SATURDAY AFTERNOON - Anticipating June

Last night Tony took me out to eat and to watch a movie. We had a lot of fun. It was nice to just have a quiet dinner together. This morning we got our walk in early, I am so thankful that he enjoys walking too. I don't think I would stay motivated if I didn't have him wanting to stick with it too. It also gives us a chance to talk and get caught up on what all is happening without interruptions.


We have lots to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. We have been going over our family planner and it is filling up quickly. We will start celebrating Maggie's 15 birthday with the Sanders family tomorrow afternoon. Her birthday is actually on Tuesday (she shares June 3 birthday with her cousin Gretchen). She gets her drivers permit on Tuesday, and her summer league basketball games start on Thursday. She will also be gathering and packing for her mission trip, she leaves next Saturday for Juarez, Mexico with her youth group. She will be gone for 7 days. June is already full, but the thing that I am anticipating the most, is that my sister Kathy and her husband Clark (from Texas) will be coming for a visit. Kathy is a real encourager and although we get to talk on the phone frequently.... I miss her a lot. Before they moved to Texas, she lived in Sullivan, Indiana and was able to come and visit on weekends. It will be great to have them here for a week. As the days fill with work, and scheduled events it is great to have something nice to look forward to. I am going to end with a quote that I read last night, and one of my favorite recipes that I dug out to make for tomorrow. It was introduced to our family by my sister Kathy. It is great to make ahead, or for potlucks. Have a great weekend!

"Life is not the way it's suppose to be. IT IS THE WAY IT IS. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference."

KATHY'S TEXAS POTATOES

List of ingredients
1 lg. bag (2lbs) frozen hash browns
1/2 cup of butter melted
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 can of cream of chicken soup
2 c. of sour cream (I use extra)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (I use extra)

Mix all together, place in 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. You can add more cheese on top.

FUN FOTO FRIDAY - PAJAMA PARTY

FUN FOTO FRIDAY - PAJAMA PARTY

SLEEP OVER FUN! Here are pictures from a sleepover that Maggie had several years ago! Lots of giggling and not being able to get to sleep. They sure had a lot of fun! Over to the side are a few photos of a recent sleep over.... still lots of giggling... talking on the phone, fixing hair, doing nails, watching movies, making good food, chatting on facebook... girls just wanna have fun! Hope that you have plans for a fun "Friday Nighty" and a great weekend!

Thoughts for Thursday .......

Wow! What a first couple of summer break days. My goal is to slow things down here a little. Maggie has started drivers training and has to be at school (18 miles from my house) by 7:30 every morning. I am trying to get everything organized and caught up enough that we might spend some time relaxing and reading... laying out in the sun. She has to be back over for a two to three hour sports practice in the afternoons or evenings. Hopefully by the end of this week, we will get into a flow and slow down a little. Tony and I have made time to walk (1 hour) every day this week ... so far. I have been reading "Become a Better You" by Joel Osteen. I'm only half way through it. It is sooo motivational. I will leave you with a thought that I read in it last night.

IF YOU WILL MAKE SOMEBODY ELSE'S DAY, GOD WILL MAKE YOURS.

"Friend, choose to bring out the best in the people that God has put in your life. You're never more like God than when you give, and the closest thing to His heart is helping others. If you will be a people builder, focused on bringing out the best in others, I can promise you this: God will bring out the best in you."

It is easy to give our best to our own children or those in our household... a little bit harder to reach out to everyone that God puts in your path. So that is what I am going to work on, reaching out to others and slowing things down around here. Hope that everyone is adjusting to and enjoying the first week of summer break.

"Wonderful Blogspots" Wednesday

Our lives are constantly changing, even though we sometimes wish we could keep things just the same. We find comfort in some things staying the same like "moms" mashed potato's. Of course, I am all about my kids not growing up and staying home with me. But sometimes change brings about good things too. Here is a photo taken on Monday of our 4 generations. Even though it has been hard to let Jordan grow up, get married and move out, the change has brought about a great new daughter-in-law and Noah! Change keeps things new, fresh, and interesting also. If you have been following my blog, you've probably noticed that I change things around often. Changing a blog around is a lot like moving furniture around... it gives the same type of fix. I use to move the furniture around all the time, would drive Tony nuts. Changing the blog lay-out and pictures gives me the same feeling. It is really fun! I'll leave you with a couple of really neat and creative blog spots that you might enjoy checking out.

http://thechutneygarden.blogspot.com
http://scribbit.blogspot.com
http://jennwa.blogspot.com

Summer Fun!

