We are unique human beings!!!

I slept good last night.  I woke up and moved slowly out of bed.  I got just a small dizzy spell and then felt fine.  I am trying to not make quick turns or look up or down quick because that's when my inner ear goes funny and it makes me feel dizzy.  It seems that if I go at a slower pace, things go better.

Mike was off to work after a cup of fresh brewed coffee and a kiss.  I packed the kids lunches and got them breakfast.  Matthew is all into French toast right now and Hadassah ate a pop tart with fresh fruit.  They were off to school ready for another day of lessons!  I started the laundry and then got breakfast for Ashlyn and I.  We shared some yogurt and bagel.  I decided to opt out on my dizzy meds and just take the meds for my inner ear.  I've been feeling fine so far!!!  I praise the Lord for that!!!

Sometimes I wonder why things like this pop up in life?  Why suddenly this inner ear thing?  I won't pretend to have answers because I don't know how to answer them.  One thing that I do know and that is to sit and worry about issue's like these do not help!  To turn to God and pray and pray and wait and listen to His voice and see if there's something to learn from this.  Sometimes healing comes quickly.  Sometimes not.  God is still always good and today I am praising Him for his mercy on me and for bringing me a fast recovery!!!  My morning is going so well!!!

On Tuesday night, I was in bed playing this song.  It felt good to know that God cares for me every single day.  I'm not sure why this song was ringing in my head other than since Wednesday morning, I've played it often or hummed it in my head.  This is no big trial, this ear thing, and I can't imagine how tough some storms in life my be.  Really.  One thing for sure is that I am being reminded that our bodies are truly fearfully and wonderfully made from our Creator!!!  Dr. Ben Carson reminded us of that on Friday night.  On Wednesday, the diagram that our family doctor showed us of how our ear looks inside, Mike and I were amazed.  Amazed how these three little circles in each of our ears have these hair like sensors on them and when they become weak or infected, it throws off our balance and makes us feel dizzy.  Our eyes are also needed but this is why blind people still can have balance without sight.  Their inner ears help them walk and keep their balance! 

Our God is so creative and really made us unique creatures.  The most unique out of all his creation I am sure!!!  "Thank you, Lord, for making me special and for letting our bodies run flowing so we can function with ease!!!  Thank you!!!"  ~ Lori 

Have a great day and praise the Lord for your uniqueness and for good health!!!

Spring fever ...

The weather has been so chilly the past few days!!!  It almost feels like January with the tempts being in the 20's early mornings and barely rising past 40 during the day.  It's gives me even more Spring fever.  Our upcoming weekend tempts seem to be better but with coming with rain.  Maybe next week my seeds will get planted???

But with the weather being so cold outside, we've been staying warm inside.  We had a wonderful evening on Friday night going to Daysprings 'Remember America' dinner and speaker night.  Dr. Ben Carson was the guest speaker and we really enjoyed all he had to say that evening.  He challenged us to get or stay involved with our public government leaders.  Know who they are and vote!  Vote so that we can get our government back towards fearing God!!!  The whole evening was impressive!!!  The kids were having fun right here at home with April being their caretaker!  They seem to like evenings at home with the sitters just as much as we do going out with just Mike and I!!!  Thanks April (and siblings) for making it a fun night for the kiddoes!!!

The rest of the weekend was spent being with my hubby and kids. Ryan and Tyler spent the day Saturday with us.  They killed a dove (and yes they were told that it's not dove season after they had already made the kill) and a sparrow.  We've got lots of black birds perching on the pines and we really don't invite any nests being built by them!!!  Matthew has been busy with his pellet gun.  Saturday night, Matthew and Mike decide to butcher the dove and fry the breast meat.  Let's just say that till it was all said and done, there were feathers in the family room, guts on my Longaberger basket lid, and olive oil spritzed on the kitchen oven and surround surfaces.  I try so hard to let Matthew get all detailed and be a boy with things like this.  Mike thought I did a terrible job at inviting all the other drama and cuttings of the bird.  I tried to tell Matthew (in the best manner that I could) to butcher the bird out in the grass and I didn't complain when I cleaned my Longaberger lid and then seeing the oil spritzing, I just walked out the kitchen till the cooks were all finished.  Then I wiped up the mess and floor.  The meat ended up looking like a chunk of coal.  It didn't smell too made.  It was hard and not good.  (Not that I touched or tried it though.  No thanks!!!)  Boys will be boys!!!

