One Week!

Have you ever had that feeling where you plan and plan for an event and then you suddenly find yourself in the middle of it?

I felt that way at the birth of all three kids - after 9 long months of anticipation I suddenly was in labor and there was no turning back. Kind of like being strapped in a roller coaster and heading up the hill - knowing whatever lies ahead you were going to have to face.

As Brian and I were sitting at Joel's basketball tournament in Richmond on Tuesday I had that same feeling. We had known about this tournament since the beginning of the school year and now here we were.

Even more surreal to me was knowing that the next time I would feel that feeling would be at the wedding - just ONE week away.

Can you believe it?

(This picture has NOTHING to do with this post. Ha ha.

It is just another beach picture I wanted to share.)

For the FIRST time in my life I took four dresses into the fitting room and . . .

ALL four fit and I liked ALL of them!

After much parading around outside the JCPenney dressing room, it is settled.

I have my dress!

What I like about my dress in bullet form.

• It has sleeves. Therefore, there will be absolutely no arm jiggle going on.
• It has rouching - rouching is good, very good.
• It is very comfortable to wear. There should be no tugging and pulling. If I do it will be simply out of habit and not necessity.
• It doesn't make me look old. At least I don't think it makes me look old. Please humor me and tell me it doesn't make me look old.
• There is absolutely NO beading. I am not ready to wear beading. Beading=postmenopausal status.
• It is in a nice color that will blend in well with the wedding party. The last think I want to do is stand out like a sore thumb.
• Brian went "Oh ya!" when he saw it - enough said! At that point it didn't even matter if it was on sale.

Crunch Time . . .

So far this week:

Megan and I met with Pastor Z. and walked through the ceremony;

We also meet with Mr. M. regarding the reception - Wow! There's a lot of tables and chairs to move!;

Megan and Adam picked up their wedding bands;

We finally decided on tonight for the boys to get measured for their tuxes;

We gave the flowers to Mrs. P. - and we were promptly informed that we don't have "nearly enough flowers" for a bouquet;

Megan talked to Aunt Carol and emailed cake pictures to her;

Megan had the final, final fitting on her dress;

We found out Emily's dress does fit!! Yay!!;

Megan and Adam got their marriage license;

We purchased ALL of the reception paper products;

We FINALLY mailed all - well, almost all of the invitations;

I tried on 4 potential mother of the bride dresses;

I started a crash diet.

All of this was done in addition to -

Having an AWESOME Christmas cantata and Christmas Dinner on Sunday;

Surviving a winter storm;

Going to one away basketball game;

Working;

Grocery shopping;

Starting a crash diet and actually sticking to it;

Cooking;

Laundry;

Cleaning.

Who am I kidding - those last three things never happened!

Wedding plans in a nutshell . . .

We interrupt this wedding planning for a trip to FLORIDA!!!!!!

Let me just begin by saying, I know it is not all about me -

BUT I NEEDED this trip - I NEEDED the beach!!!

Thanks to Joel's hard work along with the hard work of his fellow basketball team members and coaches, Joel's team was invited to a basketball tournament in Florida - where they finished in second place!

Thank you, Joel!

Brian was more than amazing to me on this trip! He went out of his way SOOOO many times to make sure that I had time on the beach!

He even risked getting chewed out by an armed military guard at midnight - just to get me to the beach that first night! Thankfully the guard was nice and instead of shooting us politely showed us where to turn around and gave us directions to the PUBLIC beach!

But two days of driving . . . two days on the beach . . . three INTENSE basketball games later . . . we are back in the thick of wedding planning!

Wedding plans in a nutshell -

Wedding Dress: Alterations are complete - Megan will be trying on the finished dress TODAY! Veil is in the works. Need: head piece to go with veil.

Bridesmaid Dresses: Everyone has a dress - except Emily. Talking about it makes my ulcer hurt.

Tuxes: Picked out - my boys just need measured before 12/20. Decision to be made: Does Brian want to wear a tux or buy a new black suit?

Sanctuary Decorations: Fortunately this was easy - the church will be decorated. Just some minor rearranging will be needed. I am in LOVE with the unity candle Megan picked out!

Flowers: NOT DONE - Mrs. Parker HELP!!!!!

Cake: Thanks to Aunt Carol and Rhonda the cake is in the works - Megan just needs to look through their catalog and pick one out! Hopefully, that will not take long.

