Picture, Voicemail and Daylilies

Here is a picture Wesley drew for me today. You can't see it all because my scanner didn't do right, but it is of him and Mikayla. He wrote their names at the top then wrote "i luve you Momiey MisFalr kele." (Literal interpretation 'I love you, Mommy, Mrs. Fowler, Kellie') He hasn't clicked yet that he and I have the same last name and it is spelled the same. ha! It is a precious picture to me and I will definitely cherish this.

This afternoon after church we went to Mom and Dad's for lunch. After lunch Daddy was trying to figure out his new cell phone. He had gotten one of those ear pieces and was trying to get the thing to work with his voice on calling a number. He was also setting up his voice mail. (Which made us THRILLED because we had been on him for so long with his other one...) Anyway, we got the LARGEST laughs over him trying to say his voice mail message. I finally wrote out what he would say so he wouldn't mess up, but then I told him to work on his expression (It was the teacher in me... hee hee). He finally got it and we were so proud. It really was a fun afternoon. I worked with him a while to get the voice dialing thing right. We think we figured it out. I love figuring those kinds of things out. Daddy just cracks me up with stuff like that. :) I wonder what Wesley and Mikayla will be teaching me like that one day??? ha!!

We think Wesley may have Poison Ivy or Oak on his face. It appeared yesterday and I freaked because some stuff has been going around school. When Steve saw it he felt it was just the Poison Ivy. (He has had it several times so he should know!) We have put some stuff for that on it today and it is looking better. Oh the joys....

My cousin came over this afternoon to show us where we could put the daylilies she had given us. I am SO excited about how they are going to look. You KNOW I'll be taking some pictures of them. She said they would bloom some this year but next year they will really be pretty. Now we just have to plant them. Of course, with me and my BLACK thumb, I will let Steve handle most of the planting but I'll try to get out there and help him. I wish I knew more and understood plants better, but it is not there yet. Hopefully one day I'll become brilliant in that. All I know is that I love taking pictures of them....could that count?????? hee hee

Speaking of pictures of flowers...here is our flowering plum in the front yard. I have a few 'versions' of this tree that I'll save for different times. I love how these turned out. I like the shadowing against the bark. I also love how blue the sky was on that day.

Well, it is time to start another rat race of a week. We have Achievement testing at school and I do marbleizing (art thing with paper and paints) in the afternoons. I enjoy having a different kind of week but it can be exhausting, too. Thankfully I have a lot of parents who are able to come and help me. They love it, too, so that is neat.

I guess I need to get going and get things ready for tomorrow. I am excited because tonight on the Food Channel they are having that series of who will be the next Food Network Chef person. (Can't remember the exact name....lol) Anyway, Steve and I got addicted to that last Sunday. Iron Chef will come back on after this. Anyway, it is a great show and I can't wait to see which person will be "kicked off" tonight! ha!!

Interesting Weather Day!

Well, you name it weather-wise and we had it today!! It was cold pretty much all day. We had a little rain/drizzle early on. Steve and I went to the Flea Market and got a few things before heading back home to clean and work on the yard. Well, while Steve was out putting pinestraw in the flower beds it began to rain/sleet/snow!!!! You can't see it well in the photo because it is so small, but, yes, that is snow on his hood!! It was wild! Right after I took it there was only rain and then it was like the faucet was turned off and nothing was falling. The sun came out and it began to be sunny again! Steve said the only thing we were missing was thunder and lightning! All day long we had little rain showers here and there. Later on this afternoon we heard thunder...which meant there had to be lightning somewhere.... Soon we had more rain. Daddy called me and said he was seeing more snow mixed with the rain but I only saw the rain where we were. A little later on Steve was coming home from an errand and called me to go look at the rainbow in the sky. I didn't see one at first because the sun hadn't peeked out enough, but I slowly watched one pop up in the sky so I went and grabbed my camera. It was neat to see and another reminder of God's promises to us. They are new every morning...Great is His Faithfulness!! What a wild day!! We got tickled over the changes we saw today. It will be another interesting story to tell my students on Monday!

I cleaned and got some scrapbooking done today. I am getting caught up on Mikayla's school book now...I really think I can get everything caught up before their birthday party. Thankfully I had Spring Break the week before their party so that is why I feel I can be caught up. :)

I am now off to read and relax in front of the fire. Again...I am cherishing these moments in front of the fire because they'll be leaving soon for a while. It truly is nothing like the crackling of wood in a fire. Thank you, Lord, for the warmth it brings.

Mowers, Cats and Spills

Glad the week is over! Now it is time to have a nice weekend. Hopefully I'll get a lot of stuff accomplished...but we'll see. I really never know anymore! ha!