Sunday was church and then home for lunch and naps.  We visited Shaelyn in the evening.  She's so dear and tiny!!!  Her head full of hair is so adorable!!!  Congratulations Jason and Mindy!!!  She's a doll!!!  From there we stopped in for some snitz pie and soup at Ervin's.  They had church at their house and we wanted a taste of their goodies!!!  Everything was so good!!!

Monday was laundry day and the kids only had 1/2 day at school.  We all went to Sharp Shopper and then to Costco to load up on some good veggies and snacks!!!  The kids did a great job helping me!!!  On Tuesday, we cleaned Mommy D.'s house for them.  Her and Daudy come back from Florida tonight.  On Wednesday morning, I woke up early to let Ginger out.  I sat up in bed and everything was spinning!  I rolled around and stayed laying a bit longer.  Ginger scratched again at the door.  I got out of bed and quickly realized that else I needed to hang on to something or I might fall over.  I went to the bathroom and got Mike to come help me.  It was the weirdest feeling.  The whole room was spinning.  He helped me out to the couch and got me a bucket because I felt like I could throw up.  He said I was all white.  I felt terrible.  Mike stayed home that morning to help get the kids off to school and pack their lunches and get them breakfast.  I felt fine if I laid still.  I needed to stay laying for most of the day.  Every time I got up, I got dizzy.  At 2:30, I finally was able to get up and get dressed.  We needed to sign some business papers here at home and then the kids got home from school.  I didn't feel too bad but still would get dizzy spells.  We dropped the kids off at Lena's while Mike took me to the doctor to get checked out.  I had already looked up "Inner Ear Infection" and was suspicious of it being that.?.  The nurse did her routine and then the doctor came in to confirm that yes I have a case called "Vertigo" - an inner ear infection.  I was given two meds.  One to help with the inner ear and another to help calm down my dizziness. 

The next two days were a whirl.  (Sometimes literally!!!)  Last night I felt the best lying down and not making any fast motions or moves.  My spinning did seem a bit better and I slept well.  This morning I was able to get the children their breakfast and pack lunches.  They were out the door in time and I didn't feel too bad until around 8 AM.  Suddenly I felt myself getting dizzy and needed to hang on to things to walk.  I tried to make hot chocolate and toast for Ashlyn.  I was hungry myself and managed to scramble two eggs and make a piece of toast.  I sat on the couch exhausted and dizzy.  Sister Jody stopped in and washed my dishes and took Ashlyn for a few hours.  (Thank you so much!!!)  I laid on the couch and slept till 11.  When I woke up I felt much better!!!  I slowly got myself some lunch and started doing some house work.  My afternoon went well!!!  I was able to keep going without being dizzy for the most part!!!  I've read that the worse of this usually only lasts a few days and then gets better.  I have already seen a big difference and we are hoping and praying that complete healing will come soon!!!  Going at a slower pace really helps!!!  And that's not how us "Lancaster County" people normally operate!!!  Please pray for me as I get well and try to keep from being dizzy!!!

The kids came home from school excited to see warm chocolate chip cookies on the counter!!!  Matthew's got this state project that we finished up and chocolate chip cookies are the Massachusetts's state cookies.  He plans on passing these out to his class mates tomorrow after his presentation on Massachusetts.  I would love to go see his presentation but it will all depend on how I feel.  I have not driven the past two days and so going tomorrow could be an adventure?.?  :)

Health is wealth!!!  I was again reminded of how much good health really has a lot to do with our everyday events.  It's like bags of gold!!!  I am thankful to God for my healthy children, husband and myself!!!  I am counting my blessings today!!!

It's Spring!!!

I couldn't wait to wake up this morning and go room to room telling everyone, "It's the first day of Spring!!!"  I get energized just knowing it in my mind that Spring is here and that surely one of these days the weather will turn pleasant too!

With it being now Spring ... I am making a Spring Bucket list!!!  I got some of these ideas from other sources and then added many of my own.

