The Dread Family Roberts

Self Image

2012-02-07T13:03:00.002-05:00

On facebook, a friend of mine put the question out there....."What do you love most about your body?" That got me thinking and most of it was negative. I couldn't think of anything I really LIKE about my body let alone LOVE.

Then I read a statement her husband wrote, My feet, because they take me all sorts of wonderful places. My mind for the same reason. My hands, because they allow me to serve. My arms, because they allow me to embrace. My "heart" because it allows me to love. I find it hard to select just one."

Wow, what great and wise words! I then started to rethink the same question and came up with this. I love my arms, for they have held my sweet babies, my hands have fed them and served them. I love my eyes because they have seen my kids grow and bloom, I can see a beautiful sunset or sunrise every day and so much more beauty around me. My fingers hold my wedding rings, my ears hear the crash of an ocean wave onto the beach or the beautiful music that is played, my heart because it is still beating and it can love, my voice sang to my kids when I would rock them. I can go on and on... The fact is, I will never win a beauty contest, Olympic medal, or singing contest, but those things are mine and it is what my family loves about me, so that is good enough.

Cheetah or Cheetos?

2012-01-18T12:33:00.004-05:00

A funny story about Cheetahs and Cheetos.
My daughter Jordan has a slight speech problem. She says T's for C's, and as such she is going to speech therapy to work on it. The teacher gives her homework to do each week with us, it is usually a list of "C" words to say over and over and use in a sentence.
Last night one of the words was cougar, this is how it went..................

Me--Jordan, say cougar.
Jordan--Cougar,.....what is a cougar?
Me--a cougar is like a cheetah
Jordan--MMmmmm, those are good!
Me---(laughing) No Jordan, not Cheetos, a cheetah, it's like a big cat.

We all had a good laugh over it and it will go down as one of my great memories. Maybe we'll have to call Cheetos cheetahs from now on.

Summer Fun

2012-01-09T17:55:00.007-05:00

Now that summer is over I will taunt you with some summer fun pictures.

This summer the kids decided it would be fun to get on the trampoline while the sprinkler was running.

Oh the fun you can have!

The trampoline was full of water, and it would bounce up every time they came down.

What goes up, must come down. SPLASH! Fun times, can't wait for them again.

Vixen or Blitzen?

2011-12-09T15:14:00.000-05:00

Look who Santa sent to visit the 2nd grade at the kids school today! Too bad my kids aren't in the 2nd grade, but at least they were able to see her in the trailer after school.

The Woman of the Clan, Mostly

2011-11-23T19:09:00.001-05:00

My niece Bethaney came home for a visit so the woman of the clan got together for lunch at the Olive Garden. One of my favorite restaurants by the way. Kate really enjoyed being with two of the three older cousins again.

Outside after lunch. We were only missing 7 of us, one being my Jordan girl who was in school. Wish they all could have been with us. It was such a nice visit.

Spencer's Thanksgiving Card

2011-11-23T19:00:00.001-05:00

My son Spencer is in his 2nd year of Chinese class at school, he started in the second grade.
This year in that class, he made me a Thanksgiving card. The front of the card says,( in Chinese) Happy Thanksgiving. With a turkey on a platter with a knife pointing to it. The turkey is thinking "uh oh!"
On the inside is a live turkey saying, "do not eat me plea...!!" Notice the arrows coming in at the turkey. Then on the other side the turkey is on the platter and saying, "oh well, can you pass the cranberry sauce?" It also says in Chinese, I'm thankful for mama.

The back has the turkey on a platter and a pumpkin.

No offence to the vegetarians, but I think this card is not only sweet, but hilarious. The turkey is very well drawn. I love this card and will keep it forever.

Down Thru The Generations

2011-11-23T09:22:00.004-05:00

My daughter Kate called me up the other day saying she needed to make some pumpkin pies for a dinner they were having at the newspaper where she works on campus. Not only did that make me happy that she wanted to learn but it got me thinking. My mom tells the story of when she learned to make pie crust.

She wanted to be able to make good, flaky pie crust so she took the ingredients and went to her grandma who had had a pie shop in Indianapolis many years before. They made batch after batch of pie crust until she could make it like her grandma.

When I was a teenager, she decided it was time for me to also learn the long lost art of flaky goodness. So I learned, much to the delight of my pie loving husband, and now it is time for me to pass on years of experience down to my oldest daughter.

It makes me happy that I am in a long line of pie makers, and it also makes me happy to think that my great grandma is looking down and smiling because her skills, knowledge and love of a good pie have been passed on many years after she has been gone. My youngest daughter Jordan watches and tries to help, so one day I will teach her like I did her big sister and many years from now maybe they both will teach their own daughters and they in turn will teach theirs and on and on.

Not only did Kate's crust turn out great, but the filling did too. She had rave reviews from her coworkers, they couldn't believe she made them from scratch.
The tradition continues.

4th Of July 2011

2011-08-29T13:11:00.003-04:00

4th of July, one of our favorite holidays. My husband LOVES buying and setting off fireworks. The kids also love looking at them and getting them ready to go.

That evening the cousins came over and watched the fireworks in our neighborhood with us. I am so glad they love each other so much.

Crazy kids. I hope they have good memories of this when they are older.

Lady bug, Lady bug fly away home

2011-08-29T12:33:00.007-04:00

Jordan turned 7 back in June and for her birthday she wanted a lady bug theme. I think it was inspired by her lady bug pillow pet, So I did my best to make it happen for her.

The table looked as lady buggy as I could think of, and she got her lady bug cake. It was red velvet with mini chocolate chips in it so it would have the lady bug spots when you cut into it. Going a bit too far? Maybe, but she loved it and that's all that matters.

Happy Birthday sweetheart, now blow out those candles.

To me, what was the most fun, and a real stroke of genius if I do say so myself, was finding a web site that sold real live ladybugs. We set free 1500 ladybugs, and the kids loved it.

Ladybugs exploring their new home.

And of course we set off fireworks.

My Pretty Little Girl

2011-08-01T21:02:00.015-04:00

This is Jordan, one of the worlds most ornery little girls with a mind all her own. I wanted to get some pictures of her like the ones we took of her older sister many years ago. I like the softer side of her that came out in these.

I love this one.

Candid moment between shots.

Their hearts belong to Grandma & Grandpa

2011-08-01T20:41:00.005-04:00

Jordan loves spending time with her Grandpa, but I'll let the pictures do the talking.

And Spencer loves spending time with his Grandma. Let's face it, they both love both of them.

Just the begining of the change

2011-08-01T20:30:00.001-04:00

I am now redecorating Jordan's bedroom. To start I repainted her old dresser, that is after sanding, priming etc... in about a million degree heat. It's done and she likes it. In fact this is her model pose for it. Watch out "The price is right" girls, she may be coming for your job. Silly girl.

Lovin My Vera Wang's

2011-06-20T11:44:00.000-04:00

On my way out of the store after buying my husband's Father's day gift, I happened to walk past the shoe rack. That in turn reminded my that my sandals broke last week and I needed to buy a new pair. I immediately spotted these Vera Wang's and I couldn't help myself. They were calling to me "Nicole, buy us we're very pretty and sparkly!" I fell in love with them and now they sit on my feet, and I am as happy as a clam with them. Ahhhh new shoes how I have missed you.

Memories can be a funny thing

2011-05-28T12:00:00.002-04:00

Childhood was so different when I was young. We could go outside to play without the worries of someone stealing us away, drugs or many of the scary things kids have to deal with today.

I grew up in a great neighborhood. The trees were tall, and grew together at the top into a shady canopy. Days were long, and filled with fun, and the worst things to worry about was the girl named Beth that lived next door, she could be mean sometimes. Heaven knows her little brother Jimmy was truly mean. Everyone watched out for Jimmy, even though he was younger than all of us.

One of my favorite memories is in this neighborhood. The funny thing is that it is an incorrect memory. Let me explain..... A bunch of us kids were hanging out playing in the street next to my Grandma's house. Oh yeah, did I mention we lived next door to my Grandma? I could have only been 4 or 5 at the time. As we were playing, a boy older than us came riding down the street on an elephant! Yeah, OK not really, but that is how I remember it. What actually happened is the boy came riding down the street on a horse, but being so small it seemed like an elephant to me and that is how I remember it every time to this day. I have to correct myself and tell myself it is a horse. Unless by some chance he worked for the circus or something and actually did ride an elephant down the street..............................yeah, I doubt it to.

