My Weight Loss Journey

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Chris Tomlin Concert In St. Paul, MN

Alyssa and I went to Chris Tomlin's "Hello Love" Concert Sunday night at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota....It was amazing!!!! We LOVE his music, the words are so anointed and touch deep into the heart where Jesus can do some serious work. It was so cool to be among the body of Christ worshiping Him through music and praise.

My little girl...she's sooooooo beautiful!!!!!

We were a couple hours early for the concert so we took advantage of the beautiful day and walked around a bit. I took some pictures of some of the gorgeous old buildings in St. Paul.


It was so nice to walk around and not FREEZE to death!!!!


When we went to our seats and were surprised at how HIGH they were....I guess that's why they call it the nose bleed section. But my very wise daughter said as we were climbing "it's not about the seats.....it's about Jesus" we laughed and after we were sat down awhile, we got used to the height.

Alyssa happy with our purchase

Here we are acting stupid holding up the cd's we bought before the concert started. Alyssa brings out the idiot in me as you can see ;)


I did get a few shots of Chris Tomlin and his band during the concert

This is my favorite song right now "God of this City"...and here is a picture of him singing it...it was so awesome to hear him sing it in person....HOW POWERFUL!!!!

I was not real thrilled when we decided we would go to this concert because that meant 8 hrs of driving for me that day. But Alyssa was very persistent about us going so I gave in and bought the tickets and there was no turning back then. I have learned from my 20 year old daughter (and that's what I tell her...your 20 I'm not) that stepping out of my comfort zone brings great reward and wonderful memories. We had such a GREAT time together and I would not trade it for anything. Thank you Alyssa for begin my forever blessing!!!!!!

We got back to Alyssa's apartment at 1 am in the morning after driving 3 hours back to her apartment after the concert. She had procrastinated writing a paper that was due for her first class on Monday. She brought her homework with us and was going to write her paper on the way to the concert but......it never happened.

So when we got back to her apartment she had to write the paper before she could go to bed....uhhhh youth. I was laughing so hard because she always used to say I procrastinated....it did my heart good to see her procrastinting ways so here are some pictures that I rather enjoyed taking.

Alyssa starting her paper all smiles at 1 am in the morning

Hard at work

Things are going down hill here quick

Well....this is what happens when you stay too long at the ball and you procrastinated writing your paper....the party's over


She is not really crying in the pic......I told her to pretend to cry for the photo shot....I thought these pics were so funny I just had to post them.

Well, hope you all enjoy the pics of our trip...take a chance and step out of your comfort zone and see what blessing waits for you on the other side....God Bless.....Rhonda

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sunny Thursday and Baby Jake

I LOVE making new patterns

I finished up this little cutie today. I used a pattern from "The Primitive Nook" the pattern is called "Baby Jake". I LOVE this little guy...now that my kids are all grown up, he is the only baby I have around the house now.

He was a FUN doll to make and I was so glad that he turned out

Look at his cute little face, a face only a Mother could love



Last weekend, Brent and I went home to Spooner. It was really nice to go home and see everyone. We stayed at Kara (my daughter) and Trav's house which I always enjoy. Saturday night, we cooked steaks on the grill and just enjoyed being together.

Sunday morning while we were having coffee, Brent gave one of Kara's cat "Big Ern" some catnip.......Ern LOVES catnip.


Here is Brent giving Big Ern his catnip fix.......it brought Ern to his feet

Ern couldn't get enough

Here is Ernie licking his paws after his morning snack. Ern has the cutest personality and is always in the middle of whatever is going on in the house...he does not want to miss a thing!!!

It was a sunny beautiful day here in Wisconsin Rapids. I always enjoy the bright alive feeling I get when the sun shines...that ole saying "when the sun shines I shine" is so true!!!! I can't wait until summer so we can enjoy the WARM sun more often.

Hope you all had a BLESSED day....God Bless....Rhonda

Friday, March 20, 2009

Spring Has Sprung

Such a sweet face

Spring has sprung according to the calender but the weather outside is still a bit chilly here in Wisconsin. It has been looking like rain or show here all day...can't make up it's mind what to do. But we all know that the flowers and trees will be waking up soon and I can't wait....I LOVE GREEN GRASS, GREEN LEAVES AND FLOWERS!!!!!!

This week I have been working on a few new items. I LOVE trying new patterns, it keeps my mind fresh and interested and keeps my creative juices flowing.

I am really not a Annie fan...(I had a Raggedy Ann doll when I was little but I didn't like her as much as Barbie, couldn't dress Annie and fix her hair and what not like I could Barb) but I do LOVE these Raggedy Annie bust dolls!!! I am starting to enjoy making the Prim Annie's so maybe there's hope for me to become a true Annie fan :) time will tell.

Annie looks SO serious here, not a real smiley girl

While my sister and I were in Arizona we worked on stitch pictures while we sat on our Mom's deck together enjoying the sunshine. Here are the 2 I did while in AZ. I usually frame my stitch pictures in antique frames but this time, I decided to make pillows. I like them and will probably make up some more in the future.

I LOVE this saying....wise WORDS TO LIVE BY!!!!


Another bunny bust...these have been a good seller

I drew this pattern up the other day and hoped for the best and to my surprise they turned out...I am always so happy when the end result resembles the vision I had in my head.

