Christmas Corner Update

Have you been in Michael's, Joann's, or Hobby Lobby lately? It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (and even more like Autumn and Halloween!) Check out today's Christmas Corner for fun holiday tips.

On The Road

Just got off the phone with Jessica. They're leaving Oklahoma City headed for Albuquerque, NM. So far the trip has been uneventful. The cats are doing as well as can be expected for cats riding in a car for three days straight.

Francesca texted me at 4:45 am. They were leaving Amarillo. They made it there yesterday from Nashville, TN. Gee, does she seem excited to get home to her grandbabies?!

My friend Melanie should be here too. She's driving Chris' grandma out from Omaha, NE. We will get together on Friday. I'm so excited! We haven't seen each other in two or three years.

So once again today my thoughts and prayers are centered on my loved ones who are traveling. I just can't wait to see each of them for a big hug!

Miscellaneous Friday

Today is Friday June 25th: six months from today is Christmas! OK, admit it, you just had to know that would be my first item today.

Flip-flop Drive Update: I am so excited at how our flip-flop drive is progressing. We only need 114 pairs to meet our goal. A friend emailed me on Wednesday to say that she has 11 pair for us. I'm meeting another friend for lunch on Wednesday who has been collecting them in her Sunday School class. If you want to contribute, here's a bargain alert: Hobby Lobby has flip-flops 50% off through tomorrow and Joann's will have theirs 50% off starting Sunday. The drive ends on August 26 so you still have plenty of time if you'd like to participate. We also accept cash donations to purchase flip-flops or to help pay postage.

Exciting week ahead: I am so excited for next week to get here. Wednesday is going to be a huge day for me. I'm having lunch with a friend I haven't seen since January; my daughter Jessica is moving here and will arrive on Wednesday, and my friend Francesca is also moving back here and will arrive on Wednesday. Woohoo! My daughter has been gone for three years, my friend has been gone for five years and it will be so good to have them both back in town.

Weather: My intention was to run outside and take a picture of what 110 degrees looks like, but I missed the first opportunity. It hit 113 here yesterday, but I didn't realize it was that warm until I saw the 5:00 news and by then it was below 110. Oh well, it's supposed to be 111 today, so maybe I'll pay more attention and get the shot. For those of you that have never lived in 110+ temps I'm sure this will be very exciting!

Looking ahead: As you know by now, I try to live in the here and now, but I excel at living in the future. I've been thinking about new elements to add to my blog in the new year and I think I came up with a good one. I'm considering adding a "Fruit of the Spirit" item that will highlight a fruit of the spirit each day through quotes. I will definitely continue the Daily Verse and the Today's Quote. I'm up in the air about the New Word and On This Day items. What do you think? Do any of you even read them, and if you do read them do you enjoy them? I'm in need of some feedback...

Commercials: I'll end with this. I rarely listen to commercials on the TV. I hit the mute button or change to the Weather Channel when they're on. There are two commercials airing now that have caught my attention. One is for some sort of coffee, I think it's Starbucks. The story of the commercial is told by the words on coffee mugs. Very clever. The other one is for Sprint phones. It involves a series of antiquated or obsolete objects falling over into each other in the manner of a domino line, knocking each other down until you get to the most up-to-date Sprint phone. I just love that commercial, it is so creative.

Have a great weekend!

It's Wednesday, Time for a Christmas Corner Update!

Only 184 days until Christmas! It's never too early to start planning. Check out the Christmas Corner for some Christmas Tree decor ideas.

It's Time to Confess My Newest Addiction

You may have guessed by now that I have somewhat of a compulsive-obsessive nature. My latest addiction is blogs. I now have 35 blogs listed on my favorites. You can just be thankful that I haven't added them all to the blog, blog, blog feature on this blog.

The problem with following that many blogs is that it now takes me about one hour to check them all each morning and then read the ones that have been updated. The cool thing about following that many blogs is that it has expanded my prayer list. There are at least 5 blogs that I'm following simply because I'm praying for them.

My daughter Jessica sent me links to two cross-stitch blogs over the weekend, which led me to looking at some of their favorite cross-stitch blogs. I've found a whole new category of blogs to follow. Of course, It also got me to thinking about starting my own cross-stitch blog... we'll see if I follow through or not.

If you'd like to see a sample of the four generation pictures we had taken this past weekend you can see them by clicking here. I can't wait to see the rest of the photos. We had so much fun during this shoot, and my friend Joanna is great to work with. Picture taking is usually torture for me, but she creates a very relaxing, non-intimidating environment as she works. I highly recommend her if you want some professional photos of your family!

