A 3 year old princess

We just got home from a very special birthday party. Abby is turning three on Tuesday, but as far as she knows she turned 3 today. (and we're not telling her any different.) We had a great time and I think Abby did too. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and I just must say, that arriving at Abby's house is so wonderful, because she gets so excited and just runs into our arms.

Now the tradition that Leon has with Abby, is that whenever we have a visit, either her to our house or us to her house, Papaw has a present in his pocket for her. Just a little knick knack or toy that she gets to reach into his pocket for. Grandma usually gets to pick out the toys, so this time it was a little play flashlight ( it did light up) and on the other side of this pants, he had another pocket with a toy for Kyle. So they both had flashlights to play with.

Carrie and Matt had a great taco dinner for us. With the traditional taco shell recipe from me. This recipe has turned out to be a family favorite. I will share it with you in a later post. Here are all the people there to celebrate Miss Abby. All four grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa D from Chattanooga, TN, Grandma and Papaw B. from Columbus OH, Aunt Lissy and Uncle Chad from Columbus, Aunt Becky and little cousin Kyle from Chattanooga.

We played Bocce Ball (don't know how it is spelled, but this seems right for some reason) in the evening and the little ones were hilarious. They stood right in line with us and patiently waited for their turn. We threw the bocce balls and they threw their balls. You can see how cute they are.

The next morning we all got up and went to church (well, ALMOST all of us). I can't remember who, but somebody couldn't get up!?!?!? But Abby got up and wore her new dress and new hair ornaments. The birthday girl is "pretty as a princess". Well, okay she really is a princess.

When we got home, we all pitched in and the cookout was great. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, deviled eggs, salsa, fruit bowl. Brandon, Kristy and little Grant came over to help celebrate. That is three toddlers - Oh my goodness, what fun they had!! Chasing bubbles, playing in the sandbox, swinging.

Abby had many presents to open and she certainly had no hesitation in doing so. This is not a child too shy to for the "grip and rip" method.

Abby blowing out the candles - almost got "too" close

Here is Abby licking off the princess from the cake.

It was a wonderful day and I am sure that Abby will sleep well tonight and so will Grandma and Papaw. By the way, I am sure that Abby loved all of her presents and she did get many... volleyball.... Aqua doodle... Baby doll .... Adorable dresses ...... Bubble gun.. animal hospital toy.... and baby stroller. What a lucky girl. I can't imagine which one she might like best. Hey it's my blog!!!!

I am off all week on vacation and intend to just take it easy. I also hope to do a post a day. See you tomorrow!!! Oh yeah, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY - I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

A day off with friends and quilts.

Oh my gosh, so much to do and so little time. I barely have time to post and it's on to something else. But I slowed down on Thursday and Katie, Peggy and I went to the quilt show. What a great day and the quilts were absolutely gorgeous. The first wonderful thing was that I had the day off and got to sleep in. I am so NOT a morning person, so anytime I can sleep in and take my time getting going is wonderful for me. I was at Katies by 10:30 and then we had to do a photo shoot, as promised a couple of posts ago. Doesn't photo shoot sound professional? I'm not so sure ours was professional, but we had fun. So as promised, here are close-ups of Katies linen pillowcases as displayed in the last post.

Love this one!! the word that comes to mind is coquettish!!

Next, it was off to lunch before hitting the quilt show. We all decided pizza sounded good, so we went to the Italian place where Peggy goes. Pepperoni pizza and salad. I could live on it. Unfortunately I didn't think to get a picture, so you all will have to just imagine 3 women putting down a large pizza and large salad. We were quite talkative and I actually think that they enjoyed having us there, to keep the laughter quotient up. It was fun!

Next, on to the quilt show where we dropped Katie off (she just had surgery on her foot a few weeks ago and is still taking it easy) at the convention center downtown. Peggy and I decided to park on the street and one of us would run out in two hours to feed the meter. Believe it or not, we actually remembered to do it. Thanks Peg!

Now, we are in the lobby deciding where we go to get tickets; and Katie is head to head with some guy and talking sort of low, like she didn't want us to hear. Well, lo and behold, she scalped us tickets to the quilt show!!! Saved $6!! (okay, I did exaggerate a bit about the head to head and talking low, but had to give her a little bit of grief! Love ya, Katie)

The quilt show was neat and here are some pictures of some of our favorites. Or at least some of my favorites.

