Cow appreciation day

It is one of our favorite national holidays  today!!
This is our third year that we have put on spots to get free meals.

Last year we saved our signs and cow masks- that we made out of paper plates. William pulled them out last night in preparation for today. We checked to see that everyone had a white T-shirt. We cut up a piece of black construction paper to make our spots. (Yes, we get new spots each year- we aren't that cheap that we save those too ;)   We remembered to bring the camera this year.
 You are allowed to have any meal that you want. I got a grilled chicken salad with fruit. The boys had chicken nugget combo meals. The total for our lunch said; $20.11--- we paid---- $00.00. Love it.

**************************************************

************************************************

Write it on your calendar for next year. The second Friday in July--- "dress like a cow day".

Swagbucks

Hey!
Have you ever heard of Swagbucks? I decided to download the toolbar so that I always search from it. You earn swagbucks that you can cash in for gift cards and prizes. I actually read about several ladies that have earned enough to pay for all their Christmas purchases. I don't expect it to be that good for me. But an Amazon.com gift card every now and then is incentive enough for me to use it.

Just click on the swidget on my side bar (where it says sign up) and that will take you to the site to learn about it. It will also help me. If you sign up, every swagbuck that you earn will also be credited to me. The more people that you encourage to sign up under you, will help to increase your "bucks".

Since I watched a CNBC documentary about google- I am a little nervous about using them. I love this alternative.
Check it out!!

Finally!!!!

I made a hair appointment and donated my old hair to "locks of love".

Feels so much better.










Next up-- working on that double chin.  :(

Farewell old friend

We are saying good bye to a long time friend. She has been in our lives for 9 years. For many years of schooling, she was invaluable to me.




I used her as a copier before we even had a computer.



Unfortunately... she has become too expensive to maintain.



Here is her replacement-----(insert ooo's and ahahh's here)

15 YEARS!!

June 17, 1995-   I married my wonderful husband.

I was a thirty year old bride.

In my 20's there was an old joke about once you were 30 you had a better chance of being captured by terrorists- than to get married. I am pretty sure that that joke is not used as much these days.


This was our engagement picture--------->
(Our orthodontist's office  is in the background across the lake. Just a bit of trivia for you.) Weren't we cute and young?(That part of my dress that is sticking out by my forearm is called a peplem- Yeah, we wore dresses with shoulder pads and peplems in the 90's. Now our bodies just have those parts naturally.)
.
ANYWAY- I know that God had a plan in the time that I waited for my wonderful Hubby. 1. He was is 4 years younger than me. 2. He did 7 years of school to get his Bachelors and Masters. 3. I was a poor Christian school teacher for 8 years. I learned lessons in frugality and also waiting on the Lord. I am glad, now, we had those years of maturing and growing.


"We love each other more and more each day/week/month/year." 
 I remember hearing people say that kind of thing- and I couldn't understand how that could be. I thought when I married him that I could not possibly love him more than that. However, now I see that as you travel together through life's experiences, you appreciate and are in awe that this person will sacrifice and be willing to endure the good the bad and the ugly.  This is the glue that cements us to each other and makes us love each other more and more. I also think that the lack of that togetherness can push people apart.

I wrote Chris a poem while we were engaged (I know, I had time to sit and think of rhyming things back then :/)    

                               Wait! It's Great!

                       God promises to bless abundantly,

                       if on Him we wait.

                      As a living example, I assure you

                      the results are great!

                     It isn't always easy,

                    we think we know what's best.

                    We try to do it our way,

                    waiting is a difficult test.

                   But when the time has come,

                   and God reveals His reward.

                  We shouldn't be surprised

                  at the abundance of the Lord.

                 For on His overwhelming supply,

                 we can definitely rely.

                We'd be content to settle,

                for dry old peanut butter.

               But the Lord wants to give us,

               juicy steak and lobster.

              I love you Chris B____

             not a minute too late,

             your God's steak and lobster blessing,

                on my 29 year wait!!

After 15 years of marriage, I am more than thankful for the Steak blessing he is in my life. (I actually have never eaten lobster.)

I love you, honey.

