vacation

We have been on vacation and it was truly wonderful!  The kids had
spring break and we headed down to Emerald Isle, NC with some friends.
The weather was warm and the beaches were beautiful.  We rented a 7 bedroom
8 bathroom house with a heated pool and spa.  We had lots of good food.

Took lots of walks on the beach....

late night swims...

lots of trips to DQ and Ben and Jerry's Ice cream shop...

lazy days reading by the pool....

And even some new tattoos with the kids names....

We left this....

to wake up to this today....

Yes people, that is snow!  it was very wet.  My poor flowers.

Everything has been so beautiful.  Very green and all the flowers

are blooming.  But the snow is a little crazy!  Of course, this is upstate

NY!

have a "warm" day" friends  :)

I had an interesting day yesterday.  Me and my mom

went shopping.  I take Rachel to school and leave the

school by 7:30am.  Then I head over to her house and we 

leave from there.  So, we are usually ready to shop by

8:45-9:00.  Since a lot of the stores aren't open yet

we hit Target or something like that.  Yesterday, we went

to K-mart and then Target until the mall opened at 10am.

I was looking for a bathing suit for AJ.  So, I headed into

Zumiez.  There were 3 young people (early 20's) working

there.  Here's how the conversation went:

Guy:  Hey, how are you?

Me:  fine thanks.

Guy:  Wow, you are out really early today.

Me:  hmm...yeah, I guess...    (I'm thinking that I've been up since

6:15 buddy.  This isn't really early to be out)

Guy:  What brings you out this early?

Me:  Oh, just looking at shorts and stuff

It was just weird!  I kept looking to make sure that the store

was really open.  They acted like they've never had a 

customer that early before! 

Anyway, got my shopping done for the day and on the way

home, I thought that I would call Randy.  My car has that

thing were it syncs with your phone so you can talk hands

free.  You just push a button on the steering wheel and tell 

it what to do.  Here's how that went.

Me:  call Randy cell

phone:  calling Brandi on cell

Me:  no!  ignore hang up cancel

Me:  Call RRandy

phone:  calling Randy :)

Later....

me: call Jolie at home

phone:  I'm sorry Julie has no home number

me:  no, JOlie

phone:  I'm sorry I didn't understand you

hangup

Me:  dial (and then I gave it Jolie's home number)

ring ring ring...no answer

Me:  call Jolie on cell

phone:  calling JUlie on cell

Me:  NO NO hang up

Me:  call Jolly (I thought maybe it pronounced it that way)

phone:  calling shelley on cell

Me:  No No  hang up

Me:  Call J   O   L   I   E  (I spelled it out for it)

Phone:  calling Jamie

Me:  No No

oh well, after that I gave up.  I don't remember Jolie's cell number so I couldn't just dial it and my purse was in the back.  So, maybe I'll try Jolie today from home :)

ahhhhhh......

We Might Be Going Amish!

I have always had a fascination with  Amish people.

I don't know why.  I guess I just find their life-style interesting.  We
own a hotdog stand that we set up during the season and work the
lunch crowd in town.

About 2 months ago, a local auctioneer called
us and asked us if we would want to come and work at his auction
house selling food.  It's usually once or twice a week.  So we figured
we would try it out and see how it goes.  So far so good.  Something
that I find interesting are all the Amish people who attend the auctions.
I always like to think that I could be Amish.  I don't know why either.
It's not like I ever go around without makeup on or wear a dress that I've
made.  Gosh, I can't even sew!  What would my family wear!?  And although
I like to make homemade bread, it's usually in my bread machine.

So, I just have to throw a few ingredients in it and turn it on.  Oh but wait!
I wouldn't have power if I were Amish.  And I don't think that they get to take a bath
once or twice a day like I like to.  Sometimes when it's cold outside I've been
known to take 3 baths in one day!  (it just warms we up)

And I spend an
awful lot of time on this computer.  How would I know
 how to do anything if I didn't have google?  And I just
got a new car that I love!

 How would it be to really
drive a horse and buggy?
Especially in the winter when it's
freezing outside!  I  am really
enjoying my heated seats!
Oh and the shopping!  I like to shop and love to go to

restaurants to eat out.  I'm pretty fond of my Electrolux washer and dryer
too.

