Sep. 29, 2009 Where have I been?
Oh where, oh where has our little friend gone? Oh where, oh where has she been?
It's not everyday that I sing to my blogging friends! You should be impressed!
I checked and the last time I posted was April!! YIKES!!
I am so sorry everyone!! I have been sooooooooo busy with life that it all just got away with me.
I hope to be more faithful to get on here more often.
So much has taken place since April!!
Without boring you with all the details I will list out the important events in our lives since my last entry.
May 09 Left to see my Marine son graduate the School of Infantry.
June 09-August 09 Re-established life in a cold Michigan. Came home to 10 acres of cut grass, 1 acre of VERY TALL GRASS......ABOUT 4 FEET TALL! Had to bush-hog 4 times and rake and pick up soggy loads of cut grass. It took us about three 8 hour days. We looked like scarecrows when we were done....grass coming out of every known and unknown place!!!
Began all of our entertainment in the preschools and libraries around the state. Lots of smiles and miles added to our line-up.
Saw our Marine son 2 times and loved every minute of it!
Had a surprise 50th birthday for my husband. Did the tire tracks in the 10 acre yard give it away? Yes.....but he pretended not to notice:(.
Here are some pics.
Took him to Ohio for some paragliding. He has always wanted to do this....he has had dreams of flying since he was a child. His dreams came true this weekend.
Our fellowship collected the money and sent us on our way! It was incredible!
That's Capt. Kurt on the right giving Steve instructions. That's Sherri, Kurt's wife, on the left also giving instructions.
Starting take-off
Almost up above the trees!
And he will soar as with wings like eagles.
Look honey, no hands!
He wanted to FEEL the power behind the motor....had to brace himself on the van.
OHHHHHH!!! UUUGGGHHH!!!! I stayed up late last night putting ALLL kinds of pictures on here and then hit the wrong button and LOST IT ALL!! INCLUDING MY MIND!!!!
I am posting this for now and then when time permits will post ALL those other pics and stories to go along with them. UUUGGGHHH!!!! |
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 22, 2009 Busy, busy, busy
It's been sooo busy around here. My girls and I spent all day Friday unloading my mom's garage.
You have never seen my mom's garage.....so I am posting a pic below.
This is the pic of what we pulled out of part of the garage......
This is all in the living room now....of which today my mom went through and created a garage sale pile.
There is still debris all over the place....but we are on our way to organization!
We plan on having a garage sale with just about everything here!!! I told my mom to have no mercy on this pile!!!
It took my girls and I about 3 hours to unload this pile and I rewarded them with icecream...I know....dairy.....don't usually do this, but my mom had bought some and there really wasn't anything else that was like a treat to give. So, I ":poisoned" my kids....yikes!!
They thought it was great!
So, now we are off like a herd of turtles to get this mountain cleaned up and ready for the ULTIMATE GARAGE SALE!
My girls are hoping to make some vintage pet collars to also sell. If they succeed in getting these made I will post a picture.
Steve and my mom are out looking for a new car for her today. Her lease is up on March 8th so he is trying to find her a good, dependable used car. Looks like she will be getting a convertible Toyota Solaro.
Much to my husband's delight....he will get to drive it!!
TTFN! |
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 16, 2009 Sunshine and warm weather
Am I boring you yet about the warm weather? Well, we just had our son's friend with us for 3 weeks...Zach. He came down from Michigan with us and stayed at my mom's house with us for the last 3 weeks.
We had a wonderful time of laughter, silliness (with two 15 year old boys), swimming, snorkeling, blogging, and eating. Man can boys eat! He says that Grandma speaks his food language....it's called Jiffy peanut butter, cheese, and milk.
Well, we have had amazing weather and now Zach is back in Michigan freezing! He called my son, Jordan, today and said, "Man, you gotta get me outa here!" He is in the cold, grey weather again and having a hard time with re-entry. It's always hard to go back after you've tasted sunshine and warm weather!
We have all been busy remodeling my mom's kitchen. She now has a breakfast bar with drawers that self close, new counter tops, new sink and faucet (with a great faucet that curves way up). A new fridge and stove were delivered today and I think we might be cooking in style
 !
Steve, may have earned the respect of other homeowners around here and may have some other work to do in the neighborhood. We are really hoping for this as it will help us out financially.
My girls are lovin' life here. Swimming everyday, trampoline everyday, outside in the sun everyday!
 |
•
Comments (3)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
We went to McArthur State Beach today. The temps weren't the best....70* and cloudy and windy.
The tram guy....probably in his late 70's looked at us with disbelief. There were 7 of us carrying snorkles and fins, beach bags, lunch boxes, chairs, towels, clean clothes with shampoo and conditioner, sand toys, book bags and the like. We looked like that movie "Vacation" with Chevy Chase!
