Playing Catch-up

Its been a while since I've last posted. I know, I've not been a good blogger. But in my defense I was gone all last week for work. I don't mind traveling for work, but I hate being gone from my family for so long. Glad to be back. This weekend I continued to stay busy, but that is a post I'll reserve for later.

On to the meat and potatoes of the text - Fathers Day Weekend!

Last weekend we were able to travel up north to see Marc's parents. With every one's hectic schedule, that's not a trip we get to make as often as we'd like. Not only was it a weekend to celebrate fathers, it was also a chance to celebrate a marriage of 30 years! Congratulations Jon and Betty Jo!!!!!!

Enjoy the pictures!

Okay Grandma, you hide and I'll find you!

There you are!

Where did your hat go?

Petting Goliath!

Good Boy!

Just like 30 years ago!

First time in a big girl bed!

Enjoying Anniversary Cake

Boat In Church Service

Sunday Evening at Aunt Terry and Uncle Jeff's house

Nothing Runs Like a Deere - and Zeke!

Mommy - enough with the camera!

More to come...

Arggg - Have a Happy Birthday or Walk the Plank!

This past weekend we celebrated the April, May, and June birthdays in our family. What a beautiful day to celebrate a...err... I mean, several birthdays. The party had a pirate them and plenty of buccaneers!

Enjoy the pictures!



More to come...

Abby's Dance Recital

A few weeks ago was the end of the year dance recital for my niece's dance lessons. All of the age groups participated. It was very interesting. I must say, while the older kids did a nice job, my favorite is still the small children. How cute were they as they got up there and performed their practiced routines!

Enjoy the pictures.

More to come...

Fun Foto Friday

More to come....

Five Question Friday

1. What is your favorite summer time activity?

I'd have to go with swimming. How can you not love to swim?!


2. Do you have one laundry soap you stick to, or do you buy whatever is on sale?

I generally use homemade laundry detergent or Purex. Maddie uses the Free and Clear Purex.


3. What is your favorite dinner to make in the summer time?

Kabobs! Beef or chicken - does not matter as long as there is plenty of onions, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.


4. Do you have any talents?

Uhm...not really. I'm a decent cook. That's about all I've got in the talent department.


5. If you could instantly be an expert in something, what would it be? Why?

Managing money. If I were to become an expert at that, maybe I could save more! Ha ha!


More to come...

Our Weekend - The Good, The Fun, and The Horrible

This past weekend was like many others in our household - full of action and not much down time. One of the events on the agenda was the Strawberry Festival. This annual festival in our town always brings out a lot of crowds, several good bands, and of course fried foods. One of my favorite things, however, is the garage sales. With everyone in town, people are more excited about selling their junk in hopes someone else will view it as their treasures. I am a treasure seeker...

The Good
Saturday morning, Marc had to be the fairgrounds to help with the Jr. Leader garage sale. As an advisor for the group of teens, he had to be there the whole time. Maddie and I decided to go visit him before we were off to our first item on our agenda - my nieces baseball game. While hanging out there, I pointed out several items Marc could come home with. One of those things was a old treadmill. But seeing how it was marked still at $20, we decided to pass. It looked old and we didn't even know if it worked.

While there, I checked out some ads and decided to talk Marc into taking a 15 minute break from his responsibilities to come with me to a particular sale where they had Little Tikes Kids Coups. (The little plastic cars that the kids can sit in and scoot around.) We got to the garage sale 20 minutes early (hoping they wouldn't mind) and sure enough there was not only one of those cars but TWO of the cars.... Well I ended up with both after talking her down some in price. Retail - $49.99... Total for my two - $15. (Before you think I'm crazy - one is for Grandma and Grandpa's house!)

Later that day, Marc hit a good deal. He plugged that treadmill in and saw that it was in perfect running condition and bought it for $1! Cha-ching! We were getting good deals left and right this weekend!!!!

The Fun
After leaving the little bug home with her auntie, I headed to town to pick up Marc then head to work our shift at the Strawberry Festival. My mom is in a philanthropic sorority. Each year they have a booth to raise money for various charities throughout the community. Its a lot of fun to work with the ladies and their husbands. So much, that this is our third summer (or is it fourth) helping, and I'm not even a part of it!

When our shift was over, we decided to run home to get fresh clothes and the baby. We were happy to come back and not only listen to a good artist perform but to visit with my good friend, Jen. We also ran into some other friends and got to hang out as a group. It was a lot of fun!

And of course, you can't end the Strawberry Festival on Saturday night with the band. It ends (well for my family) after the church service on Sunday. Its always nice to sit outside, listen to gospel music, and hear the word of God! What a great festival we had this year! (And I also want to say that my husband bought me a beautiful necklace while there at one of the vendor booths. It was a surprise and is super pretty! In fact, I planned my whole outfit around it this morning!!! Thanks Marc!!!)

