Everyday Memories

And the girls win..........

2011-01-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

...with a "little" help.

(Okay, this post is a bit late, but here it is. Enjoy!!)

Maestro Brittany

2011-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

The Making of Sauerkraut

2010-12-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

Come on, admit it. You always wondered how a small town, family owned business produced sauerkraut. You're welcome. :)

This was the last day of "cutting" for Victor Preserving Company.....ever. (Cutting is the term those of us "in the business" use for shredding the cabbage and adding salt. After time this combination ferments and becomes sauerkraut.)

Victor Preserving Company was started by my great grandfather over one hundred years ago, and this fall my father, current owner and president, decided to sell. He wasn't looking to sell, but an offer was made and accepted and a family "legacy" is gone.

VPC was always a food producing company. It use to be more varied in its production, but in the last 40ish years it's been solely a sauerkraut factory. My great grandfather started it and ran it, my great grandmother ran it (after great grandpa passed away), my grandfather ran it, and my father was the last one to run the factory. 12 years ago my husband joined the "team" and became plant manager.

The above video was mostly for family memories, but I thought I'd share it here because I know all of you were wondering about the fascinating world of sauerkraut. :)

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

2010-11-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

2010-11-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

Another one......

2010-08-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

Elderly Couple of 62 Years plays piano

2010-08-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

This has been floating on facebook for awhile, and I thought it was cute.

ON SALE NOW....

2010-07-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

for a limited time only...

BRITTANY'S MOSQUITO AVOIDANCE SYSTEM (BMAS)
(Patent pending)

Bothered by those pesky bugs? Well, Brittany can show you how to avoid all those nasty pests. Act now and Brittany will come to your home and personally demonstrate her amazing ability.

ACT NOW.......Limited quantities available.

(Brittany is NOT liable for any bug bites received while using her system.)

New child training method.

2010-06-29T19:10:00.001-07:00

I think it's going to be a complete success.

Only one of these boys is mine. Can ya guess which one? (I'll give you a hint. It's the cute one!LOL)

They Have Arrived!!!

2010-03-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

My twin nieces have arrived this evening. I don't know any details other than names.

Aleah Jolynn and Autumn Nia

Turns out that they didn't like any of my suggestions.

I won't be able to meet them until this summer, but I am really excited for Shane and Leslie.

Prayer Request

2010-03-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

I recently connected with a friend from my teenage years on facebook. Some may remember Amy Rice. Amy just sent a prayer request for her niece, Megan. Megan is 26 and 11 days ago had a baby. Megan is in critical condition and things are not looking good for her. I don't know any details. I just wanted to pass this request along. Please Pray.

Something she learned in school?

2010-03-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

Brianna found these glasses somewhere in the house. I'm not sure where she found them or who they actually belonged to in the first place. This is her version of what an "old lady" looks like.

Look like anyone you know?

(I think she got this idea from someone at school......... Brittany. At least that's what Brianna told me.)

As boys get bigger.....

2010-03-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

....so do their toys.

(Courtesy of last week's snowfall)

My man.

I know all of you THINK that you have the greatest husband. I'll let you live with that delusion. I know the truth. :)

It's finally here!!!!

2010-01-21T14:04:00.000-08:00

I know you were all waiting with baited breath to see this video, and FINALLY it is here!!!! :)

I know that no one is feeling the Christmas spirit anymore, but I hope you get a chuckle out of the video anyway. Enjoy!

Locks of Love

2010-01-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

A couple years back, Katelyn chose to donate her hair to Locks of Love. Her hair finally got long enough to donate again and yesterday was the day. Her hair is a bit shorter than I had anticipated, but she can still pull it back into a ponytail so she is content.

Truthfully, I'm beginning to hate ponytails. I can't persuade her to allow me to try different styles. She just wants it pulled back out of her face. Oh well, I'll chose my battles and this isn't one I need to fight. Eventually, she will grow up. I just try to keep in mind all of the girls that I considered "tomboys" and how they blossomed into very feminine young ladies. I can be patient.

It just occured to me.....

2010-01-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

After our recent trip to Michigan it occurred to me that I never updated about my brother-in-law and his wife. If you recall, it was about a year ago that I posted a prayer request for my brother-in-law and his family. I would simply link to this post, but since I am computer ...ummmmm...challenged (dumb), I don't know how. I'll try to be brief.

There was a court case regarding their insurance policy coverage when their barn burned down. This case was settled out of court just this past September. They didn't get the full amount that I feel they were entitled to, but they did get some compensation. Answer to prayer.

Also, in the last year and a half ,in the midst of the court "battle", they suffered the loss of a baby girl (stillborn at 4 and a half months) and then 9 months later, a miscarriage. They were heartbroken.

When they found out that they were expecting again late this summer, they were incredibly excited as well as a little nervous. When it came time for the ultrasound they found out they were having TWINS!!!! Another big answer to prayer. They weren't praying for twins, but were thrilled to get an unexpected blessing.

The twins are girls and I have officially named them Gertrude and Bertha, Gertie and Bertie for short. Mom and Dad are having a hard time agreeing on names so I took the burden away from them. Thoughtful, huh? They like unusual names. Anybody have better suggestions?

So, I want to thank all of you that prayed for this family about a year ago. God heard and answered.

P.S. Amy, you may remember Leslie Toler from college. She's married to Shannon's brother, Shane. This is the family to whom I am referring.....just in case you were curious. :)

I'm trying....

2009-12-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to post the video, but it's not working for some reason. Probably user error. I'll keep trying.

Warning

2009-12-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

I'm planning on posting a video from the party last night. If any of the four of you (and you know who you are) object you must let me know soon. Truthfully, the only objection I will consider is Mrs. K's so the rest of you will just have to suffer! :)

AMY IS A BRAT!

2009-11-22T16:51:00.000-08:00

.
That's all I have to say!!!

:P

.

My Man - The Great Provider

2009-11-21T12:54:00.000-08:00

This is his second deer of the season. The first is safely packed away in my freezer. I'm very happy for my husband, but I don't "get" the whole hunting thing. I mean, I'm not opposed to it, but I just don't "get" it. Oh well, I'm sure there is plenty about me that he doesn't "get."

Now I get to enjoy venison all winter long. I still prefer beef, but this is free. (Free, if you don't count the bow, the arrows, the gun, the bullets, the license, the time, the "outfit"........)

MY SON

2009-11-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

OK, so this is another reason my son may not make it to adulthood. He asked me today if I was "around" when the new ironclad ships were invented. You know, the ones that were used in the Civil War. I just stared at him when he said, "Oops, guess that WAS in the 1800's." His father thought it was pretty funny, too. He might not last long either. :)

Just a peek...

2009-10-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

On the drive to church tonight we got just a peek of a rainbow. It wasn't raining, but a rainbow was there anyway. We thought it was so "neat" that my husband even pulled the car to the side of the road so I could get a quick picture. The picture (or my skill at taking the picture) doesn't do it justice. It really did have the colors of the rainbow just peeking through the clouds.

This one isn't a rainbow, obviously, but I like it just the same.

Way Back on Labor Day.....

2009-10-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

...we went to Genesee Country Museum. Another family in our church invited us to go with them on Labor Day. I had been wanting to take the kids there for a couple of years, but I guess I was just to lazy to take them myself. I needed a nudge.

I never get my pictures on here in the right order so you will have to enjoy them in reverse.

This chicken was pretty popular with the group. If you ask David what was his favorite part of the day, he will tell you it was holding the chicken. (Did I mention the boy was a little..."odd"?)

Robert got in trouble in the schoolhouse for fidgeting. He later told me told me it was because he had to use the bathroom. Yeah, like he needs a reason to fidget.

Bet ya didn't know we were related to Davy Crockett?

Our first craft project involved making paper hats. The kids had fun but I am sad to say that the hats didn't last 10 minutes after making them. :(

Katelyn was not very happy, at first, with the idea of going someplace historical. I could just foresee a whole day of her moping around. So, I challenged her. I told her that I thought she was going to be grumpy all day, and that she should try to prove me wrong. I'm pleased to announce that I the way home, Katelyn got to tell me, "I proved you wrong, Mom." (One of the few times I was happy to be wrong.)

My goofy Bree.

So... finally a new post with pictures. Are you happy now, Stacy?

P.S. Remember a long time ago I mentioned that Shannon had a business meeting with Top's Friendly Markets. Well, I'm pleased to announce that you can find our brand of sauerkraut (TOBEE'S) on the shelves of Top's. I saw it there with my own two eyeballs. So exciting, don't you agree? Well.........don't you? (This is where you pretend excitement so I won't think you are stuck-up.)

