Gatlinburg pictures

I found a way to get some vacation pictures up. These are kind of in backwards order-
starting with the last day working to the first.


Horse back riding from Wednesday











Snow on the mountain - isn't it beautiful?






















Jellyfish from the aquarium













We found some gorgeous waterfalls

I'm Back

We returned home from Gatlinburg last night. We had so much fun - in spite of a bit
of snow! We had an interesting lunch where we did some volunteer work :) Ask me about that later. Sunday, we spent the day hiking and driving around the mountains. It was just beautiful. I even got a bit of a sunburn. On Monday, we went into town to the Ripleys aquarium. The kids loved that place. They had so many different sharks, stingrays and fish to look at and touch. It started raining as we walked around town so we headed back to our cabin. It took us 10 minutes off the main road to get to our driveway. Tuesday was the snowy day; so us girls just hung around the cabin, went into the hot tub while the guys went to a muscle man car museum. Wednesday was spent horseback riding in the mountains and shopping in town. It was a gorgeous day again. Thursday came much too quickly and we had to head home. Unfortunately, I have gotten a new camera and can't get the pictures downloaded into my computer yet so I have nothing to show you. Hopefully, I will be able to put the cd in and it will read it later.

Shaelyn's Animal Story

Shaelyn came home with some of her school papers today. She had to write a story. I thought it was pretty cute. Here it is in her words and spelling.

Once there was a cute brown hungrey small monkey. He lived in a pet store. A robirt
came with a key an unlock the cages. Than the animales came rushing out eveywere. Than the robirt got all the animales but the monkey was to fast. Then the robirt ran out the door. But the police was out the doors. Then the robirt had to go to jail.
The police putted the animales back in the cages.


P.S. We're leaving for vacation to Gatlinburg, TN tomorrow with Cheri and her family. I hope to have some great pictures when we return!

What am I Seeing?

I looked outside after church this morning and I am not sure what I saw. I thought it was rain but after closer evaluation, I noticed that it was thicker and white. Surely that cannot be snow! Really, I know that this is Michigan but we've had temps here lately that are in the 50's. Can't this wait until next week when I'm in a state with warmer temps?

Lunch Time

Yes, I am still alive. I will try to get around to news more often.
Today, I got taken out for lunch by Katelyn. This was my Christmas gift from
her. She gave me a certificate that she would take me to Ming Ten for a buffet
when it worked. Well, she is home this week for spring break and we decided to
go today. Ming Ten is a Chinese and Japanese buffet close to her dorms. It's
on the 2nd level of the building so you can look out the windows and get a better
view. They had so much delicious food. Crab rangoons, spring rolls, egg rolls,
egg drop soup, chicken of all kinds, shrimp, about 12 kinds of sushi, fruit, eggs...
I could go on and on. It was so good. If you're ever looking for a good Asian
restaurant, try this place. Thanks Katelyn. It was fun!

Chocolate Give-Away!

Check out this great give away over at Sarah's. If you like chocolate - you'll love this one.

It's Another Party Over Here!

Yup - today is another birthday in the family. Katelyn turns 20 today! Unbelievable!!
She has picked Death by Chocolate for her birthday cake (dessert). Tomorrow I will be making a birthday meal for her - steak, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and blueberry muffins. How is it that I can have a child no longer in her teens while I stay so young?!!!
Happy Birthday Katelyn - We love you!

Ice at Holland Beach

I mentioned to Katelyn last night that I would like to go to Holland to look at the ice. "Funny, you said that" - she had been thinking the same thing. So after talking to Cheri today, we went this afternoon. I'm so glad I talked with her because we all put on many layers. I was surprised at how many people were actually there. We all walked quite a ways out on the pier but when I saw part of the water moving, I decided that was far enough. The girls were able to walk on some of the patches of ice. It truly was very beautiful. Nothing like you see in the summer. This is one of the many reasons that I love living in Michigan - our 4 seasons are each spectacular in their own way. Enjoy some of the pictures I got. Hope they take your breath away as much as they did for me. (Maybe it was the cold air that took my breath!)