Today Steve's new mower arrived. As you can see it is a John Deere....OF COURSE!! :) Our "old" John Deere has just become too small for all of our almost 3 acres and the other one we had was worn out. (We had bought the other one used...greatly used....and it had just had enough.) Steve did some research and decided on this John Deere. It has a 60 inch deck and 25 horsepower. Now, for me...that doesn't mean as much as it does to Steve. ha! All I know is that it won't take him forever and a day to mow the yard now. I am happy for him...I know this is something we have been needing with so much yard.

Today Wesley and Mikayla spent the day with one of our friends since they didn't have to go to school. They had a BLAST but were exhausted when they got home. The first thing Mikayla did was find Ashes and give her a huge hug. Now, while Mikayla was enjoying the hug, I don't believe Ashes was enjoying it as much. Ashes tolerates it SO well now, but she still looks at me sometimes like "Mom...WHY are you letting her do this???" I just had to take a picture of her with Ashes today, though. Ashes is such a sweet kitty....I am so thankful she is patient with the kids. Mikayla talks to her all of the time and has to tell her bye in the mornings and hello when we come home in the afternoon.

This evening we went out to eat with Mom, Daddy and my brother. When the guy brought me my basket of food I let it go too low, it pulled against the straw in my drink and pulled the entire drink over into my lap!!! All I could do is just sit there with my mouth gaping wide open. ha!!! It got ALL OVER my lap....and the floor...and my shoes....and my coat. I was so embarrassed but figured I gave that boy a funny story to tell his parents tonight when he got home!!! What a dork I am sometimes. ha! At least I'll have yet another funny story to tell my students on Monday! OH...and when we were leaving I was throwing away my tea and it didn't hit the trashcan fully, spilled and went on the floor by the trash area. Great. I was ready to get out of that place.... I was quite wet all of the way home and was very happy to get out of the wet clothes.

Wesley and Mikayla are spending the night with Mom and Daddy tonight. They are so cute when they ask to do that. I must say that I miss them, though. This afternoon Mikayla climbed up on the couch with me when I was "snoozing" and fell asleep herself. That was a precious moment for me and I didn't want it to end. Again...those times with them seem to be few and far between in our busy days.

I am continuing to enjoy the colors of spring. I keep looking around each day to see what new color has popped from the trees. It is amazing to see what changes overnight!! Here are some blossoms on our flowering cherry tree. I just loved these.... these are some that seemed to "pop" overnight, too. I took these last Saturday when the day was so crisp and blue. I also saw some new leaves pop up on the maple trees by our church. It seems like yesterday that I was there taking the fall pictures of those leaves!! Now, those leaves are gone and new ones are coming. Time flies so fast.

Now I am off to relax a bit. I am sure Steve is watching the Golf Channel...that is his favorite channel. I am so excited to watch it with him...yeah, right. :) I'll just read my book or something. :) Continue to look around at the colors you see in God's wonderful Creation. Enjoy the beauty of the day. :)

remembering

Here are pictures again from my uncle's farm. I don't know if these have already been shown or not. The first one is of the fence post as you came up my aunt's driveway near the farm area. The second one is just of the farm itself. I talked with my cousin tonight and found out when this will be taken down. I at least have a few more months to see those silos standing tall but I know things will be changing all around them. Change is so hard...especially for someone like me who hangs on to the things I know so tightly. I have faced all kinds of changes in the past year, and the Lord has been with me every step of the way. I am so thankful for that... I don't know how I would have ever gotten through it if it weren't for Him. There will be townhomes and such that will take over this land. The people will come and go and not have any idea of what this land used to be and what it means to those that love it. That is what we have faced with our land around us. It has been 20 years this year that the land went from ours to others, but it still, in my heart, belongs to us. I have come to accept it, but it doesn't mean I LIKE it.

Life continues to be crazy and we continue to make do and get going. I have a weird day at school tomorrow and the kids don't have to go because of a broken pipe getting fixed so they will get to spend the day at a friends house and they are excited. I will just be glad when the day is over because this week has about knocked me off my feet. :)

You know, I continue to love the sweet moments I have with my children. In the busyness of our days many times those sweet moments are few and far between... Tonight I had to go up to Moms to get some stuff she had made and I let Mikayla sit on my lap and "drive" the van through the pasture. She thought she was something else. :) I loved that she could have that excitement and that memory.

I got my eyes checked today. Thankfully, I am not any more "blind" as I have been already!! I did get to get a new pair of glasses. The lady who helped me told me they have a bit of "sassiness" to them. Well, I am learning I need a bit of that in my life, you know. hee hee... They are pretty neat. Maybe I'll be brave and take a picture of me in them when I get them!! :)

I guess it is time to get ready for another day. Take time to remember something special in your life today. For the most part, even though things go away our memories stay in our hearts. That is a comfort to me.

Spring????

Well, here are some spring flowers for the first day of Spring!! Last Monday it was in the 80's....on this lovely first day of spring we are in the 40's with rain (thank the good Lord for it!) and I even saw some sleet!!! Now, ain't that somethin'???? I have been praying for rain and I am thankful the Lord is sending some today and tomorrow. I just pray that it is a good rain. We really need some!!