~ Rejoice.  "This is the day that the Lord has made;  let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Ps. 118:24
~ I am very happy to have most of my Spring cleaning already done!  Thanks to mom and my sister/sister-in-laws for coming over to help me!!!
~ Be determined to exercise!!!  I have this aching thought to get into running (or at least for a brisk walk) again.  I keep thinking "when the weather gets nicer" but I know that's just an excuse!!!  "Lord, help me get determined!"
~ Plant the garden!
~ Make some spring planters!
~ Plant lots of basil (because I love it so much) and other useful herbs!
~ Don't let the weeds and my outside work get overwhelming!  Enjoy the outdoor work!
~ Trim, Edge & Mulch!
~ Um, pull the weeds and then mulch!  :)
~ Plant flowers!  Lot's of colorful ones because flowers make me smile!
~ Get my signs for the garden out of the barn.
~ Plan a birthday party for our toddler!  She will be turning three soon!
~ Organize the garage and barn (for the one millionth time!  :))) )
~ Get the mower, weed eater and blower fired up.
~ Fill up the bird feeders.
~ Fertilize the roses.
~ Open the windows and hear the birds sing outside!
~ Admire the tulips and daffodils.
~ Go to garage sales and possibly have a garage sale myself!  Hadassah and I love this!
~ Enjoy Easter!  The story of Jesus.  Communion.   Gatherings with family.  And fill some eggs with candy. 
~ Start going to baseball games to cheer Matthew on in little league and support Mike as he coaches the Gators.
~ Shot lots of basketball hoops with the kids.  Or do sidewalk chalk.  Or jump rope.  Or all of the above!
~ Eat fresh fish ... because I know Matthew will be catching some for us again in a few weeks!  :)
~ Eat lots of greens with the home grown lettuce and veggies!!!  Yum!!!
~ Count my blessings!
~ Continue to have lots of date nights with Mike!
~ Give plenty of hugs and kisses to the children!  They are growing so fast!  Embrace the moment!
~ Hang out with friends!!!  :)
~ ENJOY SPRING TIME!!!

It felt so good today to give the house another good cleaning over.  I know that with more outdoor play there comes with it more tracks and dirt in the house.  That's OK if it stays to a minimum.  As I cleaned I even opened the bedroom windows just enough to bring it some fresh air.  I would really love to visit a greenhouse today yet too!  Just because it's spring and I get charged by seeing plants grow!

Today is also my sister's birthday too!  (Another reason I remember what March 20 is!!!  A birthday for sis and spring!!!)  Happy Birthday, Jody!  You are so special!

It's here!!!  It's Spring!!!  Enjoy all the blooms!  All the fresh air!  All the wonderful feelings that only this season can bring!!! 

Seeds for the garden ...

I bought my garden seeds today!  I'm dreaming of getting them in the garden one of these weeks.  I hope to get the tiller through the soil on Saturday, but weather permitting! 

I made my seed list the other week and couldn't wait to finally go buy them.  Ashlyn went with me and she's so cute!  She went down one isle and asked "this one?"  She loves our garden foods and I think she will love to help herself when they are ready to harvest! 

I wish the warmer Spring weather would show up at my door and stay for a really long time!  Just yesterday, I again tried to rip out the pine tree branches and holly that was to be for my winter décor outside the back door.  But it's still frozen.  I'm thinking of setting the whole box in my garage for a few days?!  :)  I will be planting spring flowers soon and would love to use my planter box.  :)  Come Spring, come!!!

This is just the start of our vegetable's.  I have many more on my list but I buy them as plants and not seeds.  Things like butter crunch lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, etc. will have to wait till the garden is tilled and the frost is gone!

I also grabbed a few packs of sunflower seeds, cosmo's and zinnia's.  I am so ready to plant the garden, plant flowers and welcome Spring!

One more day till the "First Day of Spring!!!"  It's true!!!  :)  Celebrate! 

Out with friends!!!

Butterflies!!!  Excitement!  Even a bit gitty!  Suz planned a night out with some of our closes friends and we were all looking so forwards to it!!!  It suited everyone but JR and Linda and we did miss them.  :(

We rushed out the door, leaving the kids at home with Maryana and Jenna.  The kids just love it when these sisters come to babysit!  It's so nice knowing that they will have a blast to being right at home!!!  We were told to "NOT BE LATE!"  We had reservations made and a driver to take us so we rushed off to Dave's to meet our ride!  We pulled in with John JR's right behind us and we were all ready to go.  But, our ride was not there yet!  What?  We waited just a bit longer and soon Dave was on the phone calling the driver and somehow he went to Jonathon's and after waiting awhile he left.  Dave went racing out the driveway with his truck and minutes later he was flying back in with the limo ride right behind him!  It looked hilarious!  We all jumped in and took off for Fogo De Chao.  It's a restaurant in Phillie and we were told many good things about it!  (We sure hoped so for the $$$ we were paying for this meal!!!)