...and speaking of Motherhood.

2011-05-11T15:53:00.000-04:00

Saw this, Loved this. Loved it because it is so true. It never fails, just when I think I have 10 minutes to myself, say blogging, one of the kids will come and need something. Really though, isn't that what we signed up for when we became a parent? OK, I need to go now, one of my kids is standing next to me poking me with a box to get my attention.........

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-11T15:42:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid I loved Chiclets gum, all the colors, the fruity flavor. Ahhh the memories.

Now I love a different kind of Chiclets, MY chiclets. They make my Mother's Day wonderful, in fact, they make my life wonderful. Love you my little chiclets, you give me even better memories.

Spring has Sprung

2011-04-29T15:59:00.003-04:00

Don't you just love Spring? I love all the colors of the flowers and blooming trees. I was given a nice surprise the other day when I looked out my bedroom window. Our tree was green, pink and white. I loved it, it made me happy.

I also love tulips. I don't care which color they are, they are all pretty and make me so happy after a long and dreary winter. I had some years ago, maybe it's time to plant some more.

Telescope

2011-04-29T15:48:00.001-04:00

I bought a telescope off of someone a while back, and Lee finally got it put together. Now if it would only stop raining long enough for the sky to clear so we can see the stars. The kids are so excited to see them and ask almost every day.
Rain, rain go away, come on back another day!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-29T15:42:00.001-04:00

In an effort to keep the Sabbath more Holy, the Easter bunny comes to our house on Saturday's instead of on Sunday.
We had an Easter dinner at Lee's parents house Saturday evening, and found that the big E.B. had come while we were gone. The kids got to bed really late, but had an exciting and great time hunting for eggs. Lee even enjoyed trying out Jordan's new hula hoop.

The bunny is getting more and more tricky as the kids get older, they really had to hunt well this year. In fact, 5 days later, we are still finding eggs that were missed.
Thanks Easter Bunny!

Working for the Scouting badge

2011-04-21T13:05:00.001-04:00

My kids can be so sweet to each other. When one gets something at school, church or wherever, they always ask for one for their sibling too. The other night at Scouts, Spencer made a basketball goal to work towards a badge. Of course he asked if one of the leftovers could be taken home for his sister. He had a great time making it, and Jordan had a great time helping. I love seeing them get along and working together as a team.

Getting our ducks in a row

2011-04-21T12:59:00.001-04:00

We have a pair of mallards that have taken a liking to our pool. The pool cover is dark green, and it being full of rain water and leaves, I guess it looks like a pond. They landed one day, and have been back about every day since. They have also found the bird feeder out front, so they usually come, eat their fill off the ground then head on back for a swim and a nap. It is so cute, Daisy as we call her, climbs up on the side, takes a nap while Donald keeps watch, then he sleeps while she keeps watch. They are a great pair and we are really enjoying them, they seem to be getting somewhat used to us and will stick around if we are out and about. As long as we don't get too close.

High Ambitions

2011-04-21T12:44:00.004-04:00

I don't know what prompted it, but my little Jordan drew four things that she wants to be when she grows up, and although they are only stick figures, I was pretty impressed with her drawings. First and foremost, is a rock star, or movie star. Notice the guitar (up by the shoulders) and more impressively is the spot lights above. I did not know that she even knew about spot lights.
Secondly, she wants to be a vet, note the cats in her arms. This did not surprise me at all.

Next, she wants to be an archaeologist. Or as she puts it, "A person that digs for dinosaur bones." Look at the hand tool, and then the bones under the dirt. Last but not least is a nurse. That one did surprise me, but I really like that she put a patient in bed and the bed has wheels on it. Jordan is my kid that really pays attention to details. She did not draw it, but she says she also wants to be a mom, and as long as she fulfills that one, I don't care what she is, as long as she is good at it.

4 In A Row

2011-03-27T11:14:00.008-04:00

Jordan has done it again. She lost yet another tooth. Not only is she going to break the tooth fairy, but I don't know how the poor kid eats. I love the Twilight books, but having a child who looks like a vampire is crazy.
On a side note, I am totally ticked off that the picture of my little vampire will not stay posted! I have added it to the blog post several times and it will not "stick"! What the heck? Any ideas?????

Spencer as President Ronald Reagan

2011-03-05T15:07:00.001-05:00

Here is my little President. Spencer had to write a report, memorize and give a speech on a President of the United States. He choose Ronald Reagan, and this is how he dressed up for the speech. We darkened his hair and eyebrows with spray. Holy Heck what a mess!!!

Can't you just see him sitting in the oval office working on Presidential things? Actually he is going over his speech one last time before he heads off to school. The speech went great and his whole class loved him giving out Jelly Belly's.

Then and Now.............Kinda the Same

2011-03-03T19:54:00.004-05:00

Jordan on her 1st birthday with several teeth that had not come in.

Jordan, age 6 with several missing teeth. Three on the top and two on the bottom, well, those are kinda growing back in but still.

More Bathroom Redecorating

2011-02-25T12:52:00.003-05:00

I had so much fun showing you the kids new bathroom that I thought I'd show you how the downstairs bathroom turned out. It is two tones of terra cotta, and I just love the giant sun. Up close you can see filigree work in the metal. I took a big risk getting something that big for the wall, but I think it turned out great and it kind of makes the whole room. Too bad Jordan was so scared of the darned thing for so long, she wouldn't use the room unless I stood with her or outside the door.

You can also see the filigree work around the picture and on the vase. I am so into terre cotta right now, what can I say, I have been for quite some time now.

The towels are gold like the curtains that are not pictured here, and oh yeah, that towel bar has to go! Along with the vanity, mirror and faucet. We will be getting a bronzed ones.

I love these switch plate covers! Aren't they the bomb!! I think I got them on Amazon or some such place. Totally cool, right along with my new light. Funny thing is, my husband hates terra cotta and yellow. Too bad he didn't do the painting!...............

Before and After

2011-02-24T16:35:00.008-05:00

The kids bathroom when we moved in. Beige, boring and ugly. Something must be done, it needs to have some fun, life, vitality thrown into the mix. It needs COLOR!

Just like Ted Turner to a classic black and white movie, I added color, LOTS of color! Pale yellow to the walls, a beach shower curtain, all things beach. Have mentioned that I love the beach? Yeah, thought so.

I still hate the vanity and mirror, but that is another project for another time. See the toothbrush holder, it matches the chair in the curtain.

Check this out, a beach pail holds the kids wash clothes for their showers, and look ma! No more hideous flooring!!! It is now beautiful. I would have gone and put sand down to keep the beach theme going, but thought the kids would not appreciate getting sand between their squeaky clean toes after showers.

I even splurged and bought the shower hooks to match too. I love the beach balls and flip flops.

Of course this sunny curtain is just the thing, and the oak toilet seat is so much nicer than the old white gross one.

I love this cute little rug.

No beach bathroom would be complete without a picture of the family at the beach. Pensacola, FL.
If you think I am really excited about how the bathroom turned out, I am.

Secrets

2011-02-24T16:17:00.001-05:00

Ran across these pictures tonight and I just fell in love with them all over again. Jordan is two and Spencer almost four. I wonder what she is telling him, whatever it is, it seems to be making him happy. Maybe it has to do with how dirty their shirts are from drawing pictures in chalk on the sidewalk.

Warm Winter Day

2011-02-17T17:03:00.006-05:00

It's February, winter and warm. What's a kid to do but get outside and play after being couped up all winter long? It's not even May and I heard "Start your engines!" The pictures came out fuzzy, but I don't care, it shows my kids having fun and better yet playing together and not fighting!

Having fun racing down the driveway, or riding your sisters bike into small piles of snow that are left

Or just using a pile as a chair. It's all good on a warm winter day.