I just thought this one was neat looking!! Plus it is blue, and we all know how I feel about blue!

I liked this one because of the colors and the use of such a simple object to make it so beautiful.

This one was really cool, and what is neat is what you can't see in a picture. All kinds of little embellishments throughout the quilt. Shells, fish, little tanning oil bottles. I have a close up I will show you next. Here it comes!!




Okay, I tried to get their faces, but 'somebody' wouldn't cooperate. Got ya, anyhow! Surprise!!




You gotta love those crazy quilts. Got close-ups, but am saving for another post!

This was a mini quilt. I could actually try this one - at least the inside of it. Too cute!!!






Okay, I saved the best for last. This one absolutely enchanted Katie and Peggy. I think they might make me one for my birthday!?! Anyhow, the inside is filled with winter snow scenes that are embroidered in and I did get shots of them, but am saving them for another post. Maybe tomorrow!


Most exciting experience at the quilt show:
We found a similar vendor to the one where we bought our 'crystal setters' last year. The story is that both Katie and I bought these devices that were supposed to adhere little crystals to fabric to make cute bling-y tee shirts and jeans. The problem is that we both had issues getting it to work, so it was a bit of a waste of money. Well, Katie was intent on finding that vendor and finding out what was wrong with our setters. The vendor we found gave us a couple of tips to make it work better and although I have not tried mine yet, Katie has succeeded in making 2 teeshirts. You go, girl!!! Today I will try again and post a picture!

NEXT DAY (FRIDAY):
Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from Lissy that she was having some abdominal pain and was going to the doctor. Long story short - doctor thought it was appendicitis and sent her to the ER. They decided to do a CT scan and I arrived after work, just as they were taking her in. After waiting, a surgeon came in and said that the CT was inconclusive and that they wanted to keep her overnight just to be sure. They actually had the gall to take her pain medicine away so that they could assess the pain level. (just kidding about the 'gall' part). Anyhow, the pain had subsided and she was released this morning with no real diagnosis. A possible explanation was a burst cyst on her ovary, which would be painful and the pain would subside as her body absorbed the cyst fluid (kind of like a pimple or blister, I guess -- only worse). Anyhow, everything is fine and she is home again. Kind of 'sucky' Friday night for her and Chad! - But he was there for her!!

SAT.MORNING:

This morning Leon took me downtown to see where he worked and we had breakfast at Rise 'n'Dine in downtown Columbus. He works in a pretty plush law office and it is located in the arena district, which is really cool. Lots of neat landscaping and walkways. Now I can imagine him at work. The highlight of this job for him is that his area has windows. Pretty nice!

Happy Father's Day

It's Father's Day, the end of the day and we are winding down the day to tomorrow and another week at work. This is my thanks to the fathers in my life, my own father who loved me unconditionally and my husband, Leon who has loved and helped me raise my (our) children. Also, I want to thank the father of our granddaughter, Abby. Matt is a wonderful father to Abby and husband to Carrie.

We had a wonderful day with Melissa and Chad, starting with church and ending with a great meal together, burgers, potato salad, corn and ice cream. All four of the kids and Abby gave Leon a game for the Wii and we played them. What fun! Carrie, Matt and Abby called and are safe back at home from vacation. I missed talking to her, while she was gone.

Here is Leon playing the Wii. Aren't you supposed to stand up to box???

Yesterday, Leon worked a few hours at the Habitat for Humanity renovation, while I went to the grocery store and to the mall where I spent the rest of my gift card from the kids. Sometimes, just normal old Saturday errands are fun to do. So, I had planned a great meal, which I really only enjoy when I have the time and freedom to do it. So, my recipe came out of the Rachel Ray's cookbook that I got for Christmas. Now I am anxious to try more of them. It was literally a less than 30 minute meal. It was called, drum roll, please, "Chicken and Grapes with Creamy Mustard Sauce and Couscous". It was fun to do and it really was awfully good, if I do say so myself.

Starting with the recipe and red grapes.....

Browning the chicken......

Making the sauce.....

The final result with couscous, plated for Leon.

