Friday Night

The week has flown by, even though we've done nothing at all out of the ordinary. But just living life day by day is pretty extraordinary, isn't it?

The kids want so much to play in the pool, but even though the weather has been hot, the water is still quite cold and there's been a cool breeze. They get in anyway, then shiver and shake and insist they aren't cold. :o)

Aubrey thought pouring water on Gramma's feet was fun.

Reece's latest obsession is with old Dutch windmills. We make them out of play dough, we draw them and cut them out, or Papa prints pictures of them and we cut them out, or we make them out of Duplo blocks. He sees windmills in wheels and fans and other toys. He was delighted to find windmill cookies at the store.

He first saw one in a 1937 cartoon, The Old Mill. He wants to watch it over and over, and has learned all the sound effects. He can sound exactly like the chorus of croaking frogs. And of course he knows the music and hums it constantly. He is such a funny, darling little boy.

Last night we went for a walk just at sundown. We saw fireflies and a deer. Reece was so excited! I don't know if that was the first time he's seen fireflies or not. He was the one who spotted the deer. I heard him draw in his breath, then he said, "Look, Gramma!" The deer ran, but stopped not far from us. It was dark, but we could see him silhouetted against the light. We went again tonight, hoping to see him again, but only saw the fireflies.

Aubrey was in my room earlier wearing a jester hat. I told her to get on the bed and we would take her picture with the photo booth feature. She liked acting silly and watching herself on the screen. I think she's so beautiful. She's a little pistol, though, always into things and extremely smart.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Last Easter Pics

I wanted to show you this cute little bird nest and the hollow egg with a surprise inside that Cyrise made for the kids from rice krispie treats.

The bird was on the nest, but you couldn't really see the "eggs" inside, so I put her next to the nest.

The kids were delighted with their treats, and you should have seen Reece's face when his mom "cracked" the egg and showed him the surprise inside. Too cute!

She used a muffin tin to form the bird nests, and a plastic Easter egg to form two halves of the egg. Then she put the jelly beans inside and molded the two halves together with her hands.

So simple, but so cute!

Before and After

Can you believe this sweet little girl, who looked like this in the morning...





















looked like this in the afternoon? :o)

Her big brother was pouring water from the pool into the dirt, making a perfect mud puddle for a little girl to play in. I couldn't see her, and when I went to see what she was doing, this is what I saw.

I hosed her off with the water hose after I brought her mom and daddy out to see. She didn't like that one bit.

Random Easter Pics

Easter Girls

He Is Risen!

Matthew 28

The resurrection of Christ. His commission to his disciples.

[1] And in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. [2] And behold there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. [3] And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow. [4] And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. [5] And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

[6] He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid. [7] And going quickly, tell ye his disciples that he is risen: and behold he will go before you into Galilee; there you shall see him. Lo, I have foretold it to you. [8] And they went out quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell his disciples. [9] And behold Jesus met them, saying: All hail. But they came up and took hold of his feet, and adored him. [10] Then Jesus said to them: Fear not. Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, there they shall see me.

[11] Who when they were departed, behold some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all things that had been done. [12] And they being assembled together with the ancients, taking counsel, gave a great sum of money to the soldiers, [13] Saying: Say you, His disciples came by night, and stole him away when we were asleep. [14] And if the governor shall hear this, we will persuade him, and secure you. [15] So they taking the money, did as they were taught: and this word was spread abroad among the Jews even unto this day.

[16] And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. [17] And seeing him they adored: but some doubted. [18] And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. [19] Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Happy Easter, dear friends and loved ones. He is risen, indeed!

Gina Baby

Little Gina Bean woke up yesterday while her parents were in the pool with Reece and Aubrey, and I brought her into my room and played with her on the bed.

She's usually a happy baby, and very good. And pretty. :o)

We had fun talking things over.














And then she stuck her tongue out at me! :o)

Swimming!

The kids and their daddy and mommy went swimming in the pool yesterday, for the first time this season.

Oh my, they were so excited and had a wonderful time!

Camryn and Gina were napping, so they missed out on the fun. But the summer is before us, and I'm sure they will have their turn.

Reece woke up this morning and saw these pictures on the computer, and now he wants to go swimming again.

He is all rosy from the sun he got yesterday.

Good Friday

For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross.

(Please turn off my playlist music to hear the beautiful hymn below).

Tuesday Chatter

Here's a picture of Gina from my photo booth a few days ago.

