Mother-Daughter Banquet

May was just a crazy month for us. The first week started out with play practice for Colby, the play itself, Awana awards and a Mother-Daughter Banquet. I was blessed to have not only my daughter and my mother for the banquet, but my Aunt Jan too. Since it was such a busy week, they were able to come to the play, awards and banquet. We had a wonderful time while they were here. I appreciate it so much when people take time out of their busy schedules to come visit us. We shopped, ate good food, visited, laughed and went to the candy factory. There were no moments of boredom for sure!! The pictures below are from the banquet. The guest speaker at our banquet was a painter. She paints pictures with Christian symbols in them, then uses the pictures to share the gospel. They are beautiful paintings. At the end of the banquet, everyone got to take home a print of one of her paintings.

March Visitors

In March we were excited because my cousins came to visit. We went to a children'smuseum one of the days. Here is Dalayna with cousin Adley. Colby is trying to make a bubble the length of his body.

Cousin Leighton for the baby hour newscast.

Cousins and co-anchors Dalayna and Jaylyn bring us the news from the museum.

Terry, Colby and cousin T.J. share the anchor desk.

These mirrors were pretty funny. It looked like you were balancing on one leg only.

I thought these pipes were really neat, probably because they had letters and I could actually make sounds that weren't noise, well, maybe.......

Dalayna and Jaylyn had fun playing in the ambulance.

Colby in the apple orchard area.

Cashiers Dalayna and Jaylyn in the apple orchard area.

Colby taking a cat nap in the mouth of the dinosaur?

The volcanic slide, which rumbled and made lots of noise.

This was more like a slumber party for Dalayna and her cousins. They stayed up late and giggled a whole lot!!

We were so thankful for this visit. Dalayna sobbed when it was time for her cousins to go home. I was glad she had so much fun. We are hoping they will come back for another visit sometime. T.J.' s wife Amy somehow managed to stay out of all my pictures, but she was here too. She took lots of great pictures of our weekend. If I can figure out how, I will post a few.

February Visit

In February, my parents braved the risk of lake-effect snow so we could celebrate my dad's birthday visit. Unfortunately the only candle I could find for his birthday cake was a #4, so we'll just say he is 4+4+4+4 and so on....... Much to the dismay of many St. Louis Cardinals fans, we bought him Chicago Cubs pajamas for his birthday.

A little playdough steak anyone?

Aunt Debbie and Uncle Terry bought Dalayna a neat playdough set for Christmas. Since we were so packed into our little car we had to leave it behind in St. Louis for grandparents to bring later. So, here is Dalayna finally enjoying one of her Christmas gifts.

So Many Morels

Right before we started moving Colby and his friend discovered we had morel mushrooms growing in the woods behind the house we were leasing. Terry's family liked to eat them when he was younger, so he decided he would take the kids into the woods, find some mushrooms and cook them. First, they did some research to make sure they were true morels and not poisonous mushrooms. Here is the one catchy phrase for morels: If it is not hollow, do not swallow". True morel mushrooms are hollow on the inside. All these they picked were hollow. As you can see, they found a lot. Terry fried a few of them, but I thought they tasted like fried lettuce, YUCK!!! So, we gave the rest to a friend. My camera's battery was low. Can you tell?

Some of the bigger morels.

Here is the biggest at almost 9 inches long.

Pics of the Outside of Our New House

We are up and running internet wise, so here are pictures of the outside of our new house. I am not yet ready to post pictures of the inside because it is still not as organized as I would like it to be. I am getting there though, but with all moves it is a slow process. I am also in the process of getting rid of lots of stuff, just in case I would have to go through this again anytime soon. Let's hope not!! Here is our driveway of course. We do have room for all three of our vehicles in the driveway, which is nice since our dogs occupy the garage. A view of our back yard. We have a very large yard, when you combine the front and the back. Terry is happy because he was able to keep his John Deere mower.

The arbor that leads to the back yard. As you can see, we are once again surrounded by civilization. After living in the "country" for 7 months, it is good to be in a city area again where everything is convenient.

A front view of the house.

This is the back patio. We really enjoy the way the patio is set up. It gives us lots of privacy from the busy street. We will be having our fence put in sometime this summer.

The side view of the house. Notice the ramps and things that were put in for the man who lived here before. It is perfect for riding on scooters for the kids.

A view of our front yard.

The front of the house.

