January 29, 2012

After church we went to my mother's for lunch.  We enjoyed a crockpot chicken dinner and then Greg hung some photos and wall decals.  I especially like the decal  in the photo with Calleigh.  It is a favorite quote of mine and one we should all try to reemember.

It is wonderful having my mother living so close.  We stopped by her apartment after church this evening and she made us cheeseburgers for dinner so I did not have to make dinner when we got home.  This was especially nice as the meal I really dislike getting together is Sunday evening after church.  I am always tired, it is late, and since I have usually made a nice meal for lunch I don't really feel like cooking again.  So it was a treat for us to have a warm and yummy burger I did not have to make!

January 28, 2012

This is my snowman family.  They make me smile.  I have a mini-album of photos of them. During the month of December they live on our bed and my husband, Greg, assists them in little adventures. They go sledding down Pillow Hill, they decorate a Christmas tree (complete with lights), they read together and have cocoa together, prepare for Christmas together and on occasion have a wild New Year's party.

January 27, 2012

We have had so much rain lately I thought I would photograph this small glimpse of sunshine breaking through the clouds.  It does not show up very well, but the water on the right is a quarry on Route 4 where the water is always a beautiful blue.  Thank you Lord for this little bit of sun, it made my day brighter in more than one way.

January 26, 2012

My hands were tired from much knitting and so this evening after dinner while we were all watching National Treasure (which I have seen many times) I decided to play a mystery game on my computer.  I really love these games.  I asked Riley if it was very scary (sometimes they can be a little creepy) and he said no and that in fact there were several of my favorite kind of  puzzle in this particular mystery.  I will no longer trust Riley's definition of creepy!  It is a very fun game, but a little creepier that I prefer.  I was afraid to go upstairs by myself!! How embarrassing.

January 25, 2012

Calleigh, Mother and I drove down to Mason today to shop at Archiver's, an amazing scrapbook store.  Calleigh wanted some journaling pads for her SMASH journal and Mother found a cool organizing container for her stickers.  Of course, I found a few things too.  Mother then treated us to lunch at Chili's.  We decided it was worth 99 cents (did those of you "old folks" know that there is no longer a "cents symbol" on the keyboard?) anyway, it was worth it to use the cute, little, table top computer to play games.  We played about 14 games of Hangman, only losing one.  Calleigh also had fun with a football kicking game.  The three of us enjoyed a yummy lunch and had fun too.

January 24, 2012

Today's photo is of Angel, Sharon, Victoria and me.  We are trying to get together on Tuesday evenings to scrapbook.  I worked on November of 2010.  I completed four pages and enjoyed chatting with my friends.

January 23, 2012

These are my current nemesis.  Cute, yes, but do not be deceived.  They should have a warning label:  MAY CAUSE DIZZINESS, NAUSEA, HEADACHES, FEELINGS OF OLD AGE, AND GENERAL DISCOMFORT.  These are my bi-focals, they were expensive and I cannot seem to get used to them.  I thought my frustrations with these terrible things should be documented.  I hope to look back soon and wonder why I had such trouble with them.

January 22, 2012

Today's photo was taken at 1:40 a.m. Yes, 1:40 a.m. as in after midnight. I frequently am in bed by 10 p.m. so this was a minor miracle for me.  This is the reason that yesterday was spent knitting and knitting and knitting.  Danielle's baby is due in three weeks and I was getting close to having this baby blanket done and made up my mind to finish it this weekend.  The blanket did not photograph well, but it is sweater stitched in the middle with a seed stitch border.  The colors match the nursery theme.  I say some special prayers for the baby and the family as I knit a baby blanket which makes the project more meaningful for me.

January 21, 2012

Pride and Prejudice--my all time favorite movie--the Colin Firth version, of course.  I was lazy today.  I watched P & P, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and three episodes of the 1970s television Nancy Drew series, and knitted, and knitted, and knitted, and then knitted some more.

January 20, 2012

We had the Shakespeare meeting at our house this time.  We discussed Henry V.  As always the kids get to give their favorite quotes and scenes and what they like and did not like about the play/book.  Angel always  also comes up with a fun activitity.  Today's fun thing was to come up with new words, as Shakespeare was inclined to do.  They thought they were rather brilliant and that their words should in fact be added to our vocabulary.

