Susan's Simple Thoughts

Nate is on tour!

2008-06-28T08:40:00.002-05:00

Nate and another group, Darkroom, are currently touring in the midwest. Check out Nate's myspace site to keep up with his tour dates. Darkroom is keeping a blog of their stops too.
http://darkroomtour.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Hannah!!

2008-04-03T20:11:00.002-05:00

To celebrate Hannah's birthday, I thought I would take a trip back to when she was little. Can you tell which pics are Hannah and which are Lilli. I hope you have a great day today. We love you.

Happy Birthday, Trevor!!

2008-03-25T20:14:00.001-05:00

Last week was Trevor's birthday. You can see we have a run of birthdays in our family. Hannah's birthday was one week after Trevor's. This will be the beginning of a new chapter for Trevor--a new house! Over the years, Trevor's smile has been so fun! We love you, Trev!!

Lilli's new sweater

2008-03-08T08:07:00.003-06:00

Here's a cute picture of the sweater I just finished for Lilli. Silly grandma, I was concentrating so hard on knitting the band on the sweater as I went that I forgot the buttonholes. Some of my knitting friends recommended velcro. But as you can see, a busy little girl doesn't like to close her sweater. Grandma might have to come up with another idea. The sweater is made from a pattern by Minnow Knits and is knit with Plymouth Cotton. Lilli is at the stage of selecting her own outfits every day. This was her "outfit for the day". Grandma especially likes that she thought the sweater smelled good!!

Baby Kaelyn Getting So Big!

2008-03-08T08:03:00.002-06:00

Just like her daddy, Kaelyn loves sitting in the Johnny Jumpup. Here she is hanging out and smiling for the camera. Over four months, she is smiling and laughing and enjoying life!!

Happy Birthday Nate!

2008-02-26T14:50:00.003-06:00

Today, my "baby" is turning 24! This makes me feel very old!! I know Nate is very busy with school and his new "CD" project but I want him to know how glad I am for the last 24 years. I remember those early preschool years when we had fun going to the grocery--Aldi's. He liked to box the food. Also our days meeting Grandma Ritchie at Shoney's for breakfast. Through the years, our good friend, Kendra, nicknamed Nate, "caboose man," being the last of four children. I think being #4 has developed many useful traits, such as the ability to "go with the flow". But also sometimes Nate got "short-changed" on attention. Today we are proud of the creative and fun personality of our "caboose man". The world needs our Nathanedwin! Have a great day--we love you.

Happy Valentine's day!!

2008-02-19T12:53:00.002-06:00

To celebrate the day of love--I would like to post a pic of two of the cutest valentines!!

Welcome CAPP128 students

2008-02-19T12:50:00.003-06:00

In my word processing class, we are exploring the world of blogging (web logs). My students have all created their own personal blogs. During the semester, I hope they add to their blogs and explore the adventure of keeping a web journal. Happy blogging!!

Abbi's cute sweater

2008-01-14T20:15:00.000-06:00

Just received some new pictures of the sweater I finished over vacation for Abbi. She looks adorable. I have the details of the sweater posted on Ravelry. We miss the girls so much! Each day, driving into the garage I'm reminded of them when I see the pink & purple Escalade. It's so much fun being a grandma. Abbi is holding the purse she got for Christmas from Aunt Emily. She and Lilli both carry their purses everywhere. Remember the picture in their car--they had their purse. No lady goes anywhere without a purse!!

First day of second semester

2008-01-14T20:10:00.001-06:00

Today we went back to school. Three weeks off was wonderful. First few weeks were packed with Christmas, New Years, company. The last week was restful with lots of time to knit. A couple of days I didn't even bother getting dressed--pajamas, knitting, sitting by fire. What a great combination. The beginning of a semester is wonderful. What a great chance to start over. Each new beginning feels like a brand new notebook, waiting to be filled with new experiences.

"Brother" Greg and his family visit

2008-01-08T09:39:00.000-06:00

The day after my father came to visit at our house in northern Indiana. My brother, Greg, and his wife and two children drove up to visit also. My four children and their spouses got the first chance to meet new cousins and visit with their aunt and uncle. What an amazing trip it has been to discover a family I didn't know I had. Here are some pictures of the "kids" (they are grown) playing cards and a group picture with Nathan, Josh, Hannah, Katie, Joey, and Trevor. Finally a picture of Larry & me and Greg and Sheila.

