They Say Winter is Coming

You would never guess that winter is going to be knocking on our doors soon. We have had the most delightful fall here in the Tundra. Here we are November 10th and the sun is shining and we are to reach 64 degrees today. Mr. B is out gathering up the last of the fallin leaves and the yard is so green and lush yet. We had a busy summer with our family and friends. Took the motorhome to Gooseberry Falls and Duluth. We helped get granddaughter settled in to her new college digs. Made the weekend a family outing. Camped at Spirit Mountain campground.

Had a wedding in Wisconsin for a relative that was held outdoors. The day was beautiful. Great seeing extended family that we do not see very often. It is a given that when our children grow up, marry and start having there own families, our own lives become very structured around them.

I had my class reunion mid July and that was a summer highlight for me. It was great seeing old classmates. Had a reunion of sorts with grade school classmates at a local eatery. One classmate and neighbor growing up was there. It had been 40 years since we saw each other. Our last get-to-gether was our 10 year class reunion which we attended together as couples. So many folks do not attend class reunions for whatever reason but I really enjoy them and look forward to the next one.

The weekend of the class reunion was a family reunion of sorts at my cousins. That was a fun time too.

Tonight we are getting together with five couples from our neighborhood for a nice dinner and celebrate good friendships that have lasted 35 years or more.

Our children will be hosting a party for us December 18th to celebrate our 50th aniversary. That is a milestone, right? We are blessed. Four married children, 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. Good health too! That has to be from our vitamin and supplement regimen everyday. What do you think?

Christmas will be the next big event before heading south for the winter around the 28th. We are fortunate to have our son and family staying here to keep the "home fires burning".

Some of our Texas Winter buddies are already there and sending emails about the warm temps etc. Looking forward to spending time with all of them and playing pokeno, swimming, hiking, biking and relaxing.

I always have good intentions to keep up this blog. Its a fun way for me to express myself. I will be back with another update soon.

Take care and thank you so much for stopping by "My Very own Blog"

Duck Hunting Opener

Our Family on vacation Gooseberry Falls

Here in Minnesota around the first week in October is the opening of hunting season. This weekend was the opening of duck hunting. Friday morning my husband, our oldest son, his wife, son and grandson took off for the slough. We call it the "slough" but its leased land on a farm near Herman, Mn. The guys have been going up there for about five or six years. Pheasants and deer are hunted there also. I don't mind some wild game to feast on but not all of it. The weekend was quiet for me. I did attend a meeting on Saturday morning but otherwise I stayed close to home. The fall colors are out and the beauty of the season is upon us. Hard to believe that we will soon be shoveling snow. I guess I don't mind the winter so much now that we are able to jump in the motorhome after the holidays and go to warmer climate for a break. We have met some great people in the RV Parks. Look forward to seeing them too.

Have had a busy summer. Took a few short trips with the motorhome. My class reunion was in July which we attended. Part of the family went to Duluth in August to help our granddaughter settle in to her new digs up in Duluth. She is attending UMD this year. That weekend we did take in a few sights. Did the touristy thing.. Gooseberry Falls was a awesome sight. I had never been there before. The younger ones went on the roller coaster ride.

Spent a weekend in Madison, Wisconsin for a cousins daughters wedding. Outdoor ceremony and it was a perfect day for it. Fun to see extended family once again.

Time to say goodnight!

Time for an Update

How can one person be so busy and get so sidetracked? Well guess what, I sure am one of those persons.
We had a nice winter in south Texas and came home just in time to spend Easter with our family at the Pankey home. It was great seeing everyone but its the little ones that you see a change, in a three month span. Our little great grandson is four months old now and already responding with smiles, giggles, cooing and drooling, too.
He is a Minnesota Twins fan along with his Mommy and Daddy. They have season tickets and little Logan goes along. Who knows, maybe he will take up baseball when he "growsup". Like become a 1st baseman or the like. We went to our first Twins game of the season on Tuesday night with our son and his wife. That new outdoor stadium is totally awesome and a must see if you get the chance. It turned out to be a nice evening so that made it most enjoyable. Our tickets were in the Legends Club so that was a treat. The food choices were great. Prices are great too!!
Tonight we are attenting a BBQ and Bonfire for our grandson who turns 17 years old today. Where in the world do the years go? It seems he was just born.
I know this post is short but will do better next time.

