Late Start at the Library

Thursday was a late start day for the schools so Mason went to school 2 hours later than usual and Ella didn't have school at all since she is a.m. kindergarten. I decided we needed to get out of the house for awhile, so we took a trip to the library. Needing to do some practicing, I took the camera.

Ella did some writing...

Silas did some looking...

Ella did some browsing....

We all said cheese...

This morning Ella and Si stayed in bed and watched a little Saturday morning TV. I came in to check on them and saw them holding hands. At least they started the day being nice to each other...it's gone downhill from there!

Sing it Judy!

We had a "somewhere over the rainbow" evening...

Rain, rain, rain, all day long...and then right before dinner time it cleared up. Silas and Justin went for a walk and Ella and I stayed home (because she was being a brat but it turned out okay). We went outside to do some birdwatching, and then it started raining...and then the sun came out. I told her to go look for a rainbow (really only joking) and she came screaming in THERE'S THE RAINBOW!!

And it was a double rainbow!!

So while we were out birdwatching we saw these fine critters...
she is keeping a bird journal this week for school.
This lad was singing a fine little tune.

I was about to catch this one for dinner, or else put him on a Jenny Craig diet.
Justin informed me he was "just puffed up" - it was a bit chilly out and he was keeping warm (or else very relaxed...) I didn't buy it until I saw a couple of my pictures of the same guy and he was about half the size.

Reminds me of the bird from the kid's book The Best Nest by PD Eastman. I love that book!

My New Class!

Something that I have wanted to do for a LONG time but never made the commitment to is taking a photography class and learning how to use the equipment that I have. I love, love, love taking photos - especially of the kids and various nature scenes.
Yay for me!!!! I finally signed up for a class through www.betterphoto.com.
It's actually more time consuming than I thought it'd be (about 2-3 hours per weekly lesson and then the taking and submission of 4-5 photos for critique).

So I've been putzing a lot with the camera and seeing what I can catch...

our lovely Canadian Cherry tree...

our lovely Silas James swinging....

our lovely Zo-zo....

Silas in the kid recliner with a good book...

We'll see how it goes...hopefully I won't flunk out!

Random updates

Not so much an update...but a funny thing happened the other day...the first one of my kids to do this...I was sitting in the kitchen and Si was on the john. He yelled to me that he was done (he can go #1 by himself but needs help with the follow up on #2). I said "okay be right there!"
Apparently I didn't get "right there" quite fast enough because the next thing I hear is a big THUD and him with a scream and crying. I run in and find him headfirst off the toilet and on the floor and (sorry) butt up in the air. No idea which thought came first - "grab him!" or "grab the camera!" The motherly instinct kicked in and hygiene came first...so I got him back on the pot...poor kid. He got right back on the horse though with no issues so apparently he's not scarred for life.

_______________________________________

2nd update - you saw a few weeks back at tool club time that Justin had started working on our new garden area. He took advantage of the decently nice weather yesterday and here is the result!

We've got a garden area that we can keep the rabbits out of (but probably not the kids). We are going to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes (so we can make our radish butter :) snap peas, possibly sweet corn, the kids want more sunflowers, peppers (all the fixings for good salsa!).

Have I mentioned that I love my handy-manny-man?!

_________________________________________

Another update (#3) I said that I'd share...Indian Lake...the girls (me, Beth, Jen, Jodi, Jill, Becky, Brenda and Heather - recipe for trouble?) all went for a girls' get-a-way recently - Thanks to Jill and her family's willingness to let us trash the place! It was a fantastic weekend. We had a great time, the weather was perfect. Some of us sat by the lake and built a bonfire. It was divine.

While the masking tape served us well that evening, I'm on the lookout for a great set of wine charms as a thank you gift! :-)


More updates to come....

Grandpa Jack

I had mentioned in a prior post that Grandpa Jack passed away. Here is his obituary...

