Lazy Daisy Log

Santa's Elf reporting for duty....

2009-12-08T13:57:00.003-05:00

I'm about to go into Christmas seclusion. I've been knocking out newsletters lately for us, my mom and the Mission and now I need to concentrate on working on my Advent calendars for my friends and family.

It's a labor of love and I think I'm just about ready to go into warp drive and jump into them ( especially the ones I need to mail off .) I'm getting to make one for Emma this year (her first) so I'm especially excited about that one. I wrap up raisins, Hello Kitty socks, and treasures that every 3 year old girl will find irresistible.

Emma just had her first Christmas recital. She loves to sing and dance and goes to music class. They play instruments and sing. She loves to play the guitar with her daddy and I'm told she can strum with the best of them. (Not that I would be at all biased!) Her momma took some video that I'm interested in seeing of the recital.

In the interest of full disclosure I should add this new picture of Oz. Apparently he can shake a mean maraca. Can you believe how big he is getting? We are excited about spending some time with him in the next few weeks.

I'll be posting pictures of some of my Advent calendars as soon as I actually sit down and make them. I love this time of year!

Back from Mom's

2009-12-07T13:30:00.003-05:00

This past weekend Mr. Wonderful and I went to Virginia Beach to see my mom. She had a list of items that needed to be repaired, reprogrammed, or replaced. Mr. Wonderful worked through the list in no time and then took her with us to purchase filters and other hardware at Home Depot.

I write her Christmas letter since she has difficulty with her vision. We ran off address labels for her cards so it would be easier to get them out. She tells me her Christmas list gets shorter every year.

I love this picture of us. I tell her she looks like Queen Elizabeth. I call her the queen mother!

Speaking of being the queen....she is definitely the "Parcheesi Queen". She definitely thoroughly trounced both Mr. Wonderful and I even though I kept trying to move her blockade every time I counted out her moves for her. She didn't let me get away with anything!

We had a great visit. It had been several months since I had seen her. She's been making the rounds. She traveled to Chicago with my sister Barbara to visit baby sister Bev in October and had just returned from a Thanksgiving visit with Barbara in Alabama. Mr. Wonderful and I plan on spending Christmas with mom this year before going up to New York. We returned home to 5 inches of snow!

Emma's Christmas Picture

2009-12-04T11:05:00.002-05:00

What's cuter than a little girl giggling? This picture makes me smile every time.

I'm thankful for the overlooked gifts...

2009-11-25T10:04:00.005-05:00

Discovering a flower in the crack of a sidewalk

Good health, a spirit of adventure and a wonderful traveling companion through life......

Friends who celebrate your birthday and underestimate your age!

County fairs and Petting Zoos..........

Our warm cozy "nest" complete with fat cats and a cozy hubby.

Watching our son interact with Oscar.........

Finding forgotten money in the pocket of a winter coat.

Time spent with our grand daughter Emma......

Watching our babies grow up and being part of their life.

Lint from my brain.....

2009-11-23T10:06:00.004-05:00

Does Lint from your Brain lead to Fuzzy Thinking?

This past Sunday at church we had a group of 9 ladies that sang" the Doxology" acappella in three part harmony. It was so moving that I could have easily said a prayer and left, feeling like I had indeed been to church and met with God.

Why is it that we so seldom listen to the words? They are so appropriate for the Thanksgiving season. I remember singing "the Doxology" every Sunday as a child growing up in the Baptist church. These are the words:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

It reminded me to stop and reflect on the blessings that I take for granted on a daily basis.

2. Hydrophobia? Foaming at the mouth? I started using a new tooth paste called Sensodyne Iso-Active foaming gel, and guess what? It really does foam! It does get into all the small areas that are sensitive and really helps. I do have one sensitive tooth that occasionally will act up that makes me a soprano. I've now carry Orajel in my pocket just in case. I really know how uncomfortable it is for our grandson while he is teething. Poor baby! Just a thought!

3. It occurred to me that if I was a bird I would probably look just like this. Tiny wings, skinny legs but a big butt and gut and a pronounced mouth. The haircut even looks like me! I love this stuffed bird , the vibrant color, cartoon effect, and if it were real it would probably flap it's wings a lot and make very little head way. Hey,I told you this was lint from brain! Just a thought!

4.

Aren't these just the cutest cookies ever? I could probably decorate these and have them come out right. I find it fascinating that my mom loves candy corn, I love candy corn and I just found out that my youngest daughter loves it too.....heredity or bad taste? Just a thought?