The tram guy said, "You guys going to the beach? (he looked like he couldn't believe his eyes!) He was probably thinking....."they must be Northerners!"
Well, we all piled onto the tram.....stuff, kids and all. He drove us over this very long boardwalk that takes you to the beach. The boardwalk runs over the essuary. The essuary is a mangrove of trees and water. In this beautiful grove area lives all kinds of sea life. You can see fish, horseshoe crabs, lobsters, birds, crabs, and the best find of all.......a live starfish.
We were so excited to see this starfish. Zoe, our 11 yr old precocious daughter, says....
"I need to get down there and get that so we can bring it home."
"No, honey, you can't bring home wildlife, ' I say, "wildlife needs to stay in it's original habitat."
"But Mom, I can at least get down there to lift it up for everyone to see!" says Zoe.
It didn't take two seconds and she had figured out a way to get herself off that boardwalk and down into that water to get a closer peek.
After much coaxing she picked up the starfish for all to see. Jordan, our 15 yr old son, monkey hung over the side of the boardwalk and grabbed the beautiful find and brought it closer. It was truly amazing! It was salmon colored and the spines were quite pricky.
We took a pic of it on my cell phone......and if I figure out how to get it from there to here I will post a picture.
Jordan handed our prized possession back to Zoe who gently returned him to his wet home.
On the way back out of the mangrove Zoe saw a horshoe crab and a lobster....of which she commenced on screaming and running in the opposite direction! Go figure!
|
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 7, 2009 Note to self!!
I wrote a very long blog the other day. Full of antedotes and humerous stories about our time here in Florida.....only to have the entire thing go flying off into cyberspace with the push of an involuntary finger stroke!!
I laid my head in my hands and decided that maybe I wasn't supposed to be writing at that time...or maybe I just needed a lesson is safe blogging............it's called "write it in Word then copy and paste!" You will have no lost work that way.
So, I will be writing in Word when the blog is significantly long and hopefully all of my blogging friends will be able to enjoy Florida with us!
|
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 27, 2009 This is the Great Adventure
"Saddle up your horses,
We gotta trail to blaze
We have saddled up the 31 ft. horse, or house I should say, and we are blazing a trail to Florida
Good-bye snow, sleet and below freezing temps. We have sunshine to soak up, palm trees to sit under, and sandy beaches to play in. Can you feel the 81 degree weather yet? I can!
We are about 30 minutes outside of our destination and we are VERY ready. We've been driving for 4 separate days....about 8-10 hours a day. Lots of pit stops and this horse is soooo slow! But...whose in a hurry? We will enjoy the journey.
We spent the last 3 days with my dad and his family in Georgia. We had a wonderful visit with my extended brothers and sister. We played Risk, watched the Duggers on TLC, and went to the park...outside!!! The weather was so nice!!!
But can you believe I didn't get one picture? What was I thinking?
We will be staying at my mom's house for the next few months. She has a garage that she wants turned into a rental apartment. Then we plan to do some upgrades to her house.
We also have an opportunity to perform some dramas in the churches and schools in the area. We have a Treasure Box Tour that speaks of the message that where your heart is there your treasure is also.
We are excited to be working with another couple on this endeavor and hope to expand our horizons with more dramas that will teach biblical truths to children in a fun and interactive way. Our hope is to someday have enough of these interactive dramas that we can take them all over the country to all different types of venues.
Plug here: If any of you would like to have us come to your church....let us know and we will see about bringing these dramas to you!
|
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 9, 2009 Anai's Glamour Party
Anai is turning 10! She decided to have a few friends over for a glamour slumber party.
It was early in the morning when my 3 little girls came running into my room to remind me that I told them they could decorate today.
Well, schooling will have to wait! Creativity is on the way!
Down the steps they fly as they start a flurry of preparations for the big day. On the way down I overheard my 11 ydd say something about hanging our party parachute from the ceiling. "Oh, brother", this will be a sight to see!
The basement is finished except for the ceiling. It has the rafters still......this becomes our chin up area, our swing until we drop area and now a parachute hanging area!
Well, the girls were gone for 1 1/2 hours....I almost forgot about what they were doing until I heard......"Mom come and look!"
Sooooo, I peel myself away from figuring this years taxes....uuugghhh!....and skip down 2 flights of stairs.
"Wait! Wait!," they yell. "Don't come down yet.....we have to put on some music!"
Music is on and I open the basement door to find my husband has screwed down an outdoor woopdeedoo slide to the stairs! So, down the slide I go.......why can we feel all our bones when we do that?
I slide into a pile of pillows! FUN!!!
To my right the poles are decorated with pink and purple crepe paper.....they look like candy canes. Next to the poles is the birthday table, dressed in pink. It has a light pink table cloth with my sparkle pink face painting table cloth on top. Then there are wrapped presents and furry glamour hats placed strategically around the table.