So, although I like the idea of it my kids are usually
quick to remind me that I could never be Amish.
And they are probably right.  Last week there was
 a very young couple who had a little boy that was
maybe a year old at the auction.  So cute!  He had a
 little bonnet on.  This week, an older amish couple
came and then there were also several young people (teens).
 The women hardly spoke when they came to order food.
 The men did most of the talking.  I told Randy that I think that the woman are
very submissive in those relationships.  He asked if I thought that the women get
to say no to having "relations"!  I told him probably not.  So, now he's all into
us becoming Amish!  ...Like I ever say No to him ;)  Geesh!  Oh yeah, if you
try to call we won't have cell phones so just come on over neighbor!

Do you have any of these spices in your cabinet?  

When we first got married, I had no clue how to cook or what I would

ever use these spices for.  After about 10 years, I finally figured out

how to cook and now I absolutely love it.  The other night I was cooking

and realized that I've had these 4 spices for a really long time.  How long?

I received them as a shower gift in one of those nice sets that you display

on your counter.  These 4 are the only ones left.  That means that I've

had them since 1987 People!  

Do spices go bad???  Well, thank God we

have google so that I could find out.  The answer is that spices don't

go bad but they do lose their potency.  I have stored them in a cool

dry place for the past 23 years!  So that's not an issue.  And I did read

that some spices actually will last a long, long time!  However, I think

it's time to replace the sesame seeds.  The last time I used them they 

didn't have much taste.  

A Good Day.

We had such a nice day yesterday.

Our church was so crowed that you

would have thought it was Easter!

What a wonderful message our 

Pastor gave on God’s love when we

are experiencing despair,  destruction, 

and devastation in our lives.  Then we

went over to my parent’s house for

a great Easter dinner.  We haven’t 

seen them since they came back

from Florida!  So, it was great to 

visit with them.  

We came home and 

relaxed.  In the evening, we went to 

our local ice cream shop for our first 

cone of the season.  Because they aren’t

open all year long, it makes it really

special to go and get a cone.  We usually

do a “surprise” ride and go and get a

cone.  We’ll tell the kids Surprise Ride and 

they have just a minute to get into the

car.  Then we take them somewhere for a treat.  

So, I’m looking forward to lots of surprise rides

this summer! :)

AJ didn't want his picture taken but

you can see that he's trying really

hard not to smile in this picture.

we did get him to smile:

When we came home, we got out the old

home movies and watched them.  It 

was so fun to see the kids when they

were little!  We all laughed a lot and

talked about some fun times. 

Spring!

I love this time of year!  Everything is coming alive!
Yesterday was 87 degrees outside!  It was hot!  And
today will be 84.  Next week we will be in the 60's but
that's okay.  At least it's not snowing :)  I love the snow
and I look forward to it but after months of it, I'm ready
to pack up the winter coats and get out some sandals.

I love clothes hanging on the line.  I love how they
look and how they smell when I put the sheets on the
bed.

The daffodils  were in full bloom this morning!  A sure
sign that spring is here!

Notice the buds all over this bush.

The forsythia is coming alive too.

After the fall, I threw my pumpkins outside and then
it snowed on them.  They rotted away but when the
snow melted, I noticed that my tulips pushed right up
through them.  God's beauty is all around us and it's
incredible.  God's love is like the soil.  When we are
ready to receive his love, He pours himself into us
just like water is poured over plants and flowers.  The
life giving water is like the Holy Spirit in our lives.
When we surrender to Christ He spills into all areas of
our life.  God provided sun to these flowers and plants
so that they could grow and He gave us Jesus.  He is like
our sun in a darkened world that is without hope.  He
illuminates the sin in our lives.  It grows like weeds that
will take over if we don't deal with it.  He gives us the
power and strength to deal with our sin.  We have his
forgiveness and hope for eternity.  He also shows us
areas in our lives that need to be pruned.  It's not always
easy or pleasant to go through those times but He is
faithful to see us through.  When we look to God for
His guidance, truth, and wisdom , we will ultimately
reap what we sow, and with God, He will provide
an abundant harvest!  Be blessed this Easter!