5. Thanksgiving for lazy daisies.....Stouffer's Holiday Collections (Broccoli, cheese augratin ) Cedder Bacon Potatoes, Glazed apples and cranberries, , Bob Evans sweet pototes, and Boston Market Turkey Medalions. No fuss, no hassel, less than 15 minutes. Mr. Wonderful says the most traveling he wants to do is from the kitchen to the dinning room. Just a thought!

Birthday Hangover.....

2009-11-21T22:11:00.004-05:00

Turning 60 has been an adventure, celebrating it has been fun. Yes, I am having a birthday hangover.....not the alcoholic type just letting my birthday celebration take over the entire week1

I'm still getting sweet birthday cards from friends and noticed that I got about 50 birthday messages from friends on facebook. I received a a handmade booklet from my best friend entitled "6O Things I Love/Hate About You". It made me laugh and cry at the sweet memories and history we shared as our children were growing up. It makes me sad that we live so far away from each other now.

My Mr. Wonderful took me out to lunch today at the Depot Grill in Staunton. Last year Melli, her mother-in-law, and our friend Beckie and I discovered this great place to eat and I've been wanting to go back ever since. The food is wonderful and it was actually part of the train depot. He had a bison burger and I had smothered chicken.

After lunch we went to Sun Spots, a glass store that you can watch glass being blown and shaped into Christmas ornaments and gorgeous vases. We got to watch the glass blower actually making a Christmas ornament. The picture is of a vase we saw being made last year when we visited. Mr. Wonderful had never been so he was fascinated by the process.

Mr. Wonderful bought me this great bracelet. I love bracelets and especially anything with a daisy on it. He picked it out all by himself. (I bought myself a bracelet at this same store last year so I'm really thinking I like this birthday tradition.)

We also went to the Bittersweet Bakery , right down the street, (which I am told is the best bakery in Staunton) for a chocolate, chocolate chip cookie. On our way into the the store there was a sign in the window that said, "If your name is Charlie or Christine ask for a free cookie". So guess who got a free cookie...Mr. Wonderful!

I finally got to go into "The Jolly Roger Haggle Shop". I've always been intriqued by the name but had never gone in. Oh my goodness, I wish you could have seen it. There was all kinds of glass ware, antique jewlery, tools, furniture, books, dolls, plates, pictures , locks and everything you could possible imagine stuffed into three floors and all over the walls. It was definitely a visual overload but some pretty intresting things. We work at a mission that is overloaded with "stuff" so it made me think that we were back at work. It was hard to look at everything as if they were antiques.....but I keep forgetting that I'm an antique now too!

I forgot to tell you about a sweet surprise . For my birthday breakfast my guy fixed me my favorite hot out of the oven refrigerator cookies (White chocolate chunk with macadamia nuts ) and coffee in my favorite cup with my favorite creamer (white chocolate mocha.) My favorite coffee mug says, "God danced on the day you were born" and it always brings a smile to my face.

A couple of years back my coffee mug got broken beyond repair when Mr. Wonderful opened the cupboard door and it fell out and smashed on the tile floor. I was heart broken as it was my absolute favorite mug. Long story short, we found the exact cup at a yard sale in pristine condition for a quarter. I love it when God winks at you at the most unexpected times.

Hope your weekend is a celebration too.

2009-11-20T11:05:00.002-05:00

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday Fave Five in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. If you would like to play along just post your 5, link back to Susanne and visit her to see who else is playing.

1. I turned 60 yesterday and was well celebrated by both friends and family. My children arranged a card shower for me and asked my friends to share a special memory or shared experience with me. I had forgotten some of the things mentioned, laughed till I cried at others and was deeply blessed by just knowing that my life has made a difference in the life of a few people. What a special gift!

2. Mr. Wonderful took the day off and I had him all to myself for the whole day. He's a good playmate (however, he makes a lousy girlfriend!) He found a great chocolate shop in Harrisonburg called "Chocolate Occasions" and I got to pick out a few of my favorites. Their white chocolate butter creams are surely the food of heaven! I'm not sure but I think Mr. Wonderful slip the owners my picture and asked them not to sale to me cause I'm an addict!

3. I got a new drivers license with a new skinnier picture and got to drop my listed weight by 75 pounds. That was a thrill because the previous weight listed was" what I would admit to" and not necessarily the weight I was at the current time!

