A Touch Of Spring

The bunnies are packed away, the house got a quick dusting, and now we are ready for spring! Here are a few photos of the spring touches in our country home. : )

Happy spring, my friends!!!!!

I Have A Thing About...And A Giveaway! (Closed)

You know I have a few...quirks...shall we say, right? Well, one of them is with dishtowels. I always have trouble with them because having dirty dishtowels around and not remembering how long I have been using them and worrying about yucky stuff like mildew just drives me nuts! Until I found these...

Problem solved!

I am thrilled with my new dishtowels! It doesn't take much to make me happy, folks. But seriously, they are perfect. Every evening after the kitchen is clean, I throw the used towel in the laundry tub. Then I set out a fresh, clean towel for the next day. : )

When I ordered them from Zulily, I purchased an extra set to give away here on the blog. So if you would like a chance to win these...

Simply let me know down below!

We will choose a winner through our super fancy system of drawing a name out of a bowl on Monday, and announce the winner next week. : )

So there you have it...a super simple solution to a not so major problem.

Have a great day! : )

Thursday Thoughts

Today I am thinking about...


...the past week. And how much we enjoyed it. We had a visitor, and we could not have asked for a nicer young man to welcome into our home. My Madison met a friend through one of her social media accounts, and began talking to him on the phone. They talked for hours and hours and became quite good friends. Steve and I spoke with him as well, and also used Skype to meet his parents. When Madison and he asked if he could come to America from Denmark to visit, Steve and I agreed that it would be a good experience for both of them, as well as for our entire family. And so last week, Madison, Steve and Rhett drove to the airport to meet him. : )

All ready to go...and not a bit nervous. ; )

The moment they met in person at last. : )

We welcomed him with an Italian dinner...what else?!...and spent the first evening talking and laughing and visiting.

The week flew by with dinners and games and movies and even visiting Steve at the dealerships. Saturday night he joined us for Mass, and then we invited some of our family and friends in for a super casual evening of Subway subs and fun. : ) We could not have been happier for the two of these young people. Nicolas was polite, respectful, pleasant, classy, intelligent and fun. His parents did a wonderful job of raising him! He taught us as much as we shared with him, and it was a wonderful week.

Oh, and I made an apple pie...because is there anything more American than apple pie?

The morning of his last full day here, I surprised them with a special breakfast for two. : )

And they were so thankful and cute!

In other news, Kirby got a bath for the occasion...

and Flynn was thrilled with the new jammies that the Easter Bunny forgot to put in her basket and had to mail to her. : )

First outdoor-before-Mass-photo of the year!

And just some of the women in my family who came to visit and meet Nicolas on Saturday night!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!!!!

Easter 2015

Easter 2015 has come and gone. It was a beautiful, quiet and cozy day here...

On Saturday, we made our traditional bunny cake...

and loved our new Easter jammies. : )

And yes...I totally miss the days when they all wore them. And matched.

We snuggled on the sofa and watched Here Comes Peter Cottontail....

and we left treats for the bunny. : )

Oh, and I made sure clothes were ready for 8:00 AM Mass.

Bright and early Easter morning, we posed for pictures. I am missing one here...my Madison offered to take my sweet mother to the Easter Vigil Mass Saturday night. : )

Flynn was thrilled to see that the Easter bunny had come! And this mommy's heart was so happy when her twelve year old son continued the magic in a new way...for his baby sister.

After Mass, we came home and changed back into our jammies, hunted for and found the baskets and then had a yummy Easter Brunch. We had homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade -by -someone -else- nutroll, and fresh fruit. : )

Then we watched movies...and some of us napped...before we had dinner. We had ham, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. And yes. Those are foil pans you see there. Years ago, I got smart and realized if I cooked the food in them, I didn't need to switch it out to store the leftovers. And...no washing. That's how we do it here, folks. : )

Dessert was Bunny Cake...

Cherry Cheese Pie...

and cookies. : )

And with all that food...I'm not cooking for the week!

Ham for days!!!

Happy Easter one more time, my friends!

Thursday Thoughts

Today I'm thinking about...


...my clean house. We cleaned the house on Tuesday. And it needed it. It's funny how my expectations have changed over the years. When I was a younger mother, I had a cleaning schedule. Every Friday while the kids were at school, I cleaned the house from top to bottom...whether it needed it or not. We also did a major cleaning every spring and fall. And that was good. These days, I have a much more relaxed attitude toward cleaning. I no longer do a major cleaning every week. Rather, we clean and tidy as necessary. And spring cleaning? I just don't. I mean...things are clean. Why clean them again? Every now and then I wipe the baseboards. Sometimes I run a duster over the blinds. Is my house immaculate? No. Do six people and a dog live here? Yes. It is always tidy. It needs to be. My mind works like that. Is it always perfectly clean.? Nope. And that is alright too. I often think of something my dear grandmother Mildred said to me years ago. She said that it was silly to spend your whole life fighting dirt, because when you die, they put you in six feet of it! So...that is that. Here is a peek at the past week in our not so perfectly clean home. : )

My girls came downstairs one day with almost the exact same outfit on...and it made me so happy that neither one of them cared. Instead, they asked for a picture. : )

And my Flynn wanted a picture too. With her baby and her "best best best friend Peyton."

These two. They are so close. It makes my heart so happy. : )

We went to a Japanese restaurant together, and my baby perfected the art of using chopsticks.

So proud! And after this we went to the grocery store to shop for our Easter Dinner. I am so thankful that our teenagers enjoy spending time with us. We make memories even doing the simplest of things. : )

I finished my little memory wall in the kitchen this week. These are the photos my mom gave to me...they are photos of she and my dad when they were little...and dating...and of my grandparents when they were young...so many beautiful photos of those special people that came before me. And who are with me always. See that little fellow in the middle? He grew up to be my dad. : )

And this. I received a lovely piece of happy mail this week from a reader. How surprised was I to find this beautiful book and a handwritten letter from a new friend who reads my blog! I was so touched and happy! This blog world is a wonderful place to connect with people we other wise would never meet. Thank you so very much, Sharon! I love it!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends.

Easter pics to come soon. : )

The Schoolroom...March 2015 In Pictures

Holy Thursday Thoughts

Today I am thinking about...


...Lent. And how quickly it came and went. I mean, wasn't it just Christmas yesterday? In any case, Easter is almost here. No matter how fruitful...or not...our Lent was...it is never too late to give it our best shot. I had planned on our family praying The Stations of The Cross on Wednesday evenings during Lent. And we did. Twice. I'm keeping it real here, folks. We will pray them again on Good Friday as well as limit all electronics from the hours of 12-3 as we spend time in quiet prayer.

Sunday will find us up and dressed in our Easter finest bright and early for 8:00 AM Mass. Then we will come home, change back into our jammies...yes, I'm serious...and spend the day together eating and playing and resting. Here is a little peek at last week here in our country home...

We wore cute Bunny dresses to Palm Sunday Mass...

 

 

and baked Easter cookies with Grandma.

 

 

My Peyton and my Flynn. : )

 

 

 

We sipped coffee in bed...

 

 

while it snowed...

 

 

and snowed...

 

 

and snowed.

 

 

Oh. And Peyton made a Chocolate Pudding Pie. : )

 

 

Happy Easter!!!!