Reception Decorations: Megan and I went out on Black Friday and hit the sales at Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Old Time Pottery - everything we bought was either 50 or 70% off! What an answer to prayer!!! But that being said we still need: round table skirt, tableware, candles, candles and more candles, white Christmas lights, sand, wood . . . still a few things to get!

Pictures: Nana is in charge of pictures!

Catering: Another TOTAL answer to prayer!!! TCM's school lunch lady was also a classmate of Brian's, and I think she is really giving us a GREAT deal on catering the reception. Yummy menu!!

Hair and Makeup: Megan and her bridesmaids (besides Emily who is away at college) had a trial run with their makeup. They all looked gorgeous! Hopefully things will go smoothly the day of the wedding!

My Dress: I don't want to talk about it. Too much pumpkin pie and Christmas candy has only added to my stress with picking out a dress. The only fancy dress I have EVER worn was MY wedding dress! Oh, I have worn plenty of nice, pretty dresses in my lifetime . . . but nothing that compares to what I need for the wedding. This is a HUGE source of anxiety for me right now.

Well there are the wedding plans in a nutshell! A lot done . . . but still a lot to do!

Subtract from our remaining days:

Christmas cantata practice and performance

Every Tuesday and Friday night basketball games

Joel's school Christmas program

Christmas Eve and Christmas with everyone

Joel's Richmond basketball tournament

Helping Levi get the Pathfinder fixed, titled and plated

New Year's Eve party

Work

Megan's finals . . .

. . . there is plenty of time!!

Wedding Dress!

Do you know how hard it is to find a wedding dress with sleeves?

We met with Megan's seamstress or tailor or alterationist today . . . whatever her title is she is our lifesaver!

It was a good day today . . . a lot of progress made!

Here are some pictures that gave us inspiration . . . no peeks at the real dress until January 7th!

Reception plans . . .

Megan and I sat at the dining room table for FOUR solid hours a few days ago and plotted and planned and plotted and planned . . .

and replotted and replanned until . . . the reception was TOTALLY PLANNED!

Now the hard part . . . making, buying, and putting together all of our ideas!

Here are some pictures that gave us inspiration . . .

Thank you, Bree for this one!

There will be lots and lots of these . . .

you can't even imagine what we are going to do with these . . .

aren't these GORGEOUS!

Yes - trees . . . this is her Dad's specialty!

Wedding Update in bullet form

• Megan and Adam have their first premarital counseling session with Pastor Zemple on Thursday. I think he is more excited than they are!
• The church threw a WONDERFUL shower for Megan a couple Sundays ago! I am working on a post with pictures from this shower and the one my sister and nieces gave Megan - hope to have it soon.
• Mary, my three year old niece who is to be one of the flower girls, is not exactly excited about the wedding. Translated=she runs off crying anytime Megan's wedding is mentioned.
• On the other hand, Gracie (a/k/a three year old niece and other flower girl) seems okay with the wedding and, in fact, met James (a/k/a Adam's four year old cousin and ring bearer) and they got along fabulously!
  
• We found out that we can't get the gym to start decorating until after 5:30 pm on Thursday! Not good!
• Centerpiece ideas are coming along.

Overall, progress is being made - although probably not at the speed it should be at this point. Megan stays really busy with college and substitute teaching which doesn't leave a lot of time to work on the wedding.

Dresses

On a mission -

Megan left school on Friday and headed to the mall. Her goal - bridesmaid dresses.

Mission accomplished -

Purchased today were four bridesmaid dresses that:

1. are deep purple;
2. meet the criteria (sleeves, length, neck line);
3. come in all the right sizes;
4. were on sale (added bonus);
5. Megan and all the girls love!!!!

Colors

After flower shopping last weekend, Megan and I both concluded that adding an additional color was a necessity.

Welcome deep purple . . .

meet dark orange . . .

mossy green . . .

chocolate brown . . .

and pale yellow.

Accomplished this weekend:

1. Colors finalized.
2. Final number of bridesmaids decided.
3. Bridesmaids' bouquets purchased.
4. Color of bridesmaid dresses picked . . . and the winner is . . .

Three Months!!!

The whole reason I started this blog was to help chronicle memories - you know, kind of like keeping a journal.

Unfortunately, living this life has proven too time consuming at times to take time to journal it! Whew!!!

