The SURPRISE! ... WDW ... Happy 7th!!!

Dan & I had kept a secret all year.  Jacqueline & Michael were in on it too (she actually gave us the idea).  We were planning our family vacation to Walt Disney World for 2015.  Dan & I normally travel a couple days ahead of everyone else to get settled in, so this year we decided to take Lucy with us for 3 extra days!  She was shocked!!!

 

And then Tag came down with Jacqueline & Michael!  These 2 little ones did not want to leave their Grandad's side the whole time we were there.  This sight makes my heart smile a million times over!

 



 





... and then HOME to celebrate Lucy's 7th birthday!

 

 

 

 

Although I've missed my blogging friends, these past 2 weeks have been well-worth my time away ...

 

Little moments turn into bigger moments ...

use them wisely because they will pass quickly.

 

My Tuesday Fascination

The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness ...

(Psalms 24:1)

 

 

I've always had a fascination with clouds

 

... and sunrays beaming through the trees

... and trees obeying their Creator as the invisible wind rushes through

 

... and the sky of Heavenly promises

 

... and dirt roads that lead home

 

 

 

no matter where you are in your journey,

take time to notice the beauty & mystery from our Creator.

 

Have a blessed week, my friends!

 

 

 

Weekend of Smiles

Jacqueline had an appointment in town this past Friday morning, so she and the grands came down Thursday afternoon. And the weekend flew by ...

 

 

 

 

These kids LOVE baking!

So this weekend I had a "Tiger Cookie" mix to try something different ...

 

and they were YUMMY!

{pay no attention to the man in the gray shirt -- he surely wouldn't be sneaking any of that dark chocolate drizzle... would he???}

 



 

Lucy and Jacqueline had a birthday party to go to Saturday afternoon. So, Dan & I got to hang out with Tag ...

When did this little guy become a little boy???

He loves hanging out with his Grandad -- can you tell?  I found his Ocean Pacific shorts (actually they're swim trunks) and his Starter Athletics t-shirt on sale Saturday morning. He LOVED them!

 

As we waited on "his girls" to get home, Tag made us pizzas!  He loves pizza sauce & turkey pepperoni ... and Go Veggie! lactose-free cheese (aka... "Tag's cheese" or "rice shreds" or "the only cheese Tag can eat since he has a dairy allergy").

Lucy eats her pizza with just crust & cheese (no sauce and no pepperoni --

she had acid reflux as a baby so cannot tolerate spicy foods). 

PS ... it's a good thing Granny forgot to pre-heat the oven! When Tag saw that I was making pizzas, he insisted that he NEEDED to put the pepperoni and cheese on them!

 

Church this morning at the movie theater!  We have 3 physical campuses plus an online campus. We actually live in between the church building campus and the movie theater campus. The little ones love going to the theater campus and we do too! We have friends at all 3 campuses, but this is our "home".

 

 

And then lunch before they hit the road back to their house.  Lucy shared her tiara hair clip with her Mommy ...

 



 

and then with Grandad!  He's always a good sport --

even outside of the busy sandwich shop! 

Dan absolutely loves these grandkids --

and they love him just as much!

 

relationships are worth every moment of sacrifice ...

relationships are worth every moment of effort ...

relationships are worth every moment...

 

Have a blessed week, my friends!



Bittersweet August

August is a bittersweet month for my family.  Several birthdays to celebrate --

my dad, my uncle, cousins, mine ...

 and my Aunt Hilda's birthday ...

 

A few years ago I wrote a series of posts about my silent milestone "48"... here's the links:

 A Silent Milestone ... Remembering ... Reflection ... Revealing

 

 

The morning of August 15, 1980 ... my Aunt Jacqueline "Hilda" had taken her youngest daughter to shop for clothes to start high school.  Coming back home on the wet 2 lane country road -- the semi truck had been swerving and going across the solid yellow line.  In the straight stretch about 12 miles or so from home ... the semi driver was across the yellow line again --- this time he smashed into the car going in the opposite direction ...

my Aunt & cousin.
He was driving drunk.

 

Sometimes I can remember that day like it was yesterday. One of my cousins came to pick me up early and seeing her drive up to the band building, I told my band director that something was wrong and that I had to leave.  (I returned 2 weeks later.)

 

{I won't go into detail right now but sometime in the future I do want to write it all down for my future generations to know what an awesome Aunt we lost that day.}

 

The days that followed were vivid but yet a blur as well.  I was 15 years old at the time.

One of my uncles birthday is August 16 ...

 

The evening of August 17, 1980 was the visitation at our small home church. About two miles from our homeplace. I have never seen so many people from our little community in one place than that night!

 

The date on pic is prior to but this was the size in 1980.

 

Everyone was devastated ...

especially my Granny {Lucy}

 

The rainy day of August 18, 1980 ... we said our final good-byes to my

Aunt Jacqueline "Hilda" on her 48th birthday.

 

August 20 is my Daddy's birthday ( he will be 77 this year -- and still working)

 

August 24 is my birthday. 

I turned 16 just nine days after "the wreck" ... this year I'll turn 51.

 

Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of my Aunt Hilda ...

and I know that one day I will see her again.

 

 Heaven certainly gained a special angel 35 years ago ...

and her legacy lives on through her namesake --

our daughter Jacqueline.