To my left is my party glamour box fitted with boas, glasses and strings of beads all spilling out in a decorative fashion. Next to this is about 6 blow-up guitars and shiny pom-poms decorating the floor. To the left of all this is a "Glamour Table"....outfitted with boas, glasses, nail-polish, a glamour mirror and little notepads as give-aways.
Now for the best thing of all! They managed to hoist that HUGE parachute up to the ceiling with bright pink string. It is hoisted by all the handles on the parachute. Tied to the handles are my party scarves, hanging down in a very pretty fashion. Then they managed to make an intricate, but pretty pully system to let down two sides of the parachute. Out spill balls, and balloons on top of the party table!
Do I have party decoraters in the making or what?
We plan on having games, treats, face painting, dancing, karioke, movies, nail polishing, late nite stories, and very little sleep!
My girls are so excited that they can hardly contain themselves!
Who said homeschooling was boring...or routine...or outdated.....or less than educational....or without flair,....or lacking in creativity! Not ours!!!
The party was a huge success! As you can see by the pictures below. Even the big boys got into the action....guns and all! LOL
Did they have fun or what? Ahh,,,,,until next year! |
•
Comments (3)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 4, 2009 The floor is coming up and going down!
We put part of our wood floor down in the upstairs of the house.......only to find out that it creaked really bad the next day. My husband....the perfectionist.....was just sick over it!
After many phone calls and pacing he decided that we would need to pull it up....glue it and use longer nails.....then put it back down. UUUGGHHH! Have you ever pulled up wood flooring? It can be u-g-l-y!
Well, my daughter, Zoe, and I along with Jordan and his friend set up an assembly line. My husband was pulling up the floor, handing it to us. I was pounding out the nails, my daughter was yanking them out from their pounded out position, and Jordan and Sergei were sanding and stacking.
It was quite the team effort. I only hit the ceiling once with a board.....:( oops!
It took us about 6 hours. Well, we laid the rest down the next day and guess what? It STILL CREAKED!!! AAAAGGHHH!!!!
My husband decided to sand it to see if that would make a difference. It did! They stopped creaking! Go figure!
Now for the other 2000 sq. ft!
Anyone want to come and help? |
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Dec. 23, 2008 Who needs the gym?
We are in the last stages of building our house and we are laying the wood floors.
WELL>>>>>my job was to get the 12fters, 10fters, 8fters, and 6fters off the big flat bed and into the new house. There was about 200 planks stacked about 4 feet high!
Do I hear stretch and reach?
I "volunteered" my 15 year old son to help me carry them into the house then as he went to get more I would arrange them like a criss cross pattern.
That's me! I am standing on the criss cross pattern of wood. Behind me are the cabinets for our schoolroom.
Are you feeling those thrusts and bends, curls and bicep work? No? Then you aren't working hard enough....I'm workin' up a sweat!
They had to be laid out crisscross to distribute the weight equally.
Now I am breathing hard, heart rate is up and I am only 1/2 way finished! My biceps are talking to me!
My back muscles are saying hello to me! My quads are feelin' like their gettin' a workout!
Arnold Swartznegger look out!
Who needs a gym? Not me! I have a house to build!
Get busy ladies! |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
I just got home from a l-o-n-g day in the blustery snow, navigating through Christmas traffic and snowy roads. My girls had to stay home today b/c they were under the weather. I started supper, turned on some Stephen Curtis Chapman music and then my 10 yod came up to me, grabbed my hands and began to spin and twirl ballroom style with me. She was cuttin' the rug! We spent the next 5 minutes just dancin' our little hearts out! I noticed my 8 yod with a pouty look and ran over to her, swooped her up in my arms, and swung her around in a gleeful twirl. She was now giggling and had a happy smile on! I happened to look over in to the kitchen to find my 10 yod and my 11 yod dancing together. What a happy scene that was!
Okay dancing is over.....hafta catch that rice that is boiling over! YIKES! |
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Dec. 22, 2008 From trees to flooring
My husband cut down Ash trees from our woods this Fall. The ash borer had eaten them and they were as good as dead. He felled about 20 -30 trees. They were huge! They sat in our back 40 for a time as the Fall rains had come and we couldn't get them out without lots of damage to the land.
Well, we finally were able to transport them to the mill and had them milled into 5 inch plank flooring. We intend to stain them in american traditional.
As I write my husband is installing the flooring. He has two rooms finished.....and as he says 100 sq.ft accomplished only 3000 sq. ft to go! Knock yourself out, babe!
I am looking forward to the finished product as it will be a beautiful contrast against our white beadboard and white trim, and stained french doors.
So, now I can tell everyone that we have flooring directly from our own woods! Cool, huh? Just like Little House on the Prairie! |
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
|
|
|
Page 1
of 1
Last Page | Next Page
|
|