Valentine's Day Cookies

2011-02-17T16:40:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Day, the day of love. More likely the day of sugar highs! Silly me, I volunteered to help with my son's party at school and make like a thousand cookies. Of course, that meant I also had to make a thousand for Jordan's class too. UUggghhhhh!
Several hours and a very messy kitchen later, Jordan decorated the cookies for her class and I decorated Spencer's. The kids came home on sugar highs and happy as clams, and yeah, I even enjoyed myself..................The chocolate dipped strawberries were to die for!

Another one for the Tooth Fairy

2011-02-17T16:38:00.001-05:00

Jordan lost her fourth tooth. She now sings All I want for Christmas correctly, with a lisp. It's really cute.

Ice Storm & blizzard

2011-02-17T16:33:00.001-05:00

It's winter, and frankly we have been pretty lucky to not have been hit hard, that is until a couple of weeks ago. We then got a blizzard with several inches of ice before hand. Burrrrr, and did I mention very cold temperatures, like -13! I know, it gets much colder where you live. Well it doesn't here, so there, we were cold!

My man and Spencer digging out from the ice/snow in the first dumping before it snowed even more the next day. We ended up with over a foot.

Spencer loves digging out, and is so proud that he helped dad shovel the whole driveway!

While the boys shoveled out, Jordan came up with a project.

She made bookmarks for her big sister.

My happy place

2011-01-27T17:37:00.006-05:00

The kids were playing
all of a sudden I heard "It's snowing!"

I love the snow, at least I love watching it snow.
It is very calming to me.
Yeah, it's cold and a pain to drive in,
but I still love to watch it come down.

If I need to calm down, or go to my "happy place"
I remember a night when I was a teen at my parents.
Being outside, seeing my breathe, and listening.
Listening to nothing but the snow hit the ground.
Did you know you can hear the snow hit the ground?
I love that memory.

My other happy, calming place is diametrically opposite.
I imagine being on a beach with only the sounds
of the waves hitting the shore.
I love a warm, sunny beach.

Sight seeing in Osnabruck, Germany

2011-01-19T12:18:00.019-05:00

Consider this the modern day version of me getting out the projector and making you watch my slide show of my trip to Germany.
The Monday after we got to Germany, hubby had meetings at the factory and I was free to roam the city and sight see. I was a little apprehensive about heading out in a strange, unfamiliar city in a foreign country all by myself, but didn't want to pass up a wonderful opportunity. I first stopped for brunch at an adorable little crepe shop. It was small, quaint and the lady made the crepes right in front of you. Mine was a ham, onion and mushroom and mighty tasty. After using most of my German I had learned, I asked the waitress if she spoke English. A young girl seemed thrilled to be seeing what I assumed to be her first American. She whispered to her dad the whole time while looking at me and said good bye when they left. I was taken aback by the man with the two dogs in the restaurant, but they were well behaved and it seems to be a normal thing there. After eating I set out to see what I could see. I absolutely fell in love with the town and all of the shops and of course wanted to buy almost everything in all of them, but we had only brought so many Euros with us. I settled on a couple of Christmas items for me and some small things for others, but here is some of the things I saw that caught my eye.

An outfit in a wonderful little shop that I wanted to buy Kate, but it was way out of my price range. Everyone wears scarves over there, and the shops have them galore. There are so many cute little shops in the town.

The little boy with the hobby horse is kind of a symbol of the town. It has a really cool story that goes along with it. Each year, in October in fact all the school kids get out of school and ride their hobby horses around the town square, and the town council hands out pretzels to them all. It all revolves around the story, that is too long to get into here, but if you are actually interested in it, let me know, and I'll fill you in.

I was amazed to find Bob the Builder and took this picture for my son.

A couple of things that were outside of shops. They caught my eye and I thought they were cool. Who knew German pigs had wings and zebra stripes!

SOME of the beautiful things I wanted to buy for myself and others.

I really wanted all of these for myself. Unfortunately, they were WAY to expensive.
The bottom of the two middle pictures of arched decorations was 617 Euros, which equals $864. The one in the picture above was only 429 Euros which equaled $601. Move along, move along, nothing to buy here.

Two paintings I really like in a shop. I took these pictures through the window. The shop was not open.

Like I said, the town is just beautiful, old and quaint. I fell in love and can't wait to go back.

This row of houses is famous in town. Not the one on the right, but the seven to the left of it. You can buy a plethora of stuff with a silhouette or pictures of these on it.

They have beautiful churches there. They are all so old and so full of history. I thought the gargoyles on them were awesome.

All in all, I felt very safe and had a wonderful time wandering the streets. It was very relaxing to just wander and window shop. While waiting to be picked up by the bus to meet up with the husbands for a party at the factory I just sat and enjoyed people watching. So many people walk or ride their bikes, and the cars are all so small. It really felt like another world.........or maybe just another country.

Schelenburg Castle, Germany

2011-01-18T16:16:00.008-05:00

Have you ever wanted to be a princess in a castle? Growing up I always did, and I got pretty close while we were in Germany.
The company took us ( in the double decker bus) over to the town of Bissendorf to Schelenburg castle. It was built in the 11 th century. Can you believe that?! The amount of history you see in Germany is just incredible.
Anyway, we went there for dinner one evening, and I was just blown away.

It was getting pretty dark when we got there, so the pictures I took did not turn out well, but hey, it's pictures of an 11th century castle!

We walked around to the back, over a moat by drawbridge, ( I know, totally cool huh?) and through a courtyard to the entrance.

The yellow part of the castle to the right of the picture is where we walked over the moat and into the courtyard.

The buffet, and our dinner table. It was a great experience to be able to come and have dinner. The food was great as usual, although there are some things that were strange to us Americans. You can't get ice, or tap water, all water comes in bottles and unless you specifically ask, it is carbonated. They also served a LOT of potatoes where ever we went, and for dessert every place we ate at had vanilla ice cream with warm cherries to put on top. Again, I wish we had taken more pictures, but look at a couple of things. First the tapestry hanging on the back wall of the buffet room, and in the dining room, look how thick the windows are. 11th century insulation at it's best.
I just drank up the atmosphere, it is something I don't think I will ever forget.

Our hotel, Osnabruck, Germany

2011-01-18T15:17:00.013-05:00

Our hotel in Osnabruck, the first city we stayed in. Old, rustic, beautiful.... everything you might imagine from a German hotel.

This is the street front side of it. The lower portion is actually a restaurant, we ate there with the company one night. Of course the food was incredible! They served us a pumpkin soup that was out of this world, and I don't like that kind of thing. Notice what looks like a narrow alley to the right of the hotel. That is the street you drove down to get to the front/lobby of the hotel.

Sign on the hotel saying it was built in 1690 and I really don't know what else.

Also part of the hotel.

This is the narrow street we entered and left the hotel from. I am amazed at how narrow some of the streets were. When the bus came to pick us up for excursions, we had to walk quite a way to it because it could not fit down the streets. By the way, it was a double decker bus. I have always wanted to ride on the top level of one of those. It was so cool!

Our beautiful room, I loved the decor. It was so comfy and homey, these apples were left for us when we checked in.

OK, call me crazy, but I had to take a picture of the toilet. It flushes by pressing the rectangle thingy on the wall. All of the toilets work that way in Germany.

The lion that stood outside our room. You can also see the courtyard and small restaurant behind it. The hotel had the big restaurant by the street, then this small one by the courtyard, and it was mighty tasty. I had a sandwich, and I don't know if I was just thrilled out of my gourd or what, but the food just seemed to taste so much better there in Germany.

A shot from the courtyard. Wish I had taken more pictures because of course it was beautiful.

I am even enthralled by the windows there. You can crack them open at the top, or turn the handle the other way, and open it completely.

The window of our room, plus you can see more of the courtyard.

Our window cracked from the outside.

Silly me, while waiting to go eat dinner at the castle I told hubby " back up, now to your right". Ha ha, I'm so funny.

Germany, October 2010

2011-01-17T11:39:00.029-05:00

Back in the summer, we found out that my hubby had been invited to an installer training meeting in Germany, and better yet, wives were also invited!
He was also invited and went 10 years ago, but I was not able to go, so this time there was going to be nothing that would keep me home.
Passport, clothes all was in order and off we flew full of excitement to visit a foreign country.

New York City, the last of the land we saw before the big ocean.