I wish I would have blogged about:

Joel's amazing soccer game Tuesday night where he scored two goals in less than 5 minutes!
Levi's recent car purchase where he got the DEAL OF A LIFETIME!!!! and a project to boot!
My ohmygoodnesswhathaveigottenmyselfinto situation at work.
Megan's college adventures and the fact that typing those words doesn't require me taking Zantac first.
Brian's Auto Mechanic 101 course and why he hates automobiles and would prefer we buy a horse.
My near come to fists, knock-down, drag out with my doctor! Well, I guess I made it out to be more than it really was. Imagine that! lol

Anyway . . . the point is a lot has been going on! Not to mention the fact that we are now knee deep into . . .

PLANNING A WEDDING!!!!!!

Three months! Three months!! Three months!!! THREE MONTHS!!!

Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat just thinking about it only to find Brian sitting in bed with a little short, stubby pencil crunching numbers!

Ha! Who am I kidding? Nothing keeps that man awake at night.

I have decided that these precious days need to be documented. I mean if anything is journal worthy it is the days leading up to your baby girl getting married, leaving home, and making her own little nest!

Posts will probably be short and to the point and will hopefully included pictures a long the way.

Labor Day Weekend

We had some great family time this weekend.

Here's a quick list recapping the weekend:

went through a mystery fun-house - twice
found out Joel drove in KY for the first time (we thought Levi was driving)
had a somersault competition on the hotel bed - I think I won!
toured Mammoth Cave
ate a lot of chicken
didn't eat rum cake - Aunt Dixie was still sick:(
said ya'll way too much
laughed at Levi hitting his head in Mammoth Cave - twice
made an impromptu decision to stay an extra night
cringed when Joel splattered a cherry limeade from Sonic ALL over the hotel room
worried as Megan and Levi made the 4 hour trip down by themselves
missed Scooby - Ok, maybe I was the only one who missed Scooby!
oohed and ahhed over a bunch of new babies
listened to Brett preach from the back of the wagon
watched Star Wars while piled together on the king-size hotel bed
relished our time with the kids
enjoyed seeing family

What more could you want?

Ginger

Ginger and Me.
c. 1973

Dog Days of Summer

Praise God for the break from the heat!
Scooby thinks it's even cool enough
to snuggle under a blanket!

Family Tradition

One of our family's favorite things to do is to lie out on the trampoline at night and look at the stars.

Yes, we do have cable, a Wii, and the internet - but still this is one of our favorite past-times.

You might say we live simply here in the woods.

Star gazing is something we have done for several years. Hope and Adam have even joined on us occasion. Kind of a rite of passage thing.

We have laid out under the stars in the dead of winter wrapped in blankets and huddled together - and like last night, we have laid out under the stars in the heat of the night fighting over who gets to lay next to Joel because the mosquitoes are drawn to his Axe body spray.

We have seen several shooting stars over the years and have had many wonderful conversations while waiting to see one. Ah, the family memories we have made.

Megan: I saw one.
Brian: That was a lightning bug.
Joel: These mosquitoes won't leave me alone.
Levi: That's because you smell like a dirty butt. Wait a minute, I think I smell like a dirty butt.
Me: You both smell like a dirty butt. Go lay next to Dad.

August is one of the best times of years to see shooting stars. The Perseids occur in August and, in fact, tonight and tomorrow night are peak nights!

This is the most famous of all meteor showers. It never fails to provide an impressive display and, due to its summertime appearance, it tends to provide the majority of meteors seen by non-astronomy enthusiasts.

This meteor shower gets the name "Perseids" because it appears to radiate from the constellation Perseus. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere can start seeing Perseid meteors as early as July 23, when one meteor every hour or so could be visible. During the next three weeks, there is a slow build-up. It is possible to spot five Perseids per hour at the beginning of August and perhaps 15 per hour by August 10. The Perseids rapidly increase to a peak of 50-80 meteors per hour by the night of August 12/13 and then rapidly decline to about 10 per hour by August 15. The last night meteors are likely to be seen from this meteor shower is August 22, when an observer might see a Perseid every hour or so.

For observers in the Southern Hemisphere, the Perseid radiant never climbs above the horizon, which will considerably reduce the number of Perseid meteors you are likely to see. Nevertheless, on the night of maximum, it is possible to see 10-15 meteors per hour coming up from the northern horizon.

There are other, weaker meteor showers going on around the same time as the Perseids, but the Perseids will generally appear to move much faster across the sky than meteors from the other showers. In fact, the Perseids are among the fastest moving meteors we see every year. Another way to know if the meteor you saw was a Perseid is to mentally trace the meteor backwards. If you end up at Perseus then you have probably seen a Perseid meteor!

