I'm Hooked!

Got the Twilight 4-book series from L.S. for Christmas. Loving it!

Happy Birthday, Teri!

Happy Birthday Sister-in-Law. We LOVE YOU!!!!

One Happy Mama!

Always Listen to Your Father

I had a blow out in my kitchen last night. Water literally running out from under the sink onto the floor.

So, do not ever, under any circumstances, stuff ALL of the potato peels into the garbage disposal at one time and turn it on with the water running full blast.

And that's all I'm going to say about that!

Our Creche

Tis the Season

A Tradition in the Making

O.S. brought his camera and tri-pod over. We FINALLY got a pic of all of us at once!

One Little Mishap

O.k., so things didn't start out so good on Thursday morning.

I put the unwrapped turkey in the sink for a last minute thawing session and ran the sink over.

Wouldn't you think the water would've just gone into the other sink?

No matter. We had 18 people. (1 newborn and one yet-to-be-born)

It was a wonderful day. The only problem with being the hostess is one cannot be everywhere at once.

But, thanks to O.S.'s fiancee we got it all done and were ready when everyone got here.

Here's the pre-dinner snack table.

The Very Short Discussion

A day or two before Thanksgiving I was talking to my sister. We were discussing who was bringing what, etc., and making plans. Hubby and I hosted Thanksgiving.

Out of the blue she says, "I'm saying Grace."

Without a micro-second's hesitation I said, "Oh, no you're not! I'M saying Grace. But don't worry, I'll be sure to include all the things YOU have to be thankful for too."

It got real quiet.

For what felt like a LONG time.

Then I said, "Or we could BOTH say Grace."

Mind you, this is my one and only sister. She is less than a full year older than me. We are as close as two people can possibly be. (But truth be told, she always 'ran the show' so to speak when we were growing up.)

But, to make a short story shorter, she conceded.

Like a good big sister should.

I LOVE YOU BIG-SISTER-OF-MINE!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

My Dad made us all one of these. I decided since he matches my centerpiece and Fiestaware, I'd put it all in the pic!

The Colors of Fall

I absolutely LOVE the colors of Fall.

Scarlet Red, Shamrock Green, Tangerine Orange, and Sunflower Yellow.

Two of my wonderful co-workers got this centerpiece for us, as a housewarming gift.

Long story, but I've decided I want some COLOR in our house so these are the colors I've chosen.

I've even started a collection of dinnerware in these colors! Goofy, aren't I?

G Got One!

O.k., people.

Apparently this is something that makes a hunter very happy.

G got home last night and says, "Come on honey! Come and see him!" I was in my jammies and in bed but G was so excited! So, out we go to the garage.

The WHOLE darn deer was in the back of the SUV. Gutted, thank goodness. Ewwwwwwwwww.

G quartered it and did whatever else one does to prepare it for the butcher, while I was at work today. We're taking it to Yoder's (surprised at THAT name?) to be processed. They will make it into the BEST beef sticks . . . ummhhhh . . . I mean deer sticks!

The back straps are in the freezer. That's supposed to be the best part, or so I've been told.

I never thought I'd like deer meat, but it is one of the leanest meats I've ever eaten. And it's fresh. No steroids or whatever.

G wants to have the head and rack mounted. Sheesh! Do you know how much that costs? So, I said, "How many deer heads do you need?" Turns out he needs at least two. Already has one.

But, he loves it so much.

And fishing.

And golfing.

November 5th 2008

This is a very special day for me and one 'Long Awaited'

It's O.S.'s last official day of active duty in the U.S. Army. And although he is still committed to 3 years of inactive Reserves, I don't think we need to worry about a return to Iraq.

When he called me 5 years ago to tell me about his enlistment, I must be honest.....Iraq was the first thing that came to my mind.

But a worry no more.

For that I thank the Lord.

Sweet and No-So-Sweet

O.S. and his Fiancee.

L.S.'s pumpkin carving.

Chili, Cornbread, and the Ohio State Game

The chili's on and so is the count down. Fun, fun!

Fall Chores

Somehow 'we' don't work as hard as 'we' USED to! G is behind this and loving every minute!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Friday night was girl's night.

G had to work early Saturday morning.

We girls got up and were drinking coffee when he got home.

He walked in with these and heard, in complete, spontaneous unison.....

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"

Wordless Wednesday

Coat of Paint #4

I know what it is like to start a project like Mandy's and get a little frustrated part of the way through. We got the primer/paint on the entire kitchen only to find out it's too light. I chose antique white and it's not 'almond' enough. It, is, however better than the design we covered. Just a little blinding.

Gotta get another gallon and apply coat #4 of a more appropriate color.

Not sure if that's going to happen this weekend though. It's going to be WAY too nice not to go out for a drive and back to Amish country.

Just out of curiosity...do you all think it's going to be a more bright and colorful Fall this year than the two past years? I hope so.

Jayden Daniel

The Baby is Here and My Dad's Come Home!

Jayden Daniel has been born!

First baby in our (my) family in 25 years. I can't wait to see his picture to see if his little face looks like his Dad, my nephew. Who said to me one day in the somewhat recent past, "I'm your son from another Mother". Because he and O.S. share the same first name and were born only 4 months apart. And his Mom and I are as close as two people can get.