We were not disappointed at all!!!  The five star restaurant was just that!!!  Nice.  Very friendly.  Service was to the tee!  We started with their salad bar that was completely to my liking!!!  I love mango's and they had this amazing mango and shrimp salad.  I love basil!!!  It's the best herb tasting plant there is ... I think!!!  They had basil sprinkled on some foods and a basil dressing that was calling my name all night!!!  I just loved it!  They also had a delicious apple salad!  This salad bar wasn't your regular ... lettuce, cheese, dressing ... no, much more!  They did have lettuce but it was whole leaves of tender bib lettuce and spinach!!!  So my style!  I tried the haddock with coconut because I love coconut too!!!  Believe me ... I was a happy girl!!!  But this restaurant is not even known for the great salad bar but for their "Brazilian Steakhouse Meat".  Everyone had a green and red saucer at their plates.  When you wanted meat, you turned the saucer to green.  Soon you had a waiter come over to your plate and offer his type of meat.  Sirloin.  Lamb.  Chicken.  Steak.  All different cuts of beef!  Ribs.  He then trimmed off a piece of meat and you grabbed it with your grabber and put it on your plate.  When you had all the meat you wanted, you turned over the saucer to red.  If you wanted more, turn it to green.  You get the point!!!

Whenever they saw that your plate was empty ... they provided another clean plate for you!

We all enjoyed the food so much.  We did let room for dessert too!  I ordered warm pineapple slices that were caramelized in this really good sauce and served with ice cream!  Mike got cheesecake!

After our meal, we took some pictures and then rode back home in the limo.  The entire night was fun, full of laughter, and it was such a blast being with friends that we don't get to see so much anymore!!!  I would love to do a rerun!!!  :)

Thanks Dave and Suz for all the reservations made and for planning this great night out!!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Saturday, Mike and Matthew went to a shed lot and so that freed me and the girls to do something fun together too.  We went to a market that Mom, Mindy & I all worked at at one time.  We went together and got to eat some yummy wings from Uncle Allen!  We bought some great salads from Jane and ate sweet fruit from Uncle Ben's.  Uncle JR sent home a sticky bun for Mike!!!  This market is filled with relatives of mine and that was fun to see them again too!

We spent the evening home with the kids.  Memory seems to be our fun game right now.  Ashlyn is actually good at it too!  :)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was church for us Sunday morning.  Mike's mom called and said to come for lunch.  We hadn't seen them yet since they were back from Florida.  The soup and sandwiches was perfect!  We got home and Mike geared up to go biking.  While he biked, I relaxed and Ashlyn and I napped.  Matthew brought home a yellow remote control car from Mike's shop and him and Hadassah gave it a make over.  It's now camo!  Because we are having 'less TV and iPad time', they got creative and played nice together!  We went to the evening service at church last night.  The youth did a powerful program.  I pray that I answer the questions the children are asking right!!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

We had a two hour delay this morning!!!  Another fresh of snow is on the ground!!!  I was up to let Ginger out at 4 AM and I looked out the door to see if there was any snow.  Not yet.  I crawled back into bed and when my alarm clock and phone woke me, we had at least an inch on the ground.  My phone rang with the call from school saying 'two hour delay'.  It also kept whistling because brother Jason texted us that they had a baby girl early this morning!!!  Shaelyn Brooke arrived healthy! 

I am doing laundry and then will be off to see this little bundle!!!  We can't wait to see her and hold her!  Ashlyn is all pumped to see Shakia's little sister!!!  :)  She loves, loves babies!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!  I'm not wearing green.  I forgot till now!  I don't care!  :) 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Only three more days till the FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!  I am excited!!!

Spiritually fed!!!

