my girls and grand-children a Valentine treat which they all got safely in the mail. Last year, I sent them at least a week ahead and they got them in one day. I wanted to be sure that they got them by today, so I sent them Thursday I think. 

I was surprised when Princess Four got hers in a different state by the next night! Princess One also said she got hers the next day! I called all my girls today to wish them a Happy Valentines day and they all verified that they received them. I was able to let a few know that they needed to check their mailboxes and Princess Five found hers this evening! 

I had a sweet friend drop off a card and some cute heart earrings and several people text me wishing me a Happy Valentines Day. But, by far, getting to video chat my grand-kids was the highlight of my day! Being a grandma is the best! 

I hope you had a beautiful and Happy Valentines Day!

All Out Nerf Battle War Fun - Annual Family Activity

My kids were all coming for the first time in six years for Christmas this year. For about a year, I have been buying up used Nerf guns at thrift stores trying to buy all the same types of guns so we could have an all out Nerf battle over Christmas. 

After purchasing about 10 guns that are the same, I kept looking for foam soft tipped bullets. The one thing about Nerf Bullets is that they get lost or broken. I wasn't able to find more than a few used foam bullets. 

I started researching online for inexpensive bullets and found 1000 bullets for under $35 shipped! It was worth taking a few minutes to compare as there is a huge variety of prices for the same exact thing. I knew we wouldn't need that many bullets, so I sold off bags of 100 red and 100 blue soft tipped bullets for $20 locally selling off about 500 bullets and making more money than I spent on all 1000 bullets I ordered. I loved that I could make some money on the bullets covering what I bought and helping pay for some of the used guns I purchased. 

I kept an eye out at thrift stores for cute and fun sunglasses for eye protection. I purchased enough glasses for men, women, and children. Most of the glasses were new but purchased at thrift stores and were kind of fun shapes. 

I also kept an eye out for cheap string pull back packs so that each gun had a pack and a spot for bullets so everyone had enough bullets. I found new bags for $0.50 each. 

I was able to find two birthday NERF sets that had tattoos, stickers that we put on the back of the bags, and we put tattoos on before heading out to have our Nerf Battle War. 

The sun was bright so I had a hard time getting good photos. I actually set up a video camera on a tripod but because the playground was so big, everyone took off and you couldn't see much on the longer video, so I tried to move it and because everyone was in and out of the playground equipment and running from the bullets, the video is a bit boring. I think if I had a go-pro on, it would have been more exciting. 

EVERYONE said they wanted to make it an annual event. I was glad I had glasses on as one hit my on the side of the head right on the glasses, also with the kids playing, they can't aim as well, so the eye glasses were for sure a must. You have to plan on losing some bullets. For some reason, one of my daughters wanted to see how many we lost in the game. At the end, we all stood a few feet apart and walked the playground, but the bullets went onto the soccer field and basketball courts, so in the end, we lost between 20 and 30 bullets. 

Everyone had fun with this and we did have a moment of "hurt" feelings with one of the kids getting shot as even though the bullets were soft tipped, they still sting when they hit. However, the crying didn't last long as they wanted to get out and shoot some more. The 3 year old was just happy to run around picking up the foam bullets. 

Years ago, I made a bunch of marshmallow guns and we take them camping or to the park. The problem with them is that in the heat, they start to melt and you have to clean them up at the park and they get sticky and make a mess. So we have enjoyed having massive battles over the years, but after having this NERF battle, I am going to sell my marshmallow guns and just keep these Nerf guns instead. Of course, the marshmallows cost less per game, but can only be used once. Since I made money on purchasing the bullets by selling some, we can always buy more and sell some off and there is no cost for the game / war / battle. You could even rent out the guns and glasses for parties. If someone rented them for $50 for a family party, you could lose over 1000 bullets and still make money! 

I see no negatives for this activity. It was really fun and I think worth all the time collecting the guns. I am going to keep looking for that exact gun at thrift stores as our family is just going to keep getting larger. I keep it all in a labeled tote for easy access and storage. 

Thanks for watching and have a blessed day!

Book Journals - Fun Idea Part 2

I shared a few days ago about how I was making some book journals for my kids and grandchildren. I want to share how I finished making them. 

I put the blank pages and the books in order of how I wanted them set up, and then I took them back to the printer and he said his employees were all exposed to covid so he didn't have workers to help cut the binding holes into the pages and covers, so I ended up spending the entire day there cutting all the pages and covers. 

