2025 OneThing #43 - Benjamin Birthday Gift

My grandson turned three yesterday. I thought of a pretty neat gift idea that was very personalized . . . and realized that I could not bring it to fruition this past week without a lot of stress and / or a disappointing result. I had been turning ideas over in my mind for quite a few months. We are all so blessed, my grandsons included! We have so many things. 

When I realized that I wanted to follow through on my idea but that it was not realistic to have it ready for today's celebration, I decided to work on it for Christmas. I will blog about that at a later date. It was a good call because I've had plenty of other things to occupy my time lately!

I decided to get my grandson a Fisher-Price record player. I realize record players are pretty anachronistic in 2025, but I think it will be a fun thing for him anyhow. I don't care for battery-operated toys, but I love music. I hope he enjoys opening it and playing with it! I sewed the gift bag from some novelty fabric I have.

I love my family so much. I'm glad I get to see some of them this evening!

2025 OneThing #42 - Praise God and Thank Him Each Day

This one should definitely be an "always" goal and not a one week in time thing . . . but it was a very good focus for me this week. Having my grandsons last weekend, helping Lou and Joyce with stuff, subbing two days . . . I needed a bit of a "reset" this week.

Choosing to praise God and be thankful for His love, grace, and mercy helped me to cope with being a bit overtired and overbusy. Putting my focus on the Lord and my gratefulness got me through this week!

I also got to do THREE fun things! Louie and I went out to dinner with Mike and Laurie on Thursday 9/11 at the Brick & Bourbon in Stillwater. I went to my friend Lisa's Decades Dance Party on Friday 9/12 (though I didn't even make it all the way through the 80s). Louie and I went to Lisa's and Tony's backyard concert last night. It was a lovely evening and we had a lovely time!

As a bonus, Pastor Mark Sullivan preached this morning and it was a wonderful message. God is good!

Since I love photos, here are some from the decades party and the backyard concert:

2025 OneThing #41 - Move Lou's Stuff to Pool Table

I'm calling this a success even though there's lots more to be done! My 95-year-old father-in-law recently moved to a care facility. His wife has a tendency to throw everything away without even knowing what it is. I helped her remove all of Lou's stuff and that man LOVES his paperwork! Initially, I put it in the living room, thinking it would be a good place to sort and organize. Having my grandsons over the past weekend meant I needed to clear it out.

I took before pics and laugh to think that my f-i-l wants me to bring his papers to him! (I am bringing him a few file folders at a time. His room is 400 square feet and already has six pieces of furniture in it . . . 

Technically, the four bins / boxes in the back of this last photo are still here from two years ago when my sister-in-law emptied her Maple Grove house. They are mostly photographs, cards, etc. I have a lot of sorting to do!

I don't mind doing this too much, but having dealt with the packrat tendencies of my own parents and siblings, I'm becoming more of a "toss it out" person. My personal focus is: buy less, donate or recycle, make do with what you have. I'm a work in progress!

I wish I had better "after" pictures, but my grandsons kept me busy AND we still have camping stuff out from my August 26 trip up to the North Shore with my sister. Life has been quite full lately!

To be fair, I have plenty of my own papers which I moved to one end of the pool table before bringing Lou's stuff down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I have my living room "back" mostly. The stuff on the wingback chair is ready to go to his home. The stuff in the laundry basket is being prepped to go. These are the little odds and ends I'm close to getting rid of.

 

 

And here's what I'm facing downstairs in my office space. Wish me luck! Or better yet, come over and help me sort. :-)

2025 OneThing #40 - August Summary

I'm calling August a very stark look at what a lack of time management skills can do . . . and I'm writing this on September 2nd!

Week One (August 3-9): Call a friend

Week Two (August 10-16): Prepare Pahl info for picnic

Week Three (August 17-23): Sew fitted sheets for Lou

Week Four (August 24-30): ??? Have fun (I just wrote that in this morning!)

 

So I think I've already written about not calling any of my friends with whom I've not spoken in a while. Perhaps I'll still do that . . . since I think of some of my lovely friends quite often.

I sort of prepared some info for the Pahl picnic, but have some genealogical info in different places and could certainly do more. This will realistically go on a "someday" pile. Or perhaps I'll work on it earlier in the summer next year before the annual picnic.

Sew the fitted sheets for Lou? I sewed one and it works okay. I started a second one which is in my sewing room right now. Ann sewed a set, but I never tested them out to see if they fit. Sigh. Still on my to-do list. Honestly, just getting him moved in on August 25 felt like a victory. Everyone at Suite Living is so lovely! I think he's happy there, but my to-do list specifically for his stuff is getting longer and longer instead of shorter.

I wrote "have fun" for last week because that's what I did! After getting Lou settled, I went up North with Ann and had a lovely vacation. Twenty-two LaMoores, Gerdes, and Clarks spent the Labor Day weekend at Gunflint Lodge just across the lake from Canada. I have now set up my September calendar and have a goal that I think is realistic and important for this week. 

My verse for August was Psalm 86:11. I didn't read it / say it as much as I ought to have! There were definitely times where I was self-focused and mouthy. I'm so glad for repentance and forgiveness!