Grace loves McDonalds!!!!

Hello everyone!! Tonight we took Grace out to eat at McDonalds and she enjoyed her time very much. As you may know, Grace is now 10 months old. She is walking with our help and is barely talking. Most of it is still gibberish but she is very alert and is having conversations with us. She grunts and waits for us to respond back to her.

Tonight was her first time we got her a McDonalds Happy Meal! Steph and I got her a Chicken McNuggett Happy Meal and she went to town on the fries. Mommy cut them up so they were bite size for her and, yes it's official... Grace loves McDonalds french fries (so does Daddy)!!! Enjoy the pictures!!!!

Today was a lazy day!

Today was a very lazy day for the Nutt family. Today was my day off and we had planned work to do around the house but it was raining and sleeting half the day and then very windy and cold so we just decided to stay in side and played with Grace and we also watched a "Extreme Home Makeover" on the Internet and then some TV. Steph and I did manage to get the finances worked on and Christmas looks very iffy. Way to much money, probably more than we have to pay our regular bills and then for the trip back to Michigan for Christmas, so we might just have to stay home for Christmas. I don't want to do that but not for sure what to do!

Grace is still growing like a weed and we can just barely make out some English words she is saying. But they are mostly her repeating what we said, some one worders, (is that a word?).

Uncle Tim called and talked to me for a little while on the phone. It was good to talk to him briefly. Final got on the treadmill we bought from some church friends on Wednesday. It worked great! We put it in front of the TV and I was able to walk for a 1/2 hour and watch sports. This treadmill even has a timer on it to keep track of how long you have walked and how far you have walked. Very nice! We spent dinner time around the table, the 3 of us and just laughed up a storm while eating pork chops with baked potato's, cooked carrot slices and salad. Grace just made us laugh with her funny faces and the gibberish she was saying. It sounded like she said the "ninja" at the end of a sentence and I told Grace that she couldn't be a ninja when she grew up but that Daddy wanted her to be a mom and a housewife. I said to Grace "just leave that ninja stuff to turtles."

Grace got a bath tonight from Mommy and as Mommy came out she said "I should have just taken a bath with her cause she was splashing so much, getting me wet. Probably shoulda had you Daddy in her to help so we could have tag teaming to give Grace a bath." Mommy put too much water in the bath tub and Grace took advantage of it. Mommy then put her to bed with a bottle and she wasn't hungry so she started crying fiercely so I went in to calm her down but she wouldn't calm down till I rocked her to sleep. Daddy almost feel asleep himself in the chair. After I felt she was thoroughly asleep I put her back into her crib. Grace will be 10 months old by the end of this month. It's unreal how big and how fast time is going by. I will be excited, so I think, to talk to her when she can talk.

I'm glad today is Friday and not Saturday. At least I get another day to relax before going into Sunday with church and Monday back to work. Less than two weeks to Thanksgiving and Steph and I are already in the Christmas mood. We listen to Christmas music and at times I eat like crazy to practice having a Santa figure. Just kidding! I weigh in tomorrow morning and I think so far I have lost 25lbs since September 26. I have noticed I have a lot more energy and can fit into more clothes that were retired or so I thought.

Steph and I with Grace gathered around the piano and sang hymns. It was a good time of family closeness and it was fun to see Grace try and hit the keys while standing against the piano. Well, lets just say that Mommy and Daddy sang while Grace sang in her own 'key'. Lol! Well tomorrow's weather should be the same as today's so I may night do much tomorrow, cept maybe get Mommy to give me a haircut. Later!

What is Armistice Day?

I asked myself the same question so I went online to find out and wow! It was interesting, but I only will copy & paste the history facts and if it wets your whistle then you can go research more yourself. This is the day when we thank God for the veterans. We thank God for victory in World War I. We thank God for those who paid the supreme sacrifice so that we might be free. We thank God for the servicemen and women and pray for them. So let us pause today to ask God's blessings upon our servicemen and women. LET US PRAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE FACING SERIOUS DANGER TODAY. Let us pray for those by name whom we know personally. Thank you for reading...

Veterans Day: The Forgotten Meaning

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

That was the moment at which World War I largely came to end in 1918. One of the most tragically senseless and destructive periods in all history came to a close in Western Europe with the Armistice -- or end of hostilities between Germany and the Allied nations -- that began at that moment. Some 20 million people had died in the fighting that raged for more than four years since August 1914. The complete end of the war came with the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.

The date of Nov. 11 became a national holiday of remembrance in many of the victorious allied nations -- a day to commemorate the loss of so many lives in the war. And in the United States, President Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919. A few years later, in 1926, Congress passed a resolution calling on the President to observe each November eleventh as a day of remembrance:

Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed; and

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.

Of course, the hopes that "the war to end all wars" would bring peace were short-lived. By 1939, Europe was again at war and what was once called "the Great War" would become World War I. With the end of World War II, there was a movement in America to rename Armistice Day and create a holiday that recognized the veterans of all of America's conflicts. President Eisenhower signed that law in 1954. (In 1971, Veterans Day began to be marked as a Monday holiday on the third Monday in November, but in 1978, the holiday was returned to the traditional Nov. 11 date).

