Flowers

I love it when the rhododendron bloom!

They just started this past weekend -

so not in full bloom yet.

All the hanging baskets were from the kids

for Mother's Day.

Can't look at the rhododendrons without thinking about
my dad. He always checked them out -
they are the state flower of West Virginia.

Making Brownies

Yesterday I had the honor of

having Megan and Charlotte with me.

We needed to make brownies for

a gathering we were having today.

Megan was thrilled - and of

course wanted to help!

Megan put in the water and oil

and I got away with doing the eggs

myself - even though Gma Shirley

lets her crack the eggs.

Megan was more than ready

to help with the clean-up!

And she was a great "cleaner-upper"!!

(I know, raw eggs are a no-no -

but just this time - she'll live!)

After dinner she was very quick
to say "BROWNIES NOW!!"

So then I got to make more
brownies for the gathering today.

It was worth it to experience
Megan's love of helping!

Megan & Charlotte - picture day!

Today Kari took Megan & Charlotte

for their pictures.

Megan will be 4 in mid-August

and Charlotte is 9 months now.

Megan and Charlotte

are the oldest and the

youngest of our granchildren.

We are truly blessed with

these 5 little monkey's!!

Enjoying Disney!

Both Michelle & Mark

and

Kim & Dave took

a family vacation to Orlando.

They didn't think they would see

each other while there but

it worked out that they were

both visiting The Magic Kingdom

on the same day!

Michelle, Mark, Sydney & Kaitlyn
Kim, Dave & Karsten

Kaitlyn makes a face as she awaits dinner.
Disney is a great place to go
when you have food allergies -
they take special care with the foods.

Kaitlyn shows off her little Princess dress.

Syndey dressed in her Belle dress.

Sydney with Cinderella.

Sydney with her Fairy Godmother

at Bippity Boppety Boutique.

Sydney with Cinderella.

Sydney told Cinderella that

they had on matching dresses!

Kaitlyn checks out Prince Charming.

Sydney and Karsten at Disney.

Only about 95 degrees - and these

kids look hot too!

Kaitlyn shows off one of her

bathing suits back at

their vacation house pool.

Kaitlyn shows off her new shoes!

Kaitlyn enjoying the pool.

Mark, Kaitlyn & Sydney enjoy the pool.

Seeing all this fun makes me

realize - hey I need a vacation!

;-)

Happy Birthday Steve!

Happy Birthday Steve!

Can't believe that 31 years ago we

had our only son!

All 8 lb. 2 oz. and 20 1/2 inches of you!

At one day old you managed to

hang onto the isolette that you slept

in and dump it all over the hospital

room - and in those days it meant

you had to have a whole new

sterilized bed and accessories!

And then you really showed everyone

who was boss by peeing all the

way up to the ceiling!

Many fun times to remember over these

years - and the funny ones are

always good ones to repeat time after time!

How about the time when you were 3 or 4

and REALLY wanted to eat 6

slices of pizza! Why was I not

a smart mom and just sliced the pizza

slices in smaller slices??

Afterwards you ate you walked right

into your shag carpeted bedroom and

puked up all 6 slices of that pizza!

How about the time you and Jimmy

were playing and you put your arm

though the storm door? That was NOT

a funny time! Freaked this young

mom out!!

It seemed you were so bored in church - and

acted as though you were never listening.

But you fooled us - there were times

as the pastor began the sermon that

you would lean over and tell us the

whole "story" before the pastor even got

into it.

We loved you then - we love you now!

We were proud of you then - we are proud of you now!

Hugs to you today and always!

Easter - April bdays

We are just an hour away from

April 12, 2009.

This is Easter Sunday.

He is Risen! Hallelujah!!

This is Kim's birthday - 36 this year!

Happy Birthday - we love you so much

and are so proud of the woman and

mother you are!

We will also celebrate Steve's 31st

birthday too! Just can't say enough

great things about our only son.

We look forward to celebrating with

our family on this special day -

and hopefully will post a few pictures

in the next few days.

The grandkids will have a special

surprise tomorrow - of course they

will get a little gift from Grandma and

Grandpa - and when they look into

the back yard they will find a

trampoline! Our neighbors had one

that had hardly even been used and the

cage was still in the box. They no longer

had any use for it and thought of the kiddies!

Russ and I worked about 5 hours to

get the cage up on it! Yikes!! Hope

they enjoy this along with their

swing set!