I just love when I hear a sermon and my heart feels like a sponge.  Soaking in every single word I hear!  We heard a wonderful sermon yesterday.  Mike got an invite from a friend to come and listen to their guest speaker.  With some very quick arrangements, I got my helper for our Sunday school class to stop in here Sunday morning and pick up our lesson craft.  She taught the class instead of me so that we as a family could go hear this guest speaker.

The man was born in England (so sorry I don't even know his name) but raised in America.  He was an interesting speaker and I really enjoyed his thoughts!  I have three small pages of notes!  Before falling asleep last night I read over them again just to soak in more of the promises of God! 

His message topic was titled "Surviving the Anointing of God."  How do we do that?  Why are there so many Christians burning out?  He gave lots of examples and some that I really like were these.  He asked if a newborns life is difficult?  Well ... no.  When a baby cries, it doesn't worry or get stressed.  It knows that his mother will comfort him, feed him, change his pamper.  He referred that to us believers and God.  Why do we worry about the things that are out of our control?  He also spoke of us being like the vine and branches.  Branches just hang onto the tree.  It's not a hard thing to do.  It's the roots that work to go deep and to stand the trials and winds.  Christians are the branches and God is the root or vine.  The branch depends totally on the trunk and 'vine'.  The more growth we want in Jesus, the more dependent we must be in Him!  I'm trying ...

God's anointing is also like going from a poor sinner to a wealthy believer!  Now we have the ability to have things we couldn't before.  Things like forgiving others, peace, joy, eternal life in heaven!  It's not because of what I earned but a free gift God offers to everyone!!!  "Blessed are the poor in spirit" means that we should be like a beggar in Jesus.  I need to learn my lack of ability and understand that Jesus can help me do all I am called to do.  A beggar relies on others for help.  How much do I really rely on God for help?  How much???  God wants my ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCY to be in Him!  He wants to always maintain the glory.  Not man.  He also chooses the losers.  Those who have speech problems. (Moses)  God chooses the weak.  Moses was a man brought from the palace.  Moses had the best teachings.  Moses knew the important people in 'the white house'.  When Moses messed up and killed an Egyptian, it was after that that he was in the wilderness for 40 years!  40!!!  That's a long time folks!  God finally appeared in that burning bush and then Moses did something that I may have done too.  Excuses.  Moses thought God had the wrong guy in mind.  He said that he wasn't a good speaker but God told him to then say that it was God who sent you. 

God's strength is made perfect when we are weak!  I need to thank God for my weaknesses because it's then when God gives us strength and I don't take any glory.  After reading Hebrews 11:32 - 34, the minister gave some great thoughts!  It talks of Gideon and how Gideon fought a battle with only 300 men.  After the victory, Gideon then knew that it was because of God that they won the battle because the enemy was much, much greater!  Barak was a military leader.  Samson may have been a guy without huge muscles?  Maybe that was why Delilah kept asking where he gets his strength.  Again, it was because of God!  Jephthah was rejected by his own people but still became a prophet.  David got invited late to the brothers dinner with the prophet.  Why wasn't he invited in the first place?  Imagine how that must have felt walking in to a nice dinner smelling like sheep and then being told that you were chosen to be something great!  And what about Samuel the little priest?  God spoke to a child and he listened!

"The more emptiness you can present to God, the more fullness you can receive!" 

"As long as we seek God, He will give us strength."

"Apart from God ... we can do nothing!"

This sermon is a challenge to not worry and trust God!

________________________________________________

I'm not much of a reader.  For sure not a book worm.  But the other day I saw this small book setting beside the couch.  It was one of Mike's many reads.  It's called "Fish".  I started to read and read and I read the whole book that afternoon!  That is not me!!!  It was good stuff!  I learned that maybe if I find books of my interest, like this one, I would read much more.  Reading is so good for a mind.  I will be searching through Mike's library for similar books!  You too should read it!

 

_______________________________________________

 

I am trying to adjust to this time change thing.  I'm not a big fan just yet.  We were all so tired this morning and Matthew even ate his two dippy eggs and toast with his eyes closed at moments.  Goodness!  We did try to get to bed early though last night but the cereal at Matt Lapps tasted good and being with Dave's and Matt's was fun!!!  Thanks Marlene for letting us just walk in!!!  :)

 

Saturday was a sunny day and a bit warmer.  In the 50's.  I decided to rake out my flower beds around the house.  Ashlyn was my helper.  We were having a good time being outside and raking up yuk that the winter always brings.  I threw out the greens that were still in containers by the front door.  We filled up a garage bag with twigs, etc..  But we got to the back side of the house and suddenly I couldn't rake anymore!!!  There was still snow in my way!!!  I don't ever remember of that happening before!  I had to go hang up my rake and call it done for now.  I also blew out the garage and the driveway but again I had to blow around some snow.  Crazy!!!  Come Spring ... please!!!

