Fun Weekend with the VanCleave's

We had a fun weekend with the VanCleave family. Here are a few pictures taken after the wedding reception for Julie and Ty Stafford. We were at the Memorial Auditorium and able to take pictures down by the river.




Jared and Brenna after the wedding reception.

Stephanie and Brenna down by the "ribber".

Steph and Brenna - aren't they cute?

Brenna in her dancing dress (garage sale find for $1).

Brenna reading her book while in her dancing dress.

It's About Time...

I know, it has been forever since I have blogged. The last time, I had everything written; pictures uploaded and then deleated everything. I was so frustrated, that I didn't want to blog anymore. I have now decided that once a quarter is probably a good timeframe for me to update the blog :-)

We have had a good spring and summer. The end of May, Steve and I went to Minneapolis to see Ryan and Dana. Had a wonderful long weekend with them. We even went to a couple of softball games to watch Ryan play. I was able to get to the Unique Thrift Shop right after we got to Minneapolis (before the kids got home from work). Steve even discovered a Salvation Army in the same area that I had to go to! Dana and Ryan are very hospitable and it is comfortable being in their home. We hit several garage sales Saturday morning. The goal for Ryan was to find a wheel barrow. Well, his mom found one for him for $3 - needs a little work, but will do for the time being. Dana had some great finds - especially her Pottery Barn bedside table.

While we were at the Bohlen's in MN, my dog, Zeke was suppose to be staying with Grandma Bohlen on the farm. Well, Friday night, he decided to check out the area and didn't return until Thursday at 3:30 in the morning - barking at Grandma Bohlen's door. We were glad to see him safe. Only thing we noticed that was different was a lost dog collar and and a slight slit in his tongue. One lesson learned: Don't look for a dog while driving a vehicle... Even though he had been seen by several people, we never saw him as we drove around the area.

We were able to take time in June to stay at Stephanies. She needed to be on bed rest after a procedure and couldn't lift more than 10 pounds, so Steve and I had to sacrifice our time to go up and help her watch Brenna while Jared worked. It was tough, but we got through it. We brought up a marble game which we found at a garage sale for 50 cents that was a hit. Brenna and I took a couple walks and then Steve and I took her to the little park by their home.

Steve and I also had a garage/yard sale after getting back home from Minneapolis. It was a Friday only. Didn't rain. Was sunny and got a little warm in the afternoon. With our profit of $223, we bought some things we were wanting. I got a new kitchen sink faucet and Steve got a new 12 volt Milwaukee sub-compact driver (see pictures below).

We also are almost out of debt after taking Dave Ramsey's financial class. We sold our Toyota Sienna van to my dad for what we owed on it. Then we bought our "Dave Ramsey van" from my dad - a 1994 Dodge Caravan with 131,000 + miles. Steve almost has his truck paid off - so all we have is our house payment. What a treat to be able to spend more money at garage sales! Speaking of garage sales... last week was my week for footware. I found 13 pair of shoes/boots/crocks/sandles. Boy was it fun. Each pair was $1 to $5. Neva and I had gone to Goodwill in Washington, IA and I found 3 of them there. Steve also found 2 pair himself!

Well, I had better close for now. I have rambled on long enough. Hope everyone is doing fine.

Val



Grandpa and Brenna swinging at the park.

Brenna swinging.

The garage sale we had in June.

My new kitchen sink faucet.

Steve's new drill.

Finally, An Update

Sorry about the delay in my blog update... My life isn't that exciting, yet I have been busy. Here is a summary.

I was on vacation last week. Don't get too excited because it wasn't that great. My sister, Jan and brother, Ken and I cleaned out my dad's house. We are getting it ready to sell. We worked 8 days in a row pitching, saving, organizing, cleaning, etc. We filled two 20 foot dumpsters within that time frame. We emptied 3 bedrooms upstairs and were fortunate to be able to throw out an upstairs window straight into the dumpster. At times it felt like the Dave Letterman Show when they pitch things out from a high place and watch it break up/shatter.

I was only several months old when mom and dad moved into this house. Next week, I will be 55... yes, there was a lot of old stuff in that house. The basement had water in it and has the original octopus furnace that heats the place. Dad's office was Ken's job - to sort, pitch and keep what he thought was best. I'm glad it was he and not me doing that room!

Steph and Brenna came to visit during this time for 3 days. It was nice having them here. After a hard day working, it was great to come home to our guests. Brenna talks a blue streak, but you can't understand a word she says. Actually, it is pretty funny. One evening we went to the neighbor's swing set and played.

Well, I will attempt to attach pictures. Talk to you later.

One of the upstairs bedrooms (dad's hobby room)

Brenna on her rocking horse

Brenna mowing the yard with Zeke in the background

Brenna on the swing set

Ken, Jan and I in Dad's other hobby room

Update on the Bohlen's

Hello to all. Well, just an update, since I haven't been doing so well lately. I did make an error on the last entry - our Bible Study is on the first and third Friday nights of the month, not on Tuesday. Our host and hostess will be on a mission trip our next meeting, so we will be hosting it our home. Started today to clean.