This is the first day of summer break! I love summer! Tony and I walked our hour route this morning. I am watching Myrissa and Katie today and we are leaving for the library to get some good books. Maggie has basketball practice, and Robby is golfing. We are still relaxing from the busy weekend! Work is picking back up, I am in the middle of negotiations with two different properties right now. Yesterday, I started the book "Become a Better You", by Joel Osteen. Hopefully it will inspire me to stick with a good diet and exercise program. I will keep you posted!

Sunday Morning

Wow! What an emotional roller coaster. Graduation was wonderful, I always cry when the music starts. Robby is pretty excited to have it all behind us. We enjoyed a great day of celebration. It was so nice to be surrounded by friends and family and just enjoy the day together. The rest of the weekend will be spent just unwinding and relaxing. Hope that everyone enjoys the pictures and the rest of the weekend!

Super Saturday....

Last night we attended honors night at the Shoals High School gym. It was nice seeing Robby's classmates. Robby received three scholarships. We are so thankful, they will come in so handy. He has 1 semester of college completed. He has one and a half years left at Vincennes, and then plans to finish the last two years at Purdue or IUPUI. This morning we go decorate early and graduation starts at 2:00. Looking forward to seeing cousins Cassie and Gretchen from out of town! Enjoy the weekend.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2008!

FUN FOTO FRIDAY

This photo is one of my favorites. Friends from the class of 2008, way back when! Today will be filled with last minute preparations for tomorrow's big celebration. Tonight is the awards ceremony. Looking forward to seeing some of you at the picnic tomorrow. Hope that everyone has a great holiday weekend filled with friends, family, good food, and lots of fun!

A Year at a glance.... Maggie's first year at Barr-Reeve

Today is Maggie's last day of school! This marks one full completed year as a Barr-Reeve high school student. It has been a great year. Switching schools when you are 14 years old is quite an undertaking to say the least. We are so proud of her determination. This post will be a photo glance of her first year.

War of Words....

Today will be my last morning of the school year to have Noah (of course, I still better get him some). Erin will be finished with classes until the fall. I am so proud of her, it is not easy to go to school full time and have a new born. She has done a wonderful job and made great grades too. NOAH WALKED YESTERDAY! I can't wait to see him walk today! This is also Maggie's last full day of school. She has finals all day today.

Tonight at our Wednesday night bible class we complete a 12 week series entitled "War of Words". It has really been awesome. A great big eye opener! The focus has been on how our words reflect our heart condition. Sometimes I have to be reminded that the hard call of the gospel is that God sent his Son not so that we could realize our agenda, but that we could be a part of his. It is so easy to get caught up in our own desires, goals, and dreams that we get off track to what it is that God wants us to be doing. Maggie and I attend Providence Church in Montgomery, the youth group is amazing. Tony is still attending at Shoals and teaches a Wednesday night class on Revelations. He is really enjoying the class. On Sundays, we sometimes go with Tony and Robby, and sometimes they go over with us. At first I was having a hard time with us not going together as a family, we have decided to take it one day at a time. We are each growing and learning... mostly learning patience.

As we wind down the week and head into the big holiday weekend, my prayer is that my words will express a spirit of kindness and thankfulness.

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT UNTIL GRADUATION!

Gliding into Summer....

The year that Jordan graduated from high school, was a pretty emotional time. Experiencing separation anxiety from my first born leaving the nest, along with just turning 40, left me wondering Why do we even do this Mom thing? That Mother's Day, Tony and the kids bought me a Kayak (I had been wanting one for awhile). It is hard to explain how much that Kayak helped me through that time in my life. The best thing about a kayak is that it is whisper-quiet. You can glide along the bank or lake's edge and sneak up to watch the wildlife. It is light so you can load and unload with no help. We invest so much time and energy into our children that we sometimes feel lost when they move on and don't really need us so much. It is really hard to be prepared for the wave of emotions that hit you as they branch out on their own. As we prepare for Robby's graduation, the emotions are there but I am better equipped to handle it this time. It is good to have something that you can do that is just for fun. Take some time to have fun, reconnect, and share special moments with your friends and family. They will be grown and gone before you know it!

