Valentine trip

Papa and Eli

One tired little boy

Ice cream with a side of spaghetti.. ?

Eli tried out Asher's bassinet.. yep..he fits, and not only that, but Gayle crawled in too!!

"I hold"

Eli tried on Poppy's hat

He stuck in his thumb and pulled out a ..

Playing big fish/little fish game

"I build a castle, gramma"

birthday

We had gone to Valentines to celebrate Esther and Gaylie's birthdays.. little did we know we would be celebrating the birth day of Asher too..

Birthday girls.. Essie is now 7 and Gayle is now 5

Wednesday

It is early Wednesday morning . I've been up since 4:30am and having my coffee . It's quiet. The children are all still in bed sleeping.
It would appear that it will be a lovely day today again. We have been blessed with fabulous weather. .. it is chilly at night- in the high 40s.
It has been educational here.. I have learned about the habits of bats- and have seen them up close- too close. There are bats in the crawl spaces upstairs, and Batman has been here once this week to cleanse the house of them. All the spaces are now caulked except for 2 on the house. There are fishnets hanging from the roof. Last night I walked around the side of the house with Cory and watched the bats come out. Not a lot.. I think they are mostly gone. They can get out but not back inside. Interesting. Yesterday morning there was one in the playroom. We found him flying around last evening and he's now outside. Actually, Cory had a broom and dustpan in his hand and the bat hit the dustpan and went sailing backward into a box which Cory then removed from the house. Batman is to return today.

Today is Gayle's birthday.. Happy birthday Gaylie!! - She is 25... er.. 5- she just THINKS she's older... hehehehe Esther was 7 on Monday..
I'll have pictures of our visit to post later.. after we return home. We are planning on leaving here Saturday morning.
Today the girls and Eli get haircuts.. Eli is looking a bit shaggy, but he's so adorable even so. He reminds me of David with shaggy hair.. sweet.
Wendell and I are going to do an 'on your own ' day today. After the kids have their haircuts, Cory is going to take them to Gramma and Poppy Valentine's home for the rest of the afternoon. Wendell and I will take Wendy and the kids to lunch prior to the hair salon.- then we are heading back toward Hallstead and will be doing a little shopping.
I brought the eggs and some candies and quarters, so we will have an egg hunt here either tonite or tomorrow.. I really enjoyed doing that with the Blair kids..
I've been playing Uno and Big Fish, Lil Fish with the kids as well as Armor of God, a game Esther has here. Isaac is really good at Uno. I plan to challenge him to the Uno Championship of the World this week.. best 2 out of 3 games. Hmmmmm.. he's hard to beat.
Wendell and I are going to look for a SkipBo game too- the kids played it at our house before and even Gayle can play a modified version.
All the dust and no rest (or not much) took Cory to the doctor yesterday.. bronchitis. He had moved EVERYTHING from the upstairs to the playroom and there was dust. He looked some better last night.
One of the gifts the girls got for their birthdays was a Water Park. It's a big pool that sprays water from all different angles. It had a basketball and hoop too.. cute. The kids had such a good time splashing around in it..
Oh.. and I'll be coming home with Gayle's secret recipe for Mud. She is such a hoot!!!
It's almost 7:30.. gotta get a move on..

Saturday

Saturday was a good day.. though threatened with rain all day, it finally arrived in the afternoon.
Wendy and I went for supplies and gifts for the girls..
Today is the Sabbath.. we have not made it to church due to aches, pains and a GI upset.
The fruit salad is ready to go and the cake is being picked up now. It's going to be a delightful day.. cameras are ready and let the fun begin!

JULY 16

GUESS WHOSE BIRTHDAY IS TODAY?
SHE LIVES IN HALSTEAD, FAR AWAY.
SHE HAS BLOND HAIR AND EYES ARE BLUE
TODAY SHE'S 3 YEARS OLD- IT'S TRUE !!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
GAYLIE
*

MEMORIES AND TRAVELING MERCY

"For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won't dash your foot against a stone." Psalm 91:11-12

Good morning... it's nearly noon and I'm just beginning my blogging for the day.
I'm planning a trip next week. I need some traveling mercy- I'm making this trip alone. Wendell has to work. I had planned for us both to go to Valentines when I asked for this vacation time back in February. Looks like I'm going solo. It's okay- I've done it several times before.
It reminds me that 6 yrs ago, my Mom and I made this trip together when Wendy was expecting Isaac. What a great trip that was! The day after we got there, I drove Wendy to her doctor appointment and had to return with just Mum, as Wendy had to be admitted right then.
That night Cory spent his time at the hospital with her and Mum and I played Scattergories into the wee hours of the morning at their house, waiting for word that Isaac had arrived. We were so tired and giddy and Mum cheated all the way using the same card over and over till I realized what she was doing (not on purpose- we were just so exhausted- neither of us had a clue that it had happened until well into the game.) We laughed till the tears rolled down our faces and our sides split ! I have such wonderful memories of that trip.
On the day they brought Isaac home, Mum and I decorated the yard with streamers and signs to welcome them. We had blue balloons in the house and streamers there too.. we made it as festive as we could on the spur of the moment. The picture above was taken the day they arrived- 4 generations.

RAIN IN ITS SEASON

"Then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. " Leviticus 26:4

We had a gentle rain last evening and through the night too.. everything is damp. But I also notice that all the flowers are perked up and looking refreshed. And the rhododendron bush is also blooming like it will never end.
Now, there's an interesting bush- it blooms periodically through the winter AND summer. It doesn't seem to know that it's supposed to rest and recoup in the winter. I started dumping my left over coffee on the plant a few years ago- late at night when I came home from work and walked by with my cup. It seems to thrive on the coffee for some reason, and so I continue the practice. At the same time that I bought this plant, I bought one for my mother. She is the one with the green thumb, but her plant never did much and finally died. I suppose the deer didn't help matters any either. They walked right by the back of the trailer where she had plants growing, and then of course, would stop for a nibble now and then.
Mum had a lot of plants she put in while she was here. They still bloom and flourish. The little lilac bush is now a huge (tree)- and so tall you can't get to the higher branches. The cinnamon bush has always been a favorite too. I have tried to take snippets from it, but it won't grow for me. (maybe I should try coffee??) Bridal wreath is pretty much the first sign of spring, with it's dainty white flowers and then the greenery so beautiful all summer long. Peonies, crocuses, roses, marigolds, daffodils, forsythia, rhubarb, and then the flowers that Charlie plants in the garden every year are spectacular all summer. The redbud and firebush are works of art. Of course, the fruit trees have blossoms and despite the cold snaps of spring, they will produce fruit in July and August.. apples and peaches.... the cherries usually get picked off by birds. Red raspberries are setting their fruit now too. Ohhhhh... so good! Mandy makes jelly with them and everyone wants a jar when she gets done. And too, the asparagus- my personal favorite- will produce for weeks before we let it go to seed.
The showers bring on new growth everywhere! Scripture is true today even as it was written so many years ago. Rain in it's season bringing forth fruit- and it happens every year in it's season just as He said it would.