Ron is in Virginia this week, but of course with the full house we have now, it's not quiet around here. :o)

Things are going okay. We still have things that need to find a place, but slowly but surely it's getting better.

The little girls (Aubrey and Camryn) have had a hard time adjusting to the move. They just want to "go home." One day they both whined and cried all. day. long. Camryn wanted to be held every minute, but only by her mom or dad. That was the worst day. Since then things have been better. They are getting used to their new room and their new bed and being here all the time. Cammie has been smiling more and is happier.

Reece still doesn't like having everyone here, intruding on his "Gramma time." :o) Yesterday he went with me to Gran's, then we ate lunch out and went to the library. He was happy to have me all to himself for awhile.

It's hot here--supposed to get to 95 degrees today. It's already 90, so I expect it will get there. The pool pump has stopped working. Hopefully we can get it started again.

Why I Love Jesus

Angela has tagged me for the Why I Love Jesus meme.

Share five things you love about Jesus/or why you love Jesus.

Tag five other bloggers.

Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here so others can read them.

1. He convicts me.

2. He hears my prayers and pleas.

3. He forgives me.

4. He led me to His Church.

5. He loves me.

Little Miss Fashion Plate

Think she could be a contestant on Toddlers In Tiaras? :o)

She started out wearing a pair of cute turquoise shorts with that striped tank top, but got them wet playing around the spa.

I was doing laundry and she found the plaid pants in a pile of folded clothes and put them on. Later she found the hat and put that on, too. She thinks she is really stylin'. :o)

She makes my heart happy.

Big Changes Around Here!

This past weekend Josh, Cyrise and their four little ones moved back in with us. Things are topsy turvy right now, but hopefully in the next week or two everything will be in place and they will be settled in for awhile.

Josh is not working, their lease is up April 13 for their little rented house, and we are not able to continue to help them financially as we have been. So they will stay here for awhile, until they get on their feet and are able to find a bigger house they can afford. It will be quite a lifestyle change for all of us, I think.

Of course Reece was excited that Gramma's house would be his house for awhile, but he's been out of sorts, I think because he is not used to having his whole family here and my attention is divided. It will take a little time to get into a routine.

The kids have stayed here while their daddy, mommy and Papa have been moving everything. We'll spend the next couple of days cleaning and making repairs to the rental house (I'll probably babysit--that seems to be the way I can help most).

It's been like summer here, so the kids wanted to swim. The water is still too cold, really, but they would get in anyway! They are such sweeties.

Please send up a prayer for all of us as we adjust to this new living situation. I know it will be a bit stressful, but we have plenty of room and are so glad we are able to help them out.

I didn't get any pictures of Gina. She was always asleep when I had the camera in my hand. I'll post some soon, I promise. :o)

How My Garden Grows

I'm happy with the progress my container plants have made. There is a picture here of how they looked on the stairs exactly one month ago, the day after we planted them.














My Kentucky Wonder pole beans are starting to climb the poles. :o)


















All of the tomato plants have either blooms or blooms and baby tomatoes.











The cowhorn pepper has two peppers and some pretty white blooms. The first pepper just keeps growing and is now touching the dirt. I guess I should pick it. The other pepper is just above the long one.

The cubanelle pepper has some tiny little baby peppers, too. (No pic).








These are my carrots, lettuce and spinach. The spinach and lettuces are ready to harvest. I think I need to thin the carrots, but can hardly bring myself to pull any of them up! I've pulled a couple to see what they are doing, but so far they just look like white roots.

I finally planted the impatiens I bought weeks ago. Then I washed my potting bench off. You can see where the crazy puppies chewed on that planter box.

We moved these flowers to the front porch after I took this picture. I like to have my potting bench cleared off so I can use it. It's an old dresser we got from freecycle that Ron painted black for me.

Thursday Chitchat

Had a lovely afternoon out with Kelly and Gran today. Kel lives on the other side of San Antonio from us, so we often meet somewhere about halfway when we get together. Today we met at the Olive Garden near Ingram Park Mall for lunch.

Kelly treated both Gran and me to lunch--what a sweetie! It was so pleasant to sit, talk, eat and laugh with them. My favorite part of lunch at Olive Garden is the salad and breadsticks (and the peach tea). But I also had chicken scampi with angel hair pasta--yum!