4. My volunteer group canceled out this Saturday. (I did muster up some disappointment on the phone though.) We have been blessed with lots of volunteers lately which is great but really makes us work hard to get prepared for them. It also means working 6 days a week for the past month .....so it was a blessing to actually have Saturday off this week.

5. Phone calls from all my children, hearing Emma wish me "Appy Birfday Dita, appy birfday Poppa" ( she thinks that if I'm having a birthday he should be too!) calling my mom at 3:15 pm (the time I was born) and thanking her for giving me life 60 years ago, having "Louie Armstrong" sing me Happy Birthday via my son Andy, and being surprised that the lady at the DMV wished me Happy Birthday!

Hope your week was blessed too. My new favorite quote: "Grace with wrinkles is adorable!"

60 or 16 ?

2009-11-19T21:31:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday and I don't share my cake with just anyone. I'm off playing today with Mr. Wonderful (my favorite playmate). Today I turn 60 years old, and despite the silver hair, adorable grandchildren, children who have turned into responsible adults, and cute guy I married....not much has changed since I was sweet 16. Now, if you'll kindly stop laughing (it's ok, I'll wait!) let me explain.

Thirty six years ago my world changed drastically when I said, "I do" to Charlie Bennetch (the cute guy). Since then we have been on a grand adventure that is anything but predictable. Through it all I have been blessed with good health, lots of laughter, friends, wonderful family, a godly husband (who constantly rescues me) and most of all a faithful God and Savior who promised never to leave me or forsake me when I dedicated my life to him at 16.

In my head I'm still the sixteen year old girl, full of life and waiting for the next adventure. In my head, I still have endless possibilities and creative energy. In my head are novels I've yet to write, places I've yet to explore, and friends I'm anxious to meet for the first time.

However, in my heart I have wonderful memories of adventures completed, friends and family who helped shape my character and conduct and most of all I have a lifetime of daily interactions with Jesus Christ. I often wonder what people do who don't know Jesus. As I age I get more and more dependent on His Grace and Mercy and look forward to Heaven. I'm comforted knowing His mercies are new every morning and I rely on his grace moment by moment.

If you think about me today, on my birthday, please breathe a prayer that I will always remember to be gracious. God has extended such grace to me that I should be the most gracious person ever. Thank you for your cards and letters and most of all your friendship. I treasure each of you and value your impact on my life.

Today I wear the birthday tiara with pride and plan to celebrate life with all my favorite things, chocolate brownies from Chick-fil-a, Lunch at Red Lobster, Shopping at Target (with a 100 dollar gift card...Woo Hoo!) and renew my drivers license complete with new picture and new weight! Catch ya later!

Random Dozen

2009-11-17T21:39:00.003-05:00

1. If you could master one sport, what would it be?

Is competitive eating a sport? Honestly this is hard. What sport would a senior citizen want to play? I can't see me playing football, basketball, tennis or volleyball. I'm not an ice skater so the only thing I can think of would be ping-pong or table tennis.

2. When you make a major purchase, do you go with your gut instinct, or do you do research to make an informed decision?

I'm a researcher and agonize over every decision. If this is a major purchase then it would be joint decision and Mr. Wonderful is much more diligent at researching than I am.

3. There is an old kids' game that says you can find out what your movie star name would be by using your middle name as your first name and the name of the street you grew up on as your last. What is your movie star name?

Kathleen Peak

4. Would you rather give up your favorite music or your favorite food?

My favorite food....music is much more important to me.

5. There are two types of banana preferences. One is pristine yellow, almost to the point of being green; the other is spotty and more ripe. Which is your preference?

Pristine yellow, almost to point of being green.

6. Your favorite tree is?

Weeping Willow

7. On a scale of 1-10, how tech savvy are you?

maybe a 4

8. Has H1N1 touched your family?

My Canadian daughter already had it and was very sick for over two weeks.

9. Are you an analytical person, or do you just accept things the way they are without questioning or scrutinizing?

Analytical? Hmm....not as much as I should be but definitely not Pollyanna.

10. Is your personality more like that of a dog, cat, or Koala?

I guess I would be a lovable koala.

11. Do you keep in touch with friends you made years ago?

Yes, definitely!

12. You are checking out at a grocery store. In the express lane, there are more people than the regular lanes, but of course, their load is less than those in the regular lanes. Which lane do you choose (assuming you qualify for the express lane) and why?