A Recipe

2009-10-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

This one is for Jen and Sue-

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 cans chicken (or cook your own)
3/4 c. hot sauce
2 packages cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a sauce pan, heat chicken and hot sauce until heated through.

Add cream cheese and ranch dressing. Blend until melted.

Add 1/2 of the cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

Transfer to crockpot and top with remaining cheese. Heat, on low, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I usually serve it with tortilla chips, but the recipe says to serve with celery sticks. Haven't tried the celery sticks, yet.

For church fellowships I usually double the recipe. It's a bit spicy, so add less hot sauce if you are concerned. You can always add more later. My crockpot has a warm setting. I usually use that instead of low.

Boy, wouldn't it be nice if I would have posted a picture. Didn't think of it at the time.

Also, I wrote this from memory. I'll let you know if I got something wrong. :)

My Night, Last Night

2009-09-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

It was about the time the kids were on the bus on the way home from school. Bro. C called and told me that David had been sick at the end of school. Great, now everyone would get that nasty bug. Are we still calling it Amy's bug? Anyway, He comes home and then heads straight for bed. Wow, he must really be sick. At about 4:45 he tells me that he thinks that he needs to see a doctor. Okay, now I am a little worried, but still thinking it might be a stomach bug.

I decided to take him to the extended care clinic. He threw up in the car on the way there...thankfully I was prepared. What a blessing, the place was empty and we had to wait zero minutes. After his exam, they want to send him to the ER for possible appendicitis. All of his symptoms point to the appendix.

The worst part was the drive to the ER. It wasn't far, but my son was in a terrible amount of pain and I was thinking about his appendix. I only went through one yellow/red (okay, mostly red) light. We arrive and he complains that his arms were going numb. The nurse explains that he is hyperventilating so "calm down". She asks if he is prone to anxiety or panic attacks. Uh, no. I don't think my boy worries about much more than what is he going to eat next.

Dr. #1 examines him, and feels that it could be his appendix. Dr. #2 examines him and agrees, but upon further evaluation he finds more pain. Now there could be one of three things wrong with him.

1. Appendix
2. Problem #2
3. Problem #3

The appendix and problem #2 require surgery. Thankfully, it ends up that the problem is problem #3. This can be cleared up with antibiotics. We stayed for a couple more tests because they didn't want to assume his appendix was fine if it wasn't. He could have 2 problems. It was highly unlikely, but not impossible. Only one problem. Phew!

David was a bit apprehensive about the IV, but when the meds kicked in.....the IV became a friend. "Mom, I kind of like this IV thing in my arm." Since the doctors didn't rule out surgery for a long time, David couldn't eat or drink the whole night. Poor boy needed to be hydrated. The IV helped with this, too.

David and I spent the night watching Stuart Little and the Food Network. Watching the Food Network is not something you should watch when you have skipped dinner and have no plans to eat in the near future...just FYI.

We got home at 1:30 am, more tired than hungry so we went to bed instead of eating.

He is doing much better today.

So that was my night, last night. Hope you weren't bored. Then again, no one made you sit a read the whole thing, did they? You only have yourself to blame.

I Have a Teenager?

2009-08-28T18:11:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that I have a teenager. It seems impossible considering I am only 28. :)

Last week, my eldest child celebrated his 13th birthday. I'm still not use to his deeper voice and the fact that it won't be long before he is taller than me.

We were actually planning on having his birthday party on his actual birthday. This is not the norm. We, usually, have a party on the weekend before or after the actual day. But, alas, it was not meant to be. The stomach bug or, as we affectionately refer to it, Amy's bug was still making its rounds. Since we were unsure who , if anyone, actually had or was going to have the bug, we postponed the party. I don't think anyone actually had the bug, but the day before the "big day" 2 of the kiddos were complaining about stomach pain so we weren't taking any chances.

The actual day didn't go unobserved. David requested cheesecake.... which I bought. I did make the blueberry topping from the blueberries we picked with our own little hands a day or so before.

The Main Party

No, I didn't make the cake. I usually do, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I needed to buy a cake. We chose an ice cream cake from the Cold Stone Creamery. I wasn't impressed. An Abbott's ice cream cake tastes SO much better...just FYI.

This is my newest nephew, Caleb. He's about 6 months old and......FAT. I love chunky babies and this boy is CHUNKY!!!!!

MICAH UPDATE: He's home!!!!! He had his surgery on Sat. and was home on Sunday. He still has a long way to go before he's completely recovered, but he's happy to be home. Thanks, again, for your prayers.

Julia- I didn't "photoshop" the fences because that would be deceitful. The fences were there and to take them out would be a lie. Besides, I have NO CLUE how to do that or they would be long gone!

The Zoo

2009-08-28T17:30:00.001-07:00

I slept in, skipped my treadmill, and had a brownie for breakfast. I have a cold, and I'm very whiny when I am sick, but I bought this membership to the zoo way back in June. We've only used it once this summer and time is running out. After lunch, I surprised the kids with the announcement, "Any one want to go to the zoo?!"

Our zoo is...well...not very big. It's disappointing at times, a blessing at others. Today it was a blessing. It's quick and easy to walk through, yet still thrills the kiddos.

The orangutans are my favorite. Sometimes they do nothing, but today they were very entertaining.

I know, it's hard to tell they are entertaining from the pictures, but they had us laughing for quite a while.

The wild bunch I get to live with.

Robert's favorite reptile

I was trying to get a picture of the wild zoo animal, but I caught a reflection of David. Well...I like it anyway.

Katelyn's favorite. He was nice enough to walk around for a while. Usually, he's off in a corner sleeping.

It was a good day even though I am suffering with a horrible cold. See.....told ya....whiny.

Another Update

2009-08-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Micah is out of the ICU----- Yay!!!!

He's having hip surgery tomorrow and they are talking about sending him home sometime next week. He was able to eat some "real" food yesterday and he really enjoyed that. Thanks, again for the prayers.

Jackie has told me that the family doesn't have health insurance so this is a tremendous burden for them. Micah's family didn't specifically ask for prayer for this, but I thought I would throw in another prayer request anyway.

Good News

2009-08-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

Jackie put another update about Micah on facebook and here it is.....

Jackie Jewell

Update on my nephew Micah. Praise the Lord. They took the tubes out today and his lung stayed up and he is doing better and he even talked to me today. Had funny things to say. Meds were still in effect. He is very sore and still has a long way t...o recovery. He was going to get to eat some jello tonight or tomorrow. He is so happy. Thanks everyone for praying.

Thank you from me for praying for Micah. I know the family really appreciates your prayers. Jackie is one of the few friends from college that I actually keep in contact with on a regular basis. I'm thankful that I have Christian friends that will pray for a boy that they will never meet simply because I posted the request on my blog. Thanks, again.
Michelle

More updates on Micah.

2009-08-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

From last night (Jackie's Facebook...I just copied and pasted):

Micah did well today. He is still sedated and has the breathing tube down his throat They are to take it out in the morning. Please pray that all goes well and his lung will stay inflated . LIz just text me and said things are well with him. They are very nervous about his lungs.

From this morning:

Doctors still have not come in to take the tubes out of Micah and they want to start to wake him. They are all really nervous. They are scared that his lung will deflate again. Doug and Liz were both able to get 3 hrs of sleep. Continue to be praying for them. Liz has had trouble with her gallbladder and for the last week it is causing her a lot of trouble. She said she does not want to end up in the hospital.

From this afternoon:

UPDATE ON MICAH. His lung fell again and they are asking everyone to continue to pray . Micah is really upset with this and so are his parents

Update on Micah

2009-08-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

Micah ended up having surgery late last night. Here is Jackie's, my friend, update from facebook this morning ...

Jackie(Ryland) Jewell
MIcah came thru surgery. They have put a drain in him and have him sedated for a few days. So that that is drains can do well and with tube in this will help keep his lung open and encourage it to stay open. He is not out of the woods yet. Please ...continue to be praying for him and when I hear from Doug or Liz I will let you all know. Thanks again from me and the family for your prayers.

Thanks again for those of you that have been praying. I will give updates as I get them.

Prayer request for a friend

2009-08-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who lives in PA and just found out her nephew's son (Micah-he's about 13) was injured. Micah was on the outside of the truck his dad was driving (they do farm work) standing on the ledge (I forget what it is called). The truck ran over a bump, Micah fell off and the truck ran over him. He was helicoptered to the hospital. He's is alive and breathing on his own, but his left lung keeps collapsing. If you could just take a few moments to pray for this boy and his family I know they would appreciate it.

I apologize for this poorly worded paragraph, but writing does not come naturally to me.. If I want something to sound "good" it takes me a couple of drafts and I just wanted to get the prayer request out there. Thanks for understanding.

A little worried...