And my Dad came home today!

How good can a person's life get?

I also JUST made the deadline to register for the Presidential election. October 6th was the last day to register and my registration was postmarked THAT day. Hope that counts when it gets to Columbus. You DO all realize that Ohio is a very pivotal state when it comes to the election, yes?

I just don't know if I could be any more thankful than I am right now.

More Good News!

I told you this was going to be a 'positive' blog.

I think my Dad will be coming home from the hospital this weekend. We should know for sure tomorrow. He will still have a bit of outpatient physical therapy, but we all expected that.

AND O.S. and his fiancee found a nice duplex about two streets over from us. The Military has been storing their belongings, which are to be delivered Friday afternoon (I think).

Have you ever felt so blessed you don't know if you deserve it? (I'd really like to know what Chros thinks about that thought. I've been feeling it alot lately)

How Did THAT Get There?

First Full Weekend at Home

G put mini blinds on (6) windows and I hung curtains. This is the front door/entry way.

I LOVE Country Curtains. My Mom has them in her whole house. (Country Curtains is the actual name of the company). I think I have enough from the other house to do the back door and the den and office.

This is so fun!

Look What I Found!

I found this beautiful glassware in the basement. It's so much prettier than the pictures depict.

I can't wait to use it at Thanksgiving!

Two Great Pieces of News!

First and foremost, my Dad's double knee replacement is done! It took about three hours (I think) and then a couple of hours in Recovery. When we got there to see him, he was sitting up eating and talking like he'd never had surgery! (Thank the Lord) Well, he was a tiny bit pale, but all in all he was so much more alert than I ever suspected he would be. I thought he'd be all drugged up. But, physical therapy starts tomorrow morning. Can you believe that?

Secondly, we are completely out of the apartment...it has been cleaned and we are turning in the keys tomorrow!

Moving Day

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are wonderful!

They are in the other room working their hiney's off helping us move while I'm in here blogging away. They saved the day because they brought a dolly to help us move all the big stuff like the fridge, sofa sleeper and the other pain-in-the butt stuff.

And also brought the very 'special gift' above.

O.k., gotta run . . . . G's breaking out the grill for the first time. We're having Angus Burgers!

We Are In!

Lots more to do, but tonight's our first night in our new house. We brought our kitty over today. She doesn't know how to act. Sooooooooo much room!

50's Retro Walls

Here's what the (2) remaining walls in the kitchen look like. Wouldn't YOU want to paint this?

The Kitchen

I tried to get a picture of the 50's retro walls yesterday, but my camera's batteries were dead. I'll try again today. We got the first coat of primer on 2 of the walls yesterday and will put primer coat #2 on today. Followed, hopefully, by the paint.

One of the great things about moving is . . . you can get rid of all the JUNK. We have a dumpster here, at our apartment, and you can bet we'll be taking advantage of that over the next week or so. And you can also clean the place you're moving into from the inside out while it's empty. Speaking of that, my hands are a wreck! But, it's all good. L.S. asked me why I don't wear gloves. I told her because you can't clean as well with gloves on. I'm not sure if she understood or not. She'll never know. All she did was keep me company and hand me cleaning supplies. LOL

Not really . . . she's helping us paint. And I'm glad of that. She's a perfectionist. She told me I was putting it on too thick. Had to get G involved. Which was a good thing. The man can reach the darn ceiling from the floor!

New Home

Let's just say it's exactly what we were looking for . . . and MORE!

• It's a little 1.5 story cape cod with two dormers . . . one in each of the two upstairs bedrooms
• 3 car garage / cement driveway (garage door openers!)
• BIG back yard (1/2 acre) - with deck (that needs power washed and stained and needs a railing added)
• Formal living room and dining room (because of the next entry...the house wasn't built that elaborately)
• Office and den (we are converting the 2 lower level bedrooms that are adjoined with access between)
• Neutral carpet (getting cleaned by the seller) and walls throughout
• New fridge, stove, dishwasher, and microwave
• New tilt in windows throughout
• Washer and dryer
• 2 full bathrooms (the upper level bathroom needs updated badly...it has the 60's thing going on)
• Central air

We are having the kitchen and bathroom floors replaced with vinyl flooring, and are having the office and den recarpeted. We get that estimate Monday.

The kitchen needs repainted. The wallpaper is 50's retro and UGGGGLLLYYYYYY. We've got the primer and paint ready to go, though.

But the main thing is.......I DON'T HAVE TO SCRAPE MY CAR OFF THIS WINTER!

Full basement too, but that's a whole 'nother story (needs lots of work)

We want to get a lot of things done before our families see it, though, so be patient with us as far as invitations go. And, thanks for understanding, family members!

New Homeowners!

We closed on our house yesterday! More to follow.

My Dad's double knee replacement surgery is the 29th. Two surgeons. Interesting, eh?

Home for Good!

Our son, and his fiance arrived home for good last night! What an overwhelming set of wonderful emotions. I just sat there looking at him thinking, I've got my son back!

Our Faith in the Lord and His protection of our soldier got us here.

God is good!

A New Beginning

This blog is for my friends and family. Those that supported me during the trying times of the past (5) years. It will be about the happy times in life we all take so much for granted. And the life lessons it took to get there. So, please feel free to comment and share YOUR happy times!