Here is everyone loaded up and we then headed to the Country Freckle to find new homes for everyone. I really enjoyed my stop there today....Joni (the owner of the shop) has some new items in and she also moved stuff around for a NEW look. She does such a GREAT job decorating...it's her GIFT from God!!!!!

My Primitive's Are For Sale

I have had a few comments inquiring as to where and how to buy my creations. If anyone is interested in any of my primitive creations...please email me at goingretta@hotmail.com and I would be happy to take an order and ship to you. Or I could email a price list to you and we could go from there.....Thank you so much for your interest, I appreciate it!!!!!!


I would like to leave you with a look at this sneaky little devil

I bought bird seed the other day and was going to fill my bird feeder because with the warmer weather, I have noticed some birds looking for treats. I put my feeder away early fall because of this squirrel problem and as you can see I obviously still have it!!!!! Anway, I left the bag of seeds on the table outside on the deck until my husband could help me dig out the bird feeder. Well, this squirrel just couldn't wait for me to get the feeder filled....he ripped open the bag and helped himself to the goods......HOW RUDE!!!!!!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the sneak :) ....oh well, I hope he ENJOYED...we all have to eat...right!!!!!

Have a BLESSED day!!!! Rhonda

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Arizona Trip And A Prayer Request For My Daughter


We went to Tombstone, Arizona one day on our vacation and here I am on Boot Hill standing by one of the grave markers. It was very windy that day and the dirt was flying around and sandblasting us to death but we had a great time anyway.

My Mom standing by a marker

This is down town Tombstone...the streets are dirt and the stage coach gives rides all day. There are NO cars allowed on main street in Tombstone.


A view from the car in route to Tombstone, AZ

Here we are, Mom's packing her guitar and we are heading to church

We sang in church with Mom that day. The song we sang was "God Bless America Again" and boy that song is never more true then in this day in age. We need God to bless this country...I really do not believe we have a financial crisis in America....we have a MORAL crisis!!!!!!!!!! God help us!!!!

My Mom's band had a gig at an RV park in Tuscon and we went with and enjoyed it very much. It was so nice to see couples dancing and enjoying themselves to Mom's music. They are retired and just enjoying life and each other and that is the way it should be.

My Mom and her band....my Mom is singing her heart out!!!!!


Our friends Frank and Kathy Irvine dancing and enjoying each other that night

I know this does not like it but it is a chiropractor office in the middle of the desert

My Mom and step-dad go here for adjustments and they love it!!!!! My neck was really out and I was getting headaches so my Mom made us ALL an appointment to see the Dr.

I was a little skeptical at first so my Mom went first....after I saw her, I felt I could give it a try and I am so glad I did. He really helped me and I felt like a million bucks when I got off the table. Who would have thought you could go into that trailer and come out as good as new!!!!

I took a picture of my sister getting her adjustment...she didn't know I took it...I am sure she will not be thrilled to see it show up on my blog.

My sister standing outside of the office after her adjustment


That's it for now on the Arizona trip.......back to reality. It looks like we are going to have a beautiful day here in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin lots of sunshine. I am going to go for a walk later it's so nice out. But until then, I am heading to my sewing room and get working on my prims.

A Prayer Request For My Daughter Alyssa

I wanted to post a picture of my daughter so you have a face to attach your prayers to
Alyssa loves coffee shops!!!!

Alyssa and her friend Amy went to Spain over Christmas vacation...this is a pic of them having coffee in a coffee shop in Spain. My daughter Alyssa is on the right and she also LOVES to travel!!!!!

I would like to request prayer for my daughter Alyssa Rhonda Kronlund, she is in Florida right now witnessing on the beach to the spring breakers. She went with Campus Crusade for Christ through her college. I am SOOOOO prould of her!!!!!! She LOVES Jesus with all of her heart and wants to be used by him for HIS GLORY!!!!! Please pray for her safety and that souls will be saved.

Have a BLESSED day!!!! God Bless....Rhonda

Friday, March 13, 2009

Home Sweet Home


My sister and I are home and back to the routines of our life's. We had a GREAT time with our Mom and enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather SO much. We both enjoyed our get-a-way but we decided that there is no place like home.

Here are a few pictures of our trip

A beautiful purple sky in Arizona...they have the most gorgeous sunsets there!!!

The mountains are so beautiful, it amazes me that God created such a variety of beauty in so many different places in the world

The desert has a beauty all it's own


Here is my Mom's back yard where my sister and I spend most of our time on our vacation enjoying the sun, stitching and visiting with each other. We decided that was the best part of our vacation...spending time together!!!!!! We spent day and night together because we had to sleep in the same bed also. Sharing a room with her this past week reminded me of when we were little...we shared a room together our whole childhood.


Me, my sister and my Mom just before we left for the airport to come home on Wednesday

My Mom took this picture, we just unloaded our suitcases from her trunk....I think I might have over packed a bit, my suitcase weighted 46 pounds on the way to Arizona...but on the way back home it somehow beefed up to 50.5 pounds. 50 pounds is the max weight your suitcase can weigh, I was over by 1/2 pd but the lady had mercy on me and let it go through. I am not sure what I bought because we didn't do much shopping but I must have found a few goodies :)


I am so grateful that God has blessed me with such an awesome family!!!! I enjoyed spending time with them this past week so much and will always cherish it forever.

Thank you all for your prayers, I was at total peace during both flights and while in Arizona. Thank you Jesus for your protection you truly are an AWESOME GOD!!!!!

I will post more pictures and more adventures of our vacation next time.

God Bless....Rhonda