2009-08-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had family over to the house. When my 2 year old nephew, Aiden, picked up Brianna's headband and proceeded to put it on like it was the most natural thing in the world.... I was a little worried about his boyhood.

I needn't have worried.

He's all boy....just a little strange. :)

More "Lash and Steel"

2009-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our Pastor volunteered 2 of our deacons for this demonstration. They were very brave (or they pretended to be brave). :)

What I'm really doing in the nursery...

2009-08-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is from the night when Lash and Steel did their presentation at the church. Usually the children pretty much ignore the monitor, but we noticed these two were enthralled on this particular night. Don't worry... no children were harmed in the making of this video.

Fireworks

2009-08-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

Just a little bit of the fireworks display for those of you who missed the game.

The more interesting fireworks were off to the side and our view was obstructed. Sorry. The quality is poor, but it's a cheap video camera. Deal with it. :)

The game was fun, and by that I mean the food was good. The Red Wings won 3 to zip, and I felt bad for the other team. Is that weird?

Some Wedding Pictures

2009-08-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

Shannon and I looked so nice before Joy's wedding that I had my mom take some quick pictures.
(Well, Shannon looked nice; I looked absolutely gorgeous.) LOL

What? Were you expecting pictures of the bride and groom?

Broccoli

2009-07-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

For some reason are garden isn't faring to well this year, but one thing has come in the best it has ever been.....the broccoli! Doesn't it look wonderful? OK, it may not seem that impressive, but if you had seen the pathetic looking broccoli we got last year this is 100x's better.

My husband (yes, this is his project) has been planting a garden for many years now. It still amazes me how you can take a little seed, put it in some dirt and it grows into something you can eat. Makes you kind of think that God knew what He was doing when He was putting this world together, doesn't it?

Plans for our next vacation.....

2009-07-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Doesn't it look like fun?

She was nervous, but Katelyn did great.
(Don't braces look almost cute now? They are not the big metal monstrosities that they use to be.)

Don't know why....

2009-07-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know why , but this is one of my favorite pictures from our trip to Michigan. It is simply my father-in-law staying at his post by the grill on the Fourth of July. It just makes me smile....don't know why.

For Julia

2009-06-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone can blame Julia for this. She asked.... (and, no, I am not crying silently to myself because no else asked!)

She asked about Shannon's threatened arrest, and to tell the story it needs a little background. I'll try to be brief. I said, "TRY."

Many moons ago, when my grandfather was in charge, another sauerkraut factory contracted with "us" to bag sauerkraut for them. We had no direct orders from customers. All of the orders came through this company. This worked for many years, even after my grandfather's death and my Dad owned the company.

Now, the owner of this other company died a few years back and his daughter took control. Unfortunately, she was not as good at running the business. In my husband's opinion, she started treating the customers poorly. I'm not exactly sure about the time, but when the contract came up, my Dad wanted the option to sell his own label and to sell to anyone he wanted to. So, we did not contract with this company again. Instead, we were more of a free agent. We would still sell to this company, but we would not be limited to this company alone.

Well, this woman ended up selling her company(and the customers with it) to our and, formerly, her competition. The traitor. A company that recently was fined about $50,000 for code violations. I'm just saying.......

Now our competitor wanted to keep us around for 5 years. Meaning, we would sell through them and in 5 years we would.....disappear. Not so fast, you mean, old company. We didn't want to go down without a fight. A couple of the customers wanted to stay with us, and fought to do so. Hebrew National (yes, our kraut is blessed by a rabbi yearly) was the main one we needed to keep in order to have a good chance of staying in business. They wanted to stay with us. Yahhhh!

Some customers we did lose, so there was an obvious transition period. The customers pays for there packaging so it belongs to them. We had most of it because we were still packaging for them. The other factory wanted to begin packaging so it was agreed that they would come and get SOME of the materials. Well, when the truck driver got there, they said that were told to pick up ALL of the stuff. Ummmm, nooooo, we still need it. We were being nice to give them some of the stuff because there was no official order or paper work to show that they were legally entitled to it. My husband told them, "No." See, my parents were on vacation and Shannon was left to deal with this. Lucky, him.

Shannon talked to someone in charge at the other company and this person threatened to call the police and have him arrested. Shannon told him to go ahead and call. This man, also, told Shannon that he would tell the truck drivers to just break in and take the stuff. You're kidding, right? Go ahead and try. He carries...if you know what I mean. (No, he wouldn't have pulled out a weapon, but he would have been tempted to.)

Well, there were many phone calls between this other man in charge (I have a few names I could call him, but I shall refrain), Shannon and my dad in Florida. In the end, the police were never called, no one was arrested, and the other company only got the stuff that was agreed upon before hand.

Wow, at the time this was happening this story seemed interesting. Now that I've taken the time to write it down....it's something less than thrilling. It would have been a better story if he was arrested. Next time I tell it, I'll make myself the heroic wife of a wrongly convicted prisoner. That would be more entertaining. For now, I'll stick with the truth.

Julia, to answer your other question...Yes, my Dad has plans to send Shannon to other stores(i.e. Wegman's) to present the product. He doesn't mind. He said it was fun and he enjoyed doing it more than he thought he would. I would hate it, but since I don't have to do it, I don't have to worry about it.

And because Stacy said that no post was complete without a picture.......my man with his first turkey.

2009-06-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Jen, just because you asked, here is a picture of the best sauerkraut in America, nay the best sauerkraut in the world!

It went well..Thank you so much for your prayers!

2009-06-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

My husband did confess to being a bit nervous. He has spoken in front of groups before, but it was always about God, not sauerkraut. I think he prefers to talk about God.
I texted him (the word "texted" sounds wrong to me, but I guess it's the correct term) when I thought the presentation was over. He called me right away. He started off telling me how horrible it was, but did eventually tell me the truth. The brat! He said it was fun. FUN? Fun, getting up in front of a bunch of strange business men and trying to convince them why they should sell you product? I wouldn't find this fun. My stomach had been in knots all morning and I contributed nothing, but prayer, to this project.

They may be interested in selling our one pound bags. Normally, bags are sold in 2 pound bags, but since they already sell that, they may be interested in the smaller bags. We should know something in about a month or so.

For all 2 of you who want the "story" behind the name (BTW, thanks to the rest of you for caring so much. :P) it's really not all that interesting. You'll be disappointed. Anyway, last January my Dad was no longer under a contract that prohibited him from selling his own product. There's a story behind that to, and an interesting part that included my husband being threatened with an arrest, but I digress. We all came up with a list of names. Most of which had something to do with Family. It's been a family owned business for over 100 years and we wanted to emphasize the point. We couldn't just do Tobin's because it was already being used for hot dogs. So it was Family this, Family that but most of the names we came up with someone, somewhere was already using it. Finally, we settled on Family Heritage. Everyone liked it and it had meaning. Well, the lawyer didn't do a very good job at checking because when everything was just getting settled we found out that there was a family bakery in Texas that was already using that name. The horror. I guess we still could have used it, but who knows if it would lead to any trouble later.

So TOBEE'S Sauerkraut it is. My nickname at college was Toby so I think of this as my brand. Actually, it's more due to the fact that a decision had to be made. Tobee is close to Tobin. Instead of being meaningful we went with quirky.

Well, I hope I didn't bore you too much with the story.
------
Julia...about the skunk smell. If he had not said something, I would have just chalked it up to the normal, "I'm home from the sauerkraut factory" smell. Once he did mention it, there was a trace of the skunk, barely there, but distinctly skunk. Hopefully, it washed right off.

The Family Business and Prayer Request

2009-06-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

Victor Preserving Company has been around for over 100 years. It was started by my great-grandfather and other business men (who are all of lesser importance, of course) all of those years ago. I'm not exactly sure how things were divided over the years. I do know that the company was involve in packaging various foods. I also know that at one time, after the death of my great-grandfather, my great-grandmother ran the company. This was a time when women did not run businesses, as a rule.
My grandfather ended up with the building in the town that I live. My Dad owns it now. When my Dad was growing up they used to do cherries and sauerkraut. Today, sadly, sauerkraut is the only thing left. I often would bemoan the fact that the family business was sauerkraut and not chocolate. Imagine how many friends I would have had if I could give away chocolate. (Imagine how much I would weigh now if I could eat free chocolate! It scares me just thinking about it).
Anyhow, sauerkraut paid the bills and since my Dad offered my wonderful husband a job 10 years ago (has it really been that long?) it still pays the bills. When my husband told me about the job offer my first thought was, "NOOOOOOOO!" You see, there is a certain odor associated with the sauerkraut biz and, believe it or not, it's not a pleasant odor. Not chocolaty at all. I thought I had gotten away from that smell when I married my man, but don't be fooled, God has a sense of humor. Sauerkraut: my past, present, and, until further notice, my future.
Just this year, the company began to package sauerkraut under our own label. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. We have packaged and still package under other names for other companies, but because of contractual obligations we were unable to package our own brand. Now , we can. This means that we have to convince stores to sell our product.
I said all of that to say this.....pray for my husband. Tomorrow (Tues.), Shannon has a presentation at Top's Friendly Markets headquarters. He has to try to convince them why they should sell our sauerkraut as opposed to the competition. They won't accept, "It's better sauerkraut, duh?" so a presentation was put together with the help of Steve Brown. Thanks, Steve.
Tomorrow it's...."show time". I think I'm more nervous than he is, but if you have a spare moment (like right now) say a few words of prayer for him. It's kind of a "long shot" ( I like quotes...and parentheses, I use them often), but you should always try to grow and improve in life..... even if it is just sauerkraut.

