New photos

 New Edits added to the House to Home page (Kitchen and Dining room)

 

Grandkids-York 2012

 A few weeks ago at our annual convention I was happy to have just over half of my grandkids there
Sunday it was a beautiful and *bright* morning, and all the photos I got of the kids, even tho they were in the shade have sun reflection spots on them.

 I made Neveah & Serenity's dresses--I'd gotten the fabric for them earlier in the year & not got them done.  I figured I'd better get busy so they could actually wear them (and I could see the girls in them) instead of moving the fabric clear across the state TOO.  Nothing like convention time to inspire me to get a sewing project done! 

This particular 7 make nearly perfect "stairsteps"

Kyrie 7 1/2---- Neveah 6 1/2

 Trey 5 1/2----Serenity 4 1/2

Lyrah 3---Zander 2 1/2

 and "baby" Wyatt 1

Jessie, Barrett, Raya, Jaith and Bethany, I missed you ♥

 

 If you want to see where we're headed and what we're doing, check out the "From house to Home" tab at the top of my page.



 

In Memory

 A photo album my mother gave to me on my 16th birthday had these words that I've always loved:

People we have known and loved,

Places we have been--

How beautiful in memory

to see them all again.

Maybe those were the first seeds sown of making me a scrapbooker.
A desire to not only hold them in memory,
but record them for others.

We are well into Sept, heading towards October.
The weather has turned cooler, the leaves are beginning to fall.
There are brown tinges on the grass, leaves & plants.
The corn is being cut.

It all reminds me that this is the time of year that my grandmother died.
October, 1993.
It brings tears to my eyes realizing it's been (nearly) 20 years ago.
I have four children that never knew her.
One that would barely remember.

Today as I was going thru things; sorting out to move,
I came across this poem written in my grandmothers handwriting.
She loved poetry and I've come to really enjoy it too althought
it took me quite a few years to appreciate it.

 Let me Grow Lovely

Let me grow lovely, growing old,

So many fine things do;

Laces and ivories and gold

And silks need not be new:

And there is healing in old trees,

Old streets a glamour hold;

Why may not I, as well as these,

grow lovely, growing old?

Karl Wilson Baker


My grandmother was truly a lovely person.


 

Sisters and Friends

 Once upon a time, these three sisters....

 Were best friends with these three sisters....

We spent many many happy hours together, both at our houses and my grandparents house, who lived just down the street from these girls, and they fondly referred to them as "Glenn and Aunt Ruth" (beings they already had a "Uncle Glenn")

Time and circumstances has a way of coming between lives, but this summer it was really really special to get to see and spend a little bit of time with the "2nd" sister who lives across the world.

Although each of us had one of the others for a best friend, I remember very few times when we were all 6 together with each other. It was usually two together. Unfortunately the three of us never did get to be with the three of them at the same time this summer while she was here, but I am so happy to have this picture. I have a few others, taken when we were together with Heidi this summer; I have many pictures in my mind of days together when we were children. I have some (not as many) pictures tucked away in my photo books, another reminder of the scrapbooking I want to do.

The memories of those "best friend" years are something I cherish, and I'm happy to count them still among my "best" friends!

She bakes cake

 August is our Daughter Lynisha's birthday month.  It is also our Son-in-law Mark's birthday.  HER brother in law, not her husband.
This month is the "big" 30 for them.

Lynisha "does" cakes.  We are partial to Lynisha's cakes.
So, what do you do when you are trying to pull off a surprise birthday party for the cake master mistress? You know...when you have the best, who wants to order from the rest? (or something like that!)

I was planning on heading out west for the weekend to work on getting our new old house cleaned up and work done in preparation for moving in. The Kids out there were planning to go over and spend the day on Saturday helping us and SIL Jim called and wondered what we could do for a birthday surprise for Lynisha and Mark.

After discussion, the plan was for him to have a co-worker of his call and order a cake from Lynisha.
So un-beknownst to her, she made her own birthday cake.  I know...rude, huh- haha!

Jim & Mark's folks came over & joined us for lunch & party and helped with some cleaning up too.
Thanks kids for helping make it a fun time!

 Happy 30th birthday, Mark and Lynisha!!

Changes

 Just traveling along the road-

 

Enjoying the scenery.  Smelling the flowers- 

 Watching & living the seasons as they come and go.

 And then there's a curve.  Sometimes unexpected.

 And then a warning sign.  Not only is the road ending, but it's means changing directions.

 

 And that means stop.

The stop sign appeared very abruptly this morning with a phone call.

"We have a house".

I really don't go out walking much. It's a shame.  I admire others who do, I know I should.

During the 2 1/2 years we've lived here I am ashamed at how few times I've found myself out walking the road.

The times that I have tho, I always have found myself intrigued by those road signs.  It seems the story of my life.  I cannot imagine growing up, living in the same house for *18* years.  It didn't happen with me.

I can't imagine living in the same house all my *married-grown-up* years.  It didn't happen with us either. 

In January this year, the road looked the same.  There was no changes in sight.

then the curve. A new job across the state.  Since then the future & distance has been pretty much obscured from sight. It has been tolerable, but very bumpy and uncertain.

Time passes.  Some days drag, but mostly the weeks fly by.

And then there's the sign.

It's means decision,

It means change.

As opinionated as I can be, decisions are not my strong point.

It can make my life pretty miserable.

Mostly for myself, but probably somewhat for others who have to listen to me too.

So how long from the warning sign to the stop sign?  Sometimes it

seems to go on for a long time.

In reality really not so long.

And sometimes the decision is taken right out of my hands

and if it's something that I've been really searching the answer for

in the right place, that is a good thing.

The stop sign is right in front of me now, it's time to let go

and move on.

 **************************************************

Then again-

how insignificant my changes seem

in light of other things that have happened this year.

Some friends lost a child.

Some lost loved ones.

Causalities.  

Shootings in the news.

Fires have been burning, it's changed peoples plans, their days,

in some cases taken their homes or livlihood.

My friend deals with cancer. A life altering experience.

And me?

Well, I get a change of scenery.

The opportunity to make new friends,

expand our horizons,

live with my husband again,

and set to work re-decorating a new house!