Landing safely, we got our rental car, an Opal.
Cars over there are so small and cute!

We then traveled to a small town north of Frankfurt where we flew into, and went to the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I don't remember the name of the town, but it was small, quaint and beautiful.

A wonderful blend of old and modern.

Being hungry, we found a little bakery that was open. The aroma was a thrill for the senses, and the taste was even more so. I knew right then that I was going to like this country very much.

Moroni atop the temple.

They have a nice little hostel where members can come and stay overnight.

I love all the cobblestone.

Here we are in front of the temple. It was a little cold and foggy, but we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Very tired after flying all night without much sleep, but excited to start the rest of our trip.

The road trip to Osnabruck.

The German countryside is just beautiful. I immediately fell in love.

An old car on the autobahn.

Remember, we had just gotten there, so I was amazed by everything.

Side view of the car, and the driver. I'm sure he was wondering why on earth I was taking a picture of him.

Did I mention it is kinda hard to get a good picture going 150 on the autobahn?

McDonalds was even cool. A double decker restaurant, it was really nice. I came to realize that they overdo the Mc"this" and the Mc"that" over there a bit. As you can see by the drive through.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-13T13:07:00.005-05:00

Our tree, I hate it when a set of lights goes out right in the middle of the season.
Everyone coming down the stairs to see what Santa left.

Jordan finding the Christmas pickle Santa left on the tree.

And with the surprise Santa left for the one who found the pickle.

Kate with her mini glass giraffe

Spencer with his favorite toy

Jordan upset that Santa did not bring her a lady bug pillow pet.

Silly girl, she did not know it was already covered.

Happy at last with her lady bug

Christmas Eve

2011-01-12T16:29:00.003-05:00

Christmas Eve was spent at my in laws house. It was nice, we had a nice dinner and enjoyed time with the relatives.

However, 26 people and kids in a very small house is insanity X's 2!
It was nice to spend the holiday with them, and see some that I have not seen in a while.

Even More Cousins

2010-12-29T11:25:00.001-05:00

I have put up pictures of my kids with their cousins, my husband with a couple of his cousins. Now it's my turn. Here is a couple of my cousins that came to Christmas. I figured I better get a picture of my brother and I with them.
I have so many happy memories of them coming to Christmas dinner when I was a kid, and it was really nice to see them at my home this year.

This girl is COLD!

2010-12-29T11:19:00.001-05:00

My man keeps the thermostat set kinda cool to save money. We're used to it by now and dress warm. Poor Kate, she came home from school and just can't stay warm enough. In an attempt to stay warm she came up with this wonderful award winning outfit. pants, two pairs of socks, shirt, sweatshirt and dad's sweater. I think she was even wearing gloves earlier. Nice look.

3 and Counting...

2010-12-29T10:53:00.006-05:00

1,2,3, teeth missing. The tooth fairy is going to go broke.

20th Anniversary......sort of

2010-12-23T09:13:00.001-05:00

This is my best friend Samantha, I know I have talked about her before. Last Christmas when she came to town in fact. We have known each other since 1990 when she came to school at Purdue. Our mutual friend Melanie decided we would be great friends if we only got to know each other, so she introduced us and the rest is history. We hit it off and became fast friends that has lasted through the years.

She moves a lot with her job, so she only gets to town about once a year, so each Christmas we get together to exchange gifts, eat, laugh and generally have as much fun as we can pack into a few hours.

Yesterday we went had a ball. It makes me very thankful to have such a great friend in my life, I miss her and wish I could see her more often. Maybe I should make a trip to her house for a visit.

My pretty Girl

2010-12-17T13:21:00.000-05:00

Kate took this picture of herself. I love it, almost as much as I love her.

Christmas Time

2010-12-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love Christmas bulbs hanging from the tree? It so festive and happy, add a little Christmas music and you're set.

Like Mother, Like Son

2010-12-17T13:17:00.001-05:00

My parents tell me that when I was a child I did not like to read until second grade that is. Something clicked in my brain and it was fun from that point on. My nose was always in a book.
My boy is evidently the same way. He is second grade and this year they have to do a lot of reading. He loves it! In fact when his class had to do an independent project of reading 4 books, make a poster and presentation of it, he was thrilled. Here he is reading by Christmas tree light while I am decorating. I love to read, and love that he now loves to read to.

Killer Turtle Cheesecake

2010-12-15T23:15:00.002-05:00

I made this killer good turtle cheesecake last night for a client of ours for Christmas. Looks yummy huh? They said it was to die for. Yeah!!! Success! I will post the recipe on my cooking blog for you, just go to coleshomecooking.blogspot.com I should have it posted tomorrow sometime. And a, sorry, I don't know how to make a link for you so you will have to actually type it in, but it will be worth it.
The recipe is now up on the cooking blog, so you can go over there and check it out!

They're all angels when they're sleeping

2010-11-16T18:16:00.001-05:00

When she was born, my little Jordan was given this pink bear by my best friend Samantha. That and her pink blanket are the two things she will not part with when sleeping. Even though the bear is now dirty, old and will not play music anymore, it is still her favorite.

Oh My Gosh Pizza

2010-11-16T18:11:00.001-05:00

Why is this Oh my gosh pizza? Because when we took our first bite it was "Oh My Gosh this is good! My man and I are so past plain ol' pepperoni pizza, we decided to spice it up a little. When I made this tonight, I used tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions and fresh basil. Ohhhhh, I love basil. Is your mouth watering yet? I also made cheesy sticks and garlic bread sticks, and yeah, they were good too.

An older generation of cousins

2010-11-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

My husband with his two cousins and sister. Too bad all of his generation of cousins could not be here, but then, we could never fit all of them into a picture.

Cousins

2010-11-09T10:34:00.007-05:00

In August my brother came from Seattle WA for a visit with his two boys. This was the first time we had seen his boys and were a little wary of how the cousins would get along, but being kids, it took them all of 2 seconds before they were playing like they had known each other their whole lives. Several days we swam and on this day before we let them get into the pool we had all the kids line up in order of age for a picture. Kate the being the oldest at 19, then down the line, 10, 7, 7, 6, 6, 3.

Inside or out, the kids made up their own fun.

Grandma even got in on the fun in the pool one day.

Going out for pizza

And shooting off fireworks are always on the fun list

The Washington cousins didn't want to leave, and the Indiana cousins didn't want them to go.

I guess we'll have to do this again sometime soon.

Chicago Segway Tour

2010-09-27T10:45:00.016-04:00

Fall has appeared here in the Midwest, which means no more hot, humid, sticky gross heat filled days. As such, Lee and I decided to use the 3 hour segway tours that my best friend Samantha gave me for Christmas last year. We went up a couple of weeks ago and had the time of our lives. I so got Lee hooked on Segways now, he finally understand why I fell in love with them in Boston. We are in front of the Buckingham fountain in this first picture.

I love beach, water, boats, yachts etc.... I have an office with lighthouse stuff and beach pictures all over it.

Lake Michigan and us in front of the skyline.

Lee talking with Kate our tour guide on a "leg break".

View of the skyline from what used to be Meg field. Which is now a park, but I don't remember the name of it.

Lee taking a picture of me, taking a picture of him. Classic

Statures in the park. I like to think that this is how I look riding my segway. I love to put up my arms and be free and fly. I also love scaring my husband to death by doing it. Although I don't really know if he was more scared for my safety or just of losing the $500 deposit on the segway if I somehow broke it by clowning around.

More of the skyline. The John Hancock building, and the Prudential building.

A light house!

Art.

Lee and me on our segway's. Look Ma, no hands! OK, so I don't look as good as the statues, but I felt like it.

More art. These are made of used car parts.

This had water running down it, and occasionally it would spray water out.

The bean.

The Moo & Oink. My favorite name for a store. "Good food for the soul".

All in all it was a great trip and we enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks so much Samantha for a wonderful day.

First Day of School

2010-08-27T19:25:00.001-04:00

Monday was the first day of school for the kids. A lot of nerves were in play that morning, but when the time came to go home it was all excitement and stories of a good day from both. Spencer was so excited because he had a graded math test and he got to go to Chinese class, something which he will be doing every day. How cool is that. I was very nervous about this being his 3rd new school in 3 years, but he loves it so much more than the last one. His mind is finally being challenged. Jordan already knows everything they have taught so far this week, but the teacher promises that it will start to be harder. I hope so, and I also hope they continue to love this school.