I can't leave without a little advertisement....When you think sauerkraut, think TOBEE'S. There's a story behind the name, but I've already typed too long and I really don't enjoy writing so I'll have to leave that for another time. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll never write a story about the name. You'll just have to live without that knowledge.

____
My sister just "yelled" at me on Facebook that I failed to mention that HER husband designed the bag. So.... my brother-in-law designed the bag for TOBEE'S Sauerkraut. There, my conscience is clear. :)

My In-Laws

2009-06-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

My in-laws came to visit for Brianna's kindergarten graduation. They came on a Wednesday and left on Saturday morning. Shannon's dad does not like being a way from home. It seems no one can take care of his chickens quite as lovingly as he can care for them. Therefore, the visit was short, but sweet.

Of course they brought my 16 (soon to be 17) year old sister-in-law, Shawna. I met her when she was just 2 months old. I can't believe that next year she will be finishing high school. She has always been wonderful with my children. When we visit Michigan, I rarely see my children because she is always willing to take them outside and play. Because her three brothers are all much older, she was really raised as an only child. She has been spoiled, but not "spoiled" by all of the spoiling. (Yes, I realize that the last sentence sounds funny, but you get my meaning.)

Well, they've got to earn their keep somehow.

Brianna's Pre-Graduation Pictures

2009-06-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

HBCS Graduation

2009-06-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures of the graduation. It is difficult to take a good picture in the auditorium, add my lack of skill and the results are far from good. I should simply blame my camera, but I think it has more to do with unwillingness to sit and figure the thing out. (Yes, I know I really need to read the manual!)

My 6 Unimportant Favorite Things

2009-05-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Julia tagged me...so here they are. Enjoy.

1. Facebook ...I thought I would NEVER start a facebook account, but in January...I took the plunge. My sister-in-law invited me to join (she lives in Indiana) and in order to view her photos, I did. Now I'm hooked. I've found many college friends and former roommates. It's fun keeping up with some of their daily activities. I've even "met" some of my husband's former classmates through this sight.

2. Making chocolate chip cookies and eating the cookie dough. Wonder why my clothes are shrinking. Hmmm......

3. Pedicures. 5 years ago, my husband and I took an anniversary trip to Niagara Falls and the hotel had a spa. I received my first mani/pedi and it was wonderful. I love pedicures because it's relaxing and the polish lasts a while. Manicures don't last as long and you can't really use your hands until the polish fully dries. That's my opinion anyway.

4. Reading the jokes in the Reader's Digest.

5. Sudoku

6. I like to walk around Lowes, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and JoAnne Fabrics even if I don't need to buy anything.

That's my list. I tried to pick REALLY unimportant things. I think I was successful.

Since most of you have already been tagged...Stephanie and Jen F, if you read this you are tagged. Just list 6 unimportant favorite things.It's relatively painless. You're suppose to tag 6 other people, but nothing bad will happen if you don't.

Mother Daughter Banquet 2009

2009-05-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

These lovely young ladies recited a poem during the program. They did a great job.
I, actually, used my FlipVideo to record the event, but I neglected to fully push the record button. So I held a video camera up for the whole poem with nothing to show for my efforts. Genius.

2009-05-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

A quick picture before we left home.

Not wanting to be left out, Brianna wanted to get her picture taken with the group.

Red Wings Game

2009-05-16T18:48:00.001-07:00

Frankly, the only reason I attend the games is for all of the wonderful food, but this time I also snapped a few pics. Here are a few, in no particular order.

I love this picture. Don't they look cute?

Sorry, Brittany. I had to put this in. You look bored.

Kristina was sitting in front of me and she just looked so adorable curled up with the pink blanket. I couldn't resist a picture. She should be used to a camera, right?

And then this is how the night ended.......

A broken window...

I checked for anything valuable. We had about 10 dollars in the glove compartment. It was safe. The GPS was safe. David's friend, Jeff, had his stuff in the back with a PSP. Still there. What was the point? There was a shattered vodka bottle so we thought it was just a random drunk. We called 911 and waited and waited and waited. It seemed like forever. During this time we walked around the lot and my children spotted a pink Bible. Katelyn said it looked like the one she had in her purse. It was hers.
Okay, so these brilliant, criminal masterminds see a fabric purse in the back seat and decide to break our window to get it. What was in her purse? The Bible, Kleenex, a star wars figure, pencils and a pen. Most of which we found in the parking lot. They must not have felt they needed the Bible.
The police arrive and tell us that there have been a string of these types of incidents. They think they know who is doing this, but they can't prove. They even had an unmarked car watch this gang, but so far....nothing.

The tech person showed up to try to get fingerprints, but they weren't able to get good prints. One of these geniuses was cut by the glass and bled in my car. THE NERVE! They did swap the blood, but I don't really think that this case will warrant a DNA test, do you?

Well, that was our adventure. No major harm done. Just a very late night.

Happy that her Bible is back in her hands.

For my kids

2009-05-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

We made it to Philadelphia late last night. Daddy was off to work at about 6am, but I got to sleep in.
We didn't sleep well at all last night. This picture is a view from our hotel room that may explain why we didn't get much sleep. The cars and trucks were LOUD. Can I borrow some earplugs, Katelyn?

I did a little sight seeing while I waited for Daddy to get done with work. I went to the Washington Memorial Park and saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution. I didn't even know that there was such a thing.

Click on the picture and it should enlarge enough for you to read it.

Hopefully, I'll have more pictures to put up later tonight.
I hope all of you are behaving for Grandma and Grandpa

Brianna- be good for Grandma tomorrow
Robert- try to be quiet part of the day and don't forget to study your verse
Katelyn - don't forget to look for and study that poem for the mother and daughter banquet.
If you can't find it call Amy B and see if she can read it to you over the phone.
David- make sure you do your homework and study your verse! Don't forget.

We love and miss all of you. tell Grandma and Grandpa we said "hi".

A Week Off...

2009-04-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

...not for me, but for the kids. Most of the week was spent doing extra work with David trying to catch him up with school work. We did take a day or rather part of a day to go to Lollypop Farm. It's free and the kids enjoy seeing the animals. I'm not a big animal lover. I seem to like the IDEA of having animals, but not the reality. I fell in love with an Akita (dog) when we were there. He was so beautiful. I hinted to my husband who completely dismissed the idea. I think I could have persuaded him, but I'm not convinced that I really want the responsibility. Again, I like the idea, but the reality is a lot of work.

This guy followed the kids around.

Brianna has always been fascinated with horses. Even the fake ones.

Ahhh....The Signs of Spring

2009-04-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

Let the invasion begin...

Yup...it's spring.

I don't understand it. Ants have the whole outdoors to search for food, yet year after year this insect must make it's way into my home. It's not like there are ever any crumbs on my floor for them to gather.....

Note - Amy, you will be so proud of me. I know how to use the macro button on my camera and I know how to shut off the flash. That's a whole (part of a) page in my manual!
Julia - my photoshop works great now...or it will work great when I figure out how to use it. No excuses now, except laziness.

How soon can you squeeze him in?

2009-04-03T04:56:00.000-07:00

This week my husband received a medical reminder in the mail. I was going to scan the whole thing and post it, but I would have had to block out a lot of info due to addresses and such. I'll just relate the funny part. It read....

Dear Mr. Shannon G_______,
According to our records, it is time for your Mammogram.

Yes, I realize that Shannon is typically a girl's name, but the MR. didn't give it away. This confusion sometimes happens with mail, but this letter was extra funny.
FYI, I did get permission to blog about this so he won't be offended. Hey, if Amy can post a picture of Chris's hair "do" I can talk about my husband's mammogram reminder.
BTW, he has an appointment next month. (Completely, kidding)

Just catching up

2009-03-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't really posted anything new lately. For that I humbly apologize. I have been reading your blogs if it makes you feel any better.
I was going to separate these into a couple of posts and then I just decided to throw them all together. I didn't group them appropriately as I was uploading them. I thought I would just organize them later, but this "thing" is being fickle and it won't let me move my pictures around. I'm basically lazy so if you get confused, I'm sorry. Well, not THAT sorry. It's not really going to be that hard for you. It's not rocket science.