I realized that some of the cheaper bindings on certain books didn't have thicker cardboard so there was nothing to hold the binding on the covers. I ended up having to tape cardboard on the inside and sometimes outside of the cover before punching holes in the covers. 

With the cardboard on the covers of the books, some wouldn't fit into the hold cutter for the binders, so I had to use a hole punch electronic machine that punched the holes one at a time. My arm was super sore the next days having to punch front and back covers one hole at a time and sometimes had to punch each hole twice. 

I had to go to two different places to buy the spiral binding and the smaller two sizes I needed were $20. I paid the other company $30. The books were probably $15 or so. So in total, I spent under $100 for all 13 books I made which is much cheaper than the $30 each to purchase books. 

Both places I purchased the ring binding from told me they were really difficult to put on. I came home and started putting the bindings on and they were super hard to put on. In fact a few of them were chewed up so much with me trying to get them through that I went back the next day to cut new holes in them.

I learned later than sooner that when you are winding the wires through, the covers are longer than the paper so when you are trying to wind the spiral bindings through, the paper is hanging down causing weight on the ring so I found that by lifting the covers up and letting the papers inside touch the counter and that took the weigh off the paper and made the wire go through so much quicker and did less damage to the covers. 

It did take a long time to get the binding rings through, but it was worth it. I spent some time on Christmas Eve sharing why I picked the book I did for each person and why I made them as the journals. 

It was actually a really neat experience that allowed me to share with my kids what I love about each of them.

When I asked my son-in-law later what his favorite gift he received for Christmas, he said the journal. It made all the work worth it. Everyone, even my grandchildren really seemed to enjoy the journals. They asked if they could take pictures with me and the journals and put them in the front of the journals and also asked me to write something in the front of each, so I spent a few hours writing messages to each of them in their books. 

I made a video of how I made the books so that if anyone wanted to make them, their process may go a bit faster and easier. 

I loved that I was able to find a gift that everyone appreciated. Have a blessed day!

Church Christmas Party Blessings

I was able to go to my church Christmas Party tonight. It was lovely having the teens sing carols while the primary age children did a nativity. 

I had a great visit with friends and their family members who came home for a visit and it was good to catch up with them. 

I met a few people I had not met yet who have moved in recently. It was nice to get out like before Covid. There were about half of what we used to have attending. I was able to make some plates for some who have health issues and didn't come. 

I ended up with 3/4 of a large pan of garlic mashed potatoes and 1/4 pan of roast beef and a bucket of gravy. I am going to freeze it for when the girls come home over the holiday. 

I returned the caterers pans and packaged up some smaller containers for me to eat this week.  

I also got to have a long visit with Princess One today, talked with Princess Three, four, and five on the phone today. It was a nice day! 

Have a blessed day! 

Blessings and Miracles - I Have Good Friends - Feeling Loved

I had a surprise from my friend and her husband this week. They asked if they could come over to visit me. 

They showed up with a gift box. She was crying before she even said anything, and her husband was wide eyed and he wasn’t looking at me trying not to cry. I started crying as she told me that her family gives money to different people or groups every year and they each take turns deciding who to give it to. 

They decided this year that they would like to give it to me because "I am always thinking of others, and I am always serving and choosing to be positive and dealing with the parasites etc." She said it made them sad I couldn’t afford the gold earrings for my ears, and they wanted me to use the money on myself and not give it away, but to do something for me. 

I opened the box and there was $500 fanned out and candy in the bottom of the box. I thank them and then the box shifted, and I realized there was $1000. I was really overwhelmed as I hate taking their hard-earned money. I was so overwhelmed as it is so generous. 

I hugged them both and started crying as they left. I stood sobbing behind the closed door. I gathered myself and went to the mailbox and there was a credit card cash back bonus check for $556 for the year. I looked on the check letter and just before the check rips off, there was a number with a 111.Here is a link to what 111 means to me. 

I then realized that I paid tithing to my church after putting all the bills in my checkbook the other night. I pay ten percent of my income each month to my church. The tithing was the last entry into my checkbook, and I paid $155 dollars in tithing. I got $1556 within 2 days of me paying that tithing. 

It was such an amazing thing! I got 10 times what I paid in tithing. I got enough to survive through this month. I feel so very blessed to have such a wonderful bunch of friends and family who care about me and show me in ways I couldn't imagine! 

Have a blessed day!