Birthday Cards

2010-08-21T23:23:00.001-04:00

My daughter Kate always makes such great birthday cards. I love them, they are so much more personal than the store bought ones. I have never tried before but my father in laws birthday is Monday, so I thought I would give it a try and I am so happy with how his card came out. "Have a happy birthday, or the bunny gets it. Just like a ransom note. I thought it was totally cool.

I hope he enjoys the strawberry and peach jam and blueberry pancake syrup I made.

Learning to be a man

2010-08-13T11:57:00.001-04:00

Poor Spencer, his daddy works so much that he is usually home with all us girls. Not always a good thing. So last Saturday when daddy had to change the brakes and rotors on the van Spencer went out to help.........and learn. Learn to do the kind of things a man needs to do.
They had a great time working together. I'm so glad that I have a husband that can teach my boy to be not only a man, but a good man.

Adventures in Peach Picking

2010-08-13T11:46:00.003-04:00

My sis in law and I decided to go to our local orchard to pick peaches. Since we went together at strawberry picking time I figured I could find it again. Wrong!!!! We set out, much later than I wanted so we were already running against time before the orchard closed at 1:00. When we hit the next county I knew we had gone too far but did not know where the mistake had been made. As we were driving back and forth trying to figure our mistake out I realized that I was almost out of gas, I mean right next to empty. Ugghhhh, I wish I had noticed it before we left town. I finally realized the turn I missed and we made it with only 10 min left, not enough time to pick our own. Annie, the orchard owner sent her teen workers out to pick us a bushel each. When we got back to town I think I was running on vapors as the needle was way down on the empty mark, but I made it to the gas station. Yeahhhhhh!

With the yummy peaches I made several batches of peach jam. Oh my gosh it is so good!!! I also made the filling for several peach pies.
It will be very nice to have all this fruit tastiness come winter, and some funny memories to go with each bite

Style?...Maybe Not

2010-08-13T11:37:00.004-04:00

Today Jordan used her knowledge of style and class to dress herself...........NOT! I don't know what she was thinking when she put this outfit together, but she was happy with it. In her defense, the pink shirts that go with the shorts were hanging in the closet out of reach, but the boots? Who knows... I just had to laugh...to myself.

This Saturday Kate was wearing this around the house. Maybe this is where Jordan gets it from.

Post Storm Clouds

2010-07-22T16:13:00.003-04:00

These are the clouds just after the storm stopped and the sun came out again last Saturday.

These were the clouds at sunset. I called them bubble clouds. I have never seen such weird clouds before.

I wish you could get the effect of standing under a whole sky of these bubbles.

You say tomato.......

2010-07-21T12:50:00.002-04:00

I love vine ripened tomatoes, and am happy to have a couple of my own plants.

This is my first tomato that was picked. It was very yummy.

After the Storm

2010-07-18T00:41:00.013-04:00

Life is funny, one minute you can be as happy as a clam having fun basking in the sunshine with your family.

An hour later things have been ripped apart, literally.

We had a storm tonight that sent me to shelter for the first time in my adult life. I have never seen the wind so strong. I was really freaked out when I saw the trampoline fly away right before my very eyes. It flew over houses and ended up across the street and two houses down! It started in our high fenced back yard by the way. It was a sad trip home with the mangled mess. Spencer cried.

The gazebo the family gave me for mother's day also was destroyed, along with shingles, and siding.

Did I mention it was bolted into the concrete? I think it would have ended up in the next county if it had not been. You can see where the wind was so strong it bent the metal up from the concrete.

The neighbors tree across the street also took a hit, along with the neighbors house next to us. We suspect the trampoline hit the house in it's journey to Oz.

Thankfully, after the storm the clouds clear and the sun shines again.................

And God shows us the rainbow. All is well, and as my son Spencer said, "Mom, at least we are all safe, that is what counts."

Tired Daddy, Snuggly Spencer

2010-07-15T15:16:00.001-04:00

Even when the tool man comes home from work all tired and ready for bed, he still loves to snuggle and love on the kids. I love that.

A Shot and An Ice Cream Cone

2010-07-15T15:08:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid, anytime my brothers or I had to get shots, Dad and Mom would take us to get an ice cream cone. Usually at the Dairy Queen down the way from the Dr's office. I do the same thing for my kids today. It was always nice to have something to look forward to after a terrible thing like shots.

Today, Jordan did not enjoy the shot, but she did enjoy the ice cream that came after.

4th of July

2010-07-05T20:17:00.006-04:00

We had a small 4Th of July celebration at our house again this year. I love the fourth, I love that we live in a free country, and for the men and women that have fought and without whom we would not have this freedom. So, we celebrated with food, fun and fireworks. The table and the cake.

The family, some of whom fell asleep. Not naming any names there babe, but ahhh.......

Some of the fun.

We also saw a couple of parachutes, one guy had an American flag the other the state flag. Of course no 4Th would be complete without some fireworks, those were great. All in all, we had a wonderful time.

Fun Friday

2010-07-05T19:41:00.008-04:00

Have I told you about Fun Friday's? I think so, well, this past Friday, we decided to wait till Dad got home from work and include him. Spencer decided that it needed to be call "Family Friday". I like that.

We went out to eat, then off to Monster mini golf, where it is all played in black light. We had so much fun and the kids just loved seeing their shirts, shoes and teeth glow.

Afterward the kids, and my big kid (Daddy) played on the motorcycle video games.

With all the talk of mad cow disease, I thought this was really funny.

Jordan Turns 6

2010-07-04T20:08:00.009-04:00

June 25Th, 2004 this little beauty came into our lives, all 5 lbs 14 oz of her. Jordan seemed to be born a spitfire, a trait that continues.

Here she is today, six years old. Where on earth has the time gone?

All Jordan really wanted for her birthday was to go to Holiday World and to
go along with that, a swimming pool party. Although I forgot to take the
pool pictures, maybe because I was in the pool, her are some of the activities.
First we swam, then ate, swam some more, then had cake and ice cream, fireworks a pinata and opened presents. It was a great day, and she had so much fun

Some of the people that came to celebrate with us. We had 26 in all, and that is without most of Daddy's family!

The swimming pool cakes I made for her.

The big blow. I found candles that burn the color of the candle. It is hard to see here, but the blue burns blue, green-green etc... in the one picture she is down so she can see the colors better.

A few fireworks and hunting for the parachutes.

Finally presents. She was so thrilled and happy. Thanks to everyone for coming and making her day so special and for the wonderful gifts.

Holiday World

2010-06-29T12:22:00.001-04:00

For her birthday this year, all Jordan wanted was to go to Holiday World Splashin' Safari. It is a huge water park, with so many water slides, play areas, etc. it is all around fun for the whole family. It is called Holiday World because it is in the little town of Santa Claus, IN. I kid you not, the name of the town is Santa Claus. How cool/weird is that. Let's just say the Christmas reigns there, and it is all year round. Even at the park, the real Santa is there to tell the kiddos stories, and take request along with pictures. They also have an amusement park with many fun rides.

I can't get over this place, they take your picture and instead of charging an arm and a leg like most amusement parks, you download it for free. You also get all the free soda pop you can drink all day, free sunscreen, and in our case free band-aids. They even have reasonably priced food! It is so family oriented, modest dress is the thing which is so nice, because who wants to explain to their kids why people are half dressed.

Needless to say, we had a wonderful time and I'm sure we'll be back again next year. Maybe the kids will actually enjoy the world's longest water coaster or tallest dropping water ride. They sure enjoyed the bumper cars, carousel, and the many other rides we went on in the "dry" park.

Fun Friday's

2010-06-24T07:27:00.001-04:00

In an effort to keep my kids from being bored this summer, I instigated Fun Friday's. Each Friday we set out on an adventure of some kind. The first one we went to a zoo and park then to McDonald's for lunch as a special treat, this particular Friday we had planned on going to another park to hike the trails and play, but it was so blasted hot that the kids and I opted for an indoor fun project. We went to our local Michael's store and bought some paper lanterns and decorations.