Although we have watched the Perseids for several years now, we have never been able to see 10-15 meteors per hour - although that would definitely making staying up til the wee hours of the morning worth it!

Last night we saw five meteors - one large and four smaller.

Almost as exciting as seeing a meteor is seeing a satellite scoot across the sky. We even saw the space station one night. No kidding, we really did.

The plan tonight is to go to bed and set our alarms for 1 am when we will rendezvous on the trampoline in the back yard. We will then bleary-eyed stare at the sky, laugh at Dad snoring, swat mosquitoes, and enjoy being together.

Brothers

Levi is proving to be a very self-motivated and hard-working college student. He entered the program for his Associate of Applied Science in Law Enforcement this past spring.

Although frustrating at the time, I think it has worked out best that he didn't start last fall. By delaying the start of school to January, he was able to focus on working at FedEx for a few months before adding on college classes.

In my opinion (maybe it's because this is what I did - lol) working and commuting to school separates the wheat from the chaff so to speak. It's not easy doing both.

During his small two week break between summer and fall semesters, Levi wants to take advantage of his FedEx flight discounts and go on an adventure with Joel.

Those two crack me up.

They have worked out together at the YMCA most mornings all summer. Sweat must form bonds.

They were close before - but now they are pretty tight.

Levi welcoming Joel to the family.
3/24/94

Worth a thousand words

Adam recently gave Megan the okay to begin transforming his bachelor pad apartment into their new home.

Given the fact that this apartment has housed as many as four 20-something single men at a time, I was concerned that transforming it into a home - regardless of how much estrogen influence was involved - would not be possible.

Those fears were laid aside yesterday.


A barefooted, happy, and very proud Megan met us at the entrance and welcomed us inside.

There I discovered that the shared entry hallway and stairs were brightly lit, nicely carpeted, and very homey feeling. Not at all how I had imagined (discarded cigarette butts, blood from the last homicide . . . my mind tends to gravitate to the worst).

As we entered the apartment itself I breathed another sigh of relief as I breathed in air conditioned, Clorox-laced air. Megan and Adam had spent the afternoon exerting some serious elbow grease and had the place impressively clean for its debut appearance to Brian and me, Levi and Hope, and Grandma (Joel had been there one time in its previous state).

Megan and Adam both took pride in showing us their new Ikea table and chairs that Adam built with his own hands. And I envisioned Megan putting away laundry as she showed off their more than ample walk-in bedroom closet.

Paint colors have been picked.
Curtains are being planned.
Rooms are being rearranged.

A home is being made.

This picture is going to be very cathartic for me the next few months.

I will look at it when:

I am sad Megan has grown up.
I worried she is leaving the safety of our home to start her own.
I feel selfish and want to keep her little and with me.
I get frustrated with the wedding planning.
My heart hurts and misses her being three with short, curly hair.
I worry that she is not ready to be married.
I wonder if she will be happy.
I am overwhelmed and saddened by how fast life passes.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down,
and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep,
and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war,
and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:3-8

Fiestaware Update!!!

Well as it turns out Megan's dishes are the real McCoy!
Fiestaware - Turf Green!!
I am so happy for her and only slightly jealous!

Fiestaware?

Megan and Adam were given some dishes by Adam's aunt. She picked them up at the local Good Will for a pretty good price.

When Megan saw them, she thought immediately that they looked like Fiestaware but didn't think they could really be Fiestaware.


Despite the stamp, they don't match ANY color Fiestaware I have seen online. Not even any of the Homer Laughlin Riviera or Harlequin pottery.

I am totally baffled.

Are they really rare, super-collectible or are they fake?

Any ideas?

Get-Away

Last week all three kids counseled at church camp - leaving Brian and I home alone. Well, besides Scooby and the cats.

We enjoyed our week immensely. It was perfect.

We knew the kids were together, safe, and having fun - which left us to just really enjoy spending time with each other.

We went down Thursday night to see the kids at camp and then headed to Carl and Peggy's cabin. Between the pouring rain, darkness, and traveling on unfamiliar roads - the trip to the cabin itself was an adventure!

It was great the next day to head out without a real plan or anyplace we had to be. We ended up in West Baden/French Lick area where we perused some antique shops and spent some time in the West Baden Springs Hotel!

