Happy 24th Birthday to my Baby Girl!

 And she will be pleased to know that I haven't had time to load baby pictures of her. (smile) Don't you love her hat?

 Dancing with her Uncle Heath

Sharing a special moment with her groom

I can't believe she's turning 24. She has been a joy to have for a daughter and I'm so excited to get to see her on her birthday! That doesn't happen much when your little birds leave the nest.

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn, I love you!



Happy Birthday to my hubby!

 Yeah, he might just hate me for posting these. But they're fun because I can see my kids in them.

 Yeah, fine, don't look at the camera!

 A very rare goofy side of him. And my kids don't ever remembering seeing him without a flat top.

Re-enlisting in 1986



Getting his ears stretched

Happy Birthday Honey!



Thoughts of Gratitude

#25. Little boys who like to pretend
#24. Packages in the mail
#23. a call of a good dr's report
#22. My Bridge radio
#21. watching a friend grow in their faith

Cool Tools

I am not a fan of expensive catalogs that offer tools that you use for one thing and that's it. One I don't have the money for one use items, and second I don't have a lot of kitchen space so I have to be careful with what I buy. Having said that I still think it's fun to see what's out there. The picture above are cutters for homemade pop-tarts. I can just imagine how tasty these would be if they were made with my sister's homemade strawberry jam. (which by the way is good enough it should get it's very own post.) You can find them here.

I also saw these

 And these. I'm sure my boys would think these were the greatest. I also think they look like an awful lot of work for something that would be eaten in a few bites.

While I was looking online I found this Kitchen Aid Mixer. Isn't this the most beautiful color of mixer you've ever seen? This things is gorgeous. Sadly the price tag is pretty too...pretty high. Oh well, I can enjoy beauty from afar.

Just A Swingin

Everyday when Alex got home from school he would run out and swing for at least half an hour, much longer sometimes. This seems to be the way that he copes with stress. When he gets upset he goes out and swings. I don't know what he will do when he gets too old to swing when he's upset, but hopefully we'll have found him some new coping mechanism by then.

My husband left me...

 It's cold, rainy day. I took these pictures during a break in the rain, now it's raining heavier again. Not exactly how my boys wanted to spend the day.

 So one decided to go fishing...in the hallway.

And the other is playing tent in the basement. With all the lights off and a flashlight. I know the dog's eyes look freaky, but I was impressed that my camera took such a good picture in the complete darkness.

Anyway, as I said , my husband left me. But it's only for a few days...he'll be back. Or at least I think he'll be back. (smile) Hubby left at 5:30 this morning. At 6:30 my son woke me up to tell me that the dog had pooped on the living room carpet. Not really the way I wanted to start my day. Not really the way the boys wanted to start the first day of their summer vacation either. Oh well, the rain is good for the lawn. Hopefully we will get warm weather soon so we can get our tomato plants out in the garden.

Never let your guard down!

While I thought my littlest guy was in the bathroom quietly taking care of business...I find that he was really painting his toenails. His daddy will be so proud. (sigh)

May 13,2011

With my parents

Yesterday I graduated from our local community college, with honors I might add. This meant alot to me. When I was in high school I tried very hard to make the honor roll and never did. To graduate with a GPA of 3.77 means a lot to me, because it meant that I worked hard. Although I will say that out of all of the classes that I took none of them were as hard as the classes in high school. The papers I wrote? My high school English teachers would have thrown them back at me and told me to rewrite them.
But the real reason I wanted to graduate is that it means I finished something that I started. I don't want to be a quitter. I don't want to leave that kind of legacy for my kids. So, it took me awhile, but I finished.

Now, if I can just my parents to buy me a new car. (smile)

May 14, 1981

Thirty years ago today:

Wow, I was young! And skinny!

Once upon a time....

 This girl...

 and this boy...

 decided they kind of liked each other and started to date. This is from their junior prom.

 And Senior Prom

(wow, I loved those shoes...wish I still had them.)

Here is high school graduation....



 and a wedding...

(it was a very busy month)

Then the boy left for basic training in the Air Force, came back a man and the true adventure began.That was 30 years ago. He is still my best friend and I can't imagine going through life without him. We have five children, 2  and almost 3 grandchildren, and have gone through multiple trials. I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anybody but him. God has kept us leaning on Him and each other. Life hasn't always been easy, but it's been good. If I could pass one thing on to my children it is to stick through the hard times, because you don't get diamonds without lots of pressure.

We've decided to shoot for another 30 years. We'll still be under 80...that seems do-able.

Happy Anniversary to my dear husband, who deserves better than me but stuck with me anyway.



Mothers...

Once upon a time I was born...and I had a mommy. Hard to believe isn't it? My mother was young and I'm sure she had no idea what she was getting herself into when she got married. But you know what? She persevered. She never quit. And I know that she went through some tough times....I remember some of them. By the time she was 30 she not only had three children, but she had lost one daughter shortly after birth and had lost both of her parents.
I was thinking the other day about what I had learned from my mother. I did learn so much, but the two things that stick with me the most are to Trust God Always...and Don't Give Up. And really in the whole scheme of life, I guess there really isn't much more we have to know.

Final tonight

I've been busy studying for my final in Real Estate Finance tonight. That along with a zillion other things we moms do. I'd like to be able to find some time for some fun reading and crafting too, but it won't be for awhile. Next I have a very thick manual to learn so I can sit for the state real estate exam. Fun, huh?

The little guy has surgery once again next week. So if you think of us some prayers would be appreciated. The last surgery was very traumatic and still fresh in his mind. He freaks out when we even drive by our dr's office and tomorrow he has a pre-op physical. I'm thinking ice cream cones may be in order if we survive.