My Baby turns 5 today!!

 This graduation hat caused a great distress at the thrift store one day and so his sister got the bright idea that she's gonna get it for his upcoming birthday!!!!

  She also made him a scrapbook  with only HIS pictures in it!!!

A dart gun, a MUST HAVE since the cousins had gotten one!!!!  Really, It's hard to believe he's this old!!!! Shouldn't he still just be wanting little tractors and such-like!!

This guy keeps us all hopping, he only changes into about a dozen different outfits a day!!  Going from cowboy....to....police....to.....carpenter....to......his brothers cleats....to....all in the space of an hour!!!

   When I was taking his pictures the sun was sooo bright and I couldn't always see on the LCD screen, so at times used the viewfinder-this hit him so funny, his remark was-"Mom, that's just how they did in the old days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   uuhhh, he just turns 5 today, right?

    WE LOVE YOU!!! DEVON

OUT WITH THE OLD.........

IN WITH THE NEW.......

This is where my impulsiveness led me!!!! It was definitly a change for the better and the more I look at my living room the better I like it!!!!

   The second to last picture is actually a chaise that is suppose to attach to the black square that you see in the first picture of the new couch but that just doesn't work in our living room with a wheelchair, so I fixed it up in the corner with the basket of books ...it was heavily in use all evening!!!

   The couch is very comfortable!!!!

    Did I make the right decision????

Oh Boy, where has the time gone...??? I didn't dare look and see how long ago the last one was posted!!!

   What a minute I know where it has all gone....right into getting ready for a sister's wedding,,,,bridal showers......cleaning here and there(and there's lots more here and there's to clean)......spending a whole day helping my sister getting a little organization into the wedding day.,.....sewing dresses for the wedding....doing a dress for my sis...(as everybody needs some new dressses to wear on their honeymoon)   ..would still like to do several more for her......scrapbooking her last daycare pictures to have them ready by sunday when her daycare families have a little farewell for her........planning "how many??" carry-in's for sundays in the last month and in the month to come......school picnics coming up....serving hot lunch at school today with another lady.....planting my teeny-tiny garden for this time......weeding the awful weedy flower beds.........took care of "how many?" children here and there that needed a place to stay for couple hours or the day!!!!!!

   ....And then have you ever done anything that sounded like a really good idea at the time and then after it's all over you get the feeling it might have been just a little impulsive??????    Yeah!!! I just did something like that....but I do believe it will be for the better.... That was....  I took a picture (with my husbands approval) of our big sectional couch --advertised it on craigslist and had it sold and out of here 2 days later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    It just left several minutes ago!!!!!

    And now I know where their is a nice sage sectional  couch sitting that I do believe will fit into the living room nicely before the wedding!!!!!!!

      Hello to everyone,   Just a short post to let you know we are leaving in the morn for Garnett, Ks.   Pauls grandmother passed away Fri. eve. and her funeral will be Tues.

   We have been soooo busy the last while with extra babysitting, butchering and getting ready for Paul's folks semi-retirment farm sale which was on Sat.   They had a lot on them , knowing  grandma wasn't doing well at all and just praying she would hang on until the sale is over with.  But God is good and its all in his timing!

   Soon I will post pictures of recent happenings, but for now I must go get busy and get ready for all of us to go in about 3 different directions as the children will not be going along!  

   I was telling Jessica that she would be missing almost the same amount of days at school that she did when we had gone to Ind. (refer to earlier post) and she had an awful time catching up, she gives this long-suffering sigh and was like,-"Mom, it's just not worth it to me!!"  She had been warned very much about how hard it would be to catch up, but still wanted to go and I guess this time decided maybe mom does know what she is talking about after all!!!  I guess as they say experience is the best teacher!!

A Fun Day all around!!!

        Today Paul was gonna be gone for most of the day and so when I started thinking this thru, I thought it seemed like a great idea to take the day off myself!!!!! So this morn I got up  and was out spraying those nasty weeds already by 6:30, you finally had to end up doing it at an unearthly hour like that on a Sat. morn just to beat the wind!!!! I so bad wanted to sleep in, but oh well--duty calls!!!