 

A lot of snow did melt after Saturday and Sunday though!  I am ready to see the grass turn green and plant the garden!!!

 

Matthew loved to have a ride on the four wheeler once again Saturday!  It's a muddy mess outside!!!

 

 

 

___________________________________________

 

It was laundry and Bible study for me and Ashlyn this morning.  Our study of David is coming to a close at church.  It's been so interesting!  There are so many lessons to learn from King David!  Now, I need to get some laundry folded and be off to get some groceries!  Be blessed this week and trust God!  Pray about your trials and tell Him your struggles!!!  He does really care for you!!!

"Fun" days ...

This week at school the whole middle school had 'fun days'.  Hadassah was happy to hear that she didn't miss out on this while we were in the sunny south!  She left each morning excited for the fun activities they had planned.  One day was twin day.  Courtney and Hadassah dressed in blue and tried their best to look the same as possible.  These two are creative and best of friends!  :)  Another day was 'cozy day'.  Hadassah couldn't wait till Friday to have this day!  The students were allowed to bring in slippers, cozy blankets and pillows and snacks.  I teased Hadassah and said that maybe she should pack her suitcase because she got on the school bus with a bag filled with comfy clothes and her arm holding a stuffed pillow.  After lunch, the whole middle school got to watch a fun movie.  (Hadassah thinks we as a family would enjoy this movie.)  That's when they got into their slippers and rested on their comfy pillows.  It's also when they brought out the candy and snacks.  We are working on 'moderation' with the kids.  I like having something sweet in the house at times but it seems that when I do ... it's all consumed in a short amount of time.  Chips and soda are on that list too.  I announced to my family that there will be no more soda if we can't make it last for a longer span of time.  I'm not being harsh ... right?  :)  Anyway, Hadassah enjoyed some sweets and came home pleased with yet another great day at school!  We are so blessed!!!

Hadassah went to school like this on wacky hair day!

Mike had a busy week of meetings.  Between ball and school, he had three evenings out of the house being in meetings.  He called me yesterday saying that we should all go out to eat supper.  The two of us would have loved to have the evening alone, on a date, but instead we decided to make a family night out of it!  It worked great!  I texted Mike back saying that I was all into that if we could use one of our gift cards somewhere!!!  I am so tired of swiping those credit cards!!!  He had Panara Bread on his mind and that was perfect!!!  We had a gift card for there!!!  Ashlyn didn't have a nap yesterday and that always makes for a drama scene sometime during the evening hours.  I told Mike that the other two would have not gotten away with having no naps at her age.  It was a must.  For them and for me!  But for some reason, putting Ashlyn down for a nap is something I don't prioritize high enough.  I will work on this because even though she can do without a nap, our evenings are much more pleasant when she does have a nap.  Well, we headed out for some good soup and sandwiches after a small episode of Ashlyn wanting to wear the same as 'Meg and Mel'.  We were with my two nieces earlier and they had purple dresses on.  She remembered this but her purple dress is too small.  It took some time to leave the house with her OK wearing with a grey and pink dress.  Drama!  She fell asleep on the way to the restaurant.  I figured she might.  We all ordered our food and Mike and I sat in a booth with us holding sleeping beauty.  The other two kids sat across from us in another small booth.  The soup and warm sandwiches hit the spot on our still cold tempts outside.  The surroundings were perfect.  Ladies were in the background were laughing.  Hadassah and Matthew were talking together sweetly while munching on their grilled cheeses.  (Why would you order something so simple?  I can make that at home.  Oh well ...)  Ashlyn slept the whole time we were there.  It was like Mike and I had a date night together but having the kids right there with us.  Again perfect!  We sat in that small booth chatting about business, a little about our home remodeling plans, and about the kids.  It wasn't real long and Hadassah was ready to go.  Somewhere.  Anywhere.  That's how she is.  Always ready for the next plan, stop or party.  She loves, loves to have a good time and sitting there doing nothing got boring.  We sent her and Matthew over to Petsmart for another bag of doggie treats and to look at the fish.  At checkout, they still needed some change, so Matthew came running back over to us asking for some change.  Then after a bit they both came over saying that they need our help.  The cashier was asking for some kind of number.  Is it that complicated these days to just buy some dog treats?  We were just finishing up our coffee's anyway, so I went to help.  I left them do the buying and they did it right.  After Mike was a bit annoyed because it took an adult to buy some treats, he made a quick comment saying, "If they want our phone number ... just make something up."  :)  Hadassah quickly said, "What???"  We chuckled and she put in our phone number to get the sale price.  Good enough.  From there we went to pick up brother-in-law Ritchie at the hockey rink.  Matthew was happy to be able to watch a bit of Ritchie's practice.  We stopped at Red Box for a family movie and Ritchie spent the night with us here at home.  The movie wasn't more than started and some of us were snoozing.  Shows how funny the movie was.