Another view of the front. I should have taken a closer shot. The roses are in bloom and they are beautiful!!

Awana Grand Prix & Awana Awards

Dalayna and her awards. To read more about everything start at the bottom and read up. Sorry!! I guess I am tired from the moving process.

Dalayna and friends enjoying the "freshments" she couldn't wait to eat. Special guests Grandma Judy and Aunt Jan were also able to attend the Awana awards and eat the "freshments".

The Awana program ended at the beginning of May. They had a nice awards ceremony. We are very proud of Dalayna. She worked her way through her book, then did the review of the book, then went on to finish an extra book of verses. I hope she will always have the desire to memorize Bible verses as she did these past 9 months.

Here is her car. She had to have pink on there somewhere because she is all about the color pink!!

The church we now belong to has a wonderful Awana program, which is something we have looked for the past 2 times we have moved and looked for a new church. In April, they had the Awana Grand Prix. Dalayna's car didn't win any prizes, but it was a good lesson to learn that winning isn't everything.

Co-op Picnic

The past 3 months my children have been taking classes with other kids in a co-op. I can't say enough wonderful things about the people in this group. They have become dear friends already, especially the ones in my prayer group. We are thankful to have been a part of it and look forward to the fall semester. Today we had a picnic at a local park. We were one of the last ones to leave since my kids were having such a good time. Here Colby had been playing a little dodgeball, after his fishing adventure.

A little game of volleyball, or dodgeball with a net?

Dalayna and friends watching the big kids fish. The other little girl is one of Dalayna's very good friends.

Isn't she just too cute? Notice the self expression that is coming through the 2 different colored shoes. Somewhat like her mother and her cousin Shannon, way back when. Gotta love it!!

Colby is determined to get a big fish like his dad. He actually hooked one today, but it was one of those "big ones that got away". I saw these big fish for myself today swimming around. One of Dalayna's friends caught one on a pole the teenagers carved while watching Colby and one of his friends fish. To see how big these fish are really is amazing.

House Hunting is Over!!

After viewing 16+ houses, the search is finally over. When I type finally, it means FINALLY!! It was quite the search. We are very thankful for the patience of our realtor Betty. So, here are the details on our home: It is an all brick ranch, which is just what Terry was wanting. It has been converted to a 2 bedroom home. The man that lives there is in a wheelchair, so he and his wife had someone take out a wall to make the master bedroom bigger to make it easier for him to move around. It has a brand new master bath, completely done in ceramic tile. They left all the frame work up for the wall to be put back up, so once we are settled, we will take a look at doing that. Dalayna's room is across the hall and Colby is getting a room in the basement. The basement is large enough we can put 2 bedrooms downstairs, plus fit in space for a school room. So, once the wall would go back up, we would have 5 bedrooms. The lady who lives in the home has decorated this place so beautifully, and yeah for me, she is selling me some of her stuff. She and her husband(he is a pastor for an apostolic church) have done so much to this house. They remodeled the hall bath, put in hardwood floors, put ceramic tile in the kitchen, put in ceiling fans and other light fixtures. We can't wait to move in!! It sits on a double lot, so we have a very large yard. We will have it fenced after we move in so our dogs can spend time outdoors. There is a very nice arbor covering the patio, and giving it some privacy from the street. Once we are moved in, I will post pictures of the house. At this point we are still waiting on a closing date.

No Fish Tale

You don't live here for very long without hearing about the large fish that come through every spring. So, my two adventurous fisherman went in search of the big one. On Saturday, the big one got away. With more determination than ever, along with some new fishing lures, this one didn't get away!!

What a beaut!!

The size:over 2 feet long!!

The color!!

The length!! Next, the taste!!