OK, gotta run, I have more blogs to read...

A Happy Father's Day

Friday night at Famous Dave's - I couldn't decide which picture to use, the one that's good of Dan and Gabe...

or the one that's good of Sunny!

Happy Father's Day Gramps!

Happy Father's Day, Papi!

Dan, Katie, & "I'm tired of taking pictures..." Sunny

This year Father's Day was a multi-day event. We had dinner with Katie & Gabe on Friday night. On Saturday we met my friend, Joanna in downtown Glendale to take four generation photos with my mom. Afterward, Katie & Sunny came back to the house to open Dan's present. On Sunday, we took my folks to breakfast and then went to IKEA to bargain shop. Dan spoke to all the kids on the phone, and relaxed the rest of the evening. Believe it or not, he chose to go to IKEA for Father's Day. What a guy!

Happy Birthday JD!

JD turns 25 today. I can't believe he's that old, especially when I only feel about 35! JD is my second child, my first son. When I was pregnant with him, I lied to the Doctor about my dates. I know, I know, that was really stupid. But I had a very good reason, I didn't want to take a chance on him being born on my mother-in-law's birthday... but that's a whole other story.

Since I had c-sections, his birth was scheduled for 6-18-85. When they handed him to the pediatrician, the Dr said "This isn't a 39-week baby!" Oops, I was found out! Oh well, he was perfectly healthy and hopefully not traumatized by his (somewhat) early entrance into the world.

JD has always been a kid that marched to the beat of a different drummer. He sets his mind on what he wants to accomplish, and he goes for it, regardless of what other's think. As a kid he tried cub scouts, tried sports, but excelled at music. He joined the band in elementary school and continued throughout the rest of his school years. He participated in Jazz Bands, Marching Band, the band at church, State level competitions, all the while amazing us with his ability to get up at 5:00 am for band practice without complaint or reminder. This feat is more amazing than you realize... he's definitely a kid that wanted to sleep late whenever possible. We never thought he'd actually get up for early practice, but he proved us wrong.

JD went off to U of A his freshman year, but when it was finished, he surprised us once again by transferring to Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, KS to pursue a degree to be a Youth Pastor. Approaching graduation, he met the love of his life, Janel. They were married in July 2008 and settled in Bartlesville, OK where JD was youth pastor at a local church. Once more the drumbeat sounded and JD left that position to move to Columbia, SC where he is pursuing his master's degree in adolescent counseling.

We are so proud of JD, and have been at each milestone of his life. The only negative for us is that he lives so far away. We can't wait for the day when he moves closer to us and we get to have more time with him and Janel.

So on this day, I'll pour over JD's childhood photos, relive the best memories, dream about his future, and celebrate the day this very special son came into our lives. Happy Birthday, JD! We are immensely proud of you and love you more than you can know.

Christmas Corner Update

Check the Christmas Corner page for tips to make your holiday season stress-less!

Monsoon Season

"Monsoon Expected to be More Intense this Year" was the headline of an Internet article on Arizona's Monsoon season. The season started yesterday and lasts until September 30. For those of you not familiar with the monsoon, it means "seasonal wind shift". It takes place each year in the summer months and can bring torrential rain, damaging winds, haboobs (dust storms), hail, and deadly lightning. In Phoenix, we get an average 2.76" of rain. It is the wettest part of the year. We love it!

It also appears to be Monsoon season in my personal life as well. But not in a bad way. It's just that all of a sudden we have a lot of changes happening. Yesterday when I called Dan to tell him of the latest news, he said "wow, we have a lot going on". Now for him, that's the equivalent of "O my gosh! What's happening?! I'm not sure I can handle it all." Ha ha, just kidding.

It's really kind of cool that we have all of this excitement. One child is moving back to the area (hallelujah!). One of my best friends is moving back to the area (yippee!). We're planning a vacation this fall (ahhh!). And we just found out that a wedding may be thrown into the mix (fantastic!). Another child may be moving out of state (sad, but a really good opportunity for him).

This is what I thought our "empty nest" years would be like. Lots of comings and goings. Lots of sharing in the kids joys and sorrows, opportunities and challenges. A change of focus from our insulated home life to something bigger. I'm very excited!

Flip-flop Drive Update

As you can see from the totals to the right, our flip-flop drive for God's Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti is progressing well. Just a note, if you  want to participate I have a bargain alert for you. Michael's is offering their flip-flops at 50% off this week 6/13-19. What a deal! Thank you to those of you who have already donated.