Why did Jesus Christ come to this world? The reason was so that He could testify to the truth. That is what His response was to Pilate prior to his death. See John 18:37. Yes, He also came to save sinners (that was my answer). I'm anxious to view the next video. I will keep you updated.

Today is Valentine's Day. We had a nice breakfast together and then went to the "Puppy Show" down at the Port of Burlington. There were a lot of puppies, but we came home with none. But that isn't the end of the story. There was an add for a free cockapoo in the paper this a.m. We called about her and then this afternoon, went to check her out. We think she is actually a Maltese. She is about a year old. Well, we rescued her and brought her home. Unsure what we will do with her - keep her, give her to Gma Bohlen, ??? Actually, once we got her here, she ate right away. We went on a 2 mile walk with her and Zeke and she did really well. After that, we gave her a bath, and put flea medicine on her. The guy getting rid of her just lost his house, his wife and kids left him, he had been in Iraq... a sad situation.

Here she is. Her name was Sweet Pea, but I think we are going to change it... Maybe to Zoe, if Jessica doesn't mind.

The Truth Project

Steve and I have started/joined a small group and we are watching "The Truth Project" http://www.thetruthproject.org/ This was produced by Focus on the Family with Dr. Del Tackett as the instructor. Here is a summary of the introduction: "This series is designed to take participants on a guided worldview tour, following the points of the worldview compass, a tool designed to direct our thinking with regard to four fundamental issues: Truth, God, Man, and the Social Order. Along the way, we will attempt to build a logical, systematic framework of ideas by which to organize and evaluate the various truth claims to be encountered during the course of our tour. Our ultimate goal is not simply to gain knowledge, but to look upon the face of God - and to be transformed in the process."

The first video was a study on Veritology (a word Dr. Tackett made up): What is truth? Why is it important? What role does it play in the biblical view of the world? He starts the video asking this question: Why did Jesus Christ come into this world? I would love to hear your answers. Just comment on the blog.

We are really excited about studying this series. We are meeting the first and third Tuesday of every month (unsure about the summer yet). I will try to keep you posted on my thoughts and insights.

Hope you have time to visit the website to see what it is all about. Hopefully, it will whet your appetite and you will find a small group in your area.

More of our Weekend in Ames

Brenna's new hair style. Looks a little "punky" to me...

Look at that smile! You can see her teeth about ready to pop through.

Getting off of the "big" chair and kind of posing.



Steve and Steph looking at Papa John's menu and recipe blogs.

Grandpa Bohlen and Brenna attempting to read a book...

Well, we certainly had a fun-filled weekend with the VanCleave Family! It started out with us arriving prior to their small group on Thursday evening. Steph fixed lasagna for everyone. Someone else brought a salad and a dessert. After eating, Steve and I took Brenna down stairs and babysat. I was able to put her to bed with no trouble that evening.

Friday, Jared had to work. We ended up getting pizza for lunch. After Brenna's nap, we went to Hasting's Book store. Steph and I went to Goodwill. She bought a few things for Brenna and I bought a jacket, black pants and a wool sweater. That evening, Steph went to a friend's shower and Jared went to a home of one of the guys in their small group to watch a movie. Again, Steve and I babysat, but Brenna was in bed. All we had to do was watch TV, knit and listen to the monitor.

Saturday, we had a big breakfast. While Brenna had her nap, we went to Salvation army. I bought a pair of jeans and a Chico knit top. That afternoon, we made an apple crisp. We also cleaned the house because there was a showing (there home is for sale). We went to Wallaby's for supper and then went to Cornerstone Church for their Saturday night service. The worship was wonderful and Jeff had a great message from Matthew 12. After we got home and had some apple crisp and put Brenna down, Steve and Jared watched a movie and Steph and I drove to Ankeny to the Christian Book Store and TJ Maxx. We only had about 1 1/2 hours to shop, but we got everything in we wanted to. Boy, was I tired when I got home.

This a.m. we left Ames around 9:00. Had to shovel about 3 inches of snow. Steve packed the car and we said our goodby's. Little Brenna had a hard weekend. She is teething and wasn't very happy some of the times. Other times, though, she was as sweet as she could be. I love to watch her walk - even though she doesn't look old enough to walk. She loves to jabber too. Wish I knew what she was saying. It really helps when she signs for us - eat, more, that's all, please, thank you, drink... The best part was when we went to the mall on Friday. Brenna would wave and say "hi" to all the clerks behind the counters. She is so cute! She has such fine motor skills. One night she sat on Jared's lap and played with two small boxes for about 30 minutes - opening, closing, placing the contents of each box in and out, etc.

Well, enough is enough. In need to stop so you all can read this. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

God is good!