Now for today, Mike is off to work at one of the shed lots.  The traffic and road is crazy because of the neighborhood community sale.  It will be a day of quiting the two dogs because Ginger still barks at bikers and people on scooters.  Zoey is with us yet for a few more days.  These two keep our house a little more lively.  The weather forecast is saying "50 degree's" for today so we will be cleaning out the garage and barn!  Preparing for Spring is on my mind.

Only 12 more days till Spring!  I made a quick list of the seeds and flowers I need for the garden.  It will be a few more days till I go for them, but like I said before, "It's OK to dream of Spring for now."  Keep dreaming with me!  I hope the rest of the snow melts today!!!

We keep seeing Robins in the back yard.  We welcome them!!!

Have a great day!  Be a blessing to someone around you!!!

Wishful thinking???

You know the feeling when you wish so bad that Winter would finally say goodbye and have Spring arrive?  Like when it seems to be lasting much longer than the other seasons do?  Am I being wishful thinking when I say that I feel Spring is right around the corner?

The tempts are still so cold but the sun shines like Spring will be here soon.  I could somehow get that feeling inside of me that Spring on it's way!  Maybe it is because mom and I were helping my sister houseclean yesterday?  Maybe it's because when I woke up yesterday, I noticed the sunrise was over just a bit farther than usual?  Maybe it's because March is when "the First Day of Spring" actually happens?  It may even be because I glanced through the paper for some yard sales?  Spring is such a fun time for Hadassah and I to yard sale!  We can't wait!  Maybe it's because ever since we are back from Florida we see robin's in the back yard!  Or it could also be because Mike had a ball meeting this week?  We also have Matthew registered for Little League again.  What ever it is ... I am thinking Spring!

I am thinking of Spring so much that today I put all the winter mittens, suits, jackets, and boots in the attic!  I hope they will stay put there till next winter!!!  :)  I also took down all the Christmas cards people sent to us that we plastered all over the back door!  (Thank you everyone!  We love them all!)  The home made paper snowflakes went to the trash.  The glittery snowflakes that hung by the fire mantle were taken down and replaced with yellow and orange spring flowers.  I dug out my small Spring sign and proudly displayed it with my silk Spring flowers!  We got a bag of fresh jelly beans waiting to be devoured too!  I say all of this to make a statement ... "I am so ready for Spring time!"

I would love to make a stroll through the greenhouses soon!  I am thinking about seeds and planting the garden!  I just wish all the snow would now melt faster and let the grass turn green and the roses sprout with buds!  Everyone will have lots of Spring cleanup from the ice storm around here but I am ready to get the gardening gloves on and work outside!  I am ready for the fresh Spring foods too.  Radishes, fresh spinach and lettuce, sugar peas ... they will all taste so good!

But for now, it's a few more weeks of Winter.  I have housecleaning to do myself around here and that should keep me busy until March 20 comes around!  (That's always the first day of Spring!  I have that date memorized!!!  :)  )

So ... whether or not thinking of Spring just yet is wishful thinking ... I'll invite you to dream with me!!!  Get in the Spring mood and set out something refreshing on your kitchen table!!!  Burn a floral candle.  You can even wear your flip flops around the house if you like!  :)

I love Spring and I can't wait till it arrives!!!

Back home to the cold ...

