Our Bathroom Remodel

<-----BEFORE

I am one of the many who hasn't been posting much because it seems like our daily lives are pretty boring. But recently we did just remodel our shower/tub. The tub was chipping and rusting and the shower surround was always molding, so we decided to redo it. We PAINTED our tub! Yes, painted it!! It looks brand new! Then Carl put up tile as a surround. (Thank you to Dad, Drew and Austin for helping out!) Isn't it beautiful? I feel like I'm at a hotel now!

AFTER ----->

Other than that, we have been trying to enjoy the summer. It's been raining just about every day so the mosquitoes are terrible! When we are able to get outside, we get eaten up! And when it isn't raining, it's HOT, so we have been able to get some swimming in here and there.

Tonight Carl has a church softball game and Camden already wanting to jump in the van! He really loves baseball and watching his daddy!

I know it's summer, but come on!

I know you are all out there lurking.....lots of you get on here everyday...I see you! hehe So, what are you up to? How are you spending your summer?
Bennie - we would love to hear more details from your trip.
Kirby & Cody - we would love to hear about your trip too.
Graduates - what are your plans for the fall?
Laura - how did your surgery go?
Isaac - I see you are now on!!
Sara - are you back on the blog yet? (Do any of you ever have problems signing on to post? If you do, please let me know so we can get you back on. Sara's account gives her a lot of problems and I hope that she isn't one of many.)
Mom had posted last week asking about our family get together this summer, when is good for everyone?
Paula - you'll have to share pictures of you new house!
Mandy - haven't heard from you in a long time, how is it going?
And Melody - our newlywed.....how are you guys?
C'mon guys, especially those of you how lurk and have never posted, we want to hear what you're up to!

Back from Honduras

Got back from Honduras last night around midnight...we treated around 1945 people and met the needs of many more that did not come to the clinics.Here are some pictures from their...

Beautiful weather here

I forgot to tell you what wonderful weather we have been having here, finally. It is the second week that we have had warm temps. Up in the 70's and close to 80. No fires in the furnaces for a couple of weeks. Suppose to rain tonight and cooler for a couple of days, but to warm up again.

Tamie and Steve Jensen left this a m. for the canoe boundry waters by Ely, mn. taking their youth group canoeing and living in tents. It is suppose to rain there tonight also. Hope no storms come their way. They are out in the wilderness and no shelter!! There are about 20 that went.

Hope you soon get some sunshine in Indiana !! For you Jan.

BROTHER GARRY, BEAR IN THE AREA !!

I saw a bear last Sunday. I was just leaving the church yard, and a bear ran in front of me about 150 feet from the church. There is a little creek to the west and he came from that area. It was just a small one. Probably the size of the grown labs. Maybe a one or two year old. It was fun to see it. I'm glad I was in my car; I had just been down watering the flowers at the graves.

Hope all of your parades are going well, and not so hot for you.

Love, Norma Jean

Rain, Rain, go away!!

Is anyone else sick of the rain!?!? I was really enjoying that hot, sunny weather we were having several weeks ago. Now all we get is clouds, wind, and rain. Bleh!!!

Everyone knows that I have never claimed to have a memory. Help me out here. Those of you who were at the Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings last year......I think we discussed getting together some time this summer, and I think I volunteered to host it. Does this sound familiar to anyone, or did I dream this one up? If we had made those plans, please let me know when you have a Saturday free. Maybe the end of July or the beginning of August????

Stephanie, another request

Could you please send Isaac an invite to the blog? His e-mail is hewillcome7@hotmail.com.
Thankyou , Steve

Fishing good at "Secret Lake"

Wishing you all were here. Try to have the fish biting when you get here. These were all caught in 6-8 ft. of water this morning between 6 and 7 am using shad raps. The water is still very clear in the lake and we are able to see bottom in about 16 ft. All for now , got fish to clean. Steve

Garage Sale!

Anyone in the area itchin' to go to a good garage sale? 8-5 tomorrow, Saturday June 21st, 703 Countryside in Ossian (Mom & Dad's house). Ossian is having a town-wide garage sale, and we'll have plenty of stuff for sale. It will be a little bit of everything: clothes, craft stuff, wedding stuff, home decor stuff, probably some tools, and a lot of misc. stuff. And, don't forget, free kittens! ;) (I'm sure the kitten thing is getting a little old, but I'm TRYING to get them good homes!)
I just thought I'd put some free advertising out here!

