These pictures are of my niece, Clarinda, her husband-Ryan and their 2 beautiful children, Destiny and Dominic. Wonderful blessing form God our Father.

Well, everyone is gone and I thought I would sit down and write a thing or two about one of the greatest Thanksgiving in my life. It is a bittersweet one too because this is the first T-day without dad here. What more could one ask for then to know he is at home with the Lord and our precious granddaughter that was born way too early in March. Gracelyn is with Jesus and her Great Papa Frey.

Now to tell you the events of this week. First of all we have been on pins and needles because Robert's factory has been talking contract talk. They had a vote on Tuesday and Robert said he thought it would be close. Robert got up Wednesday and called for the results of the vote. He was right...BUT they did pass it by 7 votes. PTL looks like work for another 2 years.

Last night we went to bed and at about 2:00 in the morning Robert woke me up getting back into bed. Usually that doesn't bother me but I ask what he was doing and he told me he was letting my dog in with his hunting buddy. I couldn't figure that one out and ask, who are you talking about? At 2:00 in the morning my husband wanted to play a guessing game with me. He said who do you know around here that hunts. All I could think of was Bubba's buddy that lives in the area but why would my husband be letting him in with the dog at 2 a.m.? Didn't make since to me and Robert said no, not him and told me to think...who do I know that hunts...all I could think of was Bubba but he is in North Carolina...but was he? I ask Robert if he meant Bubba? He said YEA!! I was out of that bed and flying through the house to see my son. What a blessing to have him home for Thanksgiving!!!

We have a tradition we started 4 years ago in our family. We pick someone in the family to bless with a grocery shower at Thanksgiving. It has been one of the kids that has had a hard time during the year and we just want to let them know we love them and we are here for them. This year it was my niece, Clarinda, (my brothers daughter) and her family. It was so cool........she was so caught off guard and surprised. My sister (and Hubby) in AR and her kids, my daughter with her family, my mom, Robert, I, Brandon, Heith, Jessica & boys and Niki and kids all went together to gather food for them. This year we even had extended family, my aunt her daughter and husband came to dinner and they gave to the grocery shower.I love to give and this is something the Lord has laid on my heart to do.

The grocery shower not only blesses the family that is getting it but blesses our lives and pulls us closer together as a family. My kids and grandkids get to share in the awesomeness of giving and being blessed as they bless others. I didn't want to do it this year but am so glad I did and everything worked out as it did.

Proverbs 28:27
Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

Psalm 138:2
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

The Protigal Son

I have loaded this picture although it was taken some years ago. The 2 little ones in the picture are the 2 boys that are playing sports in school now. I loaded this picture because I wanted a family picture to tell you about the great news we received today.

Let me start at the beginning...great place to start. Way back, over 23 years ago, Robert and I got married and created a blended family. Robert had 2 boys and I have 2 boys and 2 girls...then a year and a half later we added one of our own...Bubba. After Robert and I got married, we made the decision together that it would be better for Robert to adopt my four kids and we would have a Yours, mine and ours family but it would then be "our" family and everyone would have the last name "DUNN".

The kids were all for it and their Biological father was for it for his own reasons, so we started the paper work and it was done. I wish I could say we all lived happily ever after but the story doesn't stop there. When Heith reached his senior year in high school he had a time of rebelling and went to live with his biological father. He was going through what I would say is a natural reaching out to what he knew to be his roots. He made the choice to change his name back to "Jones". No, I am not kidding that was his given sir name at birth.

It hurt Robert and I deeply at that time but I called Sis. Clay and she reminder me that it was far more important that his name be in the lambs book of life then anything he might be called on earth. I held on to that thought through the years. When the babies came I would think it would have been fun to have these 2 little ones with the same last night as us but I loved the family unconditionally.

We were invited over today and the kids gave us some astounding news. Something I had never thought would happen. Heith made the announcement after lunch that him and his family had petitioned the court to have their last name changed to Dunn. Heith told Robert and I that he was proud of us and that we had done a great job raising him and he thought of Robert as his dad and he wanted to go by Dunn.

Wow, no amount of money would have given us that joy we felt at that moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. I cried, Robert cried and Heith walked over to "his dad" and gave him a big, big hug!!

All I could think of was what must our heavenly father feel when we say that we want to be called his child. I had a tiny taste of the joy that he must feel when one of his children comes back to HIM.

Luke 15:31 And he said to him, "Son , you are always with me, and all that I have is yours!

Praise God for the healing of relationships and family in ways we don't even imagine.

Little Sports

Here are the latest pictures of the little sports in my life. Jacob is the football player and Garrett the soccer player. They are brothers and are my son Heith's 2 boys. They are definitely a great joy in my life.

I have to confess my humor and tricky side got the best of me last night...I have not for years had anything to do with Halloween but...since the grandkids have come along and it is their parents that make those kind of choices for them, I had to jump in and have fun with them.

Jake and Garrett came over as usual, they thought, to get their treats from grandma and grandpa. I had a trick planned for them with the help of their parents. I had a bail of straw in front of the house with corn stalks, a pumpkin and a mum. That is where scary comes in-ME! I set up the house to look like no one was home put a table cloth over my head to represent a ghost "holy" that is and sat on the straw. I had told my son to have the kids look by the ghost to find there treat if it looked like we weren't home (he know it WAS going to look like we weren't home).

When they arrived my son didn't bring the boys, their mother did and they went in the house, right past me, and turned on the light. They were looking on the kitchen table for their treats. They were leaving and the boys were getting in the truck and Jessica was lagging behind so I was able to whisper to her to have the boys look around the ghost. She told the boys that maybe grandma left the candy some where over by the pumpkins so being the boys they were they came running.....well, all I have to say is, one for grandma and a good one ON the two boys that will never forget that Halloween. We had some good laughs and I better be on the watch because we all love to play tricks around here and not just at Halloween!!!

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Believe me in this house there is no dried bones...we all love a good trick and a laugh.