Do you Smell Cake?

Well, you might not smell cake, but there's a cheesecake baking at my house.
It's Chelsea's pick because today is her birthday. She's 17!! She chose
to have chocolate chip cheesecake instead of a regular cake. We're actually
celebrating tomorrow when Katelyn can be here but she's choosing supper. This
may seem strange but she picked french toast for the meal. Oh well, it's her
choice because it's her day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSEA! Hope you have a great day. We love you!

Can You Guess...?

There's a show called "Ask This Old House" They come up with nifty gadgets that the hosts have to figure out what it's used for. Well here's my version. Can any of you guess what this nifty little gadget is that I just acquired ?





















It's a flute stand. My extremely talented brother-in-law, Bob made it for me. Mari told me that I had to come over because Bob had something for me. I was just thrilled. When I play at church and go to sit down or actually sit up for the entire service, I either have to hold onto my flute the whole time or lay it on the chair. To have a place for it to stand is so convenient. I got to use it on Sunday. It worked so great! Thanks Bob - I love it!

Merry Christmas!

We've had a great Christmas Day. We started out at church with a wonderful service of music and worship. My Dad, Ann and my brother spent the day here. After enjoying a ham and many other fixings, we spent the day playing games and just spending time together. I hope you all had great Christmas also - celebrating with family but also remembering the reason we celebrate - the birth of our Savior!

Just Look at it Now!

Do you remember the picture I posted on Friday of our picnic table? Well, just look at it now - can you believe all that snow?

Warning!!

Stay off the roads people!!! It's 9:00 here and I just returned home. Chelsea had to work at the nursing home this morning so I took her. It was horrible. I couldn't see a thing. There was maybe a lane plowed on Chicago Drive and it's starting to drift badly. At least churches were smart and cancelled services. Now I have to head back this afternoon to pick her up. I don't think there will be any improvement; in fact it will probably be worse. Just take my advice and stay home!

The Need for 4 Wheel Drive

For those of you who don't live in a northern state like ours, I hope these pictures explain why we sometimes need gas guzzling, large, 4 wheel drive vehicles!
This is just the snow from around 3:00 this morning. I'm not really looking forward to going to work today but.... guess I'll just put it in 4 wheel drive and go slow.

Oh FYI - it is a snow day!

Prayers for the Byker Family

I have a prayer request for you all. A man Dave used to work with was diagnosed with a brain tumor last September - 2007. Throughout these last five weeks, he has had many problems. He went home last Friday with hospice care. Today, it was updated that he could be passing away anytime. He is only 42 years old, with a wife and 3 children - ages 14, 12 and 9. I know this family could use a lot of prayers right now. Thanks.

It's Christmas Candy Time!

Saturday was our annual Christmas candy making day. We always plan this about the 2nd week of December. Everyone is assigned different candies. It takes a bit of time to do it but we always have fun. (and get some great rewards out of it!)

Katelyn was in charge of truffles, peanut butter balls and white chocolate mix.

















Chelsea had to work in the morning so when she came home, she did tiger butter and puppy chow.













Shaelyn made peanut butter balls, pretzel sticks and pretzels with m&m's.













Here's everything we did. No - we're not hurting for snack foods!

It's Snow Much Fun Out There!

Yup - it's that time in Michigan again! SNOW!!! and lots of it. I know some of you aren't thrilled but really, don't you need snow for Christmas? I think it's so beautiful and the kids are enjoying playing in it (and hoping for a snow day)















Look at my little Angels!

Call Me Crazy but...

Meet Lilli!













I know we have 3 cats already but Katelyn wanted to get this one for Shaelyn for her birthday. She is 1/2 Persian - very fuzzy and flat faced. The other cats seem to be adjusting well and Milli is more than ready to be a friend. (If only Lilli knew that) Now everyone has their own pet!

It's the Day After Thanksgiving so.....

We put up our Christmas Tree!