Happy New Year, everyone!

The Halterman Family Reunion

It was time for our yearly family reunion of the Halterman family. We met at the community Center in Xenia, as always. I always enjoy visiting with everyone so much and am amazed at how fast the children are all growing up. We had so much delicious food and a good time was had by all. I forgot my camera, so you will just have to imagine "pictures here"...

Garret is home and getting better everyday.

Here are some pictures I took of Garret last week when I was staying with him. He is really so much better now....thank God. Thanks for all of the prayers and concern everyone....

Christmas Day with the Christmas Knights..

Christmas Eve with those crazy Haltermans!

Merry Christmas

Things are back to normal.......I hope....

I haven't posted for quite a while because Garret was so sick and in the hospital in Springfield. He is finally well enough to come home, and we are all so relieved. He was one sick little boy. He has been in the hospital for three weeks with pneumonia w/plurel effusions. He just wouldn't get well, until a pediatric surgeon went in and removed the pockets of infection and fluid. He is supposed to come home tomorrow, Christmas Eve. We are all so happy. I will be going to Decatur the day after Christmas to take care of him while Shelley and Cary go back to work.

So, it looks like it will be a Merry Christmas after all.

Just for laughs

We've been elfed....

CLick the link above if you need a good laugh today.......

Girls of '67 Christmas party

We met at Patricia Timm's home for our annual Christmas party for the girls of the class of 1967. For those of us who have stayed around the Salem area, it has become a tradition. There is nothing like re-uniting with old friends from high school. I really appreciate all of these ladies for being there for me during those taxing teen years. You are a great bunch, thanks for a great evening.

We had the most delicious meal. Patricia had made two kinds of salad, my fav. was spinach, onion, water chestnuts, chow mein noodles with a vinegarette dressing...she also had a 7-layer salad.
There were two kinds of soups: one was potatoe/broccoli cheese, it had some other vegies in it too...the other soup was kind of a hot chili soup with cream cheese melted in it and it was served over doritoes. Then there was the wieners wrapped in the biscuits, bbq'd weenies, and for dessert, cheese cake, chocolate cake baked in a crock pot, served with ice cream, and cakes with frosting shaped like Christmas wreaths....to drink she had white tea, iced tea, soda and coffee....Patricia gave us all a little Christmas decoration to take home. We were laughing so loud, it was a good thing she lives in the country.

Clay Aiken concert at the Fox Theater in St.Louis

Mom, Jeanene, Debbie and Sheila, before the concert.
Clay Aiken, my hero!

Mom and I hopped onto the Metrolink at Shiloh and headed for Union Station in St. Louis, where we were to meet up with two of our internet friends, Jeanene and Debbie from the western part of Missouri. So, finally they showed up, but with two extra people and so we all crammed ourselves in Debbie's tiny red convertible and headed for a hotel where they could get ready for the Joyful Noise Tour, which is the Christmas tour that Clay does every year.

Soon everyone was ready, Jeanene had a Meet and Greet with Clay and she was very excited and we were all excited for her. We headed for the Fox theater where we let Jeanene off for her meeting and then we waited in the car for her return. She came back all grins and full of happiness with her autographed picture that he had just signed. Soon it was time for the concert to begin. We had great seats, 2nd row, on the left side. The curtain went up and a beautiful orchestra filled the stage with soft blue lights in the background and Clay stepped up to sing and the place went wild with screaming and applause.

The performance was flawless and full of Christmas medleys, full songs, and solos, some by Angela and Quiana, Clay's backup singers. It was all very beautiful and their voices just soared in the wonderful accoustics of the Fox Theater. All too soon, it was over, after a long and loud standing ovation, he sang one final song, "All is Well". The curtain came down and the lights came up and it was all over.

It was wonderful to share this day with our good friends, chatting with them online everyday, it was almost surreal actually spending time with them. They are truly good friends.

Mom and I rode home on the Metro-link back to Shiloh, this seemed like it took forever! Then we drove home and flopped into bed, exhausted, but happy.

My brother sent me a present....hee

Halloween pictures of the NC grandkids....

