Donato and Erika's Wedding!

My blog had shut down just after Sarah's wedding. Erika and Donato got married 6 months later! sooo 4 years later.....

She had a beautiful wedding with many special guests. Her wedding was a definite tip to Ukraine as it was surrounded by Sunflowers. Big Sunflowers! Donato's aunt decorated the reception hall with sunflowers cascading down the stair bannister and everything was just beautiful!

Every wedding has something funny happen. This time, was no different. I noticed during the early morning before the wedding we had run out of coffee cups. Then I noticed there were no cups, napkins silverware or plates for cake. The caterer's brought larger plates for the food. So as she was getting ready I went in and asked, "Did you plan for drink cups and cake plates, napkins etc? I got this hilarious stare. "Don't worry! I've got it!" Of course Uncle Bob was on his way down from Oklahoma and about 1/2 an hour away. And my sweet friend Lori was on her way. They stopped at every walmart between where they were at the time and the wedding location and bought all the cups and plates and napkins and silverware possible.

SAVED just in time! All was well, I let the bride know it was all taken care of and nobody knew, except you who are now reading this and a few sweet volunteers. :)

You can follow Erika and Donato's adventures in Europe on a 4 month honeymoon by clicking the hightlight.

My New Place To Write

This room used to be bustling with little girls! There were bunkbeds, toys, dressers and the conversation was endless. I remember one time coming in to clean and it was Sarah and Alli's turn to share a room. (we used to rotate kids every 6 months) They took off from the "Mom, Dad and Me" books and made their own Sarah and Alli book. They were writing to each other to solve their roommate problems! We had a rule of no perishable foods in the bedrooms. Each girl had a lunch box with non perishables so if they woke hungry, they wouldn't feel that feeling of not having enough. Early in their lives they DIDN'T have enough! So, those non perishables were neatly placed under beds for emergency use. :) During that time, Alli and I were going to have a talk so we went into her room, THIS room, and she had the bottom bunk. The bottom of the top bunk was exposed above her and there were several rails. The mattress cover against those rails formed numerous pockets to place things in. She had some toys, papers in some, but as we were talking I noticed some "fruit flies"! As we looked at the pockets she sheepishly pulled out, apple core, apple core, banana peel...so we incorporated into our talk another talk about the WHY of not having fresh fruit in the bedroom. It really was quite humorous. Now, this room is filled with memories. It doesn't have apple cores, just a cup of coffee or a glass of water and the bunkbeds have been taken down to make way for books. The sun shines in here in the morning and I can watch it rise from my window. It is perfect for writing and remembering. So this is where I will be writing from now on. I used to be in the kitchen on a shared computer with all sorts of things going on around me. Now, it is just Mike and me. I hope you keep reading and looking at old posts if you are reading this. There is much for me to process and share with love and new insight. The Lord has been so good to us. SO VERY good, even during hard times. He didn't remove those times, but clearly walked us through them. Where we are now doesn't mean their won't be hard times to come, as with anybody who lives on this earth. We have both faced cancer and physical ailments, and the aging process is certainly not for the faint of heart. Ha! But I will write as long as I can about the goodness and glory of the Lord and how He gently leads us and calls us to Himself. He is most certainly a God of Love and compassion. I'm thrilled to be writing again.

WHAT A WEEK!

We began our week with a wedding for James and Sarah. She is now Sarah Norby. :) Then came a huge ice storm and TWO birthdays! After that, Albina got engaged. It has been a very blessed week! I can't show any wedding pictures until the bride and groom return from their honeymoon, but I can show a very joyful Albina who is now engaged to her sweet Keith. :) We have another wedding coming up soon for Miss Erika also! I'm just amazed at God's goodness and blessing in our lives. :) A few photos from this week.

