tired

I am beginning to get cranky with this blog so I think I will quit and call it a night!

My mentor and my friend

Seems like just yesterday I was a young stay at home mom doing my best to make things work while Daniel worked 10-12 hour days so that I could stay home. Many times I would call on my friend, Marlyn Shattuck and she would help me get over whatever hurdle I seemed to be facing. I remember one time in particular, Daniel had just called and said he was headed out of town and most likely would not be home until late that night. I was so bummed I called Marlyn and she told me to get off the phone and get the kids together and come to her house. I did that and we had the best time visiting while the kids ran everywhere in that big yard. I always knew that the welcome mat was out for me and I have tried to be the same way. I was lamenting the fact that I have no special talents to a friend and she said, "Oh, you do. You have the gift of hospitatlity. I always feel welcome in your home even if I show up unannounced." I just whispered, "thank you. Marlyn." Some people touch our lives forever and we just have to remember them and smile! THANK YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND FOR THE MEMORIES! Because of you I learned that things don't have to be spotless and perfect to make a house a home! I love you and miss you!

the little things!

Yesterday was a great day to be home! Basically all I had to do was go to the bank and grocery store. At home all that needed done was a load of laundry and cleaning out the frig. I did a load of dishes in the dishwasher and made 1 loaf of Pumpkin bread which is fun for me! Jacob and Abigail had gone on an overnight youth retreat so after Daniel went to work it was just Seth and I. That gave me some time to defrag my brain and just think. I am blessed! My family helps make what time I have at home more enjoyable because when I am there I don't have to clean up their messes and spend all of my time cleaning house. A while back I was talking to a friend and she enjoys shopping and running to town all the time and I hate it! I like my home decor and will most likely keep it for quite awhile but she likes to change often. I told her when she called that I wasn't too busy to talk because I had done some cleaning, laundry, made dessert, set my bread to rise and started dinner. I told her that I was a happy girl. She said something about it not taking much to make me happy and I told her she was right. I am pretty plain and run of the mill. You know the kind, wash and wear. She said that her husband got frustrated because he couldn't keep up with all that she wanted. I told her that I have a surefire way of getting everything I want. Of course, she wanted to know my secret so I told her......DON'T WANT SO MUCH!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

It has finally come! SPRING! My favorite season of all! For several days I have had my eye on a bunch of daffodils that we pass on my way to work and back. Finally, we came around the corner this morning there they were in all their golden glory against a backdrop of lush, green grass. I smiled a big smile. This moment I had been looking forward to had arrived and was just as beautiful as I thought it would be. Spring has always been a beautiful time of year but this year seems even more so to me. I saw my last Northern Springtime in'04! I love the new life that comes with the Spring and the squeals of little ones playing! It takes me back in time to when my own kiddos were just tykes and I could finally put away the coats, open the door and let them run. The Lilacs, Tulip and Magnolia trees here at my work are loaded with buds and I can't wait until they are bursting with color! I know I won't be disappointed!
HAPPY SPRING everyone!

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

I am so glad that yesterday is over! I asked 1 of the kids to make tea while I was mixing up corn casserole. They put the tea on the back burner but turned on the front burner where I had my cookbook laying! It is a cookbook but I don't think it is meant to be cooked!!! My oven element is out so I took a meatloaf and potatoes down to mom's to put in her oven, after 45 minutes I went to put the corn casserole in and asked her if she wanted me to turn off her timer and she did so I THOUGHT I turned off the timer. After another 45 minutes I went down to get the food out of the oven and the corn casserole looked the same as it did when I put it in. I hollered in to her room and said, "you aren't going to believe this but your oven is......turned off. I was going to tell her it was broken but no, I had turned it off. So, I said that dinner would be around 8 and started back to my apt. I was thinking about how glad I was that I wasn't having company when I remembered that I had told the lady across the hall I would bring her dinner. I was so embarrassed! I told her what happened and she was ok with it. After 20 minutes mom called and said she could smell the meatloaf and maybe waiting until 8 would be too long. It was then I realized that it had baked for 45 minutes before I turned the oven off so I went and checked it...it was fine! I decided to make Rice Krispies treats, what could go wrong? I almost poured the rice krispies in instead of the marshmallows but ended up not messing that up. They say that all is well that ends well...that is good I am just glad yesterday ended!

Our new, old pie safe

I am so excited to have this piece of history in our home. It has been in Daniel's family for many years and now it is ours! It looks old and somewhat worn but that is most of the charm! Down to the Berry pie stains on the shelves! I love it! I have my grandma's recipe box in there and we will soon be putting Daniels grandma Mings' flour sifter alongside it!

FRIENDS

I've been thinking and I decided that there are several kinds of friends. There are the kind that you meet when you are a kid and you are just always friends. Then there are the kind that you meet when you get older and you become friends and stay that way foever. Since my mom traveled alot when I was younger I met alot of people that I have stayed friends with for years. I have also met people that even though you never get to talk to them you have that thought of them pop in your head now and then and you wonder, where they are and what they are doing. There is also the friend that you might only speak to now and then and it is a great conversation that brings alot of laughter and you talk for hours. I am not close friends with very many people that I was close to in High school but now I am very good friends with someone that was only an acquaintance back then. We talk about everything and the weirdest thing is she knows when I am down even when we are chatting on Facebook. I don't know why we waited all these years to connect! The best friend of all is that one that comes along when you least expect it and they stay in your heart forever. They are a part of you and time nor distance can take that away. You search the crowd for their face and you hear their whisper in the wind and you know that no matter what happens in life this person has a part of you that they will keep forever! These are the things that life hands you that makes everything good and right. The love we have for friends and how we cherish them is up to each of us! All I know is that when I have been laid to rest I hope that there is one person that can say I was a good friend and I made a difference in their life just because I was part of it. BE A FRIEND!!!