I went back to my doc today to find out if my little "acid reflux" problem has increased...and, yep, it had. I have to increase my meds and he said sometimes this kind of thing takes time to heal. He said the way to help it is to cut back on foods that aggravate it....CHOCOLATE IS ONE OF THOSE FOODS!!! May I just say I wanted to cry right there??? ;) You KNOW how much I love chocolate.....I actually can tell when I have eaten some so I guess that means I need to lay off of it for a bit. Boy, that is going to be hard... He also said that decreasing stress in your life can help. Well, that AIN'T gonna happen right now so I might as well work on the chocolate mode. hee hee That really does stink, though. Hopefully, I will get this under control in the next little bit and see a difference. It is going to take WILL power, though!!!!

The kids had their cap and gown pictures today. I only saw them from the back because I had so much going on with my own classroom. It brought tears to my eyes, though. I had to step back from that a moment, though, because we'll be doing it again next year. There is no need in getting all blubbery/emotional now.

They got their report cards today. Overall, they are doing fine. They both have their areas which need work but we will continue to take each day as it comes. I continue to know we have made the best choice for them for next year. In my opinion (and MY opinion only) they are typical five year olds of days gone by....but not of today's world. Of course, I also realize that our curriculum is a year advanced. If they had been in public school I don't believe there would have been any problems. They will only get better from it, so I am not worried.

Well, I have had a Monday that was busy, busy so I am going to go take an early shower and get ready for a "relaxing" evening...maybe. :) Steve will have a fire going tonight so I know I'll pass out early on the couch. :) The kids are watching a movie....a treat they don't normally get to do during the week....because they didn't have homework tonight. Their pictures took up so much time there wasn't time for it all. It is nice for them to have a break, too.

Off to chill....a little. Continue to enjoy the signs of spring!

Nice Weekend

Here is a bloom off of our Hawaiian bush in the backyard. I took this a couple of weeks ago. It is really blooming now. Yesterday I went around taking more pictures of things blooming and I'll be sharing those soon, too. I knew that it was turning colder today and tomorrow and was afraid some of the blooms would get hurt. It was a BEAUTIFUL day with such pretty blue skies. I also found out a way to work with my polarizer on my camera that I haven't figured out before. lol I was able to do some experimenting and it was so neat!!!

OK...I have a confession to make. In my last post I said that I was not going to really clean this weekend because it was just not high on my priority list. Well, I lied. When I got up yesterday morning I realized that my house was very much on my nerves and needed a clean! :) Plus, I knew the kids had to clean their rooms and vacuum as well as clean their bathroom so we went forward with it. The day actually went well and it felt good to get that behind us.

I got to scrapbook again yesterday. My brother came down and he has now finished the trip he has worked on forever and is on to the next trip. :) I finally finished Wesley and Mikayla's summer pictures from last year and am now ready to start on their school books. I still have a lot to do, but at least I have a little more time before their birthday party!!!

Last evening, my brother had signed us up for another outdoor adventure..this time with frogs! Wesley and Mikayla were excited to learn more about God's Creation. When we got there it was still light but by the time we ended our "hunt" it was dark. I took some pictures but haven't had a chance to upload them to here. Unfortunately, it has been so dry around here that we weren't able to hear any or see any that were full grown. We did, however, get to see tadpoles that were about 5 days old!!! We learned a lot...including myself....and had a great time. We also got to see the eggs of salamander and we also got to see a baby salamander!!! I touched the eggs of the salamanders and shocked my brother. I didn't even hesitate! ha!!! I really am trying to get better about stuff like that because I want the kids to enjoy learning about the Creation God made us. OH...while we were walking to our first spot Wesley was holding my hand and he said "God made ALL of this, Mommy...." and then he talked about how much he loved it. It made me have tears in my eyes. So little yet so "wise".... It really was a fun evening. I asked my brother today when we are doing one again! ha!! I appreciate how he wants to teach Wesley and Mikayla these important things. I want them to be well-rounded. We left the park where we did our frog adventure and met Steve, Mom and Daddy for supper. It was nice to meet up with them, too.

Well, here are the couple of pictures I took of Wesley and Mikayla's "sleepover" Friday night. Let's just say it didn't last too long. Mikayla came in our room around 11:00, Steve said, and got pillows and slept on our floor. Then Wesley came in later and said he kept hearing noises, etc. I did get a chuckle, though, when they went to bed. They said that it was like they were a Mommy and a Daddy!! I am sure they had a few good moments of being silly before the "snoring" began! HA!!

Steve has a fire going tonight. :) I am cherishing these because I KNOW they are coming to an end soon until later this year. I am thankful for the warmth. God has blessed me in so many ways. I just thank Him for His goodness. I am reminded daily of what He does for me.