    So soon after 9 we were headed out first off we went to the library where everyone "loaded up" you'd think we were getting ready for some cold weather or something and we have lots of time on our hands, the way we all needed books.....

    After that it was a stop at our local thrift store.....oh boy, I'm sure all you other mothers out there never hear anything like--- mom, I need this...... mom, can I have that......!!! No my dear son you may not have that.......

   And then it was off to the park>>>>.......

Devon hasn't quite gotten brave enough to try the roller blades or the rip-stick yet  AND I was informed today that there is a difference between roller blades or roller skates!!!!!

Cody has gotten quite good with these roller BLADES recently, they've only laid around here for a year or so and all of a sudden they are quite popular!!

Jessica is quite good on the rip-stick and can take the corners and curves with ease, she actually makes it look so easy her mom was trying it today, but for some reason it's just not as easy to wiggle your "back" foot as she makes it look!!!!

He felt very daring on the circular slide today, for some reason he didn't enjoy those slides like his mother used too!!! But today he got brave.....

YAY, He did it!!!!

After they had were wore down on all that we took a break, ate sandwiches and went for it again!!!

    Then it was wal-mart time, just for a few necessities and also a box of drumsticks to take back to Jenny's house so we could enjoy them together!!!

    By this evening they were done in!!!!!! In bed and asleep by soon after 9!!!

   And now please tell me time change isn't tonight as it's already past 10!!!!

      We (as in Jessica, my folks, my cousin and her daughter and myself)  Left last Wed. morn @ 6:00 to go to Ind. for the sad funeral of my cousins daughter, who had been on her way to school with her 3 other siblings when they hit an icy patch lost control and went over into an oncoming car which hit on the passengers broadside!   They were able to all get out except for the 12 yr. old girl, Naleta's seatbelt was stuck and they couldn't get it open, so the one guy helping ran to his car to get a knife and in that split-second time the car explode killing Naleta!!!

   The timing was really something as even if it had been a minute earlier it could have killed 3 or 4 of them and a minute later they could maybe have gotten her out!! Only God knows , "WHY"!!!!

  The family really needs our prayers as they go thru the coming days in adjusting- 

       9 yr. old Sonja lost her only sister, they shared everything, friends, the bedroom and did everything together!

    16 yr. old Carlton was burned before they had gotten him out of the jeep on the back of his hands and on his head, they are desperately praying that he won't need skin grafting, esp. not on his head as then the hair would not grow back but if it heals on it's own it will!!  He was also not able to be at the funeral of his sister cuz of still being in the hospital!! So he didn't have the closure the others had!

   18 yr old Layton was the driver and was frantically trying to get them all out as there was smoke coming out of the front of the jeep, he has a hard time not blaming himself!

   20 yr old Weston was not involved in the accident, but is there for the rest of them even as he tries to deal with the loss himself!

   I was so glad that I was able to go as I saw many friends and family that I haven't seen for years!

   So now today I played catch-up all day, went with Jessica to school to help check work that had been done while we were gone and try to get her all caught up again and then did laundry and ran the sweeper!!

   Paul and the boys did a great job, with keeping the house picked up and dishes all washed while we were gone! Paul also kept one of our little girls that we babysit for 2 days while I was gone!!!

    The one night Jessica was bored and so called home to talk to the boys and then Cody wanted to talk to me and then I asked to also talk to Devon, when he got on the phone, he was like, what do ya need mom? I don't have much time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   OKAY THEN!!!!!    I guess boys will be boys!!!  He was really glad to see me yest. morn when I got home!!!

   We ended up driving all night Sat. night instead of stopping for the night how the plans had first been made out, so when we walked in here sunday morn they were all quite surprised. Jessica and I didn't make sunday school, but then went over for church!!!

        PURPLE

   Have you noticed how purple is not the "in" color right now???  No, if you

weren't remodeling your bathroom you prob. didn't!!!!

   I have looked at all kinds of different places to try and find a purple trash can, or soap dish or towels or stool brush or air freshener can!!!! There is all kinds of violet there, but thats not what I wanted!!!!

   I was able to find some towels!!!

    So someone gave me the great idea of spray painting!!!! She had evens spray painted a friends wedding cake directly on the icing that had been the wrong color!!  So I went from a trash can that was this size and blue to ...................

...this!!!!