Today, Veterans Day honors the duty, sacrifice and service of America's nearly 25 million veterans of all wars. We should remember and celebrate those men and women. But lost in that worthy goal is the forgotten meaning of this day in history -- the meaning which Congress gave to Armistice Day in 1926: "to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations ... inviting the people of the United States to observe the day ... with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples."

The Veterans Administration website offers more resources on teaching about Veterans Day.

 

Follow Kenneth C. Davis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kennethcdavis

This day in History...

Today is the birthday of two different type of men. One was a politician and one was a Pastor. But both became a President.

On October 30, 1735, John Adams was born and would become a lawyer, politician and then became the second President of the United States. Let us today thank God and pray for our Presidents. Even if we don't agree or like them!

Also, on October 30, 1883, the great preacher, evangelist, philosopher, Bible student and college founder and president was born. This man was Bob Jones, Sr. Bob Jones was president of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Pray today for your preacher and be especially thankful for them. A good pastor is very hard to come by today!
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9 months and counting!!!

Yes! Grace is 9 months old as of yesterday. She has been saying momma and dada mixed in with her babble. We didn't get to carve that pumpkin yet but when we do I'll post pics. Hope ya like the picture of Grace.

Gonna be cold here in Iowa, down in the 20's tonight. I hope all our family is well tonight. Watching World Series tonight while Grace and Steph in bed sleeping. Rooting for Texas Rangers to beat San Francisco Giants! Game series is Giants 1-0.

I'm sadden that today is the date for the founding of Harvard University in 1636. This college that was started to train preachers is today nothing like that and it saddens me think how much bad goes on at this place of so called 'higher learning'. Someone has said, "As go the schools, so goes the nation." God help us!
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Cold Fall Day!!!

Today is very windy and cold here in Iowa. Would be a good day to stay inside and watch a movie with a bowl of soup! Sounds so good I might just do that! Its been so long since I wrote hope everyone is doing fine. Fall is leaving soon and winter will be here before we know it. Sigh! Tonight we carve up the pumpkin and roast pumpkin seeds! Later everybody!
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It All Started 50 Years Ago!!!

Yes that is right, I am talking about The Andy Griffith Show which aired on TV for the very first time on October 3, 1960. Yep, Andy and Barney and all of Mayberry are turning 50 years old. Course the pilot episode appeared on February 15, 1960 as a segment of the long-running series The Danny Thomas Show. In syndication the series is known as "Make Room for Daddy." This one episode would launch a much well beloved TV show into the hearts of many Americans.

It all started on October 3, 1960 at 9:30 pm. The channel was set to CBS and America soon heard the familiar whistle with the familiar voice saying "The Andy Griffith Show!" We soon got introduced to the Taylor family. Lovable Barney Fife and Ellie Walker would capture our hearts with her "toothy grin." And who can forget Otis Campbell, the town drunk and all round funny guy. When season three hit we met new character such as Ernest T. Bass and his rocks, the Darling Family, Malcom Merriweather and the clumsy but innocent Gomer Pyle. By the end of season 5 we say goodbye to Barney and say hello to his replacement Warren Ferguson. And the show moves to color. We also can't overlook Howard Sprague or Thelma Lou. Helen Crump enters Andy's life by the end of season 3 and he finally marries her at the beginning of the new show "Mayberry R.F.D" (and of course Barney goes with them on their honeymoon!)

Now sadly many of the characters are gone today. I'm not for sure who's still alive but these are who I know are definitely gone: Aunt Bee, Otis Campbell, Barney Fife, Howard Sprague, Floyd Lawson the Barber and Briscoe Darling. These I know are gone. Those I still think but have not researched are still alive: Andy Taylor, Opie Taylor, Helen Crump, Thelma Lou, Gomer Pyle and Goober Pyle, Deputy Warren Ferguson, Charlene Darling, Ernest T. Bass and Ellie May Walker the pharmacist's gal.

If I was to give a top ten list of my favorite episodes, I know I would leave many out, but here is one list:
10.  The New Housekeeper in season 1
9.  Christmas Story in season 1
8.  The Loaded Goat in season 3
7.  The Bed Jacket in season 3
6.  The Haunted House in season 4
5.  The Pickle Story in season 2
4.  Barney's First Car in season 3
3.  The Sermon for Today in season 4
2.  Man in a Hurry in season 3
1.  Mr. McBeevee in season 3

I know I left so many out that I like but that could sum up some of my most favorite Andy's. My most favorites season are season 1-5. Those are the black and white episodes and the ones before my most favorite character left the show: Barney Fife. The color episodes just changed to me the show. It left to me some of its innocence that the black and white seasons had. My other favorite character is Floyd Lawson the barber. I loved him and his witty dialogue he had. Sadly he dies in 1969 and only makes it to season 7 in episode #219 "Goober's Contest".

I want to thank the writers of the show and the cast of the show for putting on a really great TV program. It's been 50 years now since it all started and at least 30 years and maybe 40 years that the show has been in reruns. The Andy Griffith Show is my most favorite TV show and I wanted all who read this to know that history has been made. Thank you! And thanks for the great memories and laughs!