Lurkers, beware!

I forgot to put this up earlier. I found out through others blogs today that it is National Delurking Day, so if you're a lurker, just let me know you're out there!!

What a Party!

Shaelyn got to go to a princess birthday party on Saturday. This is her Halloween costume for this year, so she got to wear it early. Was she ever excited! There was 2 other girls there. They all wore their costumes and had a tea party. Anneke's brothers wore their bowties and served them their lunch. They got to put make up on too. Kim took them home in their convertible (You have to remember, it was about 85 here again Saturday - Ugh) She told me she had to drive slowly because when she would get up to about 25 - they would tell her their hair was blowing and getting messy!
Shaelyn came home with a goody bag of a tea set of her own, tea bags with M&M's, princess paper and pen, hair clips and other princess fun items. She had a great Saturday!




















By the way, did any of you have communion at church yesterday? It was world communion Sunday. Our church had people make different loaves of bread. I made an Italian Herb flat bread. It smelled really good. We had other bread from countries such as Guam, Russia, Philippines, and India, a total of about 12 countries. We passed the loaves and broke off pieces. It was really neat thinking that all around the world, others were partaking too.

Do you know your it's, its, there, their, they're?

Mari had a quiz today on her blog about your occupation. I was looking around and found this grammar quiz. Of course, I wouldn't have put it up if I scored badly, but... I love reading and I had a great English teacher in middle school. I would expect those of you who had the same teacher as I did, to do as well.

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

How much of a Geek are you?

26% Geek

100% Free Personals from JustSayHi

I'm Totally Fabulous!

Karen has awarded me with The Totally Fabulous Award. I don't really always feel that way so it's nice to be awarded this!
Thanks Karen!




I'm going to pass this on to a few of you who I think are fabulous too -
Laura because you are fabulous niece and cousin
Dena because you were fabulously nice to Mari when she visited and
Cheri because you are a fabulous sister!

Welcome to my Town!

I decided to take some pictures of the city where I live. My city is quite small. As you can see on some of my downtown pictures, it's not real busy. Although from the time I grew up here till now, there has been a lot of development and growth. I loved growing up in a small town and raising my family here too.




Here is part of the downtown at noon. You can imagine when we travel, the uneasiness of driving around in 4 lane traffic when this is what we are used to!















Here is the main intersection in town.

















There are a lot of churches in my city. This is just one that I took a picture of. It used to be said that the day there were the most traffic jams was on Sunday because everybody was heading to church.

















These black fields of dirt are called muck fields. There are a lot of these around here and neighboring towns. When the Dutch people settled here, these fields were under water. They figured out how to drain them and grow crops in them. It is very rich dirt. Muck fields grow things like celery, radishes, and onions.
















That's celery growing in the field. Growing up, my siblings and I worked in the celery. I did not care for that job at all - we weeded those fields (it was hot!!), packed celery and planted it. Planting was the best job. When I was growing up, there weren't a lot of other jobs to get beside the muck fields. Now the city has developed more and there are a few more job choices for teenagers.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour!

Our Special 2 Night Houseguest

Shaelyn came home yesterday, all excited because she is the VIP this week at school. This means that Clifford gets to come home and spend 2 nights with us. He comes with him own sleeping bag, pillow, food bowl, toothbrushes and hair brushes. Today we get to write in a notebook about all the special adventures he had with our family. Shaelyn can draw a picture in the book if she wants to too. (Cheri, do you see a trend going on between Halle and Shaelyn this week? Although no one else is drawing pictures) You can see Shaelyn sleeping with Clifford and brushing his teeth. The other one is Clifford watching himself on TV.
Shaelyn has expressed an interest in being VIP ever since school began so finally she gets to. (There have only been 2 so far)
Oh the fun of going to Kindergarten!

Daddy's little Helper - Part 2

I know I've written before about how Shaelyn loves to help. Well here she is again. Dave wanted to get the weeds out from the sandbox area and plant some grass under the swings. Shaelyn found out so here she was, shoveling the sand and pulling weeds.
Last Thursday, I was getting ready to leave the house to go to the museum with her. She disappeared into the garage. I get out there and she's all buckled in with my door open. She tells me that she opened it for me and says, "I like to help". She sure does.

I've been Tagged

I've been tagged by Karen, of Karen's Ramblings for this Meme:

1: What I was doing 10 years ago:

At that point, I had just sent my youngest child, Chelsea, off to Kindergarten. Little did I know, that she wouldn't be my youngest for too much longer. It was nice having a little more freedom to do things during the morning hours. At that point, Kindergarten was every morning. I was doing daycare in my house for friends of ours, 3 days a week.