I also need to explain that I have been 'forced' to give up on Abby's sweater. It seems that somewhere along my travels, I lost part of it. Now I certainly could have re-knitted the sleeves, which were what I lost, but I decided that I would rather start all over on something different. So I have started a new sweater for her and it is in a beautiful mint green. Here is the start of what is on the needles. I think this sweater will work much better for her and I like the pattern, the color and the yarn itself better. Much happier than with the last one.

Katy-did is in the pink

Well, it has been a few days since I posted, and I have a couple of pictures to show, so here I go. First of all, I rode to the porch party with Diana and Katie, having left my car at Katie's house. Upon our return, I went in to see how she displays her special embroidered linens. Everything that Katie does is just so neat. She has such a flair for displaying the things that she loves. When you walk into Katie's home, you know her, and what is important to her. Now, before I show you the pictures, you must know that Katie loves pink!!!!. Her beautiful linen pieces are displayed in her bedroom. I wish I had gotten close-ups of the pieces, but I'll be back, girlfriend!

I actually have two pieces that I want to display - one is the pillowcase shown in an earlier post and also a dresser scarf, both embroidered by my mother. I will be sure and get a picture when I get this done. I will either have to wait on Leon to make me the rack or figure out how to do it myself. This will be interesting to see how we proceed. My color is blue, so that will be my focus.

Next picture is of a plant that hangs in our bathroom. Several times a year it blooms and the flowers are absolutely stunning. The absolutely neatest thing is that the blooms consist of little tiny flower-ettes and they form an abolutely perfect little ball. I am amazed everytime it blooms. I don't know if you can truly see it in the picture, but I tried to capture the roundness of the bloom. For obvious reasons, these pictures are dedicated to my friend, Katie. I never dedicated pictures before, but hey it's my blog, so I can do what I want.

Porch parties and flooding

It's the end of the weekend and although the heat is pretty intense, it was a good one and it is supposed to cool down later in the week (into the 80's, which is not really cool to me). It's the age thing I think. I really do hate getting older.

Anyhow, my friend Sharon from work invited a bunch of the work gang over for a porch party Friday night and we all had a great time. It seems that she just had her porch 're-decorated', with the help of Katie who has a knack for decorating. Sharon has a very nice wraparound porch and she and Katie decorated it with all kinds of neat stuff. It was all very cool. I took a couple of pictures, but they really don't do it justice. It was really very neat. We all went over after work, and Sharon and her out of town friend, Betsy had straw hats for us all to wear. We were all quite stunning. She had great food and the porch was full of our laughter all evening. Sometimes there just nothing like getting together with the girls. The menu was chicken salad sandwiches, veggies, blackeyed peas and corn salad (see picture - I tried it at home), deviled eggs, nachos and salsa, raspberry dessert and brownie fudge. Thanks Sharon- I had a great time!!!! and your porch looks cool! Everything was so nice!

Saturday afternoon we got a call from Carrie (she is in Indianapolis) . It seems that Matt had gone to Bloomington Saturday morning (yesterday) for an annual conference meeting for their church. The meeting let out around noon and as you know there had been major storms in the southern Indiana area, which is where he was. Well, needless to say, he could not get home to Indianapolis. Roads were closed and there was simply nowhere for him to go. He sat at an interstate exit for several hours waiting for it to open. Then he tried driving away from Indianapolis to get back around to some way home - ended up in Columbus, IN driving around. Of course, when the realization hit that he may be there all night, there were no rooms. Everyone else was in the same situation and the people whose homes were affected had nowhere to go either. We checked in every few hours with Carrie and Leon talked to Matt once. To make a long and miserable story short, he finally got on 74 around 8:30 and got home after nine. The whole time he was only 45 minutes from home, but just could not get there. He shared that the entire area is absolutely devastated! We're glad you're home, safe and sound, Matt!! The clincher is that they had to get up this morning for an 8:00 flight for their vacation to Florida. Yes they made it. Enjoy, you guys!!! I tried to import pictures from the news, but no luck.

Quote of MY day

I had a doctor's appointment today and I came away with the greatest quote. Maybe it is not original, but I think it is one that will help me. It is "stop trying to discover yourself, instead create yourself"

Made of Honor (at the movies)

I took a couple more pictures of the peony bush and my geranium plant, to show the progress and I must say, that in a weeks time, they are much more beautiful.