Christmas visit with my "father" Nick

2008-01-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

As a baby, I was adopted into a family in Indiana. I had a nice family of a mom and dad and a brother (also adopted). We were very close to my mom's parents and did lots of things with them growing up. My dad and grandfather had a private insurance and real estate office located in Muncie, Indiana. Many years past, my father died of a heart attack on my first day of my senior year in high school. My mother was a music teacher but worked to get her insurance and real estate license to carry on my father's business. Again, many more years past, I was married had four children moved out of the area to New York. The last ten years of my mother's life I was her caregiver managing her care in different facilities while she struggled with alzheimers. Near the end of her life, I contacted the adoption agency where I was born and paid a fee to research my birthmother and birthfather and any relative I might have. I learned that my mother had died of a heart attack several years before but I learned the names of my father and my brothers. Yes, my birthfather married my birthmother after I was born and I have three brothers. Sadly, one of the brothers is no longer living, however, my birthfather and two brothers live in Indiana. The last few years have been a slow process to begin to get to know these family members but I feel blessed with this opportunity at this point in my life. Below is a picture of my father, Nick, when he visited this Christmas to see his two "great-grandaughters", Lilli and Abbi (Caelyn wasn't able to be here).

holidays with the girls

2008-01-02T14:29:00.001-06:00

Today is Jan 2 of the new year. We are in the midst of a major snowstorm. Yesterday, Hannah and Josh and the girls flew out of South Bend in the midst of whiteout conditions. Somehow a plane landed and took off for Chicago and their second plane got out of Chicago. Even though the sun is shining and the snow is beautiful--it is very cold--12 degrees! I wanted to post some pictures from the holiday break of our granddaughters and family. Grandpa couldn't resist getting his granddaughters their own pink Escalade. Lilli has the idea--drive your SUV and talk on the phone at the same time!. Even though this present will stay in Indiana. I'm sure all of our granddaughters (probably mostly Kaelyn) will enjoy driving this car. Before the snow came, Abbi and Lilli got some driving in the neighborhood. Another fun present which is at Grandma and Grandpa's house was a kitchen. The girls liked playing with that too. Abbi is serving Uncle Nate a snack while Princess Lilli is cooking in the background. I don't think we will be able to keep the kitchen in the entryway, but it is fun having little girls around. Lilli went to a birthday party for one of her friends, Jasmin, while she was here. The party had a princess theme and there were 10 princesses (3-year olds) at the party. What fun! Here are four princesses posing with Cinderella (the aunt of Jasmin). What a great idea for a little girl's birthday party. Cinderella was the hit of the party. All the girls wanted to touch her and sit on her lap. Many of my friends and family say I have the "Cinderella complex"--life should be like a fairy tale, we all live happily ever after, and I'm still waiting on my prince to carry me away--I got a prince, his name is Larry. My 'Cinderella complex" is explained in the book by Stasi Eldredge, Your Captivating Heart.

She writes: "Every woman in her heart of hearts longs for three things:

To be romanced
To play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure
And to unveil beauty

God placed these desires in your heart to draw you into discovering the woman he created you to be and to reveal these glorious passions in His own essence."

Christmas photo of granddaughters

2007-11-29T13:33:00.000-06:00

This was so fun to try to get all three girls to sit and take this photo. We had Emily and Trevor snapping shots as fast as they could. During the photo shoot, Mom, Hannah, and Grammie tried to keep the girls still and smiling. Kaelyn was the easiest model, she just laid there. However, I think her eyes are crossed!! Anyway, it was a great night for everyone to be together. Josh was not in on the fun, since he was at home working. The house will be hopping again starting Dec. 20, when Hannah, Josh and the girls come to spend Christmas with Grammie and Grampie. We are blessed with the chance to see Kaelyn more often since she lives close by.

Welcome

2007-11-27T14:24:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my blog. This is the site to see my grandchildren's pictures, current knitting projects, and other tidbits about our family.