January 19, 2012

Today's post is of something I hate to do--color my hair.  Some of you fortunate, or just young, people color your hair for fun or for a change or because you are bored.  Some of us unfortunate people must color their hair because it is gray.  This would be my lot.  I am not talking a few gray hairs here and there, I'm saying that as my hair grows, which happens so fast, it comes in completely gray.  So coloring my hair is not fun, it is a chore, a once every three to four week chore.

January 18, 2012

Today's post is of the Patch the Pirate Club at our church.  We meet Wednesday nights and learn scripture verses, listen to fun stories about Patch, have character lessons, sing songs, and discuss the truth and importance of God's Word in our daily lives.  The kids are great and work hard in their lesson books.  Pictured here are  sailors Zane, McKenna, Maddie, Captain Angel, Aly, Noelle, Chrissy, Nina and Kami.  I am glad Angel asked me to assist with this class.

January 17, 2012

Part of what appealed to me about the daily life story style of scrapbooking was that women were recording the good, the bad, and the ugly in their lives.  I promised myself that I would not just photograph and journal the happy things in my life and that I would  be real in my entries, which brings me to today's post.

Callleigh challenged me to make a card each week this year.  She knows how much I enjoy it, and I seldom make the time.  I saw this idea in a magazine and as I am low on birthday cards, I planned the papers I would use for the project.

In the meantime, I discovered that in a certain situation I had accidently hurt Angel's feelings, not once, but twice.  I apologized and was thankfully forgiven by my understanding friend.  I did think however, that my error warranted more than just an "I'm sorry" so I decided I would also make her a card to thank her for her understanding and reiterate my apology.  One would think that by 46 years old I would no longer make such mistakes, but they still happen.  Thankfully God and my friends realize I am still a work in progress and give me grace.

January 16, 2012

Our cat, Darcy, was not supposed to be the subject of today's post.  My brother, Randy, came to Dayton to see Mother.  Hadley and I went over for a few hours to visit.  I specifically took my camera along to get a photo of Hadley, Mother and Randy.  Unfortunately, on the way home I realized I had failed to take said photo.  Very frustrated at myself, I took these shots of our mean cat, Darcy.  Objects are grumpier than they appear.

January 15, 2012

This photo is taken at my church.  I have had innumberable conversations with my Lord while looking at this cross.  Some of my prayers have been confessional and filled with sorrow, some filled with questions, others with thanksgiving, some on the behalf of others and many asking for guidance and direction.  This cross is a symbol and reminder to me of the sacrifice Jesus made for me and how much I am loved by Him and may therefore come to Him with anything on my heart.

January 14, 2012

Today's post is of my daughter, Calleigh, making absolutely amazing potato skins.  I gave her the assignment of a 52 Week Cooking Challenge.  Calleigh has not been very adventurous or comfortable in culinary efforts and I gave her the assignment of making a new recipe every week.  She used the recipe from my Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook.  I recommended she use this cookbook because there are illustrations of each step, which I thought would be helpful.  The skins were delicious and she worked with confidence which is the point of this challenge.

January 13, 2012

Friday the 13 for me means colonoscopy. The "unlucky" part of this day was that I felt like a pincushion by the time they finally got the IV inserted (four bruises later).  But since I am not superstitious, the blessing I received today was that the test's preliminary results show nothing of concern.  Praise God!

January 12, 2012

My post today is of my return from the grocery store.  I had not done "major shopping" since before Christmas and our cupboards were looking like Old Mother Hubbard's.  I did not get to complete my list at Kroger because I did not have room in my cart for everything.  I still needed dairy, snack and frozen foods!  After coming home and having Riley unload this batch, I headed out to Sam's for things that were too high at Kroger and I guess I will give Greg the remainder of my list for another trip to Kroger.  The approximate total of all this is $400!  I will try in the future not to put this off for so long.  It seems less painful in several smaller amounts that one big bill.

January 11, 2012

My photo today is of my boy, Riley.  Here he is with his favorite of our four cats, Cimorene.  She is a sweetie and a cuddler and apparently does not mind being used for a pillow by a 6'3" fifteen year old!

January 10, 2012

Tea with Sharon--this is what I look forward to on Tuesday afternoons.  Between taking Calleigh to KCC and taking Riley toTae Kwon Do, I have 50 minutes, and I get to enjoy tea with my friend.  When the weather is nice we have tea outside on the porch, since it is January and a little chilly, we are sipping it in the booth in her kitchen.  Many confidences have been shared and many of the world's problems have been solved over tea on Tuesdays.