  I was sooo impressed with how this turned out that this morn I decided I would try to paint the holder where my stool brush sits in too!!!!

He asked and she said"YES!!!!"

I can't believe that my sister is actually getting married!!!  I mean it's no reflection on her and she's actually older by a few years than what I was when I got married!!! I guess you call it bittersweet!!!  We are all happy for her, but still in the process lose her to the Arkansas hills!!!  They annouced their engagement on Sun and so we had an engagement party for them at my folks sun noon, which consisted of our family and the youth!!

  The bunch of dried flowers in the middle of the table were some he had given her over the months they were dating and the different framed pictures were of them!  The goblets were filled with Banana punch slush!!

SISTERS!!!!!!

And there you have it in a nutshell!! The wedding date is being planned for May 22!   

       2 weeks before that is- Paul and his niece Bonnie's graduation down at the college and somewhere between then and the BIG DAY is our last day of school!!!   But before that all takes place Paul's folks are having a farm auction and getting rid of some excess farming equipment, the last Sat in March!!!

    So as you can see there should be plenty to do around here for the next 3 months!!!

  Good evening to one and all!!!!

  Can't believe how fast the  time goes by when you are on the computer "catching up" with every one!!!!

  It's been a looonnnggg time since 5:00 this morn and bed sounds really good!!!

    We had to be leaving by 5:30 to take Paul to the airport  as he flew out to Canada today for the annual MDS (mennonite diaster service) meeting!!! It really does sound like a long ways off and to think we can't just pick up the phone and call makes it seem even further!!!      So we go to trusty e-mails to stay in touch!!!          WHATEVER would we do without all the modern technologies that we just take for granted esp. cell phones???

   We thot the children would be fine to be here and then get up at the regular time get dressed, eat breakfast and finish getting ready for school!! I mean they only do this 5 morn a week and about 36 weeks out of the year!!!

   Who should show up down here at 5:30 but Jessica!!!!!!!!!!!! I could not believe it!!! But she had on her mind that we were leaving and so woke up when she heard us!!!! So I told her to go back upstairs very quietly and she could read but not wake up the boys!!! She gets to the stairs and was soon hollering back out to the kitchen in a very LOUD voice, "MOM THE BOYS ARE AWAKE NOW TOO!!!!!!!!"  UH YES DEAR THEY PROB ARE VERY MUCH AWAKE BY NOW!!!!!     So here they all come!!!

   So we said our good-byes once again that had been done very thoroughly the night before they went to bed... and sent them back to bed!!! Well nobody fell asleep again and so were down here again by 6:40 they said and so were ready LONG before schooltime and then sat and waited on their ride to take them to school!!!!!!

   They did very well  with being responsible and even the house looked to be in good shape when we got home this eve. with how they had left it!!!

   My day on the other hand turned out longer then what I had first planned, But it was still great!!!!!  I mean after all you can only move thru Wal-mart, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, (esp. if you are also buying and looking for 2 others as the scrapbooking was 50% off) and the thrift store but so fast!!!!!

   I was so impressed with all that I found at the thrift store, a brand-new pair of boys Tommy Hilfiger tan colored pants that still had on the new price tags for $29.99 for  $2.98  isn't really tooo bad!!! And a few other nice shirts for the boys and a NICE pair of Sunday shoes for me!!!!

   And so I was gonna go scrapbook into the wee hours but I think going to bed and making a day of it tomorrow sounds even better BECAUSE my dear sis has offered to take the 2 I do have tomorrow for the day, so I could have the day off!!! I really do feel guilty-I mean cuz today was really a day off for me even if I wasn't at home!!! But hey she insisted and who am I to refuse?????

 ... what have I done to deserve this.......?

   Words of Wisdom for the day---never try to eat a sub while driving, it makes a mess!!!!

Okay I relented

As I was going thru my card this eve. I found some more pictures that i hadn't posted yet, so this gives you some of an idea how it looks-sorry about the several sideways ones!! The ugly darker green you see is what my first can looked like which I didn't like at all!!

cutting the tub surround

On a different note

These are what I'm selling and taking orders for valentines!!!It's all just different kinds of fudges! cranberry nut, choc.,  peanut butter, $300 fudge...!!