Bri's 6th birthday was at the beginning of the month. (Can't believe my "baby's 6.) My parents take each grandchild out to lunch and then shopping for their gift. This year Brianna choose a set of play shoes. She brought them home and just stared at them, deciding which shoes she would try next.

My nephew, Caleb. He was just a couple of weeks old here. He slept the entire time I was babysitting. It's really not fair. My brother's two boys were/are excellent babies. If anyone should of had screaming babies...it's my brother!

When we moved in to my grandmother's (now our) house we found an old chalkboard in the basement. We always thought that we would put it up somewhere in the basement once we got it cleaned out. One night we decided it should come upstairs. It was a project that took one night not years to accomplish. I'm so proud of us!

Bri reading a card at her party. I know the picture explains it , but I just have to add a comment.

My masterpiece.

Celebrating being just a wee bit Irish

2009-03-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

Green food coloring makes Ramen noodles just a little more fun.

We had the traditional corned beef and cabbage for dinner along with homemade bread.

Looks appetizing, doesn't it? I also made the butter green to go with the bread.

Sadly, this is pretty much the extent of my creativity.

Re : Elisabeth's Comment on my comment

2009-03-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Touche, Elisabeth....touche. That's all I have to say.

(I know that there is an accent over the "e" in "touche"(at least I think there is), but I don't know how to do that on the computer.)

I miss nap time...

2009-03-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

All of my children have outgrown naptime. I, however, have not, and I miss it.
It's been quite a few years since David has taken a nap, but after an all night game night with friends from church I caught him catching some zzzzzz's on our couch this afternoon. He doesn't know I took this picture so don't tell him, okay?

Poor me...

2009-02-25T18:45:00.001-08:00

Another child stricken with the stomach bug just as he was getting over a nasty cold. David came home from school today to let me know he had been "sick" at school. It seems this family wants to see how long we can draw out this bug. It seems to get one child per week. Is Katelyn next? Or one of the adults? Hopefully, David will be the last.
Oh why, oh why, can't we be as lucky as Amy and her family? :) Why couldn't we all be sick at the same time and get this torture over with? It's still lurking in our house. I can feel it. It's waiting to strike. The cold bug is still here, too. It's mocking me....
----
Disclaimer: I just want to be clear that I, in no way, would have wished to be in Amy's shoes over this past illness. I can't imagine 13 people with varying degrees of illness in the same house at the same time.I'm tired just thinking about it. Hope you and your family are doing better, Amy.

It Only Took One and a Half Hours......

2009-02-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

........and one and a half years.

Yup, this is one of those projects that we have been meaning to get to since we moved in to our home. The border in the boys' room.

Before we moved in, the girls' room was finished including the border. The boys' room was painted, but we ran out of time. We've had the border since the project started, but we never set aside the time to put it up. It didn't take that much time, but....Okay, there are no excuses. It's up now. Leave me alone!

It Struck Again

2009-02-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

This time the victim was Robert. The culprit was the same.....that nasty stomach bug! We were up most of last night, but he was fine all during the day today.

GOOD NEWS: My nephew was born at about 10:30 am yesterday morning. His name is Caleb Michael and he was 9 pounds!

I was mentioning, this past summer, how I had 2 expecting friends, due within a couple weeks of eachother, and each had chosen the name C(K)aleb for their sons. My brother and sister-in-law decided they liked the name, too. I wonder if Caleb is on the most popular boy's name list. I'll have to check.

BAD NEWS: I can't go to see him, yet. I don't want to spread any germs so I'll wait until I'm sure I'm healthy. (I need patience and I want it NOW!)

Household Tip

2009-02-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

People may have noticed the huge difference my daughter achieved in scrubbing my bathroom floor tile.(See previous post) You may wonder, "How can I achieve such a drastic difference in the appearance of my floor?" Well, I'll tell you my little secret. If you let your floors get REALLY dirty, then you will achieve a more visible difference once your floor is clean. Hope this was helpful.

Slavery

2009-02-14T17:32:00.001-08:00

I would say that I was, generally, against slavery and slave labor. But when it comes to my children...well....

Can I give you some bathroom tile advice. NEVER EVER use those little teeny, tiny tiles on the floor. Just don't!

This next picture is a project I've been meaning to get to for nearly 2 years! It's our master bathroom floor. It's been cleaned and mopped before, but it really needed some serious elbow grease to get the job done properly. Finally, I just gave the job to Katelyn.

She did the job over a few days, one section at a time. We used a scrub with bleach and I didn't want her to spend too much time in the fumes.

I see a bit of a difference, don't you?

---

Universal Studio Pictures are up. Click on the side (blog list) under Our Florida Vacation.

What was I thinking?

2009-02-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

I should have known when I invited Julia over there would be nothing but trouble. She brought cookie dough to my house and completely messed up my recently clean kitchen. It's not clean very often so it's a momentous occasion that's worth noting. (Please ignore the...um...messy counter behind Grace.)

Gracie hard at work.

The girls enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Julia's true personality shining through! I wonder what Kaleb's thinking about. Maybe, "Yup, that's my mom....pray for me."

Kathryn really likes me. Can't you tell by the adoring look she's giving me?

Bri's never one to miss an opportunity to pose for a picture.

Julia - Thanks for an enjoyable, albeit, messy afternoon! I really mean that.

One Down, Five to go.....

2009-02-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

I thought that we missed it.

I thought the threat was gone.

I thought WRONG!

When dinner time rolled around last night, Brianna told me her tummy hurt. I was hoping that a "trip" to the bathroom would remedy the problem. Not so.

We put the children to bed and within an hour she threw-up twice. Both times she was still awake and able to make it to the toilet so I did not have to change any sheets. YEAH!!!! She seemed to feel alright so I thought that she would be able to sleep the rest of the bug away. Again, I was wrong.

Shannon voluntarily slept on the couch while Brianna and I took the bed. She was up A LOT during the night. For a couple of hours, she was throwing-up every 15-20 minutes. Poor thing. She seemed to be feeling better this morning, but then had a repeat performance after she tried to eat a little lunch.

Sorry if I shared too much information, but I'm tired and want a little sympathy. I'm just waiting to see when the rest of us contract this horrible ailment. I now have renewed sympathy for those of you who have already been through this ordeal, especially those of you with very little children.

I'm taking bets on who the next one to "toss their cookies" will be. Any takers....? :)

Happy Birthday, Honey!

2009-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

Today is officially my husband's birthday. Since there is a sportsman's dinner at our church, we decided to celebrate last night. The plan was to for me to prepare his favorite meal and to stay at home, but there's always a need to be flexible. Now, I had already prepared the lasagna and the bread dough that morning, but ,when my husband came home for lunch, he said there was a change of plans. He needed to pick up a motor in the city so "let's go out to eat." Those, I think, are some of my favorite words! The lasagna can wait for another day.
Since I had a gift certificate, we went to The Olive Garden. I was looking for a "not too obvious way" of letting the server know it was my husband's birthday, but it was hard to do. Then, both of the girls needed to use the restroom. Answer to a prayer I hadn't ,as of yet, prayed for. While in the bathroom, "Voila"....a worker.
"Do you still embarrass people on their birthday?" I ask.
She replies,"Yes!" Actually, she nodded her head, but, whatever.
Anyhoo....she follows us out to our table to let our server know to whom the song must be sung.
I soooooooo wish I had a camera ready to take his picture when he realized what was happening. He was too funny. He turned a brilliant shade of red! The best part is that since my birthday was last week, he can't retaliate any time soon.

I'm so glad to be married to this man!!!! (There, honey. Do you forgive me now?)

Hey...if anyone's interest, I posted some SeaWorld pictures on my vacation blog.

http://www.ourfloridavacation2009.blogspot.com/

Prayer request

2009-02-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

I talked with my sister-in-law, Leslie, today. In her Christmas letter, she announced that she was pregnant with another child, so the first words out of my mouth were "Congratulations!" Unfortunately, she then informed me that she had a miscarriage this week. A miscarriage is horrible, I don't care how many children you have, but her situation made the loss even more devastating.
Early last year, their barn burned down. They lost a lot of equipment and some livestock, but that wasn't the worst of it. They found out that the insurance they were sold did not cover anything related to the farm. Now, when they went to the company for insurance they made it clear that they had a farm. They even paid an extra premium for the contents of the barn. Virtually, nothing was covered. It's not the insurance company's error, but the company that talked them into this particular policy. Now you could argue that they should have read through the entire policy, including all the fine print, but when you buy a policy that's titled "County Farm Estate", it would lead you to believe that you were covered. They are presently in litigation and on the 20th of this month is their deposition. One of the first steps in an attempt to get the situation rectified.
Leslie was pregnant during this very stressful time and she delivered a stillborn baby girl last May. There was no concrete reason, but the doctor said it could have been nothing more than stress. There is no way to know for sure, but you can imagine how awful the situation was for the family. Of course, she was overjoyed to find out she was pregnant this past Christmas, but she miscarried. She's not one to get depressed or question God, but she is , understandably upset. I'm sure she would appreciate any prayers for her and her family.