We are back from the sunny south.  It was so lovely while it lasted!!!  Now we are back to bundling up and wearing layers of clothing again.  (Except that Ashlyn wore her new sandals to Meg and Mel's house today.  Keeping the summer feeling is just fine with me!!!  :)  But then later she put all her snow gear on and jumped outside in the piles of hard snow.)  Our long travel back home went well.  Mike starts out with driving, then I do the midnight and graveyard shift, and then Mike drives us home the rest of the way.  It works well for us and I am so thankful for a phone with music apps and a good pair of headphones.  That really helped me stay awake in the dark when everyone else was sleeping!

We picked up Ginger on our way home.  She was so happy to see us and we were happy to see her too.  Thank you so much Sadie for caring for her while we were gone.  We got home around 11:30 AM, Saturday morning.  We unloaded the Yukon and put away the things that needed refrigerated.  Mike and I were so tired.  We decided to not make a breakfast stop that morning and keep traveling till we get home.  We were all tired and hungry.  Mike and I decided to get a good nap and we were both in bed by 1 PM.  We slept till 4 PM!  Our beds on vacation were not so good and so our own, comfy bed felt wonderful!!!  It was 4 PM when we laughed and thought that maybe eating something would be our next best decision.  Mike went for cereal while I heated up some canned soup.  The kids had already been picking on snacks that they found in the pantry while we napped!  I unpacked some more things and then Hadassah and I snuck out for a few groceries.  With the forecast calling for more snow, I wanted some snacks and veggies/fruits on hand.  Plus I had nothing great for the kids school lunches on Monday.  We were blessed by friends that bought us milk and filled our fridge with fiber balls, homemade yogurt and jello salad.  Even some fresh daffodil's were placed on my kitchen counter!  It feels good knowing we were missed around home!  Thanks Marlene and Lena for the foods!

Sunday morning we were off to church and sitting down to hear a good message was a spiritual treat once again.  "My God was, My God is, and My God will forever be" ... was the base of our sermon.  Thanks Amey Fisher for those great reminders of just how awesome our God really is!!!  We came home from church and I was putting some bacon in the oven when Lena stopped in for a gallon of milk.  She said they were having ultimate grilled cheese and soup ... so we took our bacon and jello salad and ate with them!  Having family live so close has it's advantages!!!  :)  We chatted and rested and then home for quick naps.  We were anxiously waiting for the snow to arrive.  6 - 12 inches we thought.  We spent the evening with Matt Lapp's hoping to get snowed in or at least watch the inches of snow accumulate.  The kids had a blast together and we played on game of Cities and Knights.  It never snowed till after we got home.  So much for getting snowed in?!!!  :)

The kids did have a two hour delay today from the little bit of snow we did get during the night.  No 6 plus inches though.  Hadassah was really excited about going to school and seeing all her friends.  Matthew was excited too!  It was a great feeling sending them off to school and knowing that they really do like their school and they such a great environment!  Meanwhile, I did laundry.  I finished unpacking the suitcases.  I cleaned up the floors and then went to sister Jody's for lunch.  Mom went too and it's always fun chatting with them after one of us get back from being somewhere.  Ashlyn had a great time playing with the twins again!

It is March now and that's the month that seems to be more winter but yet Spring!!!  Only 17 more days till the First Day of Spring!!!  We can't wait!  I can't wait to see the snow melt and plant the garden.  Our weeds are always way out of control in the early Spring so that part I don't look forwards too.  I am ready to yard sale!  Ready to feel some warmer tempts here in our county.  Ready to see the earth sprout with new bud!  Matthew noticed the first Robin bird yesterday and I have seen a few since!  That's always a wonderful sign of spring being soon!!!

I have a few more Florida pics to share ...

 Our three blessings!!!

 Me and my man!!!

 This is typical!!!  Hadassah is always out to have a good time!!!  Matthew carries right along with the crazy action!

 Ashlyn loved finding seashells!

 Darling ...

 Our family!

 This bike carried all three of our children at one point in their young lives.  This was Ashlyn's transportation when she was with her daddy!!!

 We only got to spend one afternoon with JR's because the day we left ... they arrived.  The kids played and played all afternoon with them!  They love being with these kids!!!  Thanks JR's for the fun day!!!

Think Spring!!!  I can't wait for things to warm up and new life burst forth from the ground!!!