It is always something--

We are waiting on the company that manufactured the glass doors to send us replacement parts. That is the major hold up on completing this bathroom project. Estimated completion time was one week- by contractor. However, we were more realistic and expected it to be 2-3 weeks. Today is day 39 :{

The shower doors really are our fault. When we picked out the doors at Lowe's, they only had one set of the doors we wanted in stock. The box was a mess when they pulled it out and it had "20% off" scribbled on it. We looked into the box and it was then determined that the only thing that was wrong was that the blister pack, that had the installation hardware, was missing. The man explained that we could call their 800 number and get a replacement one and his manager said that he would give us a 40% discount. I quickly did the calculations and then we checked over the doors once again before we agreed to the proposal. I saw that the top header  had a scratch from where the employee had cut into the box to inspect it. I realized that the scratched side faced the ceiling so no one would ever see it anyway. But I decided to ask for 50% off to see if they would go for it. They did.
We went away thinking that we got a great deal. Well, we actually did. I called the company and they told me the hardware pack was back-ordered for 28 days. It came in 7 days. Whoo hoo we were so happy. However, when we went to have the contractor put them in, he found that the top and bottom header were both twisted and did not lay flat. I was going to return the doors and get a new one but it seemed that they said the parts were expected in 7 days. Since the other parts came so quickly, I expected these to be Fed-Exed just as quickly. OK- that has not been the case.

The new toilet was taller so we needed a different length "thingy" to attach it to the water supply. The new vanity was a different size so  the water supply was not attaching properly. The new door hinges were brass and our whole house was silver- so that was changed out with the old door- however one of the hinges has gone AWOL. I bought the wrong threshold.  I originally was going to paint our old vanity and we would reuse it. But the paint that was recommended to be quicker (had primer in it already)- took so long to dry and it was still tacky 5 days later when I returned it. I sanded it down to do it over and then realizing we had 50 other things to get done- we bought a new vanity instead.

We just wanted it done!!

Surprises in the mail--

For the last few months we have been receiving lots of neat things in the mail. Since I started signing up for free samples and filling out surveys, it is fun to go to the mail box.

"Mom, you got something in the mail, again." It is a phrase that has been spoken a few times a week recently.

I got the diaper samples for my niece. Shampoo, dishwasher soap and lemon packets came in a box a few weeks ago. I also have received lots of "woman's" items.

We fill out marketing surveys about new items. Sometimes we get to try out those items. However, we are sworn to secrecy as to what those items are. I guess until we see them on a shelf at the store. We have even gotten paid to take those surveys.

But the icing on the cake happened this week. The UPS man came to deliver a package. It was a small package addressed to me. Hmmm what is it? I don't remember ordering anything.


Whoo hoo!! I won a $50.00 American Express gift card. I was trying for a new refrigerator. Oh well, I am still happy with my money.


Anything exciting in your mail box recently?

Bathroom reno-- part 1 :)

We are in the process of making a few changes around here.

Our boys have been sharing our master bath for about a year now. Why? Leaks.

One of the perks of buying this house was that we would have our own master bath. We had a bath and a half in the Viola house and also in our original apartment that we rented for a little more than 2 years after we married. This house had a "5 piece master bath". Sounds luxurious right? Don't let the fancy words fool you. Any way-------

More than a year and a half ago we noticed some water stains on the ceiling of our downstairs half bath. Utt ohh!! We figured it was directly below the main bath shower. We had the boys start showering in our bath and called a plumber a few months later. Yeah -- we are like that-- it takes us a little while to get the wheels moving.

When the said- plumber came, we had a list of things of him to do to make the per hour charge worth our while. He snaked out the line and said that if it was not fixed to call back and he would go in through the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom. What? Cut into the ceiling?! We once had a hvac person, that needed to repair some drywall and it never looked right again. So-- I was apprehensive about that option.

I guess that you figured out that the tub continued to leak.

We decided to upgrade the bath since a little while after that the toilet began to leak also.

Then I began to think about what we would change I came up with a great idea.
The bathroom is small.
It felt even smaller because someone- who only made a blueprint and never lived with this bathroom- put the door in the dumbest place possible. Originally it opened right across from the toilet. Yes-- if you were sitting on the pot the door could hit you in the legs. Not only that but, behind the door was the shower. We asked our contractor to move the door to the end of the bathroom.
It is more convenient to the boys bedrooms and also when the door opens, there is a wall behind it not a tub. The bathroom is land locked- so although it is not any larger it feels larger.

