Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

 I'm a bit late today but it's my youngest daughter's birthday. This is a picture of us from last May at my cousin's wedding. It's hard to believe this young woman is now married almost 7 years and the mother of three! Time certainly does fly!

Happy Birthday to my hubby!

Finally! He's as old as me now!

Yes, those are snowflakes...

Temperature is 37 degrees. Tomatoes and peppers are covered, hoping they survive. And yes, it is May 19th.

Sunday supper

Love it when I find a nice steak with a 50% off sticker.

Pictures I found on my computer.

I think someone was having too much fun when he discovered the camera on my computer! ;)

Prairie Skies

I took this as we drove down the interstate. One thing I love about living in western Nebraska is that the skies are beautiful.

The Airplane Restaurant or Colorado Springs Day 2

When I was looking online for things to do in Colorado Springs, this place popped up. It's the Airplane Restaurant and it's a fun place for kids.

The tables were covered with navigation maps! We went at lunchtime to save money and eat a fun lunch before we headed back home. Some of the items on the menu were The Piper Cluband Reuben von Crashed. After we ordered our food the boys were invited to go and play in the cockpit. It was hard getting them back to eat their lunch.

Traveling the prairies

My husband has a job where he frequently travels. Once in awhile he goes to Colorado Springs. I had been wanting to go with him for about a year but it never seemed to work out. Either other people from work were going with him, or we had homeschool co-op or I had to work. Finally, a couple of weeks ago he had to go again and my calendar was free. We decided to go with him. The traveling part isn't so fun. The road between here and there is a bit dull...

SEE? Dull!!!

While we were waiting for hubby to finish some work we hung out at Starbucks and enjoyed the view.

Later on we went to the Pioneer Museum. It's worth the visit just to see the architectural details!

 Alex was thrilled to pose for an old-time picture.

 Preston not so much...

At the museum there was a display about the tuberculosis hospital and the patients that came to Colorado Springs for the cure. I found this poster interesting. It said,

"Man is naturally an outdoor animal.

Keep the Children Outdoors.

By day, let them work, play and study outdoors.

By night let them sleep on a sheltered, screened porch.

Bring outdoors indoors by keeping windows open top and bottom, day and night.

He who lets in the air and sunshine shuts out the doctor.

:)

It Always Comes Back In Fashion

 I remember as a young woman, people would say that fashion always comes back around. Imagine my surprise the other day when I was in a department store in Colorado Springs to see this blouse. I made this blouse my right after my senior year of high school while my husband was in boot camp. It was a light blue cotton fabric with little geometric shapes and flowers on it. I wore it for several years because I liked it and it was very cool in the hot weather. It was unique in that the front was pleated, unlike so many similar blouses I've seen that were gathered.

I laughed when I saw the blouse because I was pretty sure I had kept the pattern and sure enough I had. I wonder how hard it would be to enlarge the pattern so I could make it again. I really did love that blouse because I made it and had turned out so nicely. Good memories!

Is Handwriting Necessary in This Modern Age?

I was surprised a few months ago to learn that the kids in our local public school do not learn to write cursive. After a couple of years of learning to write their letters in manuscript they go on to keyboarding.  One retired teacher was talking about how she felt it was so important for kids to write cursive so that they could learn to read cursive. She went on to talk about how all of our historic documents such as the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution are written in cursive and people need to be able to read them.
As a person who loves to delve into family history I know that most census records are written in cursive as well as notations written on the backs of photos and old birth certificates. Most old journals and correspondence are handwritten in cursive so it's essential to be able to read them if you want to know what is in them.
But some new studies are showing that there are even more reasons to continue in handwriting practice and learn to write cursive. This article was particularly interesting to me as a mother of a child with learning and neurological issues.

"Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they also remain better able to generate ideas and retain information. In other words, it’s not just what we write that matters — but how.
“When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically activated,” said Stanislas Dehaene, a psychologist at the Collège de France in Paris. “There is a core recognition of the gesture in the written word, a sort of recognition by mental simulation in your brain.
“And it seems that this circuit is contributing in unique ways we didn’t realize,” he continued. “Learning is made easier.”

Fascinating stuff!

Linky Love

A friend put this on Facebook the other day. I wish someone would have sat me down in my early teens and taught me these things.
http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/35-things-i-wish-id-known-in-high-school/

I have been having fun with Stitch Fix. It's a clothing subscription service and I have gotten two boxes. I have gotten some things that I really liked but didn't fit so I sent them back But I also got a pretty maxi dress and a cardigan that I love. If you want to try it out you can use my referral link and I get credits. :) https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/4277043 If you check it on YouTube you can find videos of people trying on their fixes. It's fun and honestly I found some clothes that I would have never tried on if I was shopping a store.

A couple of younger women in my church have started blogs. I am impressed at their earnestness, humor and love for God as they share. They also make me feel like a bit of a hack! ;)
This is Mikayla's blog: https://justamom4theloveofgod.wordpress.com/
And this is April's: https://lifesimplyunscripted.wordpress.com/ A funny thing about April. She works downtown and is always posting pictures on Facebook of cars that are poorly parked. The other day I parked in front of her office when I went to the optometrist. Just as I walked into the building I had to step back out and make sure I was parked okay. I didn't want to be her next vicitim!

I work in a grocery store at night as a checker. I have been using this spray that I made to help me from taking in to many germs.  I've been using doTERRA essential oils for about 18 months now and we've been much healthier and I feel better about cleaning without using harsh chemicals.

My husband is trying this method with his potatoes in the garden again. It worked last year but not as well as we hoped but we did make a couple of mistakes. We're giving it another try.

Don't stomp on my flag!

Anniversary/Mother's Day Surprise

Thirty four years later....

He is still my best guy and I figure we have another 34 years left in us!
(I sure did like those shoes!)

Counting Our Blessings

"I just want you to know that we're all okay." This was the first thing my daughter said when I answered the phone on Wednesday afternoon. She went on to say that a tornado had swept through their small town and destroyed and damaged houses one block away from her house. Later I watched a video of the tornado as it hit the town. Even after the fact when I knew they were all safe is still sent splinters of fear into my heart.

Here is a picture of their town. My daughter's house is the blue house in the very top right corner of the picture.

Growing up in Nebraska you know that tornadoes happen. But this was pretty close to home. We are thanking God for protecting our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren as well all of the other people in the town of Roseland.

We continue to pray for people in the Eastern part of the state as heavy rains have caused flooding. The property damage is always overwhelming after these events.

Hats Off to All Military Spouses!

I spent 12 years as an Air Force Wife. I've often thought that we spouses really deserve to have veteran status also. We were the ones that kept the home fires burning. We paid the bills when we lost money due to deployments. We were the ones that comforted the children when they missed the parent who was gone. We uprooted ourselves and moved across the country and around the world. We had babies alone, We missed important family events for extended family. We kept life sane for the service member so that they could concentrate on a very important job. I loved being a military wife, but make no mistake it's a tough job. So if you know a military spouse let them know you understand their sacrifice and their service to the country.  

This post is dedicated to three special young women that I know, Melissa, Kelsey and Jessica. Thank you for your service,