We went to see Made of Honor last night and it was a cute little movie. It was very predictable, a romantic variation on a theme, but I never get tired of the cute little romantic movies. This one had Patrick Dempsey in it and I don't think I have ever seen him in a move, although he is great in Grey's Anatomy. Maybe I have just not seen him in the starring role as he was last night. Anyhow, I gave it four stars on my blog rating box. I saw some previews that I really want to see, as well. Naturally, I can't remember the names. One was the one with Adam Sandler in his role as a hairdresser - something about Zohan - looked funny! There was another one that was more dramatic. Something about people (as in civilization) disappearing from the cities. Sort of like the rapture!?!

So I have been reading a couple of books that have made their way, quite by accident into my hands and I have to wonder if God, the universe, fate, the great spirit, my high power or Mother God has something to do with it. The two books are discussions of spirituality apart from the traditional religious theology that so many of us have been raised (and courageously, I say also mired) in. I have struggled with the concept of traditional religion for most of my life for a number of reasons, and in fact I would say that I fear religion to some extent. Some of the different philosophies I am reading about, I find very interesting and can see such value in them. The first book that I started and am just working on finishing up is The Shack. It is a story of a man and his 'visit' with the trinity - the father, the son and the holy spirit. The story is clearly fiction, but the ideas presented and the manner of presentation is pretty amazing. It certainly makes you stop and think. I really need to read it twice. It would certainly be criticized, if not rejected by conservative theological people, but for those who feel comfortable enough to question and to think outside the religious box, it gives much to think about.

The second book is called The Knitting Sutra. I picked it up at the library along with some pattern books, expecting to find a humorous book about knitting. I totally did not expect a 'spiritual' book, but this lady in her spiritual search studied all the 'isms', the religions of various native groups, such as native americans, guatemaleon (sp) groups, etc. and as she knitted her way through her life experiences, she became spiritually fed and at peace. Her learning about herself was monumental. Again, I need to read it twice, but my thought is, after reading both of these books that we all are brought up in a society that views religion differently. Who is to say that my religion is more right than the native Americans or the guatemalan people. We all have our 'documentation' - ours is the Bible. But that does not preclude the consideration of other experiences that other people(s) have, nor does it negate their 'documentation' . The study of religion really is quite fascinating, if you have the ability to see all of them as viable and indicative of their higher power, whether that be a spirit far off or within themselves. I found much in these books that I loved, quotes that I read three and four times.

From The Knitting Sutra by Susan Gordon Lydon:

" Two things have occurred to me over and over again while knitting. One is the old saw about the devil making work for idle hands, except with a twist. If the devil makes work for idle hands, then could constantly busy hands entice angels to whisper in the knitter's ear? and is it possible that female spirituality through the ages may have been concealed in the minutiae of domestic life rather than expressed in the grandiosity and pomposity of churches and sermons?"

Meet Penelope!!

She's done, and has been named Penelope.

Saturday - Memorial Day Weekend

Need I say more!?!?

What a great day I had, just a putterin' around. I spent some time outside this morning and took quite a few pictures, which I will share with you here. On my way home from an errand, I took notice of the beautiful clouds, so as soon as I got home, out came the camera and one picture was just not enough. Our geraniums are looking great, but it's early and they will be overflowing their container in a month or so. I always associate geraniums with July 4th, for some reason. But they are always beautiful all summer, even as early as Memorial Day. It seems that we can put flowers in a bit earlier in Central Ohio than in Northern Indiana. We didn't dare put them in before Memorial Day in N. I.

I also got pictures of my stone sculptures that I got from Leon over the past couple of years. We have a stone sculptor here in Columbus that does the neatest sculptures. It is so neat to be able to take pictures of my favorite things and have a place to post them and talk about them. The man with the bird on his head is Leon's (from me)

Visiting a couple of other areas in our yard. The geranium on top (the actual botanical name escapes me, but it is a variety of geranium) was a special gift from my friends at work, when we first moved into our newly built home. It was in a regular sized pot when I bought it with the gift card they gave me, but boy has it grown. I really love it too. Such great friends, I hope they all visit my blog and see it. The peonies are just ready to pop in the picture just above. I will keep you posted. Nothing is as beautiful as a peony!