West Baden Springs Hotel is anything but ordinary—
it is an extraordinary experience.
You will be captivated once you step foot inside this
National Historic Landmark (NHL) built in 1902.
With its one-of-a-kind domed atrium spanning 200 feet, it has been called the "Eighth Wonder of the World."
Rooms rise in six tiers around the dome, and balcony rooms provide a panoramic view of the atrium.

I definitely want to go back and STAY in that hotel! Brian said maybe around Valentine's Day we could say there.

Hotdiggitydog!!!!

After supper at Red Lobster (thanks Tim and Linda!), we headed home with enough time to lie in bed and watch a movie!

It was a wonderful, romantic, peaceful, stress-less, relaxing two-day getaway!

Jadite Nightlight

How cute is this!
I found this here.

A long post about a long weekend

I love summer! The only problem is that summers go waaaaaay to quickly.

I can't believe it is already July!

Here's how our long weekend is shaping up so far.

Tonight. Friday, July 2nd - Joel drove himself to his first real high school party tonight! Hopefuly he is having a good time AND behaving himself. Brian and I are hanging out at home. We are thinking about making a camp fire, roasting some marshmallows, and laying out under the stars. Levi, Hope, Megan, and Adam are discussing the prospects of seeing fire works tonight.

Saturday, July 3rd - Most likely will be spent with last minute preparation for tomorrow's VBS.

Sunday, July 4th - Rockets, Bubbles, and the Bible. This is our traveling VBS! Sunday nights we are taking it to the parks in some of the nearby towns. Afterward we will watch fire works!

Monday, July 5th - We are going to Ikea! What is even better - we are going to Ikea as a family.

Really - all five of us are going!

We, the kids and I, have decided to re-do Brian's office/Batman room for his Father's Day/birthday present.

Our goal: the most awesome Batman room ever!!!
We are going to buy THREE of these Detolf glass door cabinets at Ikea. These will house Brian's ever-growing Batman collection and keep his many Batmans and Robins from accumulating layers of dust and Scooby hair as they currently do.

*Insert funny story here: Monday night Brian's Jeep broke down in the Walgreens parking lot. Levi stopped by on his way home from school to help. The two of them went to Auto Zone where they bought a new battery. After putting the new battery on, they went into the Auto Zone bathroom to wash their hands. It was there that they discovered they were quite the Dynamic Duo. Brian was wearing a Batman shirt (as usual) and Levi had on his Robin shirt! I wonder if the guy at Auto Zone noticed? lol

Anyway, back to the Batman room make-over.

The room will get a fresh coat of Batman blue paint and once his many Batmans and Robins are in their proper place, hopefully there will be more room for his office stuff.

Don't tell Scooby, but I think his chair is getting thrown out. It really stinks.

Actually, I don't know if I have the heart to do that. Maybe I will try to Fabreeze it one more time.

When we get back from Ikea we are having our annual 9 Fingers Fire Works Show at Brian's parents. Brian, his nephew, Blake, and Joel put this annual event on for us and are quite the showmen.

Tuesday, July 6th - Brian's 45th Birthday! Now would be an appropriate place to make jokes about him being old, but I am having a hard time finding any humor about getting older.

We have all taken the day off work to celebrate with Brian. No real plans yet. My guess is we will be washing his Batman collection and helping assemble his new cabinets!

Brian on his 23rd birthday - one month before our 1st anniversary.

I know it is cliche - but my how time flies!

Speaking of old pictures. This is me on our honeymoon.
I was 18.
I think the me of then looks a lot like the Megan of now.

Happy 4th of July!

Sunbeam Mixer

This would be awesome!

Relay for Life

Saturday 9 am - Sunday 9 am
24 hours because cancer never sleeps.

All Grown Up . . .

We shopped for a wedding dress today . . .

. . . she found the perfect dress.
But don't worry, it isn't this one.
You will have to wait until January to see it!

Samuel Robin a/k/a Sam

Pictures of a younger Sam and younger Joel and Levi too!

Too bad this picture is so blurry, but Sam is a hard one to catch for a picture.

Sam is our family's first best dog. He is about 13 years old now which makes him 74-76 in human years according to my internet research.

Here's a brief overview of Sam and his life in bullet form.