~Missy

Rick & Bennie go golfing

Rick Skinner & Bob Bender went golfing together recently.
Everything went fine until the 18th tee.

Bennie stood over his tee shot on the 350 yard hole for what seemed an eternity. He waggled, looked up, looked down, waggled again, took a couple practice strokes, looked again, waggled some more, but didn't start his back swing.

Finally exasperated, Rick asked, 'What in the world is taking you so long?'

'MaryAnn is watching me from the clubhouse balcony,' Bennie explained. 'I want to make a perfect shot.'

Rick snorted. 'Give it up! You don't stand a chance of hitting her from here!'

Headed for Honduras

I will be leaving for Honduras this Friday for 8 days...this is a medical mission and we will be running 6 clinics in different parts of lower Honduras..Please pra y for safe travel and that everything arrived in Honduras (MEDs),,,A big Hi to Renee hope to hear from you

Welcome

Welcome to our two newest members!! Welcome Renee and Stephen!! Can't wait to hear from you - maybe you can get this blog moving again!

Any More Taffy Tales?

Hi, Mom-(Norma Jean),
Did you see my comment on your taffy recipe? I was happy to see you sharing the recipe, again. Does anyone else have a memory of Grampa Sink making his taffy for you? If you do, please share the memory...I would love to hear other taffy/popcorn stories.

Stephanie, A Request

Could you give Steve Grotnes an invite to the Family Blog ? I cant seem to find his address. Perhaps he will have to write to you tomorrow.

Thanks, N.J.

Attention Rick Skinner AGAIN

Rick, Steve didnt get to me that you did not need the cabin # 3. He was busy with 6 guys from Kansas for several days. So I'll let the cabin go to someone else if they call.

Thanks, Norma Jean

Attention Rick Skinner

Rick, I cant seem to get you by phone. If you want Cabin # 3 for your Mother Aug. 2 to 9, call me. It is the only cabin left. Bennie, could you call Rick to remind him? Your job is to be my secretary too, you know. [ Assistant Secretary at Valhalla]

Congratulations Alysha, Nice picture of you with your Grandma and Grandpa !!

We are still having cold weather here. Wore my fur hat a couple of days this past week. Have had lots of wind and stormy weather again. We watched a storm coming in, standing on the docks ,and saw white funnel clouds come down and pick up water from the lake and go back up. Steve moved all the boats up to safety again. Hope the stormy weather stops soon. Nothing will grow in this cold weather, not even my flowers, they just set there waiting for the sun.

All for now; Call me Rick, or call Bennie!!

Norma Jean

Alysha Grace Skinner

Here is grandpa and grandma with alysha at her graduation night

RANGER RICK NOW HIGH SPEED INTERNET

NO more dial up and waiting a half a day for something to download BUT i was there for over 4 hours helping him get it set up and he didn't even offer me LUNCH...can you believe it

Kitten Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the kittens that I promised...aren't they just irresistible?? We're down to seven...

Storm Damage 6-6-08

Hello all! We had quite a bit of damage from the storm at our house last Friday. A lot of limbs down, a roof off of one building, another building was blown over, and a couple vehicles damaged. We were safe in the basement though and no major damage to the house thankfully. Even the kittens made it out ok (they're still available FREE to loving homes!) ;)

~Missy

NO bad storms at Valhalla

We have had some calls from other states and Indiana asking if Valhalla is O.K. We had some stormy weather here on Fri. but nothing severe here, which we are thankful for !! There were storms at Park Rapids, Menagha, and north of Pk. R. which destroyed some homes, a Jennie O turkey farm and many buildings there. We have gotten alot of rain those couple of days, I think Steve said 2.5 ins. He pulled all of the boats out and off of the docks Thurs. night and all day Fri. they were out. It is a good precaution. We have had boats and docks wrecked in the past. Linda Crow called today and she said there had been some bad weather there. They saw a tree go down, but nothing at their place. Jared called Steve to see if everything was alright. He heard about the storm on the radio from Ft. Wayne, coming home from work. We had people call from S. Dak. asking also. No one wants "their cabins" to be blown away or their vacation spot destroyed.
The resort is quite full for the summer. Doesnt seem to bother people, so far, that the gas is so expensive. After
June 14 there are only a couple of weeks left until Aug 16th. People are still calling for

reservations, yesterday.