I turned 28 years old today......

2009-01-31T18:31:00.000-08:00

.....again.
.
Today was a great day! It's the one day I can justify being lazy most of the day. I stayed in bed until 10am. I wasn't asleep the whole time, but I was relaxed and comfortable. My husband even brought me breakfast in bed. OK, it was the generic version of Cocoa Pebbles, but he brought it to me with very little arm twisting.
When he returned home from bus visitation, I got flowers and chocolates. We decided to not get each other B-Day gifts due to our recent trip to Florida, just a little something to acknowledge the day. Then we went out to eat. I love Cracker Barrel, but my husband hates it. So, we compromised and went to Cracker Barrel. Hey, it was my birthday so I got to pick, right? We got back around 3:00 and I took a nap! I was tired from all that I had to do that morning. (I did do the dishes....meaning I emptied out the dishwasher, and then filled it.)
We picked our son up from his teen activity and headed over to a friend's house for dessert. Julia made me a birthday cake (with a 28 on it), and she had all our kids and the adults sing to me. It was sweet! She must think I smell or something because she gave me shower gel and such in the guise of a birthday present, but I appreciated it anyway. :) Thank you so much Julia. Your friendship means a great deal to me.
God has greatly blessed me with a great husband, children, church, and friends. It's more than I deserve. I tend to take these things for granted and I shouldn't.

Christmas Card Pics

2009-01-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

Really, what are you suppose to do with those pictures that get sent with those Christmas cards? I have no problem throwing away the cards, but I have a problem tossing the pictures. Honestly, do people expect me to save them? Probably not. I have no illusions that my Christmas family picture, so lovingly enclosed in each Christmas card, is gracing the wall of each and every home that received them. I'm sure our picture is underneath the torn wrapping paper and empty boxes at some junkyard. It's a little sad, isn't it?
Well, fear not, all you who sent us a picture. You are *forever immortalized on our wall *for all time. I bought a frame, a really expensive one from Walmart, and made a collage out of all those pics. Thankfully, we didn't receive all that many photos so my job was easy.
So, for this year anyway, I have no "guilt" about tossing familiar faces into the trash. Your face is safe ....for now.

*forever - by forever I mean for the time being
*for all time - probably means until next Christmas

Nothin' Special

2009-01-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

I've stared a new blog for our family vacation. It's really just a spot to put my memories and all the pictures in one place. So far, I've just put up info on our arrival there, no pictures. It's really rather boring, but that's me. It's more for our family than anyone else, but you're more that welcome to visit. I'll eventually put up pictures....some day. I'll keep you posted.

http://www.ourfloridavacation2009.blogspot.com/

"I miss the green..."

2009-01-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

...this is what Katelyn said when we arrived at the airport on Saturday. I'm glad to be home, but I miss the "green" too.

These pictures were taken while we were waiting in line for one of the rides. I'm the proud owner of photoshop (as of Christmas), but these pictures were not edited. Sorry, but since I'm pretty much "computer dumb" I think it will take me awhile to do anything other than crop the occasional picture.

It's cold!

2009-01-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, for Florida, it's cold. Here I am watching my children play in the pool from inside the house. The pool's heated so as long as they stay in the pool or hot tub (did I mention the hot tub?) they stay warm. I'm inside the house because it's below 55 degrees outside and I'm, contrary to popular belief, NOT crazy. I will , however, be enjoying the hot tub after the children are in bed.
I can't believe how fast the time has flown. When we first arrived, it seemed like a very long vacation. Now, it's almost over. I don't really mind. Vacations are great, but coming home is even better. I'm just not looking forward to the packing and navigating through the airport. At least we get to fly as opposed to driving.
I'm sorry there haven't been any pictures, believe me I took plenty. I download pictures to my main computer, not the laptop that I brought with me.
I hear that's it's been pretty cold up north. I hope ya'll can warm it up some before we get home on Saturday. I'll be sending warm thoughts your way.

A Florida First

2009-01-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

I went to church today! This is the first time that I have been healthy enough to attend church in Florida. The past three trips (2003,2004,2005) I have been very sick over the trip. I think I catch something on the plane ride down. Each trip I end up on antibiotics, either after the trip is over or during the trip. This year I'm completely healthy....so far.
Some bad news though......today is the last really warm day. A cold front is coming through. Really, on Friday the high will only be only 59 degrees. It's terrible, isn't it? Right now the kids are swimming in the pool of the house we rented. It's beautiful. It's nice to take a trip south in the winter, a break from the cold. I highly recommend if at all possible.
The first year we came, they had record low temperature. It was as low as 32 degrees if I remember right. It was at least that low because it was on the news that someone's sprinkler had frozen. The cold weather didn't bother us because they showed pictures of the horrible weather in Rochester, NY on the local news. It was much worse than 32 degrees. It's almost funny how panicked Floridians get when the temperature is at or below freezing, but I guess they have citrus crops to consider.
Well, I hope everyone is happy and healthy, even though it's cold! See you Sunday!

We made it!

2009-01-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

I was really paranoid. Not about the flying, but about the stomach bug that is going around. All week I was afraid that one of us would get the "bug" and we would be unable to fly. I, actually, did have a stomach "thing" the day before. I never did throw up (sorry for thought), but my stomach was "off" the whole day before our flight and into the day of our flight. So far, everyone is healthy. I pray we stay that way. I'm a little disappointed in the weather. It's only suppose to hit 78 degrees tomorrow. Oh, well, I guess I'll suffer through. :)

Mark 13:18

2009-01-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

Mark 13:18 is a verse I read last night in my Bible.

And pray ye that your flight be not in winter.

Did I tell you that tomorrow we are traveling to Florida? Yeah....we're flying. Pray for us. :)

I just threw this picture in because I thought he was cute. He may be the reason we are stopped by security at the airport tomorrow!

Some Family Christmas Pictures

2008-12-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

The grandkids. Not mine, my parent's.

My grandma and her great-grandkids.

My sister and her family.

My brother and his family. It is almost impossible to get that little boy to sit still for a picture!

Aren't we a cute couple?

I no longer wonder where my children get the "goofy" gene. Actually, I stopped wondering a long time ago.

Now I'm going to switch sides. Do I have a "good" side?....don't answer that!

I joked with my husband about my "good" side to which he promptly turned my back to the camera! Sweet, huh?

Just a few family pictures. Usually, I'm looking for the best of the worst, but I think this year we took some pretty good family pics.

You'll have to wait a little longer....

2008-12-30T18:56:00.000-08:00

I know everyone is holding their breath in eager anticipation of my next post. Well, you'll just have to wait. After a few days off, I finally set some time aside to edit some Christmas pics, post some here and post some on other sites, but, alas, it was not meant to be. I was all set to upload some pics and my computer froze up on me. It is taking awhile to re-boot (if that's the correct term) so I'm on my laptop to inform you of this unexpected delay. I know this is a great disappointment to you. Your entire night and following morning is probably ruined, but don't despair. I shall return soon.
Oh, in case anyone was wondering about my Cabela's gift, my husband is safe. He bought me a cast iron griddle. You know, the kind that you place over a couple of burners on the stove. I did specifically request this some months ago. He gets extra credit for remembering! It's already been used 3 times. The box it came in was HUGE, so I was completely surprised.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I've enjoyed viewing all of the Christmas posts.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...Italian Style

2008-12-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

I didn't think Bro. C would mind if I posted this. (Katie, please let me know if I'm wrong.)

Merry Christmas!!!!

2008-12-24T06:58:00.000-08:00

This is Brianna from last Christmas. Isn't she cute?

Health Update

2008-12-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

I'm sure all of you are wondering how I'm doing. (Of course, Michelle, we've been unable to think of anything else all day!) I had moments today when I felt better than yesterday and moments when I felt worse. Let's see how I feel tomorrow. I'm hoping I'm on the mend, but it could be one of those things where it gets worse before it gets better.
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Actually, I didn't want to post tonight to update you on my health. (That's just a side benefit.) I wanted to thank all of you that commented yesterday. All of you made me laugh (except for that mean lady who said I looked terrible ;) ). It truly is a joy to be able to laugh "with" all of you even though I was soooooo sick.
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For all of you that didn't comment yesterday.....don't you care about me? I'm SICK! Give a girl some Christian compassion! :) (Actually, it's just a cold, so you don't have to feel too bad for me.)
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Thanks, again, for making me laugh yesterday. Oh, I hope you're feeling better, too, Katie!