Which ever lane I think will move the fastest usually based on the ability of the checker.

What was she thinking....

2009-11-17T14:27:00.005-05:00

Can you imagine my big backside walking away from you.....Quack, quack, quack! At least they have daisies on them and you know how this girl loves her daisies!

No, it's not tacky Tuesday.....they are actually my painting clothes. I figured paint would only make it look better. Obviously getting older did not improve my fashion sense!

Remember the Sweet Things

2009-11-16T15:41:00.003-05:00

"For twenty years, Ellen Greene kept a running list of the thoughtful, funny, touching things that her husband, Marsh, said and did. She wrote them down secretly, then shared those thoughts with him every Valentine's Day when he would find pages from her "Sweet Things List" tucked inside a card."

I just finished reading this book and it reminded me to start remembering the sweet things and write them down. We are good about remembering outrageously funny moments or moments of great distress but not so good remembering the little things or moments that catch our mate in his best light. So here is a 10 things I've jotted down about my Mr. Wonderful.

......he always gets up an hour before I do and turns up the heat and starts the coffee so I wake up to a toasty warm cottage and a hot cup of coffee.

......he makes sure we have a good supply of wood for our outdoor heater and goes out twice a day to feed the furnace. He never complains about me turning up the thermostat since he knows I'm cold natured.

.....he gets so excited when he buys something for me he knows I'll like. He can't wait to give it to me and usually does before the actual event.

........he lets me snuggle up next to him when I get into bed and lets me put my cold feet on his warm body.

........he's an ole softy when it comes to our grands, either one can wrap him around their little pinkie.

.......when reading a story about a teenage daughter that needed a heart transplant and received her Dad's heart after he died in an automobile crash Mr. Wonderful said thoughtfully, "I'd do that for our kids." Then a moment later added drolly "Well, at least one of them."

......he goes with me to visit my eighty year old mother in Virginia Beach and repairs, fixes, resets, assembles, glues, mow, racks, and encourages her as if she were his own mom.

......he prays with me on a daily basis .

......he loves to tell me how he repaired items and uses all the technical terms "as if" I really would understand how he did it.

.......he lets me watch Top Chef, Project Runway, The Amazing Race, and Survivor even though he rolls his eyes and shakes his head when I do.

My Birthday is this week and I'm not dying

2009-11-15T20:19:00.004-05:00

My birthday is this Thursday. It's a big birthday and my children have conspired to make sure I am well celebrated. They have contacted many friends and family and asked that they share a special memory with me as a surprise.

The surprise came about a month before my birthday when I got my first birthday card and warm fuzzy memories from my baby sister. Don't get me wrong, it was a sweet note recounting many memories of our growing up together, but it really confused me. My birthday is 5 days after hers, so I was wondering why I would be getting a birthday card in October, when both of our birthdays are in November.

A few days after the note card (not traditional birthday card) appeared, I got another note card from a friend of my daughter. It was a sweet note but left me wondering how she would know it's my birthday (again this happened in October). I did note that the note card was similar and exactly the same size, and typed identically, with no return address. ( Ok, so I'm not a good detective like those in the mysteries I like to read!) It was a really busy time for us at the mission with lots of volunteer groups, so I didn't have a lot of time to think about it.

About a week after the first two cards arrived, I got a third card from a wonderful friend of mine who never writes and never calls, so immediately I began to think that I must be dying and no one had told me. I figured I must be going before my birthday, as I was getting cards so early. My suspicions were confirmed two days later when I received the fourth non-birthday card from a dear friend who would only write if I indeed were dying.

Shortly after this confirmation (that I was dying), my good friend "Flip Flop Flozzie" asked if she and Mike could come visit me right before my birthday. They live in Savannah ( a 10 hour drive) so of course I said yes and thought how sweet of them to come , then I consoled myself with chocolate.

As I think back on the last few weeks, I can honestly say that chocolate has been an important part of my demise. What the heck, if I'm dying I might as well go down having enjoyed chocolate to the end. Just in case I wasn't dying, I happened to mention the influx of early birthday cards to my girls, both who acted totally surprised and then denied any knowledge of the events.

Non-birthday cards have continued to come in throughout the month, all the same size, all addressed exactly alike, all telling me that I am loved and valued. My health has not deteriorated (and sadly neither has my waist line) and my children have finally confessed, much to my relief, that it is their birthday surprise for me.

