All is right with the World

Mum and Dad left for Tucson to visit my brother on the 3rd and Steve and the older boys left for a week of vacation on Long Island (just off of Drummond Island in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). EB, Madz and I were left to fend for ourselves and I'll be honest and say I'm quite the mess without my best friend around. Fortunately we kept quite busy while they were gone so that we had little time to pine for them.

Some of the events of the week:

Explored the Farmers Market and discovered some wonderful Butterscotch Root Beer.
Sewed a pair of pj's for Madison.
Enjoyed fireworks at Marathon Park (for what - all of 10 minutes - very lame this year in length)
Attempted most nights to sleep, but not to much success.
Caught up on some DVD's I'd been meaning to watch, while sleep was hard to find.
Enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Raff's house on Sunday evening - the steak was delicious!!!!
Played a lot at the lake while attempting to not get too sunburned.
Watched Madz play her first two soccer games of the season. Mum tried extra hard not to mouth off at bad calls and quite honesty bad playing by her daughter - Mia Hamm, she is not - but there is still hope.
Tried not to get eaten by darn mosquitoes.
Burned finger on steam iron.
Cut finger with Rotary Cutter, which didn't want to stop bleeding for quite some time.
After cleaning kitchen floor managed to run in to the kitchen and slam into the tile flooring. Bruises and pulled muscles were to follow.
EB was heard saying many times "What has happened to our family?" "When will we be a family again?"
However, that didn't stop EB from stealing his dad's parking spot in the garage. His Ford F-150 truck fit nicely in place of the Hummer.
One speeding ticket on a road with a too low speed limit - apparently it's zero tolerance they told me, even though I was barely going over the limit and lots of older cars were going faster than I was. Black Beauty must be a target. Did I mention I was majorly ticked off. Will repent of bad thoughts towards police man and what he should do with his laser on Sunday.
Strange large egg was discovered in the backyard.
Got large part of quilt completed when I couldn't sleep.
Lots of playing on the trampoline with the Water Sprinkler underneath.
Lots of snuggling with EB and Madz, and just taking the time to enjoy one another.
Discovered that apparently its not the little kids that make the mess around this house, but the big ones (yes, that includes the Cute Guy). The house was spotless.
Participated in Chalkfest. Madison is grandfathered in so that she gets a large square each year (normally you have to be 12), but she was kind enough to share it with her friend, Ryan.
Lots of time spent playing games on Webkinz with the kids.
Lots of time chatting with friends in the wee hours of the am when couldn't sleep.
Lots of excitement when the boys showed up a day early back from their vacation.
Lots of hugs (while holding noses - phew, did those boys stink!!!!!)
Immediately following hugs, lots of laundry done in lots of hot water with lots of pleasant smelling detergent.
EB got some playtime in with his Declan and the GeoTrax.
One hubby in a lot of pain.
One wife, happy to be caring for her sweetheart and so grateful for their coming home safely.

I am so grateful that Steve doesn't have a job that requires him to travel often. This was the longest we've been apart in almost 18 years of marriage. I just don't function well without him. However, I am so pleased that he was able to enjoy this vacation with the boys, and his friend, Whiz. We were not sure last year that the trip would be happening. He is a wonderful friend and we feel blessed to have him and his family in our lives. They have been such a large part of our lives for the past eight years and our lives have been so much the better for it.

More to follow with the exploits of these boys in the U.P.

White Dresses

Sunday was Madison's Big "B" Day!!!

She looked so beautiful and I can honestly say that I have never seen her so content and happy. She truly glowed.

I can't french braid hair very well, so we have developed this very complicated ponytail styling that we do. It looked great (luckily) with white bands and pearl clips. She was so incredibly beautiful. I couldn't stop looking at her.

This was the smile that was plastered on her face all day. As she came out of the water, she truly glowed. It sounds corny, but it's true.

Throughout the program she smiled! Everyone commented on her smile that day.

During the program the following video was played. Hand over the kleenex!!!!

What Heaven Sees in You (Three White Dresses)


Princess, we love you so much and are so proud of you. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. May life bring you more days full of smiles.