Well, off to work on some stuff for the kids birthday party and for school. Enjoy your evening everyone! Continue to look for the beauty in the Creation God has CREATED for us....

I am lucky :)

What a wild week....yes, what is new. lol I have been calling for Calgon but it hasn't come!!!

Today is St. Patrick's Day. :) I took a picture of clover just for the occasion. One of my students actually found a five leaf clover yesterday! I thought that was quite neat!

It was WILD and GREEN at school. I had to go between my green tasting party and Wesley and Mikayla's green tasting party. I have walked quite a bit today!! It broke my heart when Mikayla held on to me and told me not to leave....she wanted me to stay with her. That broke my heart. Wesley was acting foolish and silly...SO him right now. He put one of the table decorations (a small leprachaun hat) on top of his head. Those around him laughed and that got him really going! HA!!It was good to at least be able to go down there and see them. I am "lucky" that I can pop in any time of the day and get a hug. That really does mean a lot. You can see where we are posing for the together moments in their classroom at their party. Mikayla was acting goofy in her picture, too. :)



Here is another picture I have taken recently. This is of a wild violet in my Mom's yard. I just love this picture. I actually quickly walked back home to get my camera to capture this one. Unfortunately, the sun went behind the clouds again by the time I got back so I didn't get the shadowing, but at least I got to capture it. They are so pretty to me.

Wesley and Mikayla want to have a "sleepover" together in Mikayla's room tonight. They are pretty excited! lol I am glad they have those sweet moments together. I truly do hope they will always be close like they are. Again, I am "lucky" to have my children be like they are. We know they are far from perfect but they are also pretty stinkin' sweet. :)

I think it is now time to go and chill out. I got home LATE from school...after 5:30...and it actually irritated me to know that I couldn't get out of there earlier. That was a long time from 6:45 when I got there this morning!! My house will probably not get cleaned this weekend, but I don't really care at this point!! That is not high on my priority list this weekend.

Well, have a wonderful day everyone...and think of the ways you are "lucky".... Of course, it is never about LUCK...it is what God BLESSES us with each day. :)

tightness....

The first picture of today is of the Magnolia tree in our barnyard. I used to climb this tree all of the time when I was little. I loved to climb to the top and throw the "pods" from the Magnolia bloom at my Daddy. Of course, I tried to hide like I wasn't there, but he knew it was me!! I had many adventures in that tree. There was a time when a cow got loose from the fenced area when Daddy was trying to load it in the trailer. That cow took the gate off the hinges!! Can you imagine a cow with a LARGE gate around its neck and the cow trying to get it off its neck at the same time it is coming up the hill toward you???? Well, that was me and it scared the living daylights out of me! HA!!! I climbed this Magnolia tree so fast I don't remember my feet touching the branches! After they finally got the cow settled down and in the trailer I ran home as fast as my little legs would carry me and got inside the house!!! I have a lot of good memories with this tree. :) I remember when the county made us tear down our dairy barn the local fire station came out to use it for "practice". (May I just say that was a SAD day around here???? It was Dec. 1998 and I still miss that barn...) Well, that fire was so hot because the barn was so old that the Magnolia tree had "burn damage" on the one side of it!! It actually looked a bit dead on that side for a few years!! It has now gotten back to being evergreen and beautiful. That tree is something special. :)
This next picture is of another weed... :) My brother knows the exact names of each of these weeds, but I didn't write it down so I don't remember. (I am sure as he is reading this he is talking into the computer!) I just thought these were so sweet. Again...trying to find beauty in weeds and the ordinary.

Speaking of finding beauty in everyday....Mikayla and Wesley love looking at scenery and things now. I have "oohed" and "aahed" at so many things as we go to school so they notice things more now. Mikayla even wanted me to see the moon tonight because she couldn't believe how beautiful it was. :) Last night when Wesley prayed he did his prayer for the many things God has made and thanked Him for them. When he finished he said "Mommy...did Jesus like that?" I said "What?" He said "My prayer of all those things...I just want Him to know I appreciate them..." That was so precious to me. They really do observe and see the little things in life.

Yesterday I had a teacher workday and got off early. We went to find shoes for Easter/Summer along with the rest of the county and after an hour and a half of waiting patiently we finally were out with new shoes. :) We also ran by Target and Walmart so I could get some other clothes for them for birthday and their cap and gown pictures next week. I want them to look sweet..you know I'll probably take pictures. hee hee... Let us just say, though....I was SO tired after that yesterday. You can tell I am not used to shopping! HA!!!