List of Favorite "Just for the fun of its"
Being on the water...
Playing rummy with my family...
Talking to my sisters on the phone....
Reading a romance novel .....
Laying out at mom's pool .....
Taking a jeep ride ......
Going with Tony to the French Lick Winery....
French vanilla coffee...

Just Another Manic Monday........

Monday mornings are a little insane. Everybody digging back in for another work week. However, I have always really kind of enjoyed Mondays. I use Mondays for catching up from the weekend. That is a work-from-home, stay at home grandma benefit! Robby is home today and enjoying playing with Noah. Maggie's last day of school is this Thursday.... yippee. Erin only has Wednesday left. It is great to see summer break only a few days away. Our summer schedule will be filled with drivers training for Maggie, lots of sports camps and practices. Summer work for Rob. Tony and I hope to do some hiking, kayaking and camping while Maggie goes to camps. I am really looking forward to my sister Kathy and her husband Clark coming for a visit in June.

ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT UNTIL GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Afternoons

We are so thankful for Sundays. Sunday is our time to visit with family and get recharged for another week. Here are some photos of Sunday time. This is a great time for the cousins to act crazy. One of the favorite little cousins game is to chase "Robby Rotten" and tie him up. As the kids grow up and join in the "big people" conversations, there is a whole new bunch of little cousins playing together. It is hard to believe that Connie and I have our children's babies playing together. Wow! We are getting old! Even though the weeks are really busy, it is so nice to slow down on Sundays and just enjoy each others company. It is such a wonderful family tradition!

What a Weekend!

I don't know about at your house, but here weekends go by way too fast. Last night Maggie had her first Clinique make-over at Elder-Beerman. We had a lot of fun, but were a little rushed. The lady that we were scheduled with was running late. We were suppose to be back at Montgomery for a Varsity baseball game by 6:00 and finally made it there by 7:30. Maggie's good friends from Shoals met her at the game, and from there they went to the movies to celebrate Shaelin's birthday. Shaelin turned 15 yesterday, it seems like only yesterday they were starting first grade. Tony worked a double shift at the hospital, Robby went golfing with Nathan Storey. I stayed home and worked on the picture poster for Robby's graduation celebration. Robby and Nathan picked up Maggie for me (yeah! I didn't have to get back out) and everyone was home at a decent hour. Maggie had to be back over at Montgomery by 8:00 for a car wash at the Viking Mart. Her basketball team is earning money for the team camp at Purdue. I dropped her off and came back home to make Robby and Nathan pancakes and bacon at 9:00, picked Maggie back up at 11:00. We ran on to the Washington wall-mart for groceries and home. Worked on the house and laundry until late afternoon. At 4:30 Tony and I took Maggie over to meet with Hillary, Kendra and Mindy (Maggie's Barr-Reeve Buds) and Marge (Hillary's mom) to go to a couple of Barr-Reeve graduation celebrations. Tony and I stopped at Los Brovos on the way home for a quick, quiet dinner together. We were happy to see Tony's sister Jane, along with her grandchildren there. We had a chance to sit by them and visit for a while. Tony spent the rest of the evening working on the slide show for graduation, while I finished my picture poster. Graduation is only one week from today! Maggie and Erin have less than 1 week of school to go. . I am looking forward to things slowing down a little bit with the summer schedule. Hope that you all enjoy what is left of the weekend!


Prayer Request:
My Aunt Beth, is in the Bloomington hospital and is not doing well. She is running a fever, and has some type of an infection. They have run all kinds of tests and are still not sure of the cause. Please remember her in your prayers.

My cousin Misty has some injections (for discs in her back) scheduled for this week. Please pray for quick relief of back pain.

NOAH'S NEWS!

Our little Noah is going to be a big brother! Jordan and Erin went to Bloomington to visit with her doctor today! He confirmed the good news, we expect our new little arrival around January 14. What a Christmas gift that might be. Mommy and Daddy are both excited, Papaw and I are still in shock! Of course, we are warming to the idea, they are great parents and we do love babies. We all think that Noah will be the best big brother in the whole world.

Thursday Evening

Today has been a crazy busy day. It started out great playing with Noah. Work has really started to pick up. I was very fortunate to have both a listing and a showing today. By the time I picked Maggie up from school and made it home it was 8:00. We are ready for a little sunshine! Erin and Maggie each only have 1 week left of school. We are all looking forward to summer break.