January 9, 2012

Today's photo is of my homeschool co-op class, minus Nina and Max who were home sick.  This year we are doing a unit study using the Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne.  This month's book is Afternoon on the Amazon so we are studying the rainforest.  As homework they were to tell me things they would find in the rainforest.  Philip did one better and brought in a mango for us all to try.  It was declicious.  Aly knew she would not like it.  Aly was wrong, Aly liked it very much indeed, as did Skyler and Priscilla.  I could not cut it up fast enough for them.  We looked at the pit/seed and discussed how God made some seeds so that they could grow without being purposely planted and tended.  We discussed His amazing plan to pollinate plants and the incredible variety and design he gave to our world.  It was a fun class and we decided we needed mango again next co-op.

January 8, 2012

 OH YEAH!  Broncos beat the Steelers 29-23 in overtime!  This makes me sooooo happy!  Not only does Tim Tebow have a great Christian witness and is not ashamed to share it, but to say that the Steelers are my least favorite team would be a gross understatement.  I loved the shot I got of Tebow on his knee at the end of the game.  I was hoping all afteroon that this would be my shot for today.  I would have gotten called for "excessive celebration" :)

January 7, 2012

This is a photo from the baby shower I attended today for my friend, Danielle McCune, who is due in five weeks.  They are having a boy after two girls.  One the activities at the shower was to write a piece of advice.  Having been in her situation, two girls then a boy, my advice was to be prepared for how different it would be raising a boy.  Boys are wonderful and boys are many amazing and great things, but they are certainly a whole new ballgame as far as parenting goes.  Doesn't she look wonderful?  God's design never ceaeses to fill me with awe.  There is a baby in there--how incredible is that?!

January 6, 2012

Today's photo is of the books I am currently reading.  Beth Moore's "Things Pondered" was a Christmas gift from my friend, Di, and so far has all the wit and wisdom I love from Beth Moore.  "Heaven is for Real" was recommeded by my friend, Danielle, and our pastor's wife, Shirley.  I just started it today and was interested from page one.  "Sam's Letters to Jennifer" by James Patterson I actually finished this morning (I must confess I read the whole thing in less than a day).  I loved it and would read it again.  Pictured last is "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" which was a Christmas gift from my friend, Angel.  She had introduced me to the author's blog and knew how much I enjoyed it.  I am having so much fun reading it and have receipes picked out to try--if I ever get to the grocery to buy ingredients!  I have challenged my daughter, Calleigh, to cook one thing a week and recommended she try some recipes from this book since besides being so much fun, has great directions and lots of photos.  I highly recommend the book and a visit to her blog/website.  Come to think of it, maybe if I wasn't reading four books I would have more time to get to the grocery!

January 5, 2012

I LOVE old postcards.  I love to receive new postcards too, but one of my favorite things to root through at flea markets and antique stores are the old postcards.  The pictures are so sweet, little works of art!  You never know what you might read on the back.  Some of the sentiments lead me to  imagine the people and their lives and adventures, am I sentimental or just nosy?  Whatever the reason, I love them.

January 4, 2012

Hadley, DiAnn, Mother and I spent the morning working in the Room of Requirement at mother's and then she treated us to a yummy lunch at Panera.  After lunch we went to Washington Heights to take measurements and get some ideas for Hadley and Daniel's September wedding.  We then headed out for Hobby Lobby and Flower Factory where Hadley bought some decorations for the wedding.  It was a fun and very productive day.

January 3, 2012

Angel - "Team Shakespeare" and my daughter, Calleigh - "By the Pricking of my Thumbs, Something Wicked this Way Comes".  Our friend, Sharon, gave these wonderful shirts to Angel and Calleigh for Christmas.  As part of our homeschooling this year we are doing a Shakespeare study written and taught by our friend, Angel.  Who knew Shakespeare could be so fun?!  Today we watched Henry V and as an example of how Shakespeare is still very much part of our culture watched a YouTube video entitled "Loopy Librarian" which tells the story of The Three Little Pigs, Shakespeare style.  Thanks Angel for another fun lesson.

January 2, 2012

We awoke to icy roads and snow flurries which lasted throughout the day.  This is a view from our front stoop down our street.

January 1, 2012

Our family rang in 2012 by spending the evening with the Gammies.  We ate dinner, opened Christmas gifts, played games and watched the ball drop at Times Square.  We toasted with sparkling cider.