Memorial Day

It's nice to see the real reason for Memorial Day recognized.

Thanks to all those who sacrifice so much.

Did you read the sign? All I have to say to that is AMEN!

Princess Lily

Yesterday Lily informed me that when she grows up she wants to be a princess with all the "stuff", as she made a grand motion from her tiara area and along her imaginary fancy dress. She will have a princess crown, princess shoes, a pretty dress and a bwasewet [bracelet].Then she told me how Ryan is going to make her married like daddy makes me married. (hee) She really loves her big brother. You'd think they would fight less. ::sigh::
I asked her what she would do when she is a princess and she said, "When I'm on the stage I will dance." I suppose she thinks that's what princesses do. It must be why she puts on her princess costumes when she dances. She'll say, "I need to do my dance!" Then she will run up and get a princess dress and shoes. She'll turn on a CD and dance, dance, dance. Sometimes she'll get Ryan to dance with her. They are so cute!

Splash

What do you do when there is a short break in the seemingly never ending rain storm?

You bust out the rain boots and camera and hit the streets looking for good puddles to splash.

Sadly, I had to convince Lily to splash. Once she got going she had a good time.

New Patio Furniture

Last year we made a patio in our back yard. It seems like this is an ever evolving project. When we first put a door in our dining room I thought we would eventually build a deck. It seemed so obvious since the door is about 2-3 feet off the ground. The builder put in a temporary stair case and having that made me realize I liked the flow of having the place we sit being even with the ground. So we built a patio. When I say we I mean Jay, the kids and me. It was pretty cool to do it ourselves. The satisfaction of doing it all ourselves was almost worth all the time it took to do it, almost. So we spent all this money and time building this great patio, but our outdoor furniture was in bad shape. Really bad shape as in two of the chairs were completely broken and it all looks bad. So one of the suggestions we gave for Christmas gifts was patio furniture. I didn't really expect that anyone would choose that one, but my parents did. They told us to pick out a set. So I looked at tons of sets online. I found one I liked and showed it to Jay. He liked it too. It was a traditional dining table and 6 chair set. I liked it a lot. Then something gave me pause and I totally changed my mind. I decided I wanted a different feel for our patio. I want it to be relaxed. A place to hang out and not centered around eating. We do eat out there some times, but we spend so much time out there not eating I thought I would like a lower coffee type table that offered a place to set food down, but didn't become the center piece for the whole patio. We went to Home Depot and I fell in love with this set. I think it works very well with the gray patio and it so comfortable. We are going to need to get furniture covers, but I can handle that. Next is the pergola...or canvas gazebo...or some other shade offering device I have yet to discover. This is fun:-)

I'm so excited...

and I just can't hide it! This weekend was awesome! Yesterday was ServeFest and I got to see the culmination of all of God's work I've been doing for weeks. It went really well. It was really cool watching while God filled in the gaps and made everything go smoothly. It is so cool to help God do his work! Then afterwards I got to deliver some flowers to a group at senior housing and met the nicest lady. We had a good chat and she told me about all her plans for their garden. When I got home Jay had the kids at the playground, so I got to unwind in peace and quiet. Jay hung out with the kids longer while I went to the grocery store ALL BY MYSELF. I dreaded going because it was Saturday and I thought it would be insanely crowded, but it wasn't. I guess the combination of the great weather and the afternoon timing of my trip it wasn't crowded at all. It was the most relaxed grocery trip I've had since...well, I don't think I've ever had a more relaxed grocery trip. A totally fantastic day.
Then this morning we got up early and made it to the 9AM service! This is no small feat for our family. The service was awesome! And we had so much more time in our day. Jay mowed the grass, so it will look pretty while we are hanging out this week in our new patio furniture! Woot!!! We just got it today and I LOVE it. We tried it out this evening and I am looking forward to all the time I'll be spending there. I was cleaning up after dinner and I just couldn't help smiling at my beautiful patio with my fantastic new patio furniture. Thanks mom and dad for the awesome Christmas gift!!!
...pictures in the morning...

This weekend totally makes up for the horribleness that was last weekend when I was sick on my birthday and fell in a river the next day with my brand new, got-it-for-my-birthday, camera and damaged it.