Sent Home From School

2008-12-17T16:01:00.001-08:00

Bro. C told ME to go home!
I help out at school on Wednesdays, and today I was sick. (I know, boo-hoo for me) I thought I would do my "job" and still go to school, but I must have looked really sick because Bro. C told me that I didn't have to stay the whole time. By 10:00 AM he told me I could go home. I took the hint. He either took pity on me or he didn't want me to infect the whole class. Maybe a little of both. I'm not sure if I should be insulted or grateful. I guess I'll choose grateful.
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I did miss helping a couple of the girls out with Algebra. I love Algebra, and most of it is coming back to me fairly easily. I feel like I'm a help in this area. In other areas, I'm no help at all. I'm teribul ,at gram-mur an sp'ellin especially in the higher levels so I leave those questions to Bro. C. When I was in high school, writing was solely judged on content, not grammar and punctuation. That's my excuse, anyway.

I need to go take some medicine and go to bed. Hope everyone else stays healthy. This is a bad cold. Probably the worst cold anyone has ever had. (Does that sound familiar?)

My Opinion on Artificial Christmas Trees

2008-12-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

Personally, I don't understand why someone would choose a fake tree over a real tree. I realize there is less mess, but there's just something about putting up a freshly cut Christmas tree. The family outing to find the perfect tree is a family tradition. So, I implore you, don't settle for the fake, unrealistic, plastic tree.

Shannon strings the Christmas lights around the tree. My job is to put the beads around the tree. I love ribbons on a tree, but I've tried, and I just make it look terrible.

The kids are responsible for all the decorations. I unpack them and Shannon supervises the placement of the ornaments.

This happened because I was trying to straighten the beads after the ornaments were in place. NOT SMART!

Katelyn's turn to put the star on top. I prefer a star. Shannon prefers an angel. We have yet to find an angel we really like enough to replace the star we've had since our first Christmas as husband and wife.

This is the picture we sent in our Christmas cards to out of state relatives.

Shannon liked this one better, but he was outvoted.

Whoops! How's that picture get in there?

Don't you just hate hypocrites?

(I do have a good excuse. My dad's allergic to real trees. The last 2 year that they had a real tree, my dad ended up in the hospital due to his asthma. They finally realized it must be the tree. The next year they had a fake tree and no hospital visit. Since my parents live with us, when they are not traveling, and we value breathing in our house, we've elected to use an artificial tree.) Your welcome, Dad!
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One More Thing

2008-12-12T04:46:00.000-08:00

Just one more story with a wedding theme. Earlier this fall, there was a wedding in my church. Katelyn (11) was informing me that she didn't like weddings and didn't want to go with us.

Me - Are you going to go to your own wedding?
Katelyn - Yes, but no one else can come.
Me - How about the groom?
Katelyn - He can come.
Me - Can I come?
Katelyn - If you're still alive, you can come.
Me - What do you mean if I'm still alive? How old do you think I'm going to be when you get married?
Katelyn - I don't know......old?
Me - How am I going to die?
David (12) - PLASTIC SURGERY!

Ummmmm....I don't think David is going to make it until his 13th birthday!
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It's Just a Day

2008-12-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

Let me start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed my wedding day. I didn't micro-manage everything and I didn't worry about everything going perfectly. I was able to completely enjoy it all. Even when my veil almost caught on fire, blowing out the unity candle. Shannon also started to put my veil back over my head after our wedding kiss as if he had changed his mind. We still laugh about this!

I use to joke that the only reason I wanted a wedding, as opposed to eloping, was for the photos. Here's a few of mine.

(I put this picture because I think I look thin!)

There are a few things I would change about my wedding if the wedding were to happen tomorrow.

1. My dress

2. My hair (Hey, I was just getting good at that "poof" before I realized it had been out of style for half a decade.)

3. The man who married us. (It wasn't Pastor Y)

4. 3 out of 5 of my bridesmaids (We are just not close anymore)

5. The reception - where it was

6. The rehearsal dinner

7. The photographer (They're out of business)

8. The bridesmaid's dresses (I thought it was something they could wear again. Don't most brides think that?)

9. The flowers (Not the people that arranged them. They did great.)

10. The color scheme

11. The tuxes (They would still wear tuxes, but I would do away with the bow ties)

12. The reception - decoration (I would put more time into the decorations.)

13. The guest book pen (It had the wrong date on it - long story)

One thing I wouldn't change......THE GROOM. It's not about the wedding day. It's about the marriage. It doesn't really matter what kind of dress you have, or if you have the right flowers ...it's just a day. It's more important to prepare for the marriage than it is the wedding.

I said all that to say this. If you are not already married, go ahead and plan a great wedding. I do recommend that you keep it simple. You'll enjoy the day more. Spend much more time preparing for the marriage. Say "yes" to the right guy not just the first guy that asks or because you want to be married. Wait for the one God has for you. Can you imagine how awful it would be if I looked back and wanted a different groom? Start praying now for your future groom. Not just that you'll just find one, but that you'll find the "right" one. Pray for your future marriage

I was blessed to marry the man God had for me at 22, but I'd like to think I would have patiently waited if that was God's plan.

If you're already married, dig out your wedding pictures if you have them. Admire them.Post a few. I love looking at wedding photos. Remember how thrilled you were that day. I sometimes miss the "newness" of married life, but it's so much better now. We've grown closer together over the years and I can't wait to know him better in years to come.

Left in a Closet

2008-12-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

First off, you need to know, that my brother bought my parent's house. The house I grew up in. Secondly, his wife is due to have their second baby in February. They finally got around to cleaning out the third bedroom in anticipation of the new arrival. In the closet of that bedroom they found this.....

My wedding dress. It was the second dress that I tried on and I fell in love with it. At the time, it was exactly what I was looking for in a wedding dress, down to the long sleeves and the "puffs" at the shoulder..

My mom made my veil. I just couldn't see spending top dollar on a store bought veil. I was looking for simple. It was getting close to the wedding and my mom was getting anxious about the veil. I told her to just put lace around the sheer fabric and attach it to a decorated barrette. I think it took her all of 20 minutes to complete, and I loved it.

It's not the wedding dress I would buy if I were getting married tomorrow, but I remember how much I loved it at the time. I dearly wish I could try it on. Sadly, I've gained enough weight to make this impossible. I might be able to get my leg in it, I'll have to see.

Now, this poor dress is shoved in my closet, but really where else would I put it?

A Special Song

2008-12-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had a special party for all the ladies who help to keep our church clean. Amy "won" one of the games and had the privilege to sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". I just happen to have video of this event. I'm sure she won't mind if I share.(Really, Amy...it's OK. You trust me don't you? Don't answer that!)

Thanks for the wisk, Stacy. We wisk you a Merry Christmas, too! Tell Courtney thanks for the bean bag. Katelyn already took it away from me and claimed it for herself. Missed you tonight.

WHAT?!

2008-12-09T06:44:00.000-08:00

So a package arrived yesterday. It was big and it was from Cabela's. Usually when my husband orders something, I'm told to expect a package. This was a surpise. It was an even greater surprise when my beloved husband informed me that it was my Christmas present.

WHAT?! My Christmas present is from Cabela's! Sweetheart, what are you thinking?!

Now, I'm not a girly-girl, but I'm not a Cabela's girl ,either. Do you know what they sell at Cabela's? Outdoor stuff. I'm just not that kind of girl.

He's told me that it is something that I specifically requested. We shall see, honey, we shall see.

My husband may need your prayers. I'll let you know December 26th. ;)

It's a start...

2008-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been in our house for over a year and a half, and it's just starting to feel like our home. I'm slow to put up our decoration and such for the simple fact that I procrastinate. Also, I have NO skill in decorating. Still little by little, I'll have Shannon put up this or hang up that. It may not be worthy of a magazine cover, but the house is slowly feeling like a ours.

I did not put up this picture because of the skill of the decorator, obviously. This wall now has more meaning than it did before.
1. Shannon's Grandpa G made the quilt rack.
2. My Grandma M made the quilt, just for me.
3. The bench belonged to my Great-Grandma B.
4. The house itself was built by my Grandma and Grandpa T.

Tagged...

2008-12-05T04:28:00.000-08:00

About 2 (or 3 or 4) weeks ago, I was tagged!