 

 

No Laptop ... More Painting

I have missed my blogging friends!  I'm still waiting on my laptop to be repaired & returned, so I am still "borrowing" Dan's when he's at the office (or at church meetings such as right now).  I know that laptops are laptops ... but he has an extra monitor,  a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse all hooked to the laptop. This laptop also serves as his home office computer so it's hooked into his office server (and all that comes along with that).  It can be rather intimidating to this Granny ...

 

 

 

Long story short .... I know -- TOO LATE! -- I miss my own laptop!

And I miss my blogging friends!  I really do need to learn how to manage my time better and set aside a block of time each day to write or create or just pick up a hobby.

 

But, here's a little glimpse into what's been going on in my house lately ...

Yes ... more painting!  Our Home Depot has little sample paints that can be mixed to any color swatch -- and also transparency sheets that you paint on and then peel & stick to the wall to see what the finished product will look like!

 

                   

 

 

Since we were changing the color in the entry foyer, we wanted to update the light fixture. I sent Dan this picture and told him that I really wanted it -- he didn't buy it from me nor from Lowe's!  {By the way, it takes 18 bulbs!}

 

But, I do like the one we got {it was the first one we saw} -- my husband knows me all too well!

 



 

So ... my next project is the stairway wall and the small upstairs hallway.  Dan's already taped it off for me, so I'm ready to prepare the walls for painting.  It doesn't show very well in the pictures, but the entry is now a "Dew" color -- almost like a soft pewter ... the stairway/hall will be "Candlewick" -- a very soft yellow.  The little ones say that we're "coloring the walls" ... and we agree.

 

As I'm waiting on my laptop ... and painting and painting and painting ...

I have a couple of questions ---

 

How do you manage your time?

What do you do for you?

{hobbies, creativity, ministries, etc}

 

Hope to catch up with you again soon!

Have a blessed week, my friends

 

 

Project (after) Project (after) Project ...

I cannot believe how fast this summer is flying by.  It seems that all we've been doing is {much needed} projects.  But, Dan & I are really feeling good about the way things around our house are coming together. 

 

I finished painting our kitchen/dining room area (that included our "chocolate" wall as Lucy & Tag call it)... and then it was on to our sunroom.  We were pretty tired of the cream-colored walls, so we went pretty drastic with the color.  And we learned something new too... you can actually tint primer -- most people already know this, but since it's been years since we've gone with a darker color, we hadn't a clue!  It sure would have saved several extra coats of paint had we known.  But, now we know!

  

Kitchen/Dining --
Bronze Amulet {Chocolate} ...

Wild Porcini
 

Sunroom --
Bold Sangria

 And then our next project that we've had for a few months on the back-burner... Dan worked from home last Friday so that we could {finally} install our backsplash!



 

We had gotten the tiles a few months ago during tax season, but just could not get a full day to install them until a week ago.

And we're very pleased with our

12 hour project!




Tomorrow marks the end of Lucy's summer dance class.  The big Summer Showcase!  This fall she will most likely be with us a couple more days a week since she received a "by invitation only" spot in a new pre-intensive class that will be 2 days a week

(Mondays & Wednesdays) ... so, I'm looking at the last couple of areas that need painting -- living room and hall/staircase.  Not sure what colors yet ...

 

but since I'll have a few days next week to myself ......

 

 

Have a blessed weekend!

 

{{This weekend we also have to load-up my laptop & send it off for repairs that will take a couple of weeks.  Sure hope I can hop on Dan's home office one to check in with my blogging friends!}} 

 

Granny's "Movers" Week

 

This is one of our family's most favorite television shows of all time ---

Imagination Movers

These guys are from Louisiana and they have one of the most creative television shows ever!  They encourage kids (and adults) to use imaginations to figure out solutions to problems and various situations.  If you haven't seen

Imagination Movers, check out some videos on YouTube and get inspired!

 

Well, this week the four kids are on their family adventure! It seems like for the past 3 1/2 years since Michael was WIA, they have hit one obstacle after another with his medical treatments, income, insurance, housing ... and this family adventure almost did not happen up until a few hours before they left our house to hit the road southbound.  And it's exciting and good -- I will share more later when I get the go-ahead!

 

 

 

Dan & I had talked about us having a little get-away when they all took this trip, but we just couldn't get out of town this week. Too much at his office and too many projects going on at the house.

So, if you haven't guessed from my Imagination Movers video... Granny is painting some more! And I must admit that cannot stand to prime walls ... I want to just jump right in with a roller and a gallon (or two) of paint and just get it done!  But, since most of our walls haven't been painted in 15 years, I must prime first.

 

 

My house is a disaster area when I paint... but I think the finished product will be worth the extra day of priming.



 

 

 

 

And this week I'm doing the hall, rest of kitchen & dining areas AND the ceiling in these areas... along with our sunroom

(but no ceiling repaint on this!)

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

I plan on having everything completed and put back together by the time the kids come back through this weekend.  And then this ol' Granny is taking a painting break until this fall. I still have some more summer projects to do, and we still have our living room, foyer hallway and stairway (and all ceilings) to prime and paint. 

And I will... this fall.

 

So, until next week when I can actually have time to sit down to catch up on my dear friends' posts ... I think I'll turn on YouTube to listen to the Movers ...

 

I'm gonna paint... paint... paint... paint... paint... paint

Paint the week away!