I am glad to know I'm not dying and you can bet I'll be really excited about getting the mail this week. This girl loves anticipation, so I'm really looking forward to being celebrated.

Diva's Little Monsters

2009-11-02T11:59:00.003-05:00

Suzy as the sailboat that takes Max to the Island of the wild things.

Oz as Max of "Where the Wild Things Are"

Emma as the King of the Monsters from " Where the Wild Things Are!"

pumpkin time in Canada

2009-10-30T11:52:00.002-05:00

Here's our divine Miss Em with her Mommy and Daddy check out the pumpkins.

Wordless Wednesday....Apple and Pumpkin Picking

2009-10-21T11:46:00.002-05:00

a peck of cuteness....the apple of our eye!

pumpkin picking

Lost in though?

Friday Five Faves

2009-10-16T22:06:00.002-05:00

Friday is a day to stop and look back over the week and find things to be thankful about.

Our work at the mission is very physical and demanding so it is easy to become discouraged or overwhelmed. When that happens we lose perspective and become overly critical.

This week we had an amazing amount of volunteers all week long. It's a great problem to have and we were able to get a lot of work accomplished.

Wednesday we were blessed to have Kay and Marty park their RV behind the mission and report for work for the next 3 weeks. They are friends that are from Florida and such a blessing and encouragement to us. We laugh a lot while we are working and the day flies by.

Thursday we had a group of 10 college freshmen from Bridgewater College volunteer for 4 hours in a community outreach program. We were able to move chairs to a nearby storage area and palatalize medical equipment.

Also on Thursday 4 couples from my mother's church in Virginia Beach gave up a day of their vacation (they were at a time share near the mission) and spent the day boxing, weighing, taping and moving used clothing.

Saturday we had a local youth group come in the morning and helped us put together shelving . We will be able to store building supplies in that area now. Several of the girls had never worked with tools before so it was difficult but rewarding to see them accomplish the task.

Saturday afternoon saw another youth group ( that gave up their free time at a local youth retreat) come help us with finishing the shelving and moving building supplies downstairs. It amazes me how kids think running up and down stairs is a fun thing.

We are very tired but agree with the opening cartoon....these groups and individuals ROCK and Rule!! It's so nice to see so much accomplished in such a short time. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

Thursday 13....13 Ways to be the perfect mother

2009-10-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

13 ways to be the perfect mother.....from "How Not to Turn into your Mother"

Have a perfect genetic makeup, including a Barbie doll figure and Jennifer Aniston hair.
Be a 24/7 ATM machine.
Wear age-appropriate clothing.
Get to the point of the story already!
Do not expect presents, phone calls, or attention.
Sign anything put in front of you without asking annoying questions.
Never flirt with any guy under the age of seventy.
Know in your hear of hearts that you are not cool, have never been cool, and most probably will never be cool.
Never discuss icky personal problems.
Always be available to cook, clean, mend, chauffeur and buy stuff for your daughter.
Never, ever talk about your labor pains.
Know that loving support is nice, but an American Express Gold Card is even nicer.
Know that in addition to braces, vaccine shots, and green vegetables, all teenage daughters must have their own room, laptop, iPod, and cell phone with unlimited calling plan.

Wordless Wednesday...Oscar's 8th Month birthday

2009-10-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

It's a pirate birthday.....Arrr! check out the cupcakes

Check out Oz's boat!

first mate Mom with Captain Oz and parrot

captain Oz with pirate crew!

happy birthday Pea....

2009-10-13T09:16:00.000-05:00

My good friend Pea had a birthday today and threw herself a blog birthday party. It was quite a party with lots of good virtual food and the guests came dressed like fairies. What do you think of mine costume?

I think I look more like a butterfly or dragonfly. What do you think?

I do like the colors of my outfit though. Feel free to wish her happy birthday.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving....

2009-10-11T14:49:00.004-05:00

I love Fall....the picture to the left is my current wallpaper courtesy of Gooseberry Patch . It's the cover of a cookbook but it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside with visions of pumpkin pie, and apple everything dancing in my head.

My Mom and Sister are visiting little sis in Chicago. They went apple picking and according to mom have about 40 pounds of apples to show for their efforts.( golden delicious, red delicious and Jonathan apples) I should let you know that my mom makes the best apple cake in the world as well as killer applesauce and apple pie. I'm sure they made Johnny Appleseed proud!