Now, don't they all just look so adorable...looks like they scored big on candy too.
Do I spy Mickey mouse.....look at the yellow socks! How cute. Caleb is just too busy there with the crayons...
And who is this handsome super hero?
Beautiful little Hannah....

Thanks, Amanda....

and Bob's your uncle....

Ancient DNA retrieved from the bones of two Neanderthals suggests that at least some of them had red hair and pale skin, scientists report this week in the journal Science. The international team says that Neanderthals’ pigmentation may even have been as varied as that of modern humans, and that at least 1 percent of Neanderthals were likely redheads.

Some useless things I didn't know......

Many sailors used to wear gold earrings so that they could afford a proper burial when they died.

The Nobel Prize resulted form a late change in the will of Alfred Nobel, who did not want to be remembered after his death as a propagator of violence - he invented dynamite.

When Albert Einstein died, his final words died with him. The nurse at his side didn't understand German.

St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was not Irish.

Pogonophobia is the fear of beards.

Ok, I've wasted enough time today....:-)

Christmas shopping for Garret

Mom and I went to Tuscola to the mall and met Shelley and Garret. We went to lunch at McDonald's where Garret ran around entertaining the customers. He is such a wiggle-worm, he can't sit still. We shopped throughout the afternoon, getting Garret's christmas toys. I think we had as much fun playing with the toys as he will. Mom and I bought some perfume, at the Perfumeria. The perfume is named HALLOWEEN. Well, you know, I couldn't resist, since Halloween is my favorite holiday. It really smelled good too. We ended the day at Dairy Queen. Mom and Shelley got a pumpkin pie blizzard, and I got a marshmallow sundae. WE had lots of laughs and got hugs and kisses from Garret. We all hugged good-bye and went our seperate ways. What a wonderful and fun day. Above are some pictures mom took of Garret when he was too busy to eat his chocolate ice cream...

Visited bro, Milo and Barb

Monday we went to visit Bruce (Milo) and my sister-in-law, Barb in Sandoval. We had pumpkin pie and chatted away for hours. It is always so nice to see those two. They are such a hoot!

They gave mom a singing santa and a candle for her birthday.

Comet Holmes...pic taken by K. McKelvey in San Jose, CA

My brother, Kim, in San Jose, CA took this picture himself Satuday night, Nov. 3, 2007. He sent this email:

I was able to take this shot of Comet Holmes, now headed out past Mars.

Used guided 6 inch telescope with Canon Rebel XT 8meg pix camera
attached at prime focus. 30 secound exposure and 1600 ISO.

You to can see this comet in early evening it is visible to the naked
eye and looks like a big fuzzy ball. Look East around 10pm. Search on
web for exact location and use binoculars to see it as seen in this
photo. The bright central image is the actual comets icy core, looks
like a fuzzy star.

I think this photo is amazing. I had to make it smaller to upload, but the 2MB original is breath-taking.....thanks, bro.

This says it all.

Be kinder than necessary- Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly....
Leave the rest to God.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

It's finally here......

Happy Halloween to all of my peeps!

New pix of Caleb...

I have the cutest grand babies in the universe and I am not the least bit partial, I am just truthful!

Rose bud.........(Citizen Cane)

It was beautiful here today. We winterized the chicken coop and went for a ride. It was just a relaxing day. Yesterday we went to a town about 30 miles north of us, Effingham, IL. They have recently built a new theatre there. A theatre, like the Fox, for live entertainment. They have quite a line up of entertainers and have sold over 2 million dollars in season tickets. I am so glad we will have somewhere to go for entertainment around here. The venue is about 1550 or so. The town itself is only 12,000 pop., so it is amazing that is was built there. It opens next week for it's first performance. So, anyway, we ate at Stake n shake and did a little shopping and went to check out the new theatre.

I have been watching the History channel all day, mostly shows about Nostradamus, a curator of the vatican library in Italy recently found a lost book by him, hidden in the library....it's just full more gloom and doom. Still I can't stop watching it. Somebody me.

Here is a link to the theater and a list of the coming events.

Rosebud Theater:

Garret's Dino-licious Halloween