----------------------------







Original bath before demolition- we had already replaced the faucet and "Miss Piggy" light bar.(So we are keeping those new ones)





Another shot of the original bathroom- it is so small that it was really hard to take pictures. When the shower curtain is pulled to the side it practically touches the toilet. We have a plan to solve that too.








Demolition day-- out with the old tub, toilet, sink, floor, moldings and door.

Yea!!! See the opening for the new door location? New door location is on the left. The old door location is behind William on the right. Since we are not big renovators this was so exciting for us.



Here is the old door location filled in with new drywall.




Stay tuned for part 2  :)

"One Great Breakfast"

Normally, I am not much of a breakfast eater. Usually, just a bowl of cereal. Except one day of the year-- that is on Resurrection Sunday.

Our church has a wonderful tradition- after the Sonrise service we have a fantastic breakfast together. Another unique aspect of this breakfast is that it is totally done by the men and boys of the church. This is no run-of-the-mill church breakfast. Think of a classy hotel buffet- then go about 100 times better. Usually we have an ice sculpture that is in the middle of the buffet that stretches from one end of the gym multi-purpose room to the other end.

What is on the buffet? Just about everything that you have ever had as a breakfast item: eggs, bacon, sausage, scrapple, pancakes, waffles, french toast, biscuits and gravy, all kinds of fruit, granola, pastries galore including: cinnamon rolls, breads, muffins, coffee cakes, etc.

The young men and boys all are the drink servers. They pour water, juice, coffee, tea, and hand out chocolate and white milk. They all wear bow ties. Boys from about age 7 and up enjoy serving at this unique event. William chose to serve this year. He was so happy for the opportunity and was ready to do it again. Timothy has served for the last 3 years and Chris got up and served with the men in the kitchen starting at 4am.


The goal of the crew that organizes the breakfast is published as a reminder that this is not done to bring glory to anyone but to the Lord Jesus Christ. Whom we celebrate on Easter Sunday and every day. It is a great reminder that we are all a part of His body (the church) and work together for His glory and honor.