After a swim in the pool we were inside in the AC to have a lot of fun.

This project took many hours and the best thing about it was that there was no fighting at all!

I don't think these lanterns could take any more glitter glue or stick on's, but the kids had fun and will love them hanging in their bedrooms.

Strawberry Jam

2010-06-16T10:49:00.002-04:00

My son eats strawberry jam on his pb sandwich every day. So when my sis in law suggested going and picking some yummy sweetness I jumped at the idea. Here are our boxes. Unfortunately we went on the very last day, so they were kind of small and sparse, but I was happy with what I ended up picking. I would have ended up with a lot more if my little berry thief Jordan had not stolen so many off the vine and box and eaten them! I made regular and low sugar freezer jam. Oh My Gosh! it is so much better than the store bought stuff. I think we'll do this again next year.

After the storm

2010-06-15T22:06:00.002-04:00

Living in Indiana you get used to bad thunderstorms, you just hope the tornado doesn't decide to drop down on top of your house. Hail, blinding rain, it all comes with the territory. We had one of those yesterday. In fact the tornado hit just south of my parents house by a few miles. You know there has been a tornado when the air turns green. Yes, the atmosphere itself is green. One of the weirdest things you can ever see if you are not used to it.

After the storm was over I went outside to look around. These were the clouds. I can't describe to you how it actually looked to see the whole sky looking like someone had run their hand across the clouds and smeared them. You can see off in the distance normal looking clouds, then they just seem to spread out longer and longer. I thought it was pretty cool, just wish the camera had picked up the yellow/green color of them.

My little munchkins

2010-06-15T16:20:00.001-04:00

Here are my little munchkins waiting to go to church. They are crazy fun kids and I love them so much.

You want me to what?

2010-06-09T14:18:00.001-04:00

My daughter's boyfriend is 21 and has never been on a trampoline in his life, EVER! He has also never gone to a theme park, ridden a roller coaster, gone down a water slide or done many of the other things that makes our family life a pleasure to live. Poor kid, I don't know how he has lived thus far. Kate trying to rectify these things took him to a small water park in our town. They were having a great time in the lazy river etc... When they got to the top of the water slide to go down for the first time Kate slid down, wheee.... Steven however was stopped. A thunderstorm had moved in and for safety's sake he could not go down. Cancel water slide.
She brought him over to our house the other night to visit and decided he needed to jump on the trampoline. He didn't really want to, they were forbidden by his parents, but after much cajoling from Kate, he went out. Of course after one jump the trampoline broke. Broke!! How the heck did that happen? I think Steven is highly traumatized and will probably never get on a trampoline again.

They have planned to go to a theme park/water park on the 19Th. Kate is now having 2ND thoughts, she thinks her plan to introduce Steven to everything he has missed out on is jinxed. I think she may be right.

Baby Rabbits In The Back Yard

2010-06-08T10:41:00.001-04:00

My husband is such a kidder. He calmly told us how he ran over 2 baby rabbits with the lawn mower. Then proceeded to tell us how they are just fine, ran away unharmed. They were in their hole at the time. Dork! We caught one of them Sunday night. He was is cute, that is unless he eats my flowers, then my opinion will change very quickly!

"Special Agent Spy 101"

2010-06-08T10:24:00.009-04:00

I love my boy so much, he is so fun, and full of childish imagination. For instance, at school he won a pair of sunglasses that have mirrors at the sides so you can see behind you. These are now his spy glasses. He has been walking around the house saying "Special agent spy 101." This is of course along with his "karate" moves.

Just look at those cute blue eyes. Spy? Maybe not.

Although the muscles are coming along a little bit.

You just have to love childhood.

Indianapolis Zoo

2010-05-22T12:42:00.007-04:00

Spencer's class has been studying animals all year, and for the end of the year trip they went to the Indy zoo. They were to pick an animal and check it out, then do a report on it. Spencer picked lizards as his animal, but before we went to the dessert, we checked out the shark petting tank. Even if they are tiny, it is still cool to be able to say that you have petted a shark.

Sea horses and ocean life was fun to look at.

Looking at the Walrus'

Bearded lizards, and pink flamingos.

Lunch with his new shark and back to school. We were so lucky, it was calling for rain, but he sun came out for a hot, sunny great day at the zoo.

Happy Birthday Kate

2010-05-08T12:49:00.002-04:00

My little girl, with the little curls has turned 19. Where did the time go, I just don't know. When I asked Kate what theme she wanted for her party she flippantly said a Barbie princess theme. I flippantly went to work on finding all the princess junk I could. What a great time I would have teasing her at the party along with everyone else. Ugghhh, she destroyed my evil plans before I could get them off the ground, when she called back later to say that since she was at Purdue she wanted a Purdue party.
Being a loving mom, I dropped all the pink and tiara's and went for the black and gold.
We had a great time with all the family and a few friends. Kate even got a Purdue pin from her grandparents.

Maybe I can get the Barbie party supplies bought before she changes her mind next year. mwaa ha ha

All Aboard!

2010-05-05T12:14:00.009-04:00

Jordan's school has done a lot of wonderful things this year. Taken trip's to farms, animal hospitals, hatched chicks and butterfly's. However today was an especially exciting day. The Purdue Boilermaker Special came and took them all for a ride. As you can see it is a train, complete with train horn.

Here's my little boilermaker loaded up and ready to go.

Isn't she adorable!

Waiting for the class picture to be taken.

I was the only parent lucky enough to get this shot of my little preschooler in front of the train. Woo Hoo, yeah for me!
Let me just say, I love her preschool.

Easter egg hunt

2010-05-05T10:33:00.001-04:00

When I was a kid we tried to focus on the Saviour and his sacrifice for us, and the resurrection on Easter, however, that does not always happen when all you can think about is what the Easter bunny has brought you and how much candy you can stuff in your mouth. Thankfully the Easter bunny was happy to comply and came on Saturday.
Now that I am grown we have the same tradition, so on Saturday morning my kids got up all sleepy eyed and excited. They were so excited at the eggs that had been left, and thought the bunny was so smart to give some money this year instead of all candy. Spencer was especially excited at how well the eggs had been hidden. "That tricky Easter bunny!" was heard repeatedly.
They also loved the baskets that were left.
On Sunday, we were able to go to church and worship. What a great holiday, I am so thankful for Christ and the greatest gift of all. Everlasting life

Butterflys are free

2010-05-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

Outside our house yesterday. Pretty huh?

Cousins

2010-05-05T09:58:00.000-04:00

Jordan has a lot of baby dolls that she mothers in such a wonderful and good way. She treats each of them just like a real baby, for that is what they are to her. So the other day when my niece came over with her baby, Jordan had a ball. Getting to hold Amelia was the greatest thing in the world.
I love it that my girls can be close to their cousin and now a second generation of cousins.

Ouch!

2010-05-05T09:50:00.000-04:00

By the way, this is how my arm looked when I got home from the hospital. Can you say OUCH?

Can you guess what this is?

2010-05-05T09:39:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the kids cousins were over, and of course the Easter chalk came out and all sorts of pictures appeared on our patio. It is easy to see what the kids are into. Spencer drew "The Tangler" from Battle Force 5.
Logan drew his beloved 53 from Herbie. Cool

Some pain, some test's and a surgery

2010-03-11T20:56:00.003-05:00

On Fathers day, 1943 my grandpa had a heart attack and died at the age of 45 after having chest pain for many years.

Many years later, my dad, at the age of 45 had his first heart attack. Luckily he had been training hard for a bike race and was in great shape. Thankfully, modern medicine was able to help him. Finding that he was born with abnormally small arteries and veins he had to have by-pass surgery. He went on for 18 years before having another heart attack and another surgery like before.

This last October, my brother, had a small heart attack, you guessed it at the age of 45. He was able to go in and have stents put in and is doing great right there along with my dad and mom who by the way also had by-pass surgery after being in pain for many years. Yeah, her dad had a heart attack at the age of 57, and by-pass surgery too.

Let's just say I was not going to get out of this world without something...........