• History

Found in a box with his siblings outside of Walmart one early fall day
The box said Free to a Good Home
Original name was Adam
Had short, slick hair as a puppy
Ate at least three pairs of black dress shoes as a pup
Joel was 2 when we got him and was the only one of the kids who wasn't terrified of him - Joel would wrestle him for hours behind the dining room table
Sam caused Brian and I an extreme amount of marital conflict
When we moved to our current house, Sam became an outside dog
He carried off survey flags, 2 pair of gloves, and a hat from the man who put in our septic system
He is the best mole-hunting dog this side of the Mississippi

• Tragedy Sam has experienced:

kicked by a deer in the leg
lip busted by someone or something - He spent one whole winter on the basement couch recovering from this injury.
hit by a truck on the highway - We seriously thought he was dead! He laid on the couch for over 24 hours in a daze.
shot with a BB in the hip - He has almost recovered from this although the BB remains lodged in his hip.
the plague - I don't know what else to call this. He lost all of his hair one summer. He had red, scaly, and horribly itchy skin. This bizarre skin affliction was also accompanied with severe constipation - which is probably way TMI!

• Things Sam loves:

digging up moles
chasing butterflies
killing bees
riding in Levi's old truck
working outside with the boys
sleeping in the sunshine
the FedEx guy, UPS guy, and water company man - they all bring him treats
hotdogs
his other family
life

The retired couple that live down the road from us share Sam with us. This is really a perfect thing for all parties involved. They love Sam. We love Sam. They travel a lot and therefore can't have their own dog. We are in and out a lot during the day and appreciate all of the hotdogs, biscuits and gravy, and left overs they give Sam. And Sam loves us all!

Sam is just too good of a dog to only be loved by one family.

• Things Sam hates:

fire works
big birds
storms

Sam seriously hates storms.

Despite unfortunately going deaf this last year, Sam still somehow manages to detect a thunderstorm long before it ever thunders or lightnings. The local weather station should seriously think about hiring him.

He even can discern how serious the storm will be:

Thunderstorm - he is satisfied with laying on the floor in the middle of the basement bathroom
Severe thunderstorm - he insists on laying behind the toilet in the basement bathroom
Potential tornado - he knows the only place to be is in the shower of the basement bathroom

Sam also hates fire works.

One July he spent 72 solid hours hunkered down in a laundry hamper. You could only see his eyes peeking out.

I used really hot water to wash that load.

There is one kind of morbid theory at our house regarding Sam. It has been proposed that Sam is actually a ghost. Yes, a ghost.

It seems he can get inside when all the doors are closed - leaving no open door behind him.

Case in point - one morning Megan woke up with Sam in bed beside her.

She was very disturbed by this because Sam's last bath was 7 years ago.

He is not clean. His beard has turned into dreadlocks and he's been known to have more than one highjacking tick on his back.

I can see why Megan was upset.

Joel was once surprised to find Sam laying in a pile of clothes in the bottom of his closet. Just a dark pair of eyes peering over dirty socks and basketball shorts.

This however provided me with a good object lesson to teach Joel the dangers of having piles of clothes in the bottom of his closet.

Joel, however, wasn't nearly as grossed out as Megan was - I guess being a boy, Joel somehow understands Sam.

The crazy thing is that both times no one heard Sam come inside - no one let Sam inside - and the doors were all found to be shut behind him.

See what I mean about the whole ghost theory?

Bottom line is we love this old, dirty dog.

He is the Head of Lodge Security even though he wouldn't hurt a fly.

Just don't tell the bad guys.

Gone

We've been gone so much this week Scooby thinks he's an orphan.

Poor orphan dog Scooby - sweet puppy with no family to love him.

Sounds like the beginings of a book.

I would write it if I had time.

Mother's Day

Guess what two things are my Mother's Day presents?

Give up?

If you guessed the microwave and the nesting tea cups
from Star Bucks - you are right!!!

My kids went in together and bought me a brand spankin' new microwave.
It is black and chrome and it looks awesome in the kitchen
next to my new black stove.

Now if I only had a black refrigerator . . .
. . . just a not so subtle hint to Brian. Ha, Ha!

Brian was bidding on a Jadite batter bowl for me
but lost the bid in the last hour.
Oh well, it is the thought that counts.

BUT he did get me the super cute nesting tea cups from StarBucks!
In fact, I am drinking coffee out of one right now!

Megan made one of her famous homemade cards.
I absolutely love it.
I think she is an amazing artist and should pursue
publishing her line of people.
She captured herself and boys perfectly!

I have had a wonderful Mother's Day
because I have a wonderful family!