After the service, we went to my folks to celebrate the April, May, and June birthdays. What a blast it is to get together with my family! We played croquet, Grandpa showed the great grand kids how to fly a kite, we ate - just a lot of fun memories are made when we get together! (more pictures of the party to come...)

Now, in the title I wrote the good, the fun, and the horrible. We've not touched the last of these yet. I'll do that briefly now.....


The Horrible
Three weeks ago, a young dog showed up at my parents house. You might have even seen previous posts about her. We decided to adopt her, since she was so darn sweet and got along great with Duke and Daisy. She was, however, hit on Sunday afternoon and we had to put her down. She was in too much pain and there was no way to save her. It was a very sad day and it has been sad around our house since. Duke has been moping about and now I worry about him. He had instantly loved having a playmate. This is the downside to having pets.... But I'm glad we had her, even if it was only a short while....




More to come...

Bargain Baskets!

I'm a fan of Longenburger baskets. Who isn't? I'm not a fan of their prices, however. I try to add to my collection when I can, but that is very rarely since I can never bring myself to bring out the check book!

This past weekend, my mom, sister and I went to a few garage sales in the midst of other errands. We hit the jack pot at one when we found a girl who was selling her collection of the expensive baskets - liners, protectors, and all!

Below were my baskets. The taller one is now housing my notepads, scratch paper, pens and a finger nail file on my end table by the couch! It matches the cracker basket I already had that houses my remotes! Chhhaa Ching! The long shallow basket has replaced my candy dish that I keep on the Hoosier Cabinet. And the bottom basket with the handle now sits on the counter where my hubby generally throws all his junk from his pockets, his wallet, and his belt at the end of each day. Bam - now its all in one organized basket!

These were my sister's purchases. I love the big round basket. I might have to coax her to let me buy it from her! Overall, I spent $20 on Longenburger baskets that had the liners and protectors. That is one AWESOME deal! I took them home and washed the liners and protectors - which cleaned very easily, and now I have more baskets for my collect.

Also during my day of deals, I was able to get the little bug some new fridge magnet toys, a Mickey Mouse school bus to play with in the sand box, a brand new purple scrapbook (for a future project), an antique dish, a cabbage shaped jar-thing (holds memories and hopefully coleslaw!), and a teddy bear for Maddie! Total for those items - without the baskets = $7.25.

I can't wait to see what bargains I can find tomorrow!

More to come...

Five Question Friday

1. How close to your childhood dreams is your life now?

Pretty darn close! I always wanted to get married and have kids. Well so far so good. I also wanted to be a vet, which I realized that dream would always be just that - a dream - once I hit high school chemistry! Ha ha!


2. What is one must have item for the summer?

Sandals....I live for this part of the year! I can make it without shorts, skirts, capris....But I won't live in socks and shoes during the summer!


3. Do you have your kids stay up on school stuff during summer vacation? (Or, if you don't have kiddos, did your parents make you keep up on school stuff during summer?)

No way! First, the little bug isn't old enough to be in school yet. But even if she was, why push them? I know people tell me times are different and such, but come on. The worlds a tough place. They get so precious few years to be kids. Let them use their imaginations, place outside, make mud pies, work on 4-H projects... I guess I think kids should get a chance to be kids!


4. Do you can or freeze fresh produce?

Yes! I love it! I can't wait to do more. My goal this year is to freeze onions and green peppers (not together, though that's not a bad idea...) and put up way more apple butter!


5. Do you get ready for the day first thing in the morning?

I do! Getting ready (shower, clothes, hair, makeup depending on the days events) is like my cup of coffee!


More to come...

Courageous

I am a subscriber to various emails from Focus on the Family. I grew up listening to cassette tapes Adventures in Odyssey every night before bed, which are from Focus on the Family. Now as an adult, though I don't listen to my tapes about Whit’s End any more, I truly enjoy reading the materials and advice from the Christian group.

Recently I received an email about their new movie - Courageous. If you have ever seen the movie Fire Proof than you know the type of movie this will be. We really took a lot away from that movie and I know my family is looking forward to this seeing and learning from this new film.

In the email I received about the Courageous film, there was information about a contest surrounding the concept of courageous parents. I looked over the contest website (https://courageous.focusonthefamily.com/#/home) and knew that I needed to enter.

The rules included that you could only enter 200 words or less about the most Courageous parents you know. I didn't read any of the other entries as a guide as to way to write, I just wrote what I had in my heart. Honestly, it ended up to be close to 800 words. So I cut it down, then cut it down again, then cut it down some more...