That somthing hit the last week of February. I was having pain but being bullheaded and I'll admit it, stupid. I did not want to go to the hospital because I knew what the outcome would be. Luckily my parents dragged me from my house almost kicking and screaming to the er. Thus began a most fun of times.

I was put thru the ringer, EKG's, echogram (an ultrasound of the heart) I don't even remember what all now. It all came back just fine and the doc asked if I wanted to go home. My first instinct was to run for my life, I knew what was coming, but instead, I told him I wanted an angiogram or formally called a heart cathiterisation. I don't really think I spelled it right, but hey I'm on drugs right now give me a break. That is were they cut into the femeral artery and send a thingy into your heart, shoot radiated dye into your veins and watch and see what happens. Well, just like I thought, I got my dad's small veins so the doc said stents were out of the picture for my many blockages. Crap!!!!! This meant by-pass surgery and I knew it.

On Wednesday, March 3rd, under the knife I went. I ended up with 5 by-passes and one heck of an incision. I didn't want to do this, but you see, my dad was 8 when his dad passed and it has been a source of pain his whole life. My little boy is 7 and I don't want him or his little 5 yr old sister to be without memories of their mom. My husband deserves to have a wife with him and I did not want to put them through the grief it would have if I had not had the surgery.

Recovery is painful, long and it seems I will never feel good again. However I am getting stronger every day, walking a little further each day, and I can't wait until I can go out and play with my kids. Something I have not felt like for about 2 years now. I am so lucky that the Lord saw fit to spare my life, and so happy that we have medicine these days to fix our broken bodies.

Many people of all religions have prayed for me, and I know that that is what is helping me get through this. I am thankful to each and everyone of them, many of which I don't even know.

And a lesson for all. You know your bodies better than anyone else, even a DR. So if you feel you need that extra test that may cost a bit more but will give you the answer 100% then DO IT! You will never regret it. I know I don't. The nurses told me they all thought nothing was wrong with me when the test kept coming back just fine, and were shocked by the outcome of the angio. They also told me good job on sticking to my guns and having that final test done to make sure or I would not be here today to write however badly of my experience.

By the way, I will be 45 in July.

Random acts of kindness

2010-02-20T12:30:00.001-05:00

A month or so ago as I was standing in the checkout line of a store, a lady behind me had on these beautiful snowflake earrings. I commented how much I liked them, and how pretty they were. At that point she proceeded to take them out, and tell me that she had another pair at home and I should have these. At my shock and amazement, she said "Random acts of kindness". It made my day, and even though the picture does not show how sparkly and pretty they are, I love these and am so happy that she chose to be so kind to me.

Monkeying around

2010-02-04T08:33:00.007-05:00

Spencer was invited to a birthday party at Monkey Joe's by a friend at school a week or so ago. Never being there he was hesitant, but ended up having the best time and now wants his birthday party to be there too.

Monkey Joe himself.

What goes up, must come down.

It's two thumbs up the whole way.

My little cutie pie.

I'm a ghost

2010-02-03T14:29:00.005-05:00

My mom, a former hair dresser, cuts all of our hair. Always has, always will who can beat a free cut......my hubby however got tired of waiting on grandma and took my boy to a place and decided to actually pay for a cut. It turned out ok, except for the back which was way too long. Enter Grandma to fix it up. She is from the old school, use powder to get the leftover hair clippings off of your back, shoulders etc..... My son has learned this well, and while we were chatting it up, went upstairs to get his own powder.
Big Mistake!
He came downstairs saying "I'm a ghost!"
He was so excited about being all white and had lots of fun with it. As you can see, he was well covered head to toe. We all had a good laugh over it.

Until I walked into my bathroom where he had powdered himself up.........................................................

Fun in the snow

2010-02-01T10:48:00.013-05:00

A few weeks ago old man winter finally decided to show everyone who was in charge and dumped about 6 inches of snow on us. That of course lead to clearing off sidewalks, driveways and having fun. Spencer decided to build himself a "snow bed" and have himself covered with a snow blanket. He loved it and was actually quite warm.

Both kids took turns "helping" Dad shovel. They made a HUGE snow mound in front of the mailbox. Then made mountains in the yard and used the dried branches that had fallen off the Christmas tree as flags.

Isn't childhood fun.

After the work comes the fun. Dad pulling the sled in the front yard, and letting it slide clear down the "hill". We had lots of giggles, smiles and family fun.
When it was all said and done, we came in cold and wet. A great time to make hot chocolate and snuggle.

Thanks Old man winter for a great evening.

Making Chrstmas cookies with Mom

2010-01-06T19:38:00.011-05:00

Every year I love to make Christmas cookies for friends, family and neighbors. This year was no different except I had a little girl that wanted to help. Hey, thought I, she needs to learn she will be a mommy herself one day.

Donning an apron she looked too cute for words, and was so happy to be helping. My little cheeser.

Jordan had a little trouble with my big rolling pin, and frankly I didn't want to share, I had work to do. Luckily I remembered that a wonderful aunt had sent her a pint sized rolling pin with some other baking supplies. Getting it out was a great thing. It was just her size, kept her out of my hair and let her be creative in the rolling and cutting of sugar cookies.

See how happy she is. I love the flour on her face. Like mother, like daughter.

Cooking is a serious business. In the end Jordan was so proud of her hard work. She beamed as she showed Daddy when he came home from work.

Picking the perfect Christmas tree

2010-01-06T09:16:00.013-05:00

We have a tradition in our family. The day after Thanksgiving we go and pick out our Christmas tree, bring it home and start the Christmas season. We love being together as a family, trudging around through clumps of grass and tree stumps looking for the perfect tree that will accent our home and be the center of attention.

This year, we were lucky. We found it within 5-10 minutes. Maybe it was because the tree was right there looking perfect, or maybe it was because it was so blasted cold out and we just wanted to get back to where it was warm! Either way, here we are looking around, pointing it out and checking to make sure it did not have to many dead needles in the center.

When we find the tree we are so overjoyed that the love must be spread. See us sharing the love, giving the tree a hug? Or maybe we are just being silly waiting for Lee to come back with the chainsaw.

Looking cute is a requirement because I will snap your picture and blog it........eventually.

The nice man at the tree farm cuts it down and helps us load it each year. By the way, we have been getting our trees there since 2001. Spencer's first trip was when he was only 4 weeks old and maybe close to seven pounds. boy we bundled him up GOOD.

Taking the hayride back is always fun. We like to sing Christmas carols.

Try to keep warm under the blankets.

Or if you are a crazy 5 year old, surf the hayride.

They do a great job of shaking out the dead needles.

When we bring it home, Lee sets it up, then I put all 500 million lights on it. This year we had to go with colored lights because the white ones seemed to have gotten lost in the move. Drats!

We put the "polar express" train under the tree this year. The kids loved it.

Unfortunately, I was too sick and too tired this year. So I did not put even half the bulbs on the tree, so it is not as pretty as normal. In fact I was very disappointed with it, but that is my fault not he tree's. It served us well and did look beautiful all lit up at night. Much better than this awful pictures shows.

Here are the kids Christmas eve night after they opened their one present each. We gave them the cutest plaid Disney Jammie's. I threw these in because they are just so gosh darn cute! However, you can see the tree behind with some of our special ornaments.

I love Christmas, I love the feelings I get at Christmas and giving gifts to those I love.

I have to say that I am so thankful for God and for Him giving us the best gift of all His son Jesus Christ.

One Long, Lazy Cat

2010-01-06T08:57:00.002-05:00

Our Callie.....What can I say. Here she is on the bed being lazy, looking at me as if to say " You have disturbed my nap." We have since had to give her away because of an evil bad tempered neighbor, and I miss her terribly. I do however have lots of good memories and can go visit her out in the country. That is, if she is not out catching mice.......or napping.

And by the way, here is Callie being lazy sunning herself in the front upstairs window.

Thanksgiving 2009.....One for the books

2009-11-30T13:39:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving, a time when families come together and celebrate abundance and all the many things they have to be thankful for. Extra time has been put into the setting of the table so that it is just so and looks beautiful with the antique plates that came from Grandma when she got married, the turkey is roasting giving the house a delicious, mouth watering smell and life is good.