This picture was taken at the end of July, but it was my fourth picture posted for the month of August. Katelyn got to choose 3 friends to take to Sea Breeze Amusement park in honor of her 10th birthday.

While looking at this picture, I realized, once again, what a great guy I married. He willingly came with me to watch over 4 pre-teen girls. Could I have done this myself? Sure, but I felt much safer with my man there with us. About a month earlier, he was injured during a basketball game. He had torn the ACL in his knee, yet he walked that park with us regardless of the pain. Just one of the many reasons why I love this man!

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Thanks for the "tag" Dawn. It helped me relive a fond memory, and reminded me how blessed I am.

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I guess I'm suppose to tag someone next. Stacy...you're it. Go back 4 months and find your 4th picture that month. Post that picture and write a little about it. This is an order. If you don't do this something bad will happen on the second Tuesday of next week. :)

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Thanks for the comment, Amy. A post just isn't complete with out a comment from you. ;)

David's Belated B-Day Pictures - (sorry David)

2008-11-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

After posting Robert's birthday pictures. I realized that I never posted David's pictures. So here they are. He turned 12 way back in August. Remember, we all complained about it being too hot, now we're freezing.

It's very hard to get a "normal" picture out of David. Sometimes I don't event try.

Wait! This one is fairly normal!

We celebrated David's birthday for the extended family on the Saturday before his birthday. On his actual birthday, we let him invite a couple of friends. This is the cake for that event. (Never miss an opportunity to make and eat cake.)

The gang.

Robert Turns 8!

2008-11-23T18:27:00.001-08:00

At the beginning of November, Robert turned 8. These are a couple of pictures from the day we had his party.

His favorite color is yellow. Can't you tell? My cake decorating services are available for a very high fee.

Robert has always had a fascination with reptiles, specifically the crocodile/alligator. This webkinz is a big hit with Robert

He's actually reading his card before opening his present. I'm so proud of him! :)

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Apple Shed Pictures

2008-11-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

We went to the Apple Shed at the end of October. I'm just now putting the pictures on here. It's so sad, isn't it?

Robert's not all that mechanically inclined. He needs his Dad's help on this one.

The corn slide is always popular.

David - I think this might be one of my favorite pictures of him. He's quiet! :)

I'm not sure which group I want to bring home.

The Difference Between Work and Play

2008-11-12T03:41:00.000-08:00

Now , if I would have said, "Let's go outside and rake the leaves!" I would have heard groaning and moaning. Since I said, "Let's go play in the leaves." They were quick and happy to respond. The leaves were still raked, but the attitude was completely different.

Last Friday was probably the last of its kind for this season. It was warm and sunny. A day I could not even justify staying indoors. I prefer to remain indoors, but once I force myself to venture out I have a thouroughly good time.

The kids were so impressed with the work that they did, I had to force them to play in their piles!

OK, this is my oldest who told me he was too "old" to play in the leaves. Who can resist a great, big pile of leaves?

Guess who was the first one out Sat. morning to play in the leaves......yep, the "too old" David.

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"LIKE" Update- I'm still saying "like" all the time, but at least now I'm hearing myself saying it. Admitting I have a problem is the first step, right. Oh, and Amy...very funny comment. Way to make fun of my insecurities! :) P.S. It was your mother who was one of the ladies who brought this flaw to my attention. I forgive her since this is my one and only flaw. :)

Thank you

2008-11-11T09:23:00.001-08:00

Moments ago, I read a friend's blog, Amazing Love (see side bar). She shares some of her thoughts on this Veteran's Day. Yes, this is a day set aside to honor those that have served in our military. A day to remember their sacrifice for American freedom. Her words reminded me of the sacrifice of the wives, husbands, children, family and friends. I know Julia did not write her blog in the effort to glorify herself, but it did make me appreciate more the sacrifices of the families of those in the service of our great country. I knew Julia's husband was in the military. I, also, knew that he was not there for the birth of their first child. I knew that she was without him for a great amount of time, but I don't think I ever really thought about it. How difficult it must have been for her. Never thought about what a debt of gratitude I owe to her and those like her.

Although I honor and greatly appreciate the brave men and women who have and are serving, I want to send a special thanks to those who were left at home. Your sacrifice was great. Your sacrifice was for me and my family. From the bottom of my heart ...Thank you.

It's like.....

2008-11-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Has it ever come to your attention that you do something that you didn't realize you did? Like, if you were asked if you like did this thing you would like say "no". I had one of these realizations last Sunday night. I say the word "like" like every sentence. Like, how incredibly annoying! What am I....like 12?

If you would have asked me Sunday at 4 pm how often I said the word "like" inappropropriately, I would have said occasionally. Actually, I probably would have said "like, occasionally." At about 5:45 PM, I found out differently. Two ladies were with me in the nursery at church and were commenting on how often I said "like". They weren't being mean, just observant, but I'm bitter so I will call them extremely cruel! At first, I didn't believe them, but then I heard myself try to say something, making an effort not to say the dreaded word, and I couldn't speak. Every other word was "like".

I've decided to try to work on this. Now, I don't want everyone to correct me when they hear me utter the word. That would drive me crazy, but I do want to cut down on my usage of the word. It will be a long, hard journey, and it may take me years to get out of the habit, but I will beat this.One likeless sentence at a time. When you hear me say "like" ignore it, please. I will ignore all your annoying habits, too.

For the record, we sang "It's Just LIKE Jesus" in church that night.

On the way to The Apple Shed

2008-10-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

This will be our third year in a row going to The Apple Shed. It's become one of our fall, family traditions. My husband called from work to remind me to find the address and plug it in to our GPS, just to make sure we didn't forget the way. So, being the dutiful wife that I am (no comments, please), I did as he requested. About half way there, Amanda (our GPS voice) started giving us directions completely opposite to the way my husband wished to go. Here is a brief synopsis of the conversation. Please keep in mind that all of this discussion is done in a teasing, not bitter tone. Shannon-my husband, Michelle-me, Amanda-GPS voice,Bree-our 5 year old.

Amanda - "At the next opportunity turn your vehicle around."

Michelle - "Amanda said to turn around."

Shannon - "I heard her."

Michelle - "Are you going to turn around?"

Shannon - "No."

Amanda - "At the next opportunity, turn your vehicle around."

Michelle - "Are you sure you're going the right way?"

Shannon - "Pretty sure."

Michelle - "Amanda thinks we are going the wrong way."

Amanda - "At the next opportunity, turn your vehicle around."

Michelle - "Be quiet, Amanda, he's not listening to you!"

Shannon - "Do YOU want me to turn around?"

Michelle - "NO, I'm sure you know more than Amanda.(Said with just a touch of teasing sarcasm.) If you're not going to listen to her, we should just turn her off.

Shannon - "Where does she want us to go anyway?"

Bree - "Daddy, just go the way you want to go!"

Michelle - "Uh, Amanda was taking us to Lori's Secret Garden. Sorry."

Somehow, when doing the final programing, I mixed it up. So , honey, this is for you.... I was .......not completely right. OK, OK, I was wrong! There had to be a first time, right?

'Tis the Season

2008-10-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

No, not Christmas...Hunting!

With hunting season upon us, it always reminds me of a story that I was told about 13 years ago. While teaching in a private school in Indiana, the pastor told a story about his friend. This friend was a avid hunter. One day his granddaughter was watching the movie Bambi for the first time. He was worried about the scene where Bambi's mother gets shot, worried about what his granddaughter would think of Grandpa's hunting. The dreaded scene begins, then the shot rings out. His granddaughter gasps and then cries, "Wow, Grandpa! What a shot!"

Now, could this be one of those urban legend stories? It's possible, but I'm just relaying what was told to me. I'm a horrible storyteller (just ask my husband) so please forgive the lack of creativity in the telling of the story.

Quick Question

2008-10-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Why does it seem like every time I put on mascara, I sneeze thus smearing the mascara?! Anyone else have this problem?

The Tournament

2008-10-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

Just some pictures from a recent flag football tournament. They're in no particular order. Most of them are not touched up, just cropped a bit. I think we had 2 wins and 2 losses. It was a fun day!

For you, Amy. I love how tough Anthony looks in this picture.

"You're going the wrong way, Ken!!!" I should have cropped this picture. Notice where the ball is and the direction everyone else is facing. I'm sure he is in mid-turn, but I thought the picture looked funny.

Cory with a touchdown!

Let's not forget our ladies. The girls spent the whole day cheering on our team. Katelyn's helping hold the sign.

There was never a pyramid more beautiful. My Katelyn is not shown. She's still holding the sign behind the girls.

David in action.

Jeffrey is ready to hike the ball, but no one is ready to catch it!

Andrew with a touchdown!

His face says he doesn't want to be here, but his hair is SCREAMING school spirit.