Toy Story Fun

I have these Toy Story Toys sitting on top of the computer desk. Mike pulled the desk out not realizing some of them were resting against the wall. And a few things fell. This is how they landed. It cracked me up because it reminded me of the movie when somebody comes into the room. :)

Baby It's Cold Outside part 2

This has been a historic storm here in Texas, and now we are facing a power grid system that is antiquated and not at all able to handle below freezing temperatures. It appears our precious State of Texas was caught off guard by Mother Nature! So, some are without power all together, which means many homes are without heat in temps that have been as low as 1 degree with sub zero wind chills. There has been ice and now there is snow, and along with the cold and the low temperatures comes a simple and perfect beauty that one can only see on the other side of such hardships! My mind has been all over the place today as we seem to have been pretty well prepared with oil lamps, a wood stove, wood for the fire and cast iron cooking ware we could use on the wood stove if needed. But MANY are suffering because they are dependent upon electricity for heat and cooking. Texas is famous for all electric homes. In fact, OUR home is all electric, but we have a wood stove and have never used any other heat source than the stove. This weather has made me think of those less fortunate in other countries also who are experiencing unpresedented cold weather! And it makes me think of the girls who lived in a much colder climate and many times were cold. I'm so thankful they are all here! And now they are cold here. LOL Here are some photos of our day.

The power went out so we made breakfast on the stove.

An Egg froze in its shell and I was shocked to see the morning paper delivered! Whoever our paper deliverer is, they are amazing! We haven't even received mail for a couple of days!

These are some photos of the yard and a view from the street. I would love to go and build a snowman right about now! :) The chickens are safe in the coop for now. I need to go and check eggs again so they don't freeze. LOL Honestly, I'm surprised we are getting eggs! If I were them I'd be too cold to lay an egg! We have a heat lamp for them, but if the power goes out, there goes the lamp. :( I know that as Texas learns more about what happened, they will most certainly take steps to fix the grid so this doesn't happen again. But in reality, this is a once in a lifetime storm, or maybe twice..... I remember 30 years ago. :) Stay Warm! And LAYER! It really helps even though it is terribly uncomfortable!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

And inside! "The weather outside is freezing, and the fire is so relieving! Since we've no place to go, let it snow let it snow let it snow!" :) Not to make light of the situation here in Texas, we are record cold temperatures. I remember 30 years ago when it got down to 6º. Today it got down to 1º. ONE! DEGREE!

Our chickens are inside the coop with extra hay and a heat lamp, as long as the electricity stays on. But unfortunately, many we know are without power! Apparently Texas was not prepared for such a time as this and many homes are electric only. So there are rolling power outages. The problem is, they haven't been so rolling and seem more permanent! One friend has had power out 23 out of 24 hours, on for 1 hour and now back out! It is in the 40's inside their house. We know others without power. Some may be headed our way to get warm, which is great with us! When I go out to feed the chickens and give them unfrozen water, it is amazing how many animal tracks I see! I never knew there were so many animals roaming at night through our property! One for sure was a rabbit! The others my guess would be possum and raccoon. Our little wood stove is keeping us warm, but if this weather doesn't let up soon we will be like Little House on the Prairie's "Long Winter" where Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pa twisted hay to put in the fire all night long. There is a special beauty to snow. Mike and I, being new empty nesters have been all alone in this, and it is so quiet! We have had time to sit and talk and have coffee longer than usual. He IS however working as he can inside the shoppe while trying to keep things warm in here and make sure pipes don't freeze! Here are some photos of our adventures!

Me! Headed out to give the chickens water! Below, our wonderful wood stove busy keeping us warm!

We put plastic sheeting on the windows to keep drafts out. It has REALLY helped! Below are photos of snow from yesterday. We are expecting more tonight and tomorrow!

The Library

Since the girls have moved to their new apartment, I have been busy creating a library. I have had So.Many.Books that have been waiting to come out and visit from the attic! Things are not quite finished yet, as I have a lot of organizing to do, but I'm really liking the new room that is a combined library/computer room. I need to put in an area rug, (until we get wood floors in) and arrange the top shelves and get things dusted! As a homeschooling mom since 1992, books become old friends. You just don't want to let them go! So here are some photos of the not quite finished library/computer room. :)

I'm also planning to sew some curtains. :)