Memorial Day weekend

Well, it is Memorial Day weekend and I am going to work on totally enjoying myself, getting a few things done, some reading, some crochet, maybe a movie, cook out. The loss of loved ones will certainly be in my thoughts this weekend, but not in a sad way. I will simply take some time to think of them and to hold them in my heart. From the recent death of our friend and pet, Molly, to the strength of my father who left us over 20 years ago and finally the merciful deaths of my mother and my brother. I will also think of Leon's mother and his Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jim. The girls have lost all of their grandparents, and I will think of their Grandma and Grandpa B. Last but not least, I will remember the men and women who have died for their country and would urge all of you to just stop for a minute and remember them. No politics, no opinions, just prayers and good thoughts for them.

Okay I need to move on.

I found a neat little shell box when I was going through my mothers things. It is just the sweetest little thing and I really love it. I don't know where it came from, who gave it to her or even whether she liked it, but I just love it. I was reminded when I was talking to my sister about it, that I have always been a bit enchanted by neat little boxes. I have never really collected them and don't really want to start collecting now, but when they fall into my lap, I have to be happy. Anyhow, I set up a "photo shoot" so that I could share it with you all.

My favorite 'blogs'

I happened onto blogging in November when I was searching for a gingerbread house recipe and ideas. I googled gingerbread houses and of course there were many great sites to look at. Amazingly one of them was the blog of a designer who had a virtual gingerbread house on her site. It was the best site and I still visit it at least every few days. I absolutely loved her comments and pictures and it really was the first exposure that I had to blogs. The really neat thing about her blog and most all of the other blogs that I visit regularly are the links to other blogs. Boy, was I off and running!! I have about 30 blogs on my favorites list and I could literally surf blogs for hours and hours. I absolutely love it! I want to share a few of my favorites with those of you are interested and hope to get you all hooked too. Most of the ones I read are craft oriented, although there are some others with different focus.

Allsorts is the first blog that I found (the gingerbread house lady).

My name is Heather is a great designer - I made the globes that she has on her site.

Posie gets cozy is one of my early favorites - I used to look at her blog every day.

The pancake chronicles is one of my recent discoveries. I like it because she lives in the Northwest Territory, very near the Arctic Circle and I am fascinated with that area. She talks about it alot.

Little cotton rabbits is a blog by the mother of an autistic child. She is a knitter and her animals are darling. She also talks about the challenges she and her son face.

Bipolar Lawyer Cook is a recently diagnosed bipolar working through her diagnosis on her blog. She is also a cook and an attorney. Quite interesting!

Wendi Aarons is a writer and quite a commedienne (sp) at times. In fact, her bio says that she writes comedy freelance. Lissy found this blog for me and it is pretty funny.

Cute little things is another designer. Per her bio, she is a textile designer for Pottery Barn kids - a cute little blog.



There are so many more and there are a ton of blog subjects I would like to explore. Check out a few of these and for those that have lists (which I may incorporate into mine) try branching off . You never know where you might end up. It is now a passion of mine - not sure if that is good or bad. It gives me pleasure and inspires me!

Potpourri

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. Or at least it feels like it. One of the blogs that I visit on a regular basis has a "a post a day in May" challenge going, but I knew that would be a bust if I tried it.

Anyhow what is happening in my life? Well ... Leon and I had our 26th wedding anniversary last week. Who would have thought with all that has happened, but truly there is a part of me that is proud of the fact that we stuck with it and came through everything, maybe even stronger. We're still working on that.

With that said, I have learned that I really need to just take care of me and sometimes that is hard to do, but I am determined and in the long run, it is better for both me and my marriage.

Okay, enough of that ...I came home on our anniversary to a lovely dinner prepared by Leon. The first course was a beautiful salad and a shrimp cocktail which I snapped a picture of for you all to drool over. It was soooo good. But oh no, that was not all! He followed up with an entree of grilled steak, baked sweet potatoes, brocc and biscuits. Ummmm Ummmm Good!!! How wonderful, you say? Still not over!!! Strawberries over angel food cake was the crowning touch. Oh and I almost forgot, candlelight too!! He really did do a nice job. Thanks Leon!!

I have been off for a couple of days and trying to get some crocheting done. I am working on a pig for Abby and am getting pretty close. I will give you a peek of his (or her) face, but the rest will be shown when he (or she) is complete. I went to a new yarn shop yesterday and there were some beautiful yarns. I can't help but think of the Debbie Macomber Blossom Street series. It is a series of several books about knitting classes held at a yarn shop on Blossom Street and how the knitting students came together and became friends, though their personalities were very different and were from very different backgrounds. I think there are 4 books in the series and I have only read two, but I also thought I saw a new one the other day at the store. Anyhow give it a try. It's a little shop like I would love to own, with friends and others meeting there and sharing their lives.