We finally had a nice warm day yesterday. It has been cold and rainy for a long time. We had wood fires in our furnaces all last week !!!!

Congratulations on your new home, Paula and Austin. That was quite a Family Makeover.

No one from Indiana here this week . Our people are from Omaha, Neb. Kansas City(a couple staying for five weeks!!) S. Dak. and St. Paul/Mpls. Little Caleb is here with Tamie and Steve for 10 days or so. Steve G. and I will have him three days next week while Tamie works. He loves the lake and being outside. Sara ,Ethan and Emma will be here next week end, so the children will have some time tog.

Congratulations to all of the Graduates this Year !!!!!

Love to all, Norma Jean

WHAT A MARATHON!!!

Wow, Paula and Austin are moving into their home today. They got possession two weeks ago and we have done a complete renovation since then. We have an AMAZING family!!! Benny came up and put in a new front door for them, and it wasn't a typical change-out. (of course) Kent helped by putting in a new countertop. It's amazing how much that can change a room. Garry Lee came to the rescue when we ran into some electrical problems. We were changing all the overhead lights, switches, and outlets. When he changed the light in the master bedroom, Kevin found some frayed wiring. We were so glad to find that and possibly save some problems down the road. But the light in the laundry room, that worked prior to our efforts, now wasn't working. Garry Lee came and solved the problem. The walls and ceilings were in "okay" shape, so we all decided an overhaul was in order. Carl and Caleb did the spanish lace on all the surfaces. Now that's a dirty job!!!! They did a wonderful job. And of course, all of that had to be painted. So all ceilings and walls got painted. Then Kevin, Austin, and Carl put down a laminate flooring in the living room, kitchen, dining room, and front entry. It's so pretty! They purchased carpeting for the remainder of the house, and had that installed last Tuesday. A family friend, who knows plumbing, came and helped with a problem with a bathroom. Some of the floor had to be taken up, the repairs made, and the floor replaced. Then just last night, Carl and Stephanie glued down the vinyl in the main bathroom, Carl installed the new vanity, and put up a new tub surround. Drew and Jamie were also there helping. Drew decided the best part of a renovation in the destruction part. I'll admit that I like that best too. Cal and Lois Ann were helping with all the cleaning up that was involved. Lois Ann also helped a lot with keeping the little ones out of the way. She'd take them outside to keep them from getting underfoot.

It's such a blessing to have so many in our family who are willing to help when it's needed. I'm sure that Paula will be posting to share her thoughts. I'm sharing my thoughts since I'm not able to be there today to help. I've been under the weather for the last few days, and after not being able to sleep at all last night because of the sore throat, I went to a Redi-Med this morning. Just an infection of some kind in the throat, but the doc said don't do anything strenuous today, go home, take in fluids, take the medicine, and rest. So, I'm sitting around the house by myself wishing I could be involved in the move. After working at the house every day for the last two weeks, it's a bit of a let-down not to be helping.

Sara, I'm in agreement with you. It seems the posts have been few and far between. I know we have several graduates in the family. Let's hear from them. Tell us about your open house, your plans for the future, and just how wonderful it is to be out of high school!!!!

Jan

anybody out there?

Hey, there... i finally got back on the blog. i keep getting uninvited. whatever that means! Maybe a lot of you other people are having the same problem. if so, contact stephanie and she will reinvite you. I miss all the little snippets here and there. c'mon...let's hear it! It is cold and rainy here. Lots of wind. i wouldn't be surprised if there are some bad storms going on in the area. I have nothing to report. I have a boring life. ha ;-) i miss you all and look forward to seeing several of you this summer. can't wait! -Sara

FREE Kittens!

Does anyone want a cute and cuddly kitten? We have 8 at our house, and they need loving homes! 4 of them are 5 weeks old and the other 4 are at least 6 weeks old. (We have 2 momma cats and we're not quite sure when the first litter was born.) I hope to get around to taking some pictures of them soon, and then you can see how adorable they are. One or two might be spoken for already, but the rest are up for grabs! Let me know if you'd like to have one.
~Missy