OK...now to the title of this blog for the day....tightness. I put on one of my skirts this morning (5:30 am) that I knew was a little snug but figured as the day wore on I would be fine in it..... Well, I was wrong. I was OK by 8:00 but as each hour passed I began to find that the tightness increased...a lot. I was beginning to wonder if I had vice grips around my waist!!!!! On top of that, this afternoon I had recess duty and car duty and was concentrating so hard on getting that over with because I was in so much pain that I don't think I was fully paying attention! What is really bad is that the kids had Kindermusik today. On the way to Kindermusik I finally decided to unbutton the button in the back since my shirt covered that. Well, that worked for a minute or so and then the vice grip began again!! I called Steve and told him that only half of his wife as he knew me would meet him at home later because the skirt cut me in half!! HA!! I survived waiting for the kids in Kindermusik by grading test papers, but that didn't keep my mind off of it a lot. Of course, on the way home we get behind a HUGE line of traffic that is going SLOW and then a dog was in the middle of the road and the people a few cars up from us decide to get out to rescue the dog. (I was happy for the dog, but in pain at this point..) I finally get home and it was all I could do not to knock my children over to get into the house to yank that skirt off. I had had the thing on for 12 hours and I am surprised I didn't pass out!!!!!! Let's just say that skirt will go in the back of the closet for the day when I lose little weight....yeah, right.

Well, I still have test papers to grade so I don't believe this is helping, huh? Have a wonderful day everyone and try not to wear anything too tight today! HA!!

the picking of dandelions

Yesterday and Friday Wesley and Mikayla picked dandelions in Mom and Dad's yard and counted them. It was so sweet and Mom seemed to enjoy watching them. As you know, I love dandelions even though they are wretched weeds that grow a root that extends to China. I just love the yellow "button" flower and then the free flying seeds. (Which, in turn, produce more of the wretched root extending weed...hee hee) Anyway, I took these last week, I believe and thought they'd be fitting for today.

Since today was Sunday we were at church and then to Mom and Dad's for lunch. We had a great time there. I went out and took some more pictures of flowers/weeds and had a blast. My brother and Mom chuckled when they saw how far I would go to capture a flower up close. I have learned that far away just doesn't do the same! ha! I like to get up close and personal with my objects. :)

The kids didn't want to leave Mom and Dad's when we left so we let them stay up there for a while longer. They get to stay with Mom again tomorrow as I have a workday and they have a day off of school. :) Mikayla was quite excited about that when I put her to bed this evening.

Speaking of going to bed, Wesley was so sweet when he prayed with Steve tonight. He had already said his prayers with me, but he wanted to do them again with Steve. Steve said he thanked God for around 30 things God had made in His Creation and ended with the stars. Steve said that was something to hear.... So many times those are the things we take for granted and it takes a little person to show us the value of the ordinary in our lives. :)

Well, off to read or something before turning in for another crazy week around this house. :) Have a super day everyone!

sweet memories to be made

"Barn" picture for the day...the old oak in the barnyard. This oak has stood the test of time and a few lightning strikes!!! I love this oak and will be so sad if something ever happens to it. It is not the most beautiful oak because it has been struck by lightning so many times that parts of it are dead, but it still lives. :)

Wesley and Mikayla spent the night with Mom and Dad last night. Mom had picked Mikayla up from school early yesterday because I had to take Wesley back to the doctor for a follow up from last weekend. (Wesley was NOT happy he wasn't able to leave that early, but he had to move past that...) They wanted to spend the night so Mom quickly agreed. Steve and I just went out to eat and stopped by Wolf Camera and got some pictures developed. We came home and watched a movie, but I fell asleep during the middle of it. Thankfully I had already seen it! ha! It didn't take me long to go to dreamland last night!!

Today Steve went golfing and I cleaned the house. Mind you...it is not a perfect clean, but at least parts are cleaned that haven't been in a week or so. Mikayla and Wesley stayed at Mom's till late afternoon and we picked them up on the way back from some on call stuff Steve had to do. They rode in the back of the truck on the way back to the house (we went across the pasture) and loved it. Here are their pictures of them doing that. I remember doing that so well. It brought back sweet memories.


Here are some flowers Mikayla and Wesley picked for me today at my aunt's house. They went with Mom there and had a blast playing outside with her dog and picking these flowers. Some of the stems on them are a bit short so I don't know how long they will live, but I thought they were so sweet. Apparently, mom and my aunt kept telling them how they needed to pick them (from the bottom of the stem) but they didn't quite grasp that part. ha!! I try to capture these with pictures because there is no way to keep these forever!

This afternoon I went with Steve on one of his work calls to one of the parks. I was able to take some pictures of some flowers that are blooming right now. I had so much fun. Steve was so sweet to drive me around inside the park to find some that were decent for pictures. I so love doing that.... I am thankful he understands and supports my love for that. :)

I got my other pair of Birkenstocks yesterday. I wore my new sandals around the house today to get used to them and break them in for my feet. I surely do love those things!!!! I tried on a pair of my sandals from last year and realized quickly how wonderful my Birks are!!! ha! I almost bought a pair of orange ones today....I figured a bit of punch in my wardrobe would be fun. I am always so practical in the way I dress and one of my friends has gotten on me about that. :) I have tried in recent years to come out of my shell and be a little more "with it" but some things are hard to break. ha! Of course...I have actually broken a lot of old clothing habits! ha! I don't ever want to be faddish with my clothing, but up to date and stylish is more like it. :)

The kids had to do their weekly cleaning again today when we got home. There were some poochy lips from one young man but he learned quickly that would get him nowhere. He still had to do his chores. :) They really do a good job and I want them to continue in that direction.