Tomorrow also brings some reflections and

sadness. We lost my mom 10 years ago on

April 12, 1999 - Kim's 26 th birthday. Hated

calling her that morning saying Happy Birthday

honey - and this is not going to be a good one

for you. And then having to call Michelle

when she was away on a business trip. Russ

broke the news to Steve and Kari. Even after

10 years I still see things and think I have to

call Mom and tell her about this. She was a

great Mom - and I won't forget - and I

don't think my kids will ever forget the

sacrifices she made for her family!

God is good!!

Happy Birthday Russ!

Happy Birthday to my dear

hubby, Russ!

60 looks great on you!

We enjoyed a fun evening tonight -

dinner at Nick's 22nd Street

with all the kids and grandkids.

They put us in the back room and

the grandkids were able to move

around some without disturbing

others. We had a great dinner,

had a time of presents and

singing Happy Birthday too.

I am so thankful that God has

blessed our years together.

Russ is a great guy and I

am so blessed to be his wife!

Happy Birthday to Karsten & Mark!

How blessed we are to celebrate

2 more birthdays today!!

Karsten is 3 now!

He loves his collection of

Thomas the Train

and anything with wheels.

He is learning the joys of

wearing big boy underwear too!

Mark is enjoying an evening

of birthday celebration with

Sydney, Kaitlyn & Michelle.

Sydney is sure that balloons are

a requirement for birthdays now!

Recently Michelle celebrated a

birthday too - but we were

in FL on a business trip

and did not have access to a computer

then!

We are blessed to have Mark & Karsten

& Michelle in our family!

Off and Running...

Russ and I are off and running!!

We are headed to Florida!

Have some business to attend to -

but will enjoy seeing lots of

family and home renovations!

And some

SUNSHINE!!

Something we don't see much of

during the winter months

in Michigan!

Everyone take care!!

Vote!!

Please Vote!

Not at your polling place -

but this time on your computer!

Click on the link below and

vote for

St. John Hospital Detroit

for a Fun Center for

the Pediatric area

from Colgate!

You can vote once a day through

the end of February!

This is the hospital where

Kari works.

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/show-the-love.cvsp

Thanks for your votes!

This is just one more way YOU can

make a difference in someone's life!

A recipe to try!

Here is a recipe I thought you may enjoy.....now you KNOW that I didn't make it!! Kari made this recently and brought me a little sample - YUM!

Greek Pastitsio

SERVES 6 (change servings and units)

Ingredients
8 ounces bucatini pasta or ziti pasta
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried mint flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup parmesan cheese


Directions
1 Cook macaroni; drain, and return to pan.
2 Stir in the melted butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup milk, and the egg; set aside.
3 In a a skillet or large saucepan, cook ground beef and onion until meat loses its pinkness and onion is soft; drain excess fat.
4 Stir in tomato sauce, the 1 teaspoon salt, mint flakes (if used), cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; set aside.
5 In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter, then mix in flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
6 Slowly stir in the 2 cups milk, stirring well after each addition so that no lumps form.
7 Cook and stir on medium high until cream sauce starts to thicken; stir for one minute more, then remove from heat.
8 Beat egg in a small bowl, then pour into cream sauce, stirring briskly.
9 Blend in the 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.
10 Layer half the pasta mixture in a 11" x 7" (or 2 quart) baking dish.
11 Spoon the meat mixture evenly on top, then the remaining pasta.
12 Pour cream sauce over top, to cover completely.
13 Bake, uncovered, at 350F for about 40 minutes, or until hot and lightly browned.
14 Let stand for 10 minutes.

Happy New Year - 2009!

From all of us

to all of you...

Happy New Year!!

May God bless you!

Merry Christmas 2008

From our house

to your house....

We wish you a very

Merry Christmas

and a

blessed New Year!

Just a little snow!

We were blessed with a beautiful snow storm today!

Probably about a foot of snow.


This was not a fun walk out to the mailbox!
Looking at it is great - driving not so much -
but especially not fun walking in it!
Good cardio workout though - so
I shouldn't complain!

A look up Jewell Road to the north.

This is one of the evergreens back by

the pond - love the look of the snow

weighing them down!

A Visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus

We were so blessed to have

Santa and Mrs. Claus stop

by and visit with us tonight.