Saturday Ramblings

When I picked my "Verse of the Day", I had not read "Today's Quote"... they sure go together! I love it when things work out like that.

Those of you that look at my blog regularly must wonder why I keep changing the backgrounds so often. I just haven't found one that I love. Plus, I'm just that way. It kind of goes along with the whole paper addiction, color obsession, perfectionism side of my life. I'm committing to leaving this background on until September 1st when I will switch to a fall background. Just count yourselves lucky that I'm not constantly switching to Christmas backgrounds year round!

The high temperature here today is to be around 90 degrees. That is absolutely unheard of in Phoenix in June. I have the doors and windows open, enjoying the cool air. Three weeks from today we will be in the middle of the hottest week of the year. Typically temps that week are the in the 115+ range. Since I enjoyed everyone's winter weather pictures this past winter, I plan to return the favor by running out and taking pictures of the really hot days here this summer!

My Friend's Having A Giveaway

Check out my friend Stephanie's blog for a CSN Stores giveaway. I don't really understand how this whole giveaway thing works, but a lot of the blogs I follow do it. I think it's beyond my blogging ability. The item that got my attention for this giveaway was the words "platform bed". Dan & I are looking to upgrade to a king-sized bed and we want to get a Tempurpedic mattress. We decided we'd like to try a platform bed. We're gonna start shopping for one this weekend, but maybe I'll hold off on the purchase until Stephanie's contest is over! Good luck to you if you enter.

Christmas Corner Update

Do the holidays get you down? Do you feel that you're always running around in a panic? Are you ready for a stress-free holiday season? Check out today's Christmas Corner for an easy tip guaranteed to deliver less stress this year.

The First Year Ends... the Second Year Begins

One year ago today I became Grammy. I can't believe how this year has flown by. The past few days I've been thinking back to last year. I was so excited, and a little apprehensive. I had no idea what it would be like for my daughter Katie to give birth (I had 4 c-sections), I had no idea what it would feel like to have a grandchild. Now with one year's experience behind me, I can assure you that however wonderful you think it will be, doesn't come close to the reality of how marvelous it is!

Yesterday was the party, enjoy the pics!

Our Official Twelve Month Photo

Watching Mommy open gifts

More interested in eating crackers than in the presents

"This one's from Gramps & Grammy..."

The Paparazzi

What a face!

Happy Birthday Dear Sunny, Happy Birthday to You!

A proud Papi & Mommy

An even prouder Gramps & Grammy

What a Fun Day!

What a fun day we had yesterday! My friend Beth and I had our first Grandma/Granddaughter day and it was a success. It was so much fun to watch the girls together.

Beth's granddaughters are all beautiful and sweet little girls. Beth is a terrific grandma, one I look up to and hope to emulate.

I think Beth and I look pretty calm in the pictures, considering we were out-numbered! She & I like to laugh about how different we are with grandchildren compared to how we were with our kids. We also enjoy sharing our grandkids' accomplishments, developmental milestones, and funny stories. All in all, we're just happy to be "grands"!

We will definitely be holding another Grandma Day in the near future!

Beth with two of hers and mine

Three beauties!

These two are only 3 months apart in age,

it was fun to watch them interact

Me with all four girls

Dinner with the Greats

Great Grandma, Sunny, Great-Grandpa

Sunny spent the night last night, so we met my folks at Golden Corral for dinner. I'm not sure how much she ate, but she kept the four of us entertained! I wanted to get down and clean up the mess on the floor under the high chair before we left, but Dan restrained me...

My friend Beth and I are having our first Grandmother/Granddaughter Day today. She's having three of her granddaughters over, so we thought it would be fun to get together. I'm sure I'll have photos to post tomorrow.

Eat your heart out, Tia Jessica, Grammy bought me pig jammies!

Christmas Corner Update

This week's edition features a great buy for the list-makers in your life! Check it out...

Happy Birthday Rascal!

Happy 4th Birthday, Rascal!

Rascal is Zach's dog. But, he's slowly become our dog. Zach got Rascal his senior year in high school, but hasn't lived anywhere since then that would allow him to have the dog. Rascal is very sweet, and loves all the attention he gets at our house. Sunny is particularly enamored of Rascal, and screams her version of "doggie" whenever she sees him. She follows him around the house, patting him enthusiastically, pushing him away when his kisses become too much, and shoving her face in his when he's not kissing her enough.

My advice: Don't buy your kids a pet unless you're willing to have the animal forever,

even if your kid is 17 years old!