All in One Piece,All in One Place

As of yesterday, the belongings in my life are all in one place,and, I am thankful to say, all in one piece after so many moves. Unfortunately the moves are not over. I don't know what it is about having all your furniture in one place, but even Dalayna said this big house finally feels like home now that the rest of us has arrived: just before we move again. We are once again very grateful to have people like Ron and Angela show up to help us, and to spend time with us. Also, our friend Frank, who gave up his whole day to drive with us to FW, help load the truck, then drive the moving truck back here so Terry could drive his own truck back. Yes, all of us in one piece and place. Yesterday I was filled with such gratitude that God is so faithful to us, even in the everyday things we take for granted. For instance, my van is 7 years old, still runs well, even with 97,000 miles on it. Terry's truck has 150, 000 miles or so on it, is 10 years old and still runs well, and has made it to both new towns of residence Best of all, they are paid for. That is something to be thankful for. I have struggled with an ungrateful heart for the past 6 months, but each time I tell someone our house sold after 4 months, and there were 5 churches praying for us, I realize how grateful I should be. Forget the job loss, we could still be jobless if not for God's graciousness. Forget the moves, we could have lost everything by now, but we haven't. I have read my Bible many times and thought how ungrateful the Israelites were when God did amazing things for them. Then I realized the finger was pointing right back at me. But each day, the gratefulness becomes overwhelming as I truly think about how much God has done for me. Without Him, how could we have even made it through these moves and job loss? And most importantly, look at all the wonderful people He has put into our lives in the past 2 years. All in one piece, all in one place, but most importantly, with a grateful heart.

House Hunters-Part 2

As of today, we are still hunting for a house. Last night did not bring us to any conclusions. I do have to say that the cute house from Sunday is still in the running. After looking last night, we decided the drive might not be so bad if you have a house that is in such great condition. Here is what we found last night: House #1-older, large yard including an apple and pear tree, raspberry bush and garden area, 3 bedrooms(one didn't even have a closet), 1.5 baths(one so small I don't see how you could fit in there), a basement(ceilings were so low I felt claustrophobic). For all the negatives we saw, somebody will find it just perfect. The kitchen is new and very nice. It just wasn't right for our family. House #2: This is one I just knew would be the perfect house from the pictures on the internet. The outside we in mint condition, with a porch(I miss mine in FW). The inside was cute, very open floor plan, nice fireplace, but the rest of the house needed serious work. There were many places, and I mean MANY where Terry said they had patched up holes in the wall. The 2nd bath had a very LARGE purple stain in the tub, and the fixtures in the master bath looked ready to fall off the wall. Even Colby spoke up about the condition, though it was because he envisioned himself alongside his dad fixing all these things. The basement was wonderful with a family room, a huge room where we could do school, 2 large bedrooms, and a large laundry room. But all the work was just a little too much. So, on to the next house, which will be tomorrow evening. Tomorrow's house is 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and three-fourths of an acre, though it is surrounded by houses. Positives for this house include it is 2 minutes from church, maybe 3, and 5 minutes for Terry to get to work. Part 3 coming tomorrow night or Friday. Let's hope there aren't too many parts to these house hunting blogs!! I have always liked looking at houses, even when I was younger I would go with my aunt Jan to look at display homes, but going through this 2X within 18 months makes me think those days of enjoying it are coming to an end!:)

House Hunters-Part 1

We looked at 2 houses on Sunday. We were actually supposed to look at 3, but when we arrived at the house, noone was home, but our realtor said there were 3 big dogs running around in the house. She could see them through the glass in the door. We were sitting in the car, windows UP, engine running and could hear them barking. Betty said they were big dogs, and by the sound of them I wouldn't doubt it. Needless to say, we didn't attempt to go in. I also had visions of dog slobber and dog hair, so I decided that house probably wasn't for me. Mind you, I have 2 dogs of my own, so I have nothing against dogs. My dogs, one of them being big, are not allowed to run through my house, even though I love them dearly!! But 3 large dogs, running wild everywhere, that is another story. The 2nd
house is absolutely wonderful. It needs a new front door and an updated garage door, but the inside is so nice. Immaculately clean is a good word, decorated like my aunt Jan's house, country baskets and things, some wallpaper, some borders, but absolutely cute. It has 3 bedrooms, with another possible in the basement, a finished basement with dry bar(we don't drink, but it would be good for sitting at to do school work), and an inground pool. It also comes with 1.5 acres of land. It has new windows, carpet, bath fixtures, water softener, newer furnace, etc. The only negative is that it would be about a 20 mile drive for Terry and no more coming home for lunch. Still, it remains on the final list for now. The first house(sorry I am going backwards) was cute, had an above ground pool, fenced yard, finished basement with fourth bedroom, rec room(including Colby's dream: a pool table), and a small family room. The kitchen was tiny and the bathrooms needed serious work. So, that one is off the list. We know we may purchase a home that needs some work, but that home had too many negatives. We are looking at another house tonight so stay tuned to House Hunters Part 2 tomorrow!!