2: What I was doing 5 years ago:

We were finishing redoing our house. We put an addition on in the basement, so that we could have another bedroom for the baby (Shaelyn) we were waiting to adopt. We moved Chelsea downstairs to a new room. I'm able to volunteer a lot more at school, although continuing to do daycare for the same family. Katelyn is in her last year at the middle school and Chelsea is in her last at the elementary school. We had hoped that we would have had Shaelyn by now but China was behind in it's adoptions. And soon, SARS would be hitting in Asia, therefore slowing down the adoptions even further.

3: One year ago:

Shaelyn was starting Preschool!! Dave had gotten laid off his job because there was no work again. This became a source of stress but also many faith lessons and continuing to trust that God would provide. While I continued to do daycare for the same family (they have 5 boys ages 13 to 2 years old and I have watched them all), I was also given the opportunity to watch another child from another family I know. This was a way to have a little more income while Dave was looking for work. Katelyn was in her senior year at high school and Chelsea was a freshman. It was kind of a strange feeling that both girls were in high school.

4: Yesterday:

I enjoyed a lovely morning with Cheri. We get together every Friday and just hang out and do lunch. Shaelyn didn't have school so she and Halle could play. It was beautiful weather out - about 70 degrees. I've been waiting for some cooler weather and it's finally here (I hope to stay) At night, we went out for pizza with some friends. We came back to our house and played the game, Apples to Apples. It was a good day.

5: Five snacks I enjoy:

Chocolate - I'm a female. What female doesn't love chocolate?
Popcorn from the movie theater - It just makes the movie better.
Ice cream - We went to Captain Sundae last Saturday. They have great sundaes.
Peaches - They have to be fresh and slightly softened. I take the fuzz off and
they're great.
Trio bars - They are something like granola bars. I just bought them from Costco and
they have different flavors like Strawberry, Tropical and Cranberry.

6: 5 Things I would do if I suddenly had $100 million:

Well, we'd pay off the house and then buy some new vehicles. Both of ours are dying and have over 100,000 miles.
I'd love to be able to give some to both of our schools and churches. All of them are building new additions or total new buildings. I'd also give some to Creation Museum because I believe so much in what they teach.
I'd travel around to some places like South Carolina, Australia, Auckland, Guernsey - you all get the picture don't ya.
I'd set some aside for college for the kids and help Katelyn out right now and
I'd like to be able to help out family that needs vehicles and other things.

7: 5 locations I would like to run away to:
Well, I've kind of mentioned some of these already -
China - we want to go back there with Shaelyn,
Austalia and New Zeeland area. I've always wanted to go there
Grand Canyon and out west - it looks so inspiring out there
Florida and Gulf Shores area- never been to Disney and the kids would like to go
Hawaii - would love to see all the volcanoes and sites there

8: 5 bad Habits I have:
Judging people prematurely, eating improperly, jumping to conclusions before hearing the whole story, getting annoyed with rotten drivers, short tempered when I'm stressed out

9: 5 Things I like Doing:
Scrapbooking, Reading, Playing in church orchestra, Getting together with family,
Playing volleyball with friends

10: 5 TV shows I like:
This is tough. Actually I like a lot - Survivor, Lost, Cold Case, Amazing Race and Criminal Minds

11: 5 Things I hate Doing:
Getting up in the morning, Mopping the floor, Exercising (until I'm done, then I'm glad I did it), Balancing the checkbook, Paying taxes

12: 5 Biggest joys of the moment:
My family, The change in the Weather, Knowing that Andy Graduated from Boot Camp,
My computer and blogging friends, My faith and knowing that God's in control.

I know, there's quite a bit to this meme but it really made me think. I think it gives you all a bit more info. into my past. Hope you all enjoyed.



So here are the five people that I am now tagging:

1. Cheri

2. Dena

3. Karolee

4. Jillian

5. Heather

It's my official signature

Testing - Testing
Please let my signature work!








YES!!!

The newest Flower Arrangement

Who doesn't love a beautiful flower arrangement? Shaelyn has come up with another beautiful one. I was reading the paper the other night, not really paying much attention to her. She said she had flowers and needed a vase. "Okay", I said. I hear her saying Oh, no. I look and see her arrangement. It's dandelions but not not in full bloom. They were in full "fuzzy" bloom. It was a lovely arrangement, she added a leaf for a different perspective too.



















