days in the life of a
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April 2011
click here to read older April 2011 posts....
April 26, 2011
SPRINGING
Spring in Indiana is God's reward to us for enduring the long, harsh Indiana winter.
The blossoms on the fruit trees are bursting open....
...making the orchard an explosion of blooms...
...just in time to provide pollen for the awakening honeybees.
I absolutely love this time of year!
We're having fresh asparagus for dinner nearly every night.
And in the holly bush is a robin's nest with 4 pretty little eggs.
Yes, finally....
...Spring is springing!!!
April 27, 2011
A GREAT GRAND EASTER
All 5 of Mama and Dad's great-grandchildren were at their house for Easter.
Kristoffer and Dana, along with 2-year-old Karter and 14-month-old Kaden, got to spend Easter with us for the first time.
Brett and Megan, with 20-month-old Maci and 3-year-old Mira, drove in from their home in St. Louis for the celebration...
...as well as Sarah and 8-year-old Austin.
Emily and Zach...
...sister Barb and John....
...and Kim (being social, as always) and I (being behind the camera, as always) converged at Mama and Dad's after church for Easter dinner and festivities.
The dinner was delicious as always, but most of the fun revolved around the great-grandchildren.
Karter put on a doll hat and began taking pictures like Gramaw.
Say "cheese," Miss Maci!
Great-Grandpa Bud may be 79 years old, but he can still hoist the children up on his shoulders. Even though he probably shouldn't....
The great-grandkids got tickled when Gran-Gran pushed them on the porch swing.
While the little ones were out on the porch, the Easter bunnies inside hid the eggs (it was too rainy to hunt in the grass outside).
Ready, set, GO!!!!
Karter shook each egg as he found it,....
...just to be sure it had something inside.
Uh-oh...I think the Easter Bunny forgot to fill this one. This is serious!
Mira with her treasure stash....
...right before she started digging in!
Kaden was all about digging in!
He did share with Aunt Emmy.
Comparing their finds....
Kaden just grabbed whatever he wanted from whosever basket he wanted. Thankfully, the other kids were happy to share!
On a sugar high, the kids had a little "Ring-Around-the-Rosey" action.
Of course, the best part of that game is "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!"
Sweet little Maci...
Sweet little Kaden, looking at his own reflection....
Smooches for Papaw!
Great-Grandpa Bud, Karter, and Brett's dog watch the train go by in the distance.
These cute little children made for a great, grand Easter!
April 28, 2011
COLLECTING CANDY EGGS
It really can't be accurately called an Easter Egg hunt.
Great-Grandpa Kenny's version involves standing in his yard and tossing handfuls of
candy eggs across the grass.
Not much of a challenge for the older grandchildren, but it's perfect for Kaden and Karter!
Kaden couldn't wait to unwrap his first egg with his chubby little fingers.
Karter quickly caught on that just walking across the lawn would yield an abundance of chocolate eggs.
Kaden was so very proud of himself!
Of course, he had a little coaching from Papaw...
...while Karter did quite well on his own.
Mama Dana surveys the stash...looks like plenty of chocolate to last awhile!
This is the closest I could get to a photo of the two of them together. These two never quit moving...
And they thoroughly enjoyed collecting candy eggs!
April 29, 2011
ROYAL WEDDINGS
If you haven't heard, Prince William and Kate Middleton got married this morning.
Just thought you'd want to know...
As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm watching and listening to the pomp and circumstance that is the royal wedding of the decade.
And I can't help but remember another royal wedding 30 years ago...
Kim and I were newlyweds ourselves, just waking up in our first apartment in Pendleton. The radio alarm had gone off and the station was carrying crackly, static-y coverage of a royal wedding on the other side of the Atlantic, the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
I laid there quietly in Kim's arms, listening to Charles and Diana say their vows. We giggled as Diana stumbled over Charles' long name, even mixing up the order a little. Somehow that made her seem more human, more like us, more normal.
I can remember thinking how different our weddings and lives were, Diana's and mine. She was a fairy-tale princess, her wedding an event to be remembered, with more wealth than I could even imagine. And me, well...not...
Later, I watched the video coverage of the celebration. It was magical, the stuff dreams are made of, and I was captivated by it and by Diana. I was equally excited when she gave birth to her firstborn, baby William, and a couple of years later, baby Harry, nearly the same times as I was having my own Kristoffer and Emily.
Of course, Diana had nannies and maids and lived in a castle with ladies-in-waiting tending to her every need. Our lives were worlds apart, but somehow I felt a unexplainable connection with her.
We all know that her fairy tale life didn't have a fairy tale ending, and all those riches and royal amenities didn't bring her happiness. As it turned out, my ordinary marriage and life is filled every day with more joy than Diana ever knew. And I'd never trade my life and marriage for Diana's, even for a day.
But 30 years ago, I didn't know all that. All I knew was a beautiful princess was getting married in a magical royal wedding, as Kim and I listened to the ceremony in our modest little apartment half a world away.
Sweet, sweet memories....
...from another royal wedding.
Getty image from celebuzz.com
image from google.com
April 30, 2011
SATURDAY SNAPSHOTS AND SNIPPETS
As always, Mama and her fellow cooks put on a spectacular Chicken and Dumpling meal last night at their church.
Mama and my Aunt Fredette are the Head Dumpling Chefs, and they sure do make some scrump-diddli-umptious dumplings!
I dearly love our church, but we have never put together a meal like the cooks at White Branch Church of the Brethren.
All the hoops have been cleared, and this week we closed on our loan and are officially back in debt.
We were debt-free for 6 months...it was great while it lasted....
Let the rains stop and the cabin-building begin!
We're SO EXCITED!!!!!
Speaking of cabin-related excitement, our church friend Dick called this week and wanted me to take a look at the guest bathroom vanity he is making for us out of some cedar planks we had saved years ago.
WOW!!!!
I love, love, LOVE it!!!
I gave him a basic idea of what I wanted and he took my idea, added his creativity, and here is the nearly-done result. The man is an artist with wood...along with his many other talents.
It's not something that would look right in every house, but it'll be PERFECT for our cabin!
And extra, extra-special because Dick made it for us!
He's also making some other accent pieces as well...I'm sure I won't be disappointed...
Robins are hatching everywhere around our place.
If there's anything uglier and more helpless than a newly-hatched robin, I don't know what it'd be.
Why is it that hatchlings of other bird species, like chickens and geese and ducks, are totally mobile and independent and pretty much able to fend for themselves shortly after they hatch?
God's creation is mysterious and puzzling, but oh, so very WONDERFUL!
Speaking of God's creation and wonderful...
...what a welcome gift He painted across the sky one rainy (surprise, surprise...) afternoon this week.
A camera photo can never do it justice.
Have a blessed weekend!