Well, the kids are watching an old Curious George movie and Steve is coming back home from a call so I guess I better get off of here. Here is to a great night everyone!

appointments

Here is another picture of hinbit. Yes, I love how it looks. ha! One of my kids at school picked some for me yesterday and I thought it was so sweet. That is about the only thing that is growing really well in our yard right now because it is so dry. I am praying for some rain.

Today was another day of "appointments" that God had given me. I was able to talk with a parent in the grocery store of all places and give her some words of encouragement. I am thankful the Lord gives me those times when I can be of help to someone else. I was also able to help my Mom this afternoon when she was in a pinch. These "appointments" caused us to get home later than usual, but it gave me a great feeling knowing I had been able to help in some way. :)

I still have to do homework and all that stuff so tonight is not a lengthy one. Have a wonderful day and try to find some way to help someone else today. :)

another weed :)

OK...so here is another weed I took a picture of. Now, in order for me to get this one I had to crouch on our driveway and put my elbows down to steady myself because it was RIGHT beside the driveway. I am sure the people passing by were laughing and wondering what in the world that lady in the driveway was doing. I have no clue as to what this is....just a weed. I thought the color was pretty neat and it was interesting. ha!

Today was just another ordinary day but I did have fun with my students this afternoon. I got home "early" and got a few things accomplished and then sat and cuddled with Mikayla girl. She wanted her fingernails polished so I decided to go ahead. She was so cute and proud of them. She sat in my lap in the recliner for over 1/2 hour and it was so sweet to me. It brought back my memories of when I used to come home from school and we would all sit together in the recliner and watch Stanley. Today it was the news, but at least we were cuddling. Wesley had other plans and was chilling out in the chair near us.

Steve got his review at work and he was one of only two people who got an awesome review with the new way they do them. I was SO proud of him because I know he works terribly hard. It does make you feel good when you are appreciated. He said he floated out of there on cloud nine. He needed that.

On another note with him....his orthodontist told him today that his teeth were looking AWESOME. I am so proud of him with those, too. I am amazed at how quickly his teeth have moved. He is excited with the whole thing. :)

Well, we are off to relax a bit more. Remember....try to find a weed that you think could pass for "purty". :)

a vapor

Here is a picture of hinbit...and I was trying to make it pretty. :) I thought this turned out kind of neat. I must say that I love hinbit and the purple look it gives yards this time of year. I realize it is a WEED, but I still can see beauty in that, too!!! :)

I am reminded daily, it seems, how fragile life is and that it truly is a vapor. Seeing today that Christopher Reeve's wife died of lung cancer just continued to put it in front of me. I sometimes feel that all we hear is bad news. That can get depressing. I have been surrounded by it with things at school and situations in my classroom and it can really get to you after a while. That is where I know I must put my faith in God and not begin to "think" all of the time. Faith is the action of believing God even when we can't see the forest for the trees. He is continually teaching me that. I have had to cling to that in the past year and He hasn't stopped teaching that to me. I am also learning life is just too short to not enjoy it.

A cute funny: Tonight Mikayla and Wesley were talking about the weather and Wesley asked why the weatherman didn't like us because he didn't send us snow. We explained that it was God Who made that decision and it just wasn't His will for us to have any this year. Well, we then began talking about how God was in control of everything and how He made the world from nothing by just speaking. Mikayla said "Yeah...God is a Holy....BOSS!" I must say that Steve and I got a large chuckle out of that. She said it with no disrespect....it was truly from a child's point of view. I felt that needed to be recorded. :)

Today was a much less stressful day than yesterday and I was so thankful. I was actually able to get some things done that I needed.

I fell asleep last night on the couch in front of the fire. I have to enjoy these moments because I know they will not be here for much longer. It is supposed to be in the 80's here by this weekend. Steve has one going tonight for me. I just want to crash by the fire again tonight. :)

Try to look at a weed today in a new way. ha! Truly...try to find a weed in your yard and find something pretty about it. You're going to be seeing a few of them on my blog in the near future!!! Find pretty in something not so pretty.

oh what a day

Today's picture is nothing fancy or special. I just thought it was kind of neat the way the "weeds" were growing among our rock area. As I said last night...I am continuing to try to find ordinary things and make them look nice. Don't know if I succeeded on this or not. :)

Today was busy from the moment I got to school. It was just one of those days and I felt behind all day.