Leon has started his new job and so far, so good. He seems to like, it but that was only after one day.

One of the things that I wanted to do on one of my days off was to take my camera out and take some outdoor pictures. I did not get around it, but Memorial day is coming up and I may get to it this next weekend. I am just so amazed at how surroundings become beautiful when you take the time to notice them or to imagine how they would be in a photograph. I think a prime example is the landscaping and beauty surrounding my work place. I go in and out of that property nearly every day and I almost always notice something new and beautiful. The ponds are full of wildlife. There is a blue heron there that absolutely thrills me. There is a beaver lodge (I think, anyhow) and the landscaping around the ponds is amazing. I regularly see geese coming in for a landing on the ponds in groups of 3 or 4 at a time. I realize that it took a lot of money to make it that way, but when I drive through I try to imagine that it looks like the ponds and wildlife in the country areas in the rural parts of our country. The water lilies will be up soon and I can hardly wait. Every year I say that I am going to get a picture of them and I never seem to get it done. This year I am vowing to do it. I think we all need to see the beauty in the things around us. We get so used to our routine, that we forget to re-focus and see the real beauty around us. I challenge you all to do that.

Update on "The Life of Pi". Disappointingly I did not get it finished before I had to take it back to the library. It was on the reserve list, so I couldn't renew it. I will get it again and finish it. I will have to wait out the reserve list again.

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all of the mothers that I know!! We are awesome, right! Moms rule - because no matter how many mistakes we make, no matter how many times we say or do the wrong thing. No matter how many times we forget to put a sweater on them or punish them for something their sibling did or make them wait too long for us to pick them up. No matter how many times we embarrass them when they are teenagers or won't buy them the latest technological advances or new shoes. No matter how many mistakes we make...... They will grow up anyhow.

Then they grow up, get married, have children and you get a whole new chance to love a child. It is truly wonderful!! That is when you are a GRANDmother.

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks. I have been busy!! Last weekend, I took Friday off and made a 3 points trip due to the price of gas. Turning two trips into one I drove to Elkhart to pick up my mothers things. I was hoping for some clothes to make momentos out of, but really nothing was there. I think the nursing home must have taken the initiative in moving clothes amount patients, which would be something I consider unethical. Clothes that I know she had that were not there and only 'housedresses' and sweaters were there. I think that since she was bedridden, her clothes were taken. But I will go ahead and do what I planned to do with what I have. Another thing that I noticed after I got everything home and had gone through it, was that her baby doll was missing. In the last months of her life, my sister had gotten her a baby doll, as many of the older less coherent women had. It was not in her things. It was a disappointment.

From Elkhart I drove to Indianapolis to take care of Abby while Carrie and Matt had some adult fun with another couple. We had a great time. The neighborhood had garage sales while I was there, so Abby and I headed out to go garage saleing. You can never start too soon! I found a few things, Abby found a few things and I found a little bicycle for $2. Such a deal!! and in perfect shape too. We had lunch at McDonalds, we played playdough, we played outside, we went out for ice cream and we just had a great time.

I took the turtle I made to give to Abby, after decorating him just a bit. I think he looks very cute this way, plus I stuffed him just a bit more. Now I am working on a pig. My bear is almost done, one more leg to go. I am absolutely loving this animal crocheting stuff. I can't seem to get enough time to do as much as I want, but that's the way hobbies, go I guess.

From Indianapolis, I drove home where I was surprised with a new wedding ring from Leon. I lost my wedding band in December and lately have been missing having one. So, admittedly, I have been bugging a bit, but I just wanted a temporary ring, until I could get a nicer one. I was checking out diamoniques on GVC and other less expensive jewelry. But Leon held out and got me this one with real diamonds and good gold. It is wonderful and I am very happy. Thank you Leon!!

This weekend my family was together for Mothers Day, having family time together, going to church together. There were two mothers in the house and both were appropriately spoiled. Thank you Carrie, Matt, Abby, Melissa and Chad for the gift card. I will be putting it to good use. I love you all. The house is quiet now, but the echoes of family are still here and I cherish them.