Since we are usually so tired by the afternoon we put off our traditional Easter dinner until another day. This year we will celebrate next Sunday at Gram and Pop's house.

~~~Double Digits~~~

10, Ten, X,

----yes my baby is 10. Our millennium baby is now 10. After April 2ND of every year he will always know how old he is-- the same number as the year.

What a blessing he is in our lives! Our Lord surely knows what we need.

In September of 1999 we were told that I was carrying twins. Considering we had a 1 year old and a 3 year old- the idea of 2 more to make it 4 children under age 4 was a scary prospect. By December we were informed that one of our twins was a victim on "vanishing twin" syndrome. I ran a gamut of emotions: relieved and sad at the same time. When April came around (he was due on the 15Th) we were just so excited to get to the due month- (T was due in Sept- came August 1st- W was due in July- came June 26Th). His birth story is that he arrived very quickly- about 2 hours and 40 minutes after I went into labor. He was 7lbs. 6oz. - my largest baby. Looking at his hair we saw a shiny bit of red- like a pretty new copper penny. Also he seemed to have a bit of a mohawk. Upon further inspection we realized he has 2 crowns. One extra to remind us of our baby that went to heaven.
Andrew was a wonderfully laid back baby that rarely cried. He slept through the night practically right out of the hospital. He first smiled at his brothers when he was not quite 6weeks old. When he was about 6 months old, I realized he was humming a song that his brothers were singing when they prayed. He learned to read before he was really even taught. He loves his brothers and hates to make them upset.He is funny, smart, compassionate, and beautiful. Can you see why I am blessed with my boys?

Thomas- meaning "twin" is his middle name. The Lord gave him to us to bless our lives. We are praying a special blessing that the Lord will encourage him and use him for great and mighty purposes in the next year and always.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

I love you.
-Mom

Thank you Lord-- for our Sump pump--

We moved into this house about 3 years ago.

The one big reason I wanted to move was that we didn't have a basement before. Imagine this-- 3 boys, we home school, and inclement weather. Yes, one could go crazy with allowing them to get out all the wiggles with no place to run around.

Now I can say, "Go to the basement!" and they love it, too.

I grew up with a basement and we played in the basement on rainy days. We never had any issues with water in the basement in any of my growing up houses.
When we moved in here there was this interesting circle in the floor and a dehumidifier. We never worried much about it. Well, except we would say- "that dehumidifier looks so old we should probably buy a new more energy efficient one,"-- but we never did.

Well, winter 2010 has been quite wet. The retention pond across the street is at a record high- the water table in Delaware is at a record high. Someone said we could advertise that we are a waterfront property. (Not that we are for sale or anything like that)

Since the melting of the snow- we have a "new normal" sound that sounds like --
hmmmmmmm guuu shshshsh .

For a couple of weeks it happened 24/7 about every minute. If all that water had settled into the basement, we would have an indoor pool and a big mess!!
Thankfully this little pump(inside the circle in the basement) has been waiting for the day when he would be the hero that has saved us from a big disastrous mess.

Thank you Lord for our little sump pump!

Pizza Anyone??

There is a great new concept that I recently heard of-- it is called "House Party".

It is a marketing website that wants people to be able to try new products. If you like to try new products and/or get coupons for these products-- you may want to look them up.


It uses the age old idea of having parties in a home to introduce a product-- except the great thing about these parties-- there is nothing for your guests to buy! I have always liked the idea of friends getting together for a party-- but have always felt awkward about the expectation that they were being invited to buy something, so you could earn free stuff. (i.e. Pampered Chef/Tupperware etc.)

House Party actually sends you a box of the product and other types of things to help you have a fun party. All that is expected of you is to take pictures, post on a blog and give honest oponions about the products. This however, has become a very popular website and so you need to fill out applications to "win" the party.
When I first heard of this website I signed up to win a Wii Fit Shape-Up/jello mousse snack party. Shortly after the application was filed I got a rejection notice. I got a few other notices by email of other available products to have a party with. Either the date of the party did not coincide with our calendar or the product did not work for us-- ie we don't have a potty training child so we did not apply for the Pampers party ;)

About a month ago I signed up to win the Digiorno Pizza/breadsticks party. It was scheduled for the first weekend of March Madness. Last week I got the notice that I won the party. This idea is great because it will also force me to invite all those people over that I have been meaning to have over. Not that I don't want to invite them over- I just always think that I need to paint the room, put up new curtains, and get some projects done first. We are excited to have people over in spite of the "projects" that I want to do.
Here is the link to the site.

Pizza anyone??

We all caught the "Chinese plague" last week. Thankfully we will never have that virus ever again.

Between the snow and sickness- this hasn't been a month that we will want to repeat again.

SNOW of the century!!

Last September I had this feeling.....

It got so cold so fast. We didn't have much of a fall. Our summer hot weather turned cold with the turn of the calendar page. We haven't had too many bitterly cold winters recently. I didn't need to read the Farmer's Almanac, I just knew that this was going to be a bad winter.

Our first big snow was on the last day of fall, a week before Christmas. Church was canceled. We were house-bound for a few days until we got the neighborhood plowed out.

January was pretty calm, just a bunch of rain storms. Yes-- we certainly have had lots of precipitation!!! The last day of January we had another snow storm and two more huge storms since. My calendar only reads the 12th of February.

We have gotten some great work-outs by shoveling all this heavy snow. It is hard to know how much we have due to the blizzard winds that have piled up the drifts. Some of the drifts are 5 and 6 feet high! Officially the reports have stated that we had 22 inches on the Saturday(2/6) storm and about 12 inches on the Wednesday storm(2/10).

Yes, it is beautiful. But I am the type of girl that likes snow to fall one day and be melted/gone the next day.

Yes, it was fun for us all to be together. We played some Wii games as a family and watched some movies. I have used my crock pot to keep the warm homey feeling inside, as the winds and snow swirled around outside. The biggest blessing--- we never lost power. Praise the Lord!
Unfortunately, the groundhog says six more weeks of winter-- did I really expect spring to be around the corner. Why would we believe a rodent anyway?

We are so so so looking forward to spring. Only 36 more days. Unfortunately, we have heard that the forecast is saying another snowstorm is on tap for Monday--only 6- 12 inches.