A good laugh

Madie came home today with a baby that she had to "take care of" for her health class. This doll 'simulates' what it is like to have a real baby to take care of (not really). Whenever the baby cries this annoying cry, Madie has to quickly run over and plug in a key that is tied to her wrist into the baby's back and hold it there until it makes another annoying noise to let you know that it is pacified. The last time it took almost a half hour- Madie was thoroughly annoyed and I had to supress my laughter watching her face. She ground her teeth and said words like, "this is the most annoying, stupid piece of plastic!" The bad part is you have to hold it there because the computer in the doll will record that the baby was not "taken care of". I'm enjoying the fact that Madie will have to "get up" with the doll during the night, and she'll have to carry it on the bus tomorrow morning in it's carseat.

Happy New Year!

I'm not very good at this posting thing...it has been quite awhile since I have sent anything. I do want to share one of my sweetest blessings that took place late in November of "08". I had the privilege of flying over to Virginia to help Wendy with all the preparations in getting to deliver little Penny. It was a very busy time and Grandma quickly learned the routine "stuff" in taking care of Ally and Sam. The kids were patient with me as I learned the ropes...even when I got lost using the GPS trying to get to the mall with the kids. We got stuck in rush hour traffic going the wrong direction and I was a bit tense. Finally, after an hour of driving, Ally said "Sammy, I think Grandma is lost!" Sam replied, "I think we need to put her in jail with the bad guys!" (he was forever cracking me up with hilarious little things that only a 3 yr. old can come up with. You should hear him pray! It is hard to keep a straight face!) Needless to say, by the time I got back to Wendy's house I was almost in tears and I found out that the Mall was only about 8 minutes from their home- hmmm. Technology is a bit distressing for me :( I loved taking care of the kids and hanging out spending time with Wendy and Rey and helping Wendy prepare for the holidays. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I was surprised by beautiful flowers Nolan wired me for my birthday that same weekend. I loved my time there and I thoroughly LOVED with my grandkids. Welcome to our family sweet Penny!!!

Here we are in Washington DC enjoying the sights. The weather, for the most part, cooperated wonderfully and it wasn't too miserably humid. Our only disappointment was the American History museum was closed for renovation until this fall!

I know I am late in publishing these pictures, but I am new to this whole blog thing...and Madie had to show me how to add pics. (Don't laugh) In late July Nolan and I took Madie and Katelyn to Virginia to visit Wendy, Rey and their kiddies. It was a way awesome trip...we had so MUCH fun! Here we are at the Outer Banks area at the beach. Us girls had just gotten a proffesional pedicure...see if you can tell which feet are mine! :)

A new venture for me

I thought I would venture into something totally unknown for me. As my kids will verify, I am completely illiterate when it comes to technical stuff... so taking this on to learn to do is completely new territory for me. One of the things I've learned from my nursing is, when something new and downright intimidating is facing you, just pause, take a deep breath and jump in with both feet! I've found from personal experience that it is never as bad as you've made it up to be in your mind - food for thought with life. I married my "knight in shining armour" 30 years ago. We've enjoyed many sweet and tender memories as we've settled into the rigors of life. We've grown much together during the years raising our daughters on our family farm. The sweat, the tears, and mostly the laughter, have filled the walls of our home with joyful memories to cherish forever. Nolan and I are at an interesting time in our lives. We're not quite "empty nesters", but close. Madison, our fourteen year old reminds us all the time that we are "boring" and that we need to do some more exciting "stuff". I wanted to create this blog, one, to learn something new, and two, because I wanted to share all the "fun stuff" my other girls are doing that have moved away- for all of you that care to know. You see, I'm all about family...they are the single most important part of my life...they are what keeps me going and motivating me to do better. My sweet husband Nolan, and my five daughters have supported me throughout the years encouraging me to excel. They've been my anchor, the quiet voices in my head reminding me to never give up. So you see, life is good and I wanted to share some of that with you good people.