Just had to add a couple of more pictures of Halen..he doesn't like having his picture taken so have to take advantage of the ones we do get. One is at the soccer tournament last fall and then cutting his piece of the net after his team won the 6th grade basketball tournament.

Christmas wore Halen out too:)

Christmas wore Halen out too. Even at 12 it can be exhausting:)

Christmas Night for Lucy Jo

Christmas was a busy day for Lucy Jo and her new baby doll, Bella. But Bella doesn't appear to be as sleepy as Lucy :)

Savannah learning to 'knit'

Papa learning a new game

What a gorgeous day to the beginning of a new week. Low 80's ..picture perfect. Perfect weather for cleaning out the potting shed! Ugh..and still didn't get it done. Will have to wait until Fri. now.

Wow..where have the past 4 months gone since I wrote the last post? It's been a very busy but fun one. Can't even begin to write it all down. In a nutshell..lots of outdoor work and fun. Visits from grand kids who live away from here. Two trips to Newark, Ohio to the Longaberger Co...one on a bus trip with all the women who love Longaberger baskets and one with Larry for our anniversary. We celebrated our 45 year together. Speaking of where time went..how did those years go sooo fast?

Am making a promise to myself to learn how to do more of this..post pictures, etc. ( help, Mark!!) One of my many winter projects to look forward to.

Hope to be back soon:)

Well..here it is almost the middle of May. Can't believe how fast the time has gone since my last entry at the end of March. This is such a busy time of the year but I also seem to be spinning my wheels. So much to do outside in the yard and flower beds but hard to get it all in between the rain and the work schedule. I always panic at this time of the year but always seem to manage to get it done by the end of May. Not done done..just done with cleaning out beds, planting flower pots and window boxes. Then comes the almost daily maintenance for the next several months as the seasons change. But I love it. Such a sense of taking care of what God has given us.

Before I sign of for this night, I have to mention that this was a wonderful Mother's Day. We went with our daughter, Laurie, and her family to their church in Bloomington for our grandaughter ( Laurie and Mark's daugther) Savannah's baptism. What a blessing it is to be a witness to something so precious. Her older brother, Andrew, was baptised just 2 years ago. I cannot begin to express how much we love them and how much their decision for being Christ followers mean to us.

We then spent the day at Lake Evergreen..enjoying a great picnic all prepared by Laurie, fishing..with 3 fish being caught by Andrew and Savannah, then finishing off the day at the Dairy Queen. yum!

Thank you Laurie for taking so much of your precious time at a very busy time for you and on your own Mother's Day to make this a special one for us. And..we loved riding in the new mini-van!

Check back again soon. Hope to post some pictures in the near future.

In the meantime..enjoy every day to it's fullest.

Great Weekend!!

What a terrific weekend it was, despite the unspring like weather. Andrew and Savannah came on Friday afternoon. Lucy Jo was here waiting for them. She has talked about it every day for the two weeks she knew they were coming.

It was a gorgeous day..the only day we had that weekend. I had so hoped that it would be nice on Sat. so we could go to Turkey Run. But no such luck. Rainy and chilly all day Sat. Larry surprised Andrew with a trip to the movies. He had asked Andrew to go with him to Danville to get an oil change. Andrew went, more to please papa because he really wanted to stay back with the girls to bake Easter cookies. But once they were on the highway, Larry told him where they were really going...to see Monsters v Aliens. Needless to say the cookies were no longer that big of a deal.

They eventually did go to get the oil change, drove out to the Wetlands..a favorite nature site just north of Danville .. and picked up pizza from Papa Murphey's for supper.

The girls didn't fuss about not getting to go to the movies as I thought they might. They had a good time baking the cookies and bagging them up in pretty Easter bags to take home for all the rest of their families.

As hard as I try to get them bed at a decent hour tho, it doesn't always work. They are usually in bed at the designated hour but watching a movie or tv program doesn't always get them to sleep at the best time. I usually rationalize it by telling myself that since they didn't really wear themselves out during the day...like they do in the summer time...then they can stay up a little longer. Summer is really hard! When it doesn't even get dark until 10pm here in Indiana !

We headed for Bloomington on Sunday after church to take them back home. Halen got to go with us:) yeah!! That was a pleasant surprise. We didn't think he'd be back home from his dad's until Sunday evening but he came back on Sat. afternoon. We missed all the big snow..thank goodness. Bloomington had a few inches but was melted by the time we got there.

Stopped in Champaign for lunch and was going to do a little shopping but decided that it would be easier to do it on the way home with only 2 kids in tow:) Of course we had to stop for ice cream at the Dairy Queen in St. Joe then went for a little drive thru the Pollywogs. It's so nice there. We can't wait for the Dairy Barn in west Danville to open up..next weekend!! It is the best!!! zillions times better than Custard Cup!!

Our next opportunity to have the kids for a long weekend, hopefully longer, will be in late June..carnival time at the park and 4th of July celebration!! That's become a nice tradition for all of us. Small town but fun.

Till next time...

Where did this week go? Gone, all too fast. But..we are getting closer to have this remodeling project done. It has to be done by the end of the week. Andrew and Savannah are coming for the weekend. Yeah!!! They haven't been here since Christmas break so we are really counting down the days.

Three full weeks ago, we started a major remodeling project of our living room and foyer. One more week and it should be done..if no one gets the flu again! Time for a much needed update. ..including new furniture. The biggest change overall is the color change. Going way out of my comfort level. Of course, now the rest of the house doesn't go with that that has been changed. Looks like next winter could bring on some changes indoors. ( we don't do any long term projects inside during the summer..too much to enjoy and do outside)

As much as I'm ready for continued warmer weather I really do still need some time spent here inside. So much spring cleaning to be done..you know, all those closets and cabinets to be cleaned out. ..along with washing down walls and curtains, etc. ( does anyone out there but me still do those handed down chores from their childhood?)

Back to the remodeling..it got a thumbs up from Wade and a friend. ..figured we are on the right track when they approved!

questions

hmmmmm I can manage to find my blog online but it doesn't look like others that I have seen. I don't immediately see the post..just something to click on that brings up the post.

Me? A blog?

Yeah...me, a blog? Hmmmm. Wonder where this will lead me. I always like reading other people's blogs but really wonder if I have anything interesting enough to chat about that anyone else would want to read about it. Guess we'll, see...huh?