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for my Canadians. I'm also thankful that we aren't having an arctic fall. I love this adorable picture of the divine Miss Em with the snow lady they built. (Complete with necklace, tiara, ruby red lips and eyes.) I love the red Camilla they gave her too!)

Hope your harvest was plentiful and your hearth warm and comforting to all who enter.

To those who wondered why I was not blogging it's because I was into virtual farming. It's a lot easier than gardening or real farming.

When the flowers die, virtual watering brings them right back. It doesn't work that way in the Daisy Patch. I'm sure I killed more flowers than I've ever raised.

Hope your Monday is going well. Till tomorrow!

Things that delighted me today.

2009-10-10T21:36:00.004-05:00

This is the view from my front porch.

It seems almost over night the landscape has changed for green to the rich golds, yellows, oranges and reds of fall. I love to see the hay bales in the fields ready for pick up and storage.

These are two pumpkins that were actually accidentally grown by me
at the Daisy Patch. We were given some potting soil that had a pumpkin seed in it and these are the two pumpkins we grew. I've never grown pumpkins before so it was a special surprise. Cinderella would have had a hard time using either one for a quick get-away. The bigger on is skinny for a pumpkin and the other is Oscar sized.

Another delightful surprise today was finding these very pretty and divine smelling roses blooming beside the garage. Last spring I pruned the rogue rose bush down to the ground as it had totally taken over the side of the garage and was growing under the siding. I thought I had killed it but it actually is prettier than before. Who knew?

These are just a few of the books I bought today at the Green Valley Book Fair. It is only open 6 times a year and the best time to go is the first day. These are just the cook books I bought! Some of them I bought for Christmas gifts but it was so much fun! We also went to the public library and got some travel book on Boston. We are talking about going to Boston for my birthday and I just heard today that there is a train that goes from Charlottesville to Boston. Doesn't that sound romantic?

Last but not least.....my guilty pleasure! I found out that I can eat 26 Candy Corns made with honey for 140 calories. Who Knew? I love these things .

Hope your day had moments that made you smile.

Friday Fave Five

2009-10-09T11:10:00.004-05:00

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday Fave Five in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. If you would like to play along just post your 5, link back to Susanne and visit her to see who else is playin'. ( I personally stole it from Melli~)

Thankfulness is always a good thing. I have many good things to look forward to also. So in random order here's my five for the week.

Spending time with Mr. Wonderful. We work together at the mission but most nights we barely finish supper and he's off "to read" (code for going to bed early). This past weekend we were able to spend some fun time together, going to the Mennonite Relief Sale and the 150th Anniversary of his boyhood church. ((see post below)
Our weekly Skype visit with Miss Emma and her parents. Can you believe how tall she is getting? My girl is growing up much too quickly. Our weekly Skype visits do help to connect with her. We sing song, clap and make funny faces. She shows us her dolls and toys and giggles. She is such a ball of energy.
Spending time in our little Nest....I love our little house in the country and never get to spend much time in it. I love to sit on the porch swing, feel the cool breeze, take in all the fall colors and the serenity. We live in the Shenandoah Valley so enjoy the beauty all around us.
A Great Supply of Books.....we are blessed to have a wonderful public library not very far from where we live. They have a good selection of books and books on tape when we travel. They also give us "Senior Citizen " status (must be my silver hair) so they don't charge us now for overdue books. I've always got one or two books overdue so it's great not to have to pay a fine.
Watching people work in the area that they are gifted. I love to see people thrive in areas that they are working in. Mr. Wonderful was so cute this week putting together solor panels for a Mission in Haiti. He had to design the brackets to hold the panels and put it together. He succeeded and then acted surprised that it went together so quickly.

Uncle Andy and Oz

2009-10-08T14:40:00.002-05:00

I've got lots of posts to catch up on but this one is about the special relationship between my boys....Andy and Oscar. Andy is thrilled to be an active part of Oz's life and is already making plans to take him to his first Mets game.

Uncle Andy was thrilled when Suzy found a cap similar to Andy's favorite cap. This cap belonged to my dad (the grandfather he is named after) and he wears it whenever I'm in town. I think he wants me to know he didn't lose it.