I got my new pairs of Birkenstocks today! I had set aside money to get me some for the spring/summer and they arrived. I am sending one pair back. It just wasn't me when I put it on, but the others are pretty nice and I will be "breaking" those in around the house before I wear them outside. They need to get used to my foot. :) QVC is having their Birkenstock hours this Saturday so you know who will be watching one of them. ha!! They may have some new ones that I haven't seen yet. :)

Well, Steve has a fire going tonight and it feels so great. I think I am going to go lay down on the couch for a bit before it is time for bed. The cycle of craziness will begin again before I know it. I am off to soak in some great warmth. :)

Interesting day

Here are the pictures of the daffodils I took yesterday. I thought they turned out kind of nice. They are a bright spot in a day. :)

Let's just say this has been an interesting Sunday! As I said in my post last night, Wesley wasn't feeling well. He slept really great last night but woke up with his throat sore and he was crying. I knew I had to get him in to see somebody today. We went to CVS to their "MinuteClinic" this morning. We were told they opened at 8:30 so I got him up there right after that...only to find that they didn't open till 10:00! He was acting OK....that was what was different about this go 'round...he didn't act so sick during the day, just complained about pains in his neck and such. Well, since we had some time to kill he and I went to Walmart and got a few things for Mikayla for her birthday. I'll have to do the same thing with Mikayla for him when I get the chance. We enjoyed that time together. We got back to CVS and were the first ones there. The Physicians Assistant who saw us checked him out and then felt his lymph node on the right side and was amazed at how big it was. She said she didn't have what we needed to treat him and suggested I go to an Urgent Care. (I must admit, she kind of scared me so I drove quickly....) We got to the Urgent Care and the wait was around 2 hours!!!! I knew he had to be seen today so it didn't matter. The time actually passed quicker than I thought. Wesley was so good through all of this. I know it was tiring to wait all the time we had so he was awesome. When the doctor saw him he did a strep test on him. It came back negative, but he said there was definitely something going on in his lymph nodes. He said his upper respiratory infection probably got the best of his lymph nodes and they created an infection inside while trying to fight off the upper respiratory infection. I have to give him his antibiotic 3 times a day for 7 days. He is on a pretty tough one, too. I am thankful I went ahead and took him in.

We got back to Mom's 4 hours later. We didn't get to go to church, of course, so we went straight to Mom's to wait for Steve and Mikayla to get there because we were all going to the airport to pick up my brother. Once Daddy got home we all piled in the van and headed for the airport. My brother got there on time, but his luggage didn't make the plane!!! This was not the first time this has happened to him so he was not a happy camper. ha! They are going to have to deliver it to his house when it came on the next flight. We left there and finally had lunch after 3:00....we were all quite hungry at this point.

We finally got home after 4:00 and I began working on the things I usually have all day to take care of. We did the short version of a few of those things. Once I helped the kids with their Kindermusik I decided to go outside before it got dark and take some pictures. I must say that taking pictures of God's creation surely does relax me. I took pictures of lots of weeds...but I tried to make them interesting and pretty. That was my goal today...take something we think of as yucky and turn it into something kind of pretty. I'll share those in the next few days as well. It was so nice to listen to the birds and look closely for things I may miss in the busyness of our days. I wish I could do that more often. Thank goodness for my digital camera, too. I am learning so much from using it. It is nice to be able to see whether or not I had enough light with a picture or whether what I pictured in my head actually came true. :)

I am off to help get these silly kids in bed. Here is to hoping we all get a great nights rest tonight. This is supposed to be another on-the-go week....you KNOW I just love that. not really.....

Enjoy the small things in life right now. Look for small signs of spring. :)

Olympics and cleaning

We had our AWANA Olympics today and Wesley and Mikayla were able to take part in it this year. They have been too young in previous years so this was a pretty neat thing for them. Overall the children did well. Wesley cracked us up a few times just hanging out and standing when he needed to be competing, but that is SO him. He is definitely not an aggressive sports person...which is OK by me. ha! Mikayla was a go-getter today. I was proud of both of them. Steve took them to McDonald's for a treat afterwards.

I didn't want to do too much this afternoon.....I'll be the first to admit that. I find on the weekends that I try to recover enough to start all over again on Monday. I almost dread Saturday nights now because I know the weekend is basically gone and Sundays go by so fast.

I did begin working on teaching the kids more ways of cleaning this afternoon. They have been vacuuming their rooms now for a month or so. It is their responsibility to clean their rooms and then vacuum them. Well, today I decided to go a step further and teach them how to clean their bathrooms. They do not do a very good job of keeping it clean during the week because they are getting ready for bed, acting silly, and getting soap and toothpaste all over the sink and faucet, which bugs me. I figured if they had to CLEAN it they would understand a little more the importance of keeping something clean for as long as they can. This will be their weekly job now. It will also help me. They did alright for their first time. I will still clean the mirror because they can't get to that, but they need to learn how to keep things neat and tidy. They are definitely old enough now to take on more responsibilities.
They both helped clean the bathrooms.... Wesley got the toilet this week and Mikayla got the sink and vanity area. Next week they'll switch. ha!! Both had to vacuum. I know one day they will LOVE looking at these pictures. hee hee :)