BROWNING Jack Lee Browning, age 80, passed away on Sunday, March 29, 2009 at Altercare of Hilliard. Retired as a baker from the French Loaf. He owned the first bakery shop in Hilliard. An avid golfer and sports fan. Preceded in death by parents Adam and Ora Browning, wife of 48 years Frances, sisters Alice L. and Nancy B., and brother John Browning. Survived by wife, Elizabeth (Flowers) Browning; children, Patty (Frank) Kennis, Bunny (Louie) Eastman, Gary (Janet) Flowers, Ron (Cyndi) Flowers, Don (Pat) Flowers, Norman (Cristy) Flowers, Bill (Lorraine) Flowers, and Bryan (Karen) Flowers; 31 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; brothers, Tom (Ann), David (Kathryn) and Woody (Katie) Browning; sister, Ruth (Kenny) Carr. Friends may call at JERRY SPEARS FUNERAL HOME, 2693 W. Broad St., Wednesday, 6-8 p.m. where service will be held 10 a.m. Thursday. Pastor Michael Sammons officiating. Entombment Greenlawn Cemetery.

Mom-ma (Frances) and Jack - looking like the '70s from what I can tell in this picture!
(Mom-ma passed away in 1996)

As the obituary mentions, he owned the first bakery in Hilliard (J&F Donuts) - I remember going there as a very young kid and spinning on the orange counter stools until I thought I'd be sick. I also got to help out by wiping down all the counter tops in the place. I think I might even have gotten paid a buck to do it. The most fun was getting into dough ball wars in the back.
As odd as it might sound, I love remembering him calling me by "hey, dumb broad" - made me laugh every time :-)

A picture from last summer: Jack's wife Betty, Mom, Jack, Margie, Dad

Mom and Jack

Is the basket half full or half empty?

...it depends on the day, the hour, the moment....the camera angle.
This week has seemingly sucked. Taxes, work stress, taxes....cranky kids...rain, rain, taxes...
But I think back to April 15, 2008 and know that the next day - April 16, 2008 - sh*t would hit the fan. Margie's surgery and cancer diagnosis. And it's still enough to deliver a kick to the gut 364 days later.
But there is still MOST of me that says "yeah, but..." I have had 363 days that have made me realize the total, full blessings of life, the understanding that we are all going to deal with tough stuff eventually and we can do our best or hide under a rock.

I usually don't care for "yeah, but" kind of folks...because being the YEAH BUT Optimist, I have to work hard not to get knocked down by the YEAH BUT Pessimists.

So I know the angle makes the basket look half empty. But I know better.

Easter Day

We had a beautiful day yesterday! We started our Easter by doing something that we haven't done in awhile....going to church services. The kids were great and I love Danny, the minister (preacher as he calls himself). I've gone there (off and on) for almost 30 years and he baptized me when I was 12. It never loses that comforting feeling. It was a great way to start the day.

Ella and Mason were the first two to get up yesterday. It was pretty early so we let them find their baskets before Silas even woke up. I knew it'd be a long day and didn't want him to wake up before he was ready.

Ella digs through her basket

After church, we went home and started cooking for Easter dinner. I made berry cobbler, banana/peanut butter bread and broccoli casserole. We enjoyed a fun afternoon of cooking and I enjoyed some yummy cab rose with Justin. At 4 o'clock it was back to the church to have dinner with the whole family. We had the entire place to ourselves and it allowed the kids plenty of room to run...run...run...


The weather cooperated this year and so the kids got to have fun with an outside Easter egg hunt.

Ella, of course, wanted to stay in her Easter morning dress - she was too cute to argue with...

Will the real Easter Bunny please stand up?

We stuffed ourselves silly with all the food and desserts. We ended our great day with a MAJOR Silas melt-down once we got home. Can't blame the kid...the rest of us were close behind!

Lame Lame Lame

I'm frustrated that I have not had time to update the blog recently...it's been busy, busy, busy.
All I can say is that in a time when the economy is in the crapper, I am very blessed to have a job that is booming and will likely kill me before the job market and unemployment rate get any better!

I will be updating soon on:
- the passing of my grandpa Jack last week :(
- a wonderful time with the girls at Indian Lake
- more pictures of my kids and their funny faces
- a new class that I am taking
- how much I just want to sleep when it's cold, rainy/snowy/rainy/snowy and GRAY out - especially when the day before was sunny and almost 70!!

This 30 second post has sucked the remaining life right out of me...bed time!