Suzy had a Cowboy birthday party for Oscar's first birthday. We all wore cowboy hats, bandannas, and jeans.....except for Andy. He decided that a cowboy party would not be complete without an Indian. So.....you guessed it. He rented an Indian costume for the party. Oscar loved it but Andy did manage to scare two little girls at the party.
Now I ask you? How many uncles would dress up for a little kid's party? What a sweet guy.

As you can see "Cowboy Oscar" tamed that wild Indian with one of his smiles...There's a whole post coming about the party with lots of pictures and links so don't worry I'm in no fear of losing my "Diva" status.

Now for some unsolicited bragging about Uncle Andy. Boy Wonder is taking college courses to get a degree in business . He is paying his own tuition and is really doing well. He has raised his grade point average to 3.6. Bear in mind, he hates to study and hates math and is taking courses in accounting and statistics. He works all night and has 8 o'clock classes. He goes to every class and has even gone in for tutoring. He wants to get a "big boy job" and he knows he needs a degree to be taken seriously. We are so proud of him for his perseverance and maturity.

I enjoy watching Andy with Oscar. He is very protective with him and even babysat one evening so Suzy and Tim could out to a movie. Oscar was already down for the night and Andy did call me and asked me to pray that Oscar would sleep the whole time his parents were out cause he was pretty nervous about child care. God is good, Oscar slept and both uncle and nephew survived the outing. Good job Andy!

What's eating you....

2009-10-06T11:52:00.003-05:00

This is a picture that was taken while visiting in New York recently. I can't begin to tell you how wrong this is on so many levels......you'll be happy to know that this girl walked passed without trying a sample.

(Only because I was full from some amazing Greek Food from the Greek Festival. I would love to tell you what I ate but I couldn't pronounce it much less spell it.)

I'm told don't knock it till you try it...I was sorely tempted!

This girl loves cake! We recently celebrated Oz's first birthday and this was his birthday cake. He would have preferred broccoli or vanilla custard. He did taste it and had some frosting smeared on his face for the occasion.

Suzy and I decided that cake should not be wasted (or go to the waist) so here's our tribute to cake. It was carrot cake so technically it's a vegetable right? Carrots are good for night blindness so it's technically medicine.

This is a John Deere motor used to churn delicious home made ice cream at the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale last weekend. Mr. Wonderful and I had never been so we dutifully ATE our way around the fair grounds. He had food from Laos which was really good and enough for both of us (though he ate most of it!) We brought home Brunswick Stew (my favorite) . We did go wandering through the baked goods looking for Strawberry Rhubarb pie or Shoe Fly Pie but had to settle for Strawberry pie instead. We had orange pineapple home made ice cream. Our one scoop was the size of 4 regular scoops.

The Relief Sale was held at the Fair Grounds.
We parked in the "Cow" Section. After eating our way around the fair grounds we decided that to really do the Mennonite Cooks justice you probably needed 4 stomachs like a cow.

150th Anniversary of Bethany Lutheran Church

2009-10-05T10:27:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Mr. Wonderful and I went back to his boyhood church to celebrate the church's 150th Anniversary. The little country church building is over 100 years old and is very quaint and beautiful.

Mr. Wonderful's father was a minister in this church for 20 years. We laughed at 9 year old "skinny boy wonderful" in the church picture taken at the 100th celebration.

We were thrilled to be joined by Mr. Wonderful's brother Jim and wife Marilyn from Richmond.

Mr. Wonderful doesn't reminisce often but he was definitely in his element on Sunday riding through the back woods, and twisting roads of his youth. He pointed out all the landmarks, his elementary school and the homes of every church member as well as going by the former parsonage which had been sold years ago and is sadly in disrepair.
We also went through the church cemetery . Mr. Wonderful's first job was mowing the grass in the cemetery. He likes to say he never got any complaints from the people he worked for at his first job. It was a day of sad reflection as so many members had passed away and were buried there, but also a day of reunions with former friends he had not seen in 30 years or more.

It was a gorgeous day and a full day. We shook hands and kissed enough babies to qualify as a political contender. I heard many a "Mr. Wonderful" story about boy wonderful and every twist and turn of the road produced a new story from my very animated husband.

It was a really good day. Mr. Wonderful said a few words to the congregation on behalf of the family. He remarked that a "life well lived" was the example his parents left to him and to the congregation. His father preached the gospel every Sunday and lived what he preached throughout the week. His parents are still held in high regard even to this day.

I know I've been out of touch for a long time. So the next few days will probably have a lot of catch up posts. Missed you.