At least that is how it is supposed to be........and usually is around my house. However this year it was a little different. At 12:07 am to be exact I was awakened by my son vomiting in his bed. As I rushed in to help him I realized this was beyond my mom capacity and thankfully my wonderful husband came in and took care of the mess while I took Spencer down stairs to rock. Which then turned into a vomit fest of every 30-45 min all night long until about 8:00 in the morning. At that point my husband came down from slumber land and sent me up to bed for a few winks, called everyone who amazingly enough said that they would still come over. I know, crazy. He took care of everything, got the turkey roasting etc....... What a man!
I went through the day like a zombie on sleeping pills going from my family downstairs to checking on Spencer upstairs, but it was still nice.

As is our tradition, we went and got our Christmas tree on Friday since Spencer was better by then. Then, Friday night as I was getting the lights on the tree, I heard Jordan start in with the vomiting around 7:00. Lee started in as well. this was shaping up to be one very bad weekend. Sure enough I got sick on Saturday too. So did everyone else who was at our house of thankfulness. Interestingly enough so did my husbands family who did NOT come to our house.

Into this brewing petrie dish walked my daughter's boyfriend who is obviously insane, and took her out for the night. She and Derek are now back at Purdue and I am just waiting to hear of his porcelain worship................So if you hear of an outbreak of stomach flu at Purdue, you can blame a very pathetic little seven year old boy who we are calling patient zero, and one very ___________(insert your own word here) young man who had to see his girlfriend.

2009-11-07T21:06:00.003-05:00

My aunt Jackie, whom I haven't seen for 15-20 years came for a visit to her old stomping grounds. I always loved Jackie and really wanted to see her, so last Saturday we packed up the kids and trekked down 52 to the local Dairy Queen for a short visit. It was so nice to see her and the pictures of my cousin's that I also haven't seen for years. I can't believe that one of my cousin's is a grandfather! Boy, time does fly.

After our visit and an ice cream cone, we went to 310 E. Main St. The house where my Mom was born there in Thorntown. Someone was there and let us in to look around. I was surprised at how much the house had shrunk since I was a little kid. It is just amazing how that happens.

It was really nice to be able to see Jackie and visit with her. She still has the bright blue eyes that I remember. I wish we had had more time, and I hope we can get together again soon.

A Massachusetts Weekend

2009-10-25T20:48:00.015-04:00

The year...1990, the place...Purdue University. That was the year that Samantha came into my life and became my best friend. Through thick and thin, and I'm not just talking our waistlines here, we have withstood the test of time.

So..for her birthday this year, my wonderful husband flew me to Massachusetts to visit her for the weekend. Isn't he just the best!

Needless to say, we had the best time!!!!!!!!!!! I arrived on Friday the 2nd of October. We cruised over to Boston Gliders a segway tour company. After a half hour of practice time, which ended up in playing around time because it took all of 5 minutes to master a segway, we were off with our tour guide Katie. Let me just state right here that the pedestrians were lucky we had mastered them as we literally raced back and force along the sidewalk, spun in circles and generally acted like a couple of teenagers with a new toy.

Here is Samantha right after she got on for the first time. Notice the look of uncertainty on her face. With a couple of helmets that made us look utterly horrible, we were off to tour the city.

The battle of Bunker Hill spot. "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."

Riding along and seeing these historic spots made me wish I had paid more attention in school. I loved it, you could just feel history.

The Constitution, better known as "Old Iron Sides" A beautiful old ship. It is the oldest ship still in commission. A ship has to sail one mile per year to be in commission, so on the fourth of July each year, they take her out a half mile and bring her back in.

The old North Church.
"One if by sea, two if by land." I loved the beautiful old architecture of the whole city.

Paul Revere's house. He only lived in it a short time, then rented it out.

John Hancock's house. Wow!

The tiny little cobblestone streets are so cute, and narrow! I kept thinking that they were just alleys we were going down, but no, they are real streets that people live on. It was like we were on a movie set or something.

Boston Harbor. Where, of course, they have the fourth of July fireworks each year.

Segway's MOST FUN EVER!!!!!!!!!

After the segway tour, we looked around in some shops, then went to the cutest Italian restaurant. Run by real Italians. OK, I may impress easily but Italian to me means going to the Olive Garden, this was cool.

We had the best dinner ever! Lobster stuffed ravioli for me and chicken parmesan for Samantha. That was after having bruchetta as an appetizer. Boy do I love basil.

We then stood in line and hit up Mike's pastry for canollies. Yum yum! I have never had canollies before and these were the bomb! And yes, I know I spelled cannolies wrong, but I'm NOT Italian and my spell check does not have it in there!

Sunday, we went to Plymouth, MA so I could see the Plymouth rock. Now, like most of you I was expecting this really big thing.

It is exactly what it says it is........... A rock. They don't even know if it is "the" rock, but hey it is in the spot they obviously had to step out onto so it works for me.
It is down where you can't get to it, but I tried to get Samantha and it into the picture. If you look hard you can see it there on the left.

It does have a really big impressive canopy around it.

Some shots of the seafaring boats etc around there

This picture is just a little "dingy". Yeah, pun intended no matter how bad.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered I had my own hill in Plymouth.

Shots around Grafton where Samantha lives. It had not been cold enough to bring out a lot of color to the trees yet, but it was still beautiful.

Oh, I just love all these old buildings. I want to just soak up the atmosphere.

Thanks babe for sending me to see Samantha and reconnect with her, and thanks Samantha for taking me into your home, driving me everywhere, and being the best hostess in the world. I had one of the best times of my life.

Oh, and by the way, now every time I walk by a segway in the airport I have to really work hard at holding myself back and not climbing on and going for a joy ride. I wonder if I could ask Santa to bring me one for Christmas?

All I want for Christmas......Part 2

2009-09-30T11:39:00.002-04:00

Well, it's official. Spencer lost his second top tooth at school on Monday. He looks so funny to us, and the lisp he has is way to cute for words.

To cute to resist

2009-09-24T15:54:00.001-04:00

Lee often asks me, "How do women learn to work men for whatever they want?" Today, the answer came, they learn to work their daddy's for whatever they want. First they find out what is cute, what works and hone their skills from there. Here is Jordan learning her lesson. "Daddy can I have some watermelon...please?" She was so gosh darn cute that first Lee laughed, then dished out the watermelon. Good job Jordan, only 10-15 more years and you'll be after the big stuff.

Playing with Grandpa

2009-09-20T22:06:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we went over to my brother Craig's house. While there the little girls went out to swing with Grandpa. It was so cute to watch and listen to them saying "higher Grandpa, higher". I love it that we are close to the cousin's and they can get together and play. I hope they will always be close.

Like Mother, like daughter

2009-09-20T21:57:00.003-04:00

Callie and Moglie together. I thought this was cute.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth

2009-09-20T21:45:00.003-04:00

Spencer lost another tooth last week, on the top. The one next to it is also loose and is now crooked and will be coming out within the this next week I think. You can see how crooked it looks. We have going around the house singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth". Unfortunately, the first will be grown back in before Christmas so we wont be able to sing that classic song then, and worst yet.....school pictures are this week. Oh well, what a way to document a milestone.

Kate is now a co-ed

2009-08-29T20:51:00.001-04:00

Last Friday Kate moved into her dorm room at Purdue. It was a time of mixed emotions for both of us. We are both ready for her to move on and grow, but yet not quite ready to let go.

She is very lucky, her dorm room actually has air conditioning and two windows, not the standard one.

The house just isn't the same without her, but at least she will be coming home on the weekends.

Spencer's first day

2009-08-25T13:07:00.001-04:00

The 17th was Spencer's first day of first grade. He loves school and could not wait until it started again, however on the first morning he was nervous, very nervous. He made it through, and came home saying it was the best day ever!

Had our chance, muffed it.

2009-08-21T23:09:00.002-04:00

Jordan was born with a head full of thick dark hair, and kept growing it from there. She never lost any, had the traditional bald patch in the back or anything. Here she is at 20 months, that's not even two and look at those locks!!! By the time she was three it was down to her bottom, with beautiful curls at the ends. We should have had her become a hair model, we would have made a tons o' bucks for college. Ahh, 20/20 hind sight.