yeah....pictures...(finally!!!!!)

THE VISIT...........

This picture is blurry, yes..... BUT it's a cute picture huh?

This was Zack's first tennis scrimmage. It was FREEZING!!!!

........the night before Brian left they decided to go GEO (sp) caching.....at 11:30 at night! They found their treasure though..........

Ok,,, I know this is sideways but couldn't figure out how to rotate it and while Blogger is doing so well with letting me load pics I figured I wasn't going to chance it right now :-)

This is Nathan in the shirt Uncle Brian gave him and wearing UB's hat....hm........that hat....

Zack building his robot...........

showing us how it works....... Zack went to Science Olympiad ,,,not sure of the exact placement in robotics but his team did bring home the bronze in food science! Way to go Zack!!!

Taking the boat out.................

LOVE THIS PICTURE OF THE TWO........

So there ya go............ pictures, memories.......good times........

Here's to you having good visits with your family/friends and making memories......

Ahhhhh.............spring......brrrrrrrrr

So the calendar says it's spring and there are some buds going on ....it's still so chilly!!! At night we are back to jacket weather. But I guess that is better then where we were.

What's been going on.......
Allen's brother Brian came for a visit. We hadn't seen him in almost 4 years. It was a good and fun visit..........thanks for the good times Brian!

Pictures to follow as Blogger seems to be having issues with loading them........

I'll be back to do that....time for piano lessons for the kiddos!

Addiction..........

yes, I have an addiction......Come on, we all do to some extent or another. Mine just happens to be dishes......for the moment. I go through phases, sometimes it clear glass dishes, sometimes I really like wooden things.




Here are a few of my exciting finds.....

No, that is not all one set, it's a few. The second and third pictures are just a piece or two because I was too lazy to pull all of it out to photograph.

This also does not include the dishes that are packed away or in the cabinet. How many do I have you asked........well.........that my friend is a secret :-)

What do I plan to do with them....use them and enjoy!!

the weather has been nice today just really windy and it's the kind of wind that "cuts" right through you because it's so cold. BUT...there was sunshine and the snow really is going away!!

I am itching to get my hands in the soil and start planting.

If you are ever at a thrift store and find a nice set of old dishes pick 'em up for me.

Thanks!

Honestly!!!!!!!

The past few days have been REALLY nice. A few windy moments but lots of sunshine and melting snow. Woke up this morning looked out the window and it's snowing!!
WHERE did this come from???????? Apparently missing the news one evening is a big deal :-)
We were getting geared up for spring and then SMACK!!! Supposed to get 4-8 inches.
It's not the nice fluffy stuff either..... no the nasty ol' wet heavy stuff.

Well, here's wishing ( and begging!!!!) for some REALLY nice weather ahead....hopefully before June!

no apologies, no excuse.....

When I started this blog, I knew I would not be on here every day but wow....didn't know sometimes it would be MONTHS before I came back. Lots have been going on since Jan. Most recent, my Grandmother passed away in February. That was very hard. Within a 2 year time span I have now lost an uncle, Grandfather and Grandmother. How ironic that the one week passing of my Grandmother was the 2 year anniversary of my uncle. All a little too much to take at times.
On a sweet note, my Grandmother truly gave us a gift, not in just the life she led but for this time of year getting out of snow and seeing life developing all around us was amazing!! My kids were so happy to see BRIGHT sunshine and actually feel the heat. Made us long for summer.
My cousin who I haven't see in a good 12 years came home for the service. It was good to reconnect with him and see/meet his lovely daughters. ( they were only 3 and a few months the last time I saw them.)
I miss my Grandparents, but I know they are much happier then anything I could have wished for them on Earth!


On a different note, I have been subbing a lot lately and while doing that I have been desperately trying to avoid catching this nasty flu bug that is going around. The schools have been hit hard! My youngest is down with a fever and cold right now, not sure how much of the flu this is or just a cold.......probably will take him in on Monday if he is still running the fever and looking pretty ill.

A good thing: the snow is slowly melting. I can see the edge of our grass, albeit brown, it is still grass and for now I will take that :-) I love hearing the dripping sounds of the melted snow, it's calling spring to come for a visit. But before it does we will have yet another season, MUD season. This is a bitter sweet season.......no snow but not yet spring/summer either.

We ( Allen and myself) are studying up on doing some container gardening. Looking forward to growing our own goodness and sharing it.

The next thing on the list is fishing, hunting and boating licence. Looking forward to skimming the river on the boat. Being lazy in the sunshine. Oh, got our park pass too so lots of days to be had at the beach.

Here's wishing for sunny and warm days!


Pictures are to follow...........

My cup and my portion....

Today marks the one year anniversary of my Grandfather's passing. I still miss him very much. Although I know he and my Uncle are in a much better place the selfish side of me wants them back. My Mother relayed the question my Grandmother voiced the other day, "Wonder what Paul is doing?" I know she misses him.

Feeling lately like I have just cluttered my life with so much stuff....hence the purging of the piles, it feels so good getting rid of "stuff"!! Very liberating! My devotional for today(one of them anyway) was incredibly on target, "Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup:you have made my lot secure." Psalm 16:5 The devotional talks about foolish decisions we have made out of discontent about life. This can happen when we don't like where we are or we don't like what we have and wanting something better. Clearly I am becoming more and more content with my life and willing to let go of all the "stuff" that I thought was what I needed to make me happy. Hindsight shows the happiness was very short lived...some of the "happiness" purchased still has tags on it or has never been out of the wrapper! The devotion goes on to say how we don't live in a content culture, very true and I have noted this throughout the years. Instead of changing my behavior with my discontentment, I continued on the same path of society. ( filling my life with stuff instead of what I really needed.) My contentment, I believe, comes from the deeper digging I have been doing in the scriptures. The closer I walk with the Lord, the more content I am with where I am. Yes, there are days when I slip... I am human! But the journey is getting clutter free and I can enjoy the view with the clutter disappearing!

Joy to you my friends and may you find your contentment in the Lord. Start purging your piles, whether they be physical or spiritual.

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR

Here's wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year and many of Gods blessings .

Today we are embarking on something I have been slowly working on....the previous post talks about it...ORGANIZING!!!! Nathan and Daniel are sorting toys and purging the piles. Tiffany is doing the same with her things and I am tackling this "office/computer/weight/craft" room. I already have a pile to get rid of and some things to ebay. Feeling good about the whole process so far.

Here are some random shots of last night................ Hope everyone had fun and got some much needed rest for today. We are supposed to get another load of snow....14 inches is what Allen says the weather people are calling for.

My break from cleaning/organizing is over now. Back to work so tomorrow we can be organized enough to get back to work. :-)