The Olive Garden is near a Shepler's western wear store, so we went in there after lunch to look around. Gran worked at the Shepler's in Wichita, Kansas years and years ago for awhile. She said it smelled just the same in this one--like leather. :o) We saw lots of pretty things, but mostly liked the boots. But they were sooo expensive, even on sale!

Here are the boots I liked:

And these are the ones Kel liked:

After that we went to a nearby Garden Ridge and looked around in there. Kelly bought a few things, but Mom and I just looked. There was hardly anyone in there. When we first moved here, Garden Ridge was a huge deal. Most everyone who visited wanted to go there, and the parking lot was always packed. I'm not sure what happened, but it's not the same. They've started stocking cheap clothing items, there were tables filled with books, I didn't find any bargains in the outdoor furniture area, and lots of shelves were empty.

Ron talked to Josh earlier today and said that Reece is feeling better. He had eaten some lunch. I'm so glad he's better!

Off to water my container garden and plant some flowers.

Wednesday With Reece

Reece is sick. I can hardly stand it when he feels bad. He woke up feeling awful this morning, and stayed in bed most of the day. It's a cold, I think, but he had a fever this morning and was sleepy and lethargic all day. He doesn't like to use a tissue, but wants a warm wash cloth to wipe his nose. But he rubs so hard that he makes his upper lip and chin red!

Ron went to Gran's for me, so we didn't have to go out. We sat outside for awhile this afternoon, but he wasn't interested in playing. His daddy came and picked him up this evening. I thought he might as well stay here today while he was feeling so bad, so that he could rest and have peace and quiet. His little sisters also have had colds, but they didn't seem to feel as bad as Reece.

I'm praying they will all feel better by tomorrow (and that Ron and I won't get sick).

Gran and I will meet Kelly for lunch tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that. I have some of her grandmother's things to give Kelly--mostly jewelry and craft stuff.

If you could send up a quick prayer for my grandchildren, I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks!

Windy Monday

I spent part of Saturday afternoon going through the rest of my mother-in-law's boxes in the garage. We took some stuff over to Josh's for the last day of the community garage sale, and we took a pickup load of boxes and bags to Goodwill.

Anything that wasn't sold at the garage sale we loaded into the truck, and Josh took it to Goodwill, too. It feels good to be getting rid of so much stuff! I hope that it will be useful to someone who needs it.

I was at Josh's from 8 AM until 2 PM, then Reece and I came home. It was kind of fun to see and talk to all the different people who stopped at the garage sale.

We were going to take Reece to Mass with us again, but we messed up and didn't get there. We were out in the yard, and I said to Ron that we had to pick up Gran for Mass. He checked the time and it was already 5 PM--too late for us to get ready, pick up Gran and drive across town to the church. :o( We're still trying to adjust to daylight savings time. It always feels earlier than what the clock says.

It has been so windy that some of my tomato plants blew over and were uprooted. They were not planted deep enough to start with, so I pulled them up and tried to plant them deeper, but I think I killed them. Today they are just limp. They were the four homestead tomatoes that started out so small. They had grown into big top-heavy plants, but they had never bloomed. The rest of my tomatoes all have lots of blooms and baby tomatoes. I'd take a picture, but it's just too sad. :o(

Reece doesn't usually mind the wind, but even he got tired of it when he was trying to play outside today. Now he's inside, playing with his Hot Wheels City. He just said, "Look out squirrel!" Then he told me, "Oh no, the squirrel got squashed." I said, "Oh, maybe you should send the ambulance to take him to the hospital," and he replied, "Too late." :o)

Saturday

I had all four of the children yesterday afternoon for awhile. We played outside. (These pics are not from yesterday, though. I didn't have time to take any pictures)! :o)

It's fun to watch them play and see their different personalities.

Reece and Aubrey stayed overnight. They went with me to pick up Papa at the airport. He was waiting outside when we got there. I told them to look for him, and when they spotted him they both starting shouting, "There he is! There he is!" They were so excited to see him. :o)

Reece has discovered a new Silly Symphony cartoon that he likes called The Old Mill, and they loved watching it at bedtime. They look so sweet in their "nightshirts" (a couple of Ron's old tee shirts).

Great Gran was happy to see the two of them today. They brighten her day. Absolutely anything they do is okay with her, and they take full advantage. :o)

Now they are home, Ron is cleaning the pool and everything is quiet. I'd better enjoy the peace and quiet while I can, because in about a week everything is going to change. More about that at another time.