Update

Wow, it has been way to long since I opened this blog site. With my website, two blogs on wordpress, calling on prospects and making presentations its been hectic plus some family matters to tend to. Our newest grandchild, CJ, had open heart surgery in October and a week ago had surgery to repair a cleft palate. What an amazing little guy he is. He bounced back so fast from the open-heart surgery. Our daughter started a Caringbridge site for him if you care to visit and read about his progress both in October and now after the last surgery. Just go to Caringbridge.com and type in babyjoe. This last surgery on the cleft palate has been more painful it seems and taking longer to get off the Tylenol and ibuprofen. We had him yesterday for about six hours so Mommy could go in to the office for a few hours. Joe was so good. He ate well and took a two hour nap. He is still not doing real well at night. Maybe its the arm restraints that get in the way. They are on to keep him from putting the fingers in his mouth. We have been in Minnesota the last two winters and this winter has been a bit much. We may take off in the motor home in a week or so and go to points south. Still not sure. Seems there is something going on all the time. Hard to stay focused on my prospecting. I am using webcast and conference calling to make presentations and find it works really well. Again its all about staying focused.

A Caringbridge Site fo Baby Joe

A busy summer for us and now autumn is here with the changing of colors, the full moon, walks in the evening in the crisp air. Today I began the job of preparing the motorhome for its next trip. Not even sure if, where and when we will go but I like to be ready. Our little grandson was scheduled for open heart surgery yesterday, October 14th but the Dr. had an emergency come up with a little 6 yr. old girl so had to use Baby Joes time slot for surgery. Needless to say we were very disapointed but this is the real world we live in and anything can happen. Next Wednesday morning, October 22nd, surgery is scheduled at 7:30 am. Ooodles of prayers for the little guy. Please visit Baby Joes caringbridge site. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyjoe
and remember to sign the guestbook.
My mentor and team leader has a caringbridge site also. She was in a motor scooter accident three weeks ago and is in Duluth St. Mary's Hospital. It will be a long recovery for Deb but she will come through this as she is a very strong willed lady.
Have signed on a couple new customers in the last week so feel really good about that. With Fasttrack on tuesday nights and a team conference call with my Prosper Team on Sunday nights I manage to stay busy. The interesting part of our business the economy has really not affected our wellness company. I am sure it is because of the generous discount and concentrated products. A great savings.
Until next time,

Flickr: Organize your photos & videos

Flickr: Organize your photos & videos

Securing Our Future

So how does that work? Securing our future has a lot to do with our children. How we pay attention to them from a very young age. Every time I hear a sad story about a young person being involved in some type of trouble I wonder "how did this happen?" Often times we as parents get so busy trying to provide for our family that we lose touch with the important things. The following are some good points to help us be better parents.

Encouraging Good Behavior
Children learn behaviors and values mainly from their parents. Make sure your child is learning the right things!
Building Good Relationships
When you take the time to listen to your child, instead of brushing him or her off, you are building connections.
When you respond in a manner that validates his or her feelings instead of invalidating them, you are teaching her to be caring.
When you help him or her to choose appropriate actions, you are helping her to be more competent.
Our Role as Parents
Be Sensitive: We pick up the cues of our children and sense how they are feeling. We listen and empathize.
Responsive: We respond in ways that fit our child's cues. If the child is frightened, we comfort him. If he's intense, we calm him. But we don't excuse disrespectful behavior. Their limits are clear and enforced.
Reciprocal; There is give-and-take in the relationship. We as parents respect the child's emotions and teach him to consider thoughtfully the emotions of others.
Supportive and encouraging: We understand that learning to manage one's emotions takes time and effort. We must support and encourage our children as they practice.
These actions enhance children's development, foster a positive sense of self-esteem, and, most important, build healthy relationships.
The Twelve Disciplinary Elements
Pay attention to your child.
Respect your children and yourself.
Be reasonable, gentle, and firm.
Prevent and minimize problems through understanding, communication, and modeling.
Use positive reinforcement to encourage and reward proper behavior.
Teach ways to make choices.
Set reasonable personal expectations and goals for your child.
Set reasonable expectations for yourself and your family.
Communicate effective and reasonable limits.
Understand misbehavior.
Provide related, respectful, reasonable responses.
Be consistent.
I think being a parent is the hardest job one will ever hold and because of this we need to take and except all the help we can get.
A great website that I found on this subject is:
http://www.familyeducation.com/home/
My husband and I raised four healthy children and we did the best that we could with the knowledge that we had from our parents. Back in the 60's, 70's and 80's I have to admit it was alot different parenting then it is today. We certainly didn't have the internet and reference books that are available today. Does anybody have any idea the why? Let us hear from you.
Thanks and God Bless