Below is my entry:

Four years ago my sister married and moved Colorado, where her husband was stationed as an Army Medic. In 2009, my brother-in-law was deployed to Afghanistan, where he was killed carrying another to safety.

After dropping my sister off at the airport following her Christmas break, Mom was home alone, when two uniformed soldiers walk up the front steps. Knowing a precious life was lost and my sister’s was about to shatter was agonizing. It takes courage to know that God is in control.

My dad was on the next flight to Colorado. Once there, he and my sister traveled to Dover to be present when the fallen hero’s remains landed on US soil. As a father, you’re supposed to fix things, but he couldn't fix this for my sister. He couldn't bring back her husband. All he could do was stand by her, hold her hand, pray with her, ask God for His guidance. He had to have the courage to be strong for my sister.

My mom and dad were devastated, but they had the courage to hold my sister up in her weakest hour, no matter how much they were hurting. That is the definition of courage.

Again, this is not all that I feel. I truly believe my parents to be very courageous. They have seen highs and lows in their lives. But through it all, they've never demonstrated anything but a strong Christian attitude to me and my sisters. Are they perfect? Who is? But they are wonderful people.

I am happy to say, my 200 (exactly) word blurb about my parents put me in the finalist for the grand prize (which is to see the premiere of the movie!) Below are pictures of the finalist prize pack I received.

For more information on the movie, visit: http://www.courageousthemovie.com

More to come...

Five Question Friday

1. If you had to choose, how would you prefer to spend money...on landscaping or a pool?

That's hard for me....Id love a pool, but I think I'd get much more use out of the landscaping....So landscaping it is!


2. Death penalty, yay or nay?

I'd say I'm for it. I mean, I believe people can be rehabilitated, but I still think if consequences were more harsh than people wouldn't be so quick to commit the crime.


3. What's the worst thing your kid has gotten into when you turned your back/blogged/showered/blinked?

She took a bite of a bar of Dove soap..... I had my back turned for a second to get a towel out of the cabinet. I knew the soap was on the shelf, but honestly thought she'd leave it alone....She took a bite, spit it out, then rubbed her eyes with her soapy little hands. The soap then made her cry hysterically. So I filled a cup with cool water to rinse out her eyes - which made the crying worse....It was horrible!


4. How often do you REALLY go to the dentist?

I honestly have only been once since I was out of college (December 2006). I HATE the dentist! I have TMJ so they have to prop my mouth open with "tooth pillows" - blah. My gums always ache for a day and my jaw for a week! I hate it!


5. What is your favorite animal (doesn't have to be a pet-type animal)?

I guess I'm a boring person, because my favorite animals are pet-type animals! I love my cats and dogs! They're wonderful to have around. Now, when I was a little kid if you'd ask me that I'd said a wolf....But, that's basically just a dog, right?


More to come...

Climbing Our Way to the Top of Memorial Day!

This was the FIRST Memorial Day that I think Marc has had off since we've been married. It was so nice to have him home - especially since Memorial Day happened to fall on my birthday! Yay!

As much as I wanted to go some where on an over night trip, we just couldn't do that. We had too much going on at home. Plus we're saving our pennies in hopes that we'll go to the Creation Museum again this summer (hint hint Ma and Pa!)

Though we didn't travel far, we still got away as a family to Shades State Park. We usually make the trip to Turkey Run - the neighboring state park. But since it was a holiday weekend, we knew how busy it would be, so we thought we'd try Shades out. We've heard its more primitive, therefore not as frequented by travelers. Plus, we were planning on taking the jogging stroller, which would be very difficult to take on the bridge to cross over to get to the trails at Turkey Run. (Those of you who've been know what I'm talking about!)

Now, some people might think it odd that we want to spend our free time getting all hot and sweaty climbing up hills and dodging mosquito's -BUT I must say, it is something we both really enjoy and hope that Madelyn will love it as she grows as well. There is something refreshing about taking yourself out of the busy world of electronics and conveniences, and walking about in GOD's creation. Its beautiful! I don't know why anyone would want to be any where but here! The trees, the sounds of the birds, the scents! Its all so wonderful to me. During moments during the walk, I just stopped and looked around in marvel at how the pioneers did it! I mean, to what brave and strong people! It also makes me think, if GOD gave us this beautiful landscape on Earth - what will Heaven look like?! It's going to be awesome!

Well enough chit chat - the pictures are what you're here for!


Enjoy!

Look at the trees Daddy!Family Photo Opt

Splish Splash!

Visiting sleepy town!

Ready for another trail Mommy?

Mommy! Stop being silly!div>Running!

Keep up Daddy!

Daddy and Maddie

More to come...