We had to run an errand this afternoon but before we did we stopped in the barnyard and I took a picture of the silos from a different view. I also took a picture of some of our old trees on the farm and I also found some daffodils. It was a beautiful clear day but it was a bit windy. I'll post those pictures in the next few days. Mikayla told Steve after I got out of the van "Mommy sure loves her camera, doesn't she??" Steve told her that yes, indeed, I did and that he loved me, too. I thought that was so sweet. They climbed the Magnolia tree that I used to climb as a child. They didn't go up too high but Steve tried to. That was quite humorous. :) He said he wants to climb all the way to the top. I used to do that...don't know if I have it in me to do that now. ha!!!

We went out to eat with Mom and Daddy tonight. We went to a local seafood restaurant. While the food was fine, it didn't match what we eat when we go see Steve's Dad and Step-Mom. (I know y'all are reading and will chuckle when you read that!!) It was nice being with Mom and Daddy, though.

Now that we are home it seems that Wesley is not well. He has complained of his throat hurting at night and we figured it was because of his snoring at night. (He has had a cold that won't go away and with his nose being stopped up he has trouble breathing...therefore, the snoring. It is quite cute to hear...) Anyway, Steve checked his temp tonight and it is a lowgrade fever. I think he probably has strep. We're going to see about getting him checked out tomorrow. My brother is coming back from Mexico so this will make our day even more interesting. We'll see how the night goes. I really hope he gets to feeling better....

I guess I had better get going for now. You never know what a night will hold.

Bubbles..a simple pleasure

What a way to end a week....a bubble bath. ha! How cute is this? Wesley had asked me this morning if he could have a bubble bath this evening....don't know where he got that from but I thought it wasn't too bad of an idea. They have never really had one. Baths are for getting in and out of the tub because we never have time to just play. I wasn't going to let them both be in the tub at the same time, but I began thinking....they are twins for goodness sake!! They had the BEST time playing in there. While I was downloading these pictures into the computer I heard the most laughter and silliness in there. It made it all worth while. Wesley said "This is the BEST night EVER!" That made me smile. I want them to have special memories like this and not have such a wild, crazy and scheduled life so much that they miss out on those simple pleasures in life. It was so fun. :)

I needed their silliness tonight. Today was such a "wipe you out" kind of day. I had a child get sick in the classroom and it was interesting to juggle all that went on at the same time...it was almost comical. The day wasn't a horrible one...just off a bit and I had to get us back on track. I was glad when the end of school came.

Steve built a fire tonight...it is getting colder and colder out there. It feels REALLY cold today compared to yesterday's near 80 degrees! It was a beautiful day, though. I know these will be some of the last fires until the fall and I want to cherish them. I can't be having a fire in the fireplace in the middle of summer unless Steve turns down the air conditioning so low it will cause frost to grow on our cheeks. ha!! :)

I am off to go find me a simple pleasure after we get these bubbled up monkeys in bed. It may be a cup of hot chocolate or it may just be to chill out on the couch. Whatever it is, I am sure I will be enjoying it. You all find you a simple pleasure to enjoy today. :) :) :)

Marching into spring...

NO...this is not what is on the outside of my house today. No...it was close to 80 degrees today!!!!! This was from our last snowfall we have received of any value....the day after Christmas 2004!!!!!!!! I figure since it is now March my desire for snow might as well be thrown out the window and I need to start looking forward to spring. I found this picture as I was scanning through some of my pics on the computer and figured that I at least got to show ONE picture of snow on my blog even though it was from a LONG TIME AGO. There...I am not bitter about it...hee hee...

Well, you have missed me, huh??? :) As you know...life is ridiculously crazy.

Steve came home on Sunday. He was actually home when we got home from church because it was raining so much they couldn't play their last game. We were glad, though. We all were so excited that he was home. :) Mikayla told him he couldn't go off like that again because she missed her WHOLE family being together. I thought that was so sweet. :) I did miss my man, though. He is a wonderful one!

We've been seeing some pretty sunrises in the morning as we go over the lake. The kids have even started noticing them lately. It has been quite cute when they comment on them. I still want to stop in the middle of that bridge and take some pictures...but I know that would be quite dangerous. I haven't taken many pictures in the last couple of weeks....I know that is shocking. BUT...with no snow and with spring coming but not yet here officially I don't have a lot of things I am wanting to capture right now. I have seen some daffodils by the sides of the roads, but I can't stop there either. lol

I went by my uncle's farm the other day and it is still there, but they have put a "TOWNHOMES COMING SOON" sign out by the road. That broke my heart to see that and I teared up again. I really am going to have a hard time when all of it comes down.

Well, off to do homework. Steve is having to work late tonight so I have lots to do. I'll try to do better about my blogging in the next days!!!