But here is what I saw on the floor. Hope you can see it - it's fuzzies all over the floor. Oh well, we kept it for 1 day. Maybe she's got some "budding" talent?!

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things we did today at the Children's Museum.
They were having a special China exhibit featuring China's superhero - The Monkey King - so we thought we should go and experience the fun!



1. Played in the Sand Area
















2. Played Monkey King against Bull Demon



















3. Played in the Bubbles


























4. Played the Teamwork Ball Maze Game
















5. Sat in the Buddha's Hand
















6. Dressed up partially like the Monkey King
















7. Played the Lighted Peaches Game


















8. Put our Heads through the Table
















9. Made Paper Lanterns and hung them around our Necks
















10. Put things on the Spinner Table
















11. Went through the Triangle Mirror


















12. Played with the Puppet Theater















13. Made things with the magnet shapes.

Wordless Wednesday

Here is Millie's excitement when Chelsea comes home.

Amy's contest

For those of you who like to participate in contests, I've got one for you. Go on over to Amy and check out her blog and the rules. Who doesn't like to win something?

A Bargain that makes me Smile

Here's pictures of a bargain that make me smile. This is Shaelyn's new winter dress. (she will be wearing her tights with this but we didn't want the hassle for the picture now) It was originally priced at $50 (really, I would never pay that) but with all the discounts and my coupons, I got it for $10. It's exactly what she loves, all fancy and frilly. She noticed it has 4 different skirt layers. It's got a nice black bow in the back and the jacket can be removed. That is great because she is always hot. Cherub choir will be singing Oct. 28, so I think she's got the look - now she just has to learn the songs.

Things that Make me Smile

Cheri has tagged me for Things that Make Me Smile. Wow, I have to give this some thought. Here goes -

1: The changing of the seasons - it's been so hot here. We set another record high today. Whenever a new season hits, I'm ready for it.

2. Watching Millie when we get home - she's so hilarious. I'll video it sometime. She gets so excited that her whole back half is moving back and forth.

3. Shaelyn sleeping - I love to look at her when she sleeps. It's about the only time I see her still.

4. Full Orchestra at Church - Every month, we get together with flutes, clarinets, violins, piano, etc. I especially love it on Christmas and Easter. The full sound just makes you want to praise even more.

5. Shaelyn in the shower - She will stand in the shower forever and just play with her toys. Then she usually starts singing. It's great to hear.

6. Getting a bargain at the store - I bought Shaelyn a new winter dress, Saturday. I got a great deal. I'll post pictures of it soon.

7. Listening to my girls - Whenever anything exciting happens, they usually have a lot to tell me. I love it that they are willing to share with me yet.

8. Shaelyn and Dave - Shaelyn always has a lot planned for Dave to do - games, books or helping outside. She's great at keeping him busy.

9. Dave getting overtime hours - You have to know my family for this. Dave's job is always so up and down with the economy in Michigan. You never know when he will get laid off, so when there's work; we're happy.

10. USA flag - I love watching my country's flag flying in the wind. I know some of you are from different country's and I'm sure you feel the same way about your flag. You just have to love the freedom's we have.

Now I have to tag a few of you. I'm sending this to:Bonnie and Dena,

A Night at the Beach - Part 2

Here's the rest of the pictures I promised. The first one is looking toward the lighthouse and the pier that we walked. The others are of some of the boats going down the channel. Aren't they fun to watch?

A Night at the Beach

We went to the beach tonight with Cheri (and her family), and my cousin and his family. We get together about every 3 months and Patti suggested the beach. It was nice out, so we headed out there. We stopped for pizza first and took it there. We ate by the channel and watched the boats go by. I'll post pictures of that tomorrow. After dinner, we headed to the beach area and played frisbee, flew kites and played in the sand. You will notice that the younger kids did a little more playing in the water, than out! After that, we headed back to the channel to try a little fishing. Shaelyn did not catch anything. She blamed it on us. We were being too noise and scaring all the fish away. We ended up, walking the pier to the lighthouse. It was gorgeous out there. At the end of the night, we thought we needed a little dessert. We headed to the "famous", Captain Sundae. This is where President Bush ordered a Tommy Turtle Sundae when he was out, campaigning. What a fun night. We couldn't have asked for better weather or a more fun night!















See how Shaelyn is trying to pull them out of the water?














Laura, do you see the BIRDS?




























Shaelyn and Ryan trying their hand at a little fishing

















The Holland Lighthouse