Here are Megan, Karsten & Sydney

doing a group sit with Santa.

They had already sat with Santa

and told him something they would

like to receive on Christmas morning.

Santa read the kiddies a story too -

it was about the First Christmas.

They heard the story of Jesus' birth

and were told that Santa is not

the reason for Christmas.

Not that they understood yet -

but they will!

This is Dave, Kim & Karsten with Santa & Mrs. Claus.

Michelle, Mark, Kaitlyn & Sydney with

Santa & Mrs. Claus.



Rich, Kari, Megan & Charlotte
enjoy sitting with Santa & Mrs. Claus too.

The kids were excited to see Santa -
and even gave him some carrots to feed
Rudolph and the other reindeers.
Santa & Mrs. Claus led us in a song -
Santa Claus is coming to town.
Later they led us in a round of
Happy Birthday to Kaitlyn too.

Santa brought each of them some pj's and
a little toy. These little ones are so
blessed!!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn - Dec. 2

Happy 1st Birthday to Kaitlyn!


What a cutie she is!

Here is Kaitlyn posing with

big sister Sydney.

Cannot believe a year has passed

since Kaitlyn was born!

Kaitlyn just spent her first night away

from mommy and daddy this past weekend.

What a trooper she was - woke about 1 a.m.

and grandpa went to rescue her. She was

looking at him like what are you doing with me??

When she saw grandma she jumped for me!

After a few minutes she was ready to go back

to bed. Good thing - grandma needs

her beauty sleep! ;-)

We are all looking forward to the

family gathering in honor of Kaitlyn's

big day - and won't she be surprised

when Santa and Mrs. Claus join in her party!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a great Thanksgiving this has been!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner

with all our kids and grandkids.

We are so very blessed!

As Thanksgiving Day draws to a close

I'd like to remind everyone to try make

a difference in someone's life.

There are so many people hurting

today - physically, emotionally,

spiritually, financially - the

list goes on and on.

We have an opportunity at our church

to assist folks in our area in providing

their kids with a few Christmas gifts.

As I attend gymnastics with our

granddaughters Megan & Sydney I

see a list there of families they are

trying to assist - heartbreaking stories!

Maybe you can do a little to help

someone out! If you want to

help someone and don't know of

anyone - please give me a shout and

I will try to direct you - we do know

some single mom's and also some

single dad's who could use a helping

hand. And of course the Tree in

our church for helping with some

local families too.

We thank God for our many blessings,

and we hope that our attemps to bless

others is pleasing in His sight!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

39 Years!

Russ and I were married

39 years ago today!

Wow, I really am

amazed at how fast those years

have gone by!

Yes, we were "babies" when

we got married - just

18 and 20 years old!

I asked him recently if he

wanted to do a cruise for

our 40th anniversary

(I figure why wait for 50 -

my folks did and then mom

passed away just 4 months too early).

He said no. Not in the greatest

mood that day I guess because

who in their right mind would

say no to a cruise!! ;-)

I told him then that the celebration

planning was now in his court.

Ha ha - we will see what happens

next year!

He has been as special to me

as I have been to him -

God Blessed us both and

we are grateful!

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

You know Who is coming soon!

We are quite excited that both

Santa and his wife will be

coming to visit with the

grandkids early next month!

Hope they enjoy this visit as

much as their parents did

when they were kiddies!

Baby, it is getting cold....

Fall is here - that is acceptable news

Winter is coming - brrr...I am not ready!

Got a call today from friends in the UP of

Michigan. They were expecting a half

a foot of snow today with more tonight

and more tomorrow. Yuk! Just

not ready for those thoughts!

Went to dinner this evening with

friends Laura and Gaylon.

Afterwards we went back to their

house to continue our chatfest.

Laura has been off on medical

leave and is back now working

parttime. While off she took up

her old hobby of knitting and crocheting.

How cool - she made a scarf for me!

No one has ever made me a scarf!!

I love it and look forward to wearing it!

Another old friend was in town this

past week - Jill. I didn't get to see her

though. She was in town for the funeral

of her former mother-in-law.

Will have to catch up with you next

time Jill!

We will be going to the Pistons game

Sunday evening. Maybe we will

get some pictures of Hooper! ;-)

Sure won't be getting any of Sydney's

favorite player - Chauncie Billups!

She calls all of the players Chauncie!

Maybe she will start calling them

all Iverson now. lol