Let's Go Fly a Kite!

When I cleaned out Lily the other day, I came across some kites that, I believe, Aunt Katie gave to the kiddos a few years ago.  On Saturday afternoon before Mother's Day, there was a perfect breeze to fly the kites!

Reba had the Barbie kite...

and Dallas had the Lightening McQueen one

It was a lot of fun until Momma crashed Reba's kite into the tree...thankfully, with a little teamwork, we were able to get it out.

Until next time...

Fun Friday Foto - So Long, Lily

One morning on his way to work, Doug found himself in the McDonald's parking lot with a no-longer running Lily.

Luckily, one of his co-workers came and picked him up (he was literally just across the highway from work).  I then visited the mechanic next door to have him tow the car back and see what the problem was.  Long story, short.  It was more than we wanted to spend to keep the old gal running.  Thankfully, the mechanic was willing to buy her!

Farewell, Lily!  You sure were a great car.

Until next time...

It's Never too late for a First...

Last night, on our way home from VBS, we decided to take a different route from our usual one. The variation we have taken before, but it had been a while. Anywho...this route consists of more gravel and it was beginning to get foggy. Well...getting to the point of the story: That stupid deer did not look before deciding to cross the road! It hit Lily (my car) on the passenger side, right at the front tire. It was the first time I have ever been hit by a deer!

Thankfully, Doug was able to maintain complete control of the car; no one was hurt; and the deer was able to run away. As far as Lily...there really isn't too much visible damage, but the front passenger door doesn't open at the time of this post. You'll notice a ding in front of the wheel and behind the wheel. I just hope it doesn't cost too much to repair.

Other than that...VBS is going great. Our VBS theme is "Marvelous Mystery: The Mass Comes Alive". We had a blast the first night. The weather was awesome and we were able to do our game outside. We had a mystery hunt and all the kids loved! Last night we talked about how the Mass is a gift, so we gave (pinned) our hearts to Jesus in a "pin the tail on the donkey style"! Tonight we are talking about the Mass is a celebration, so the kiddos are going to get dressed-up for the party and either pop balloons or if the weather is dry, toss water balloons! I'm sure it will be another fun evening.

Until next time...

Yumm-o!

Ever since Thanksgiving, we have been giving Dallas some of what we have been eating for dinner. He loves it! The other night, I made a pizza casserole...well, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Dallas completely cleaned his bowl! We still feed him baby food to make sure he is getting enough veggies and fruits (and to finish off all that I have stocked in the freezer). In the last week, Dallas has also started eating crackers, toast, cheese, noodles, and yogurt. He is not very fond of the yogurt. Actually, it might be the one thing he completely dislikes! He makes this really bad face each time I try to give him a bite. Although, I can't blame the little guy...have you ever tried plain yogurt? Not really the best.

In other news, we finally got new brakes put on Lily (my car)! I even drove her to church Thursday night for my religious ed class. It was the first time in a long time that I had drove her. Crazy how I got so excited about that...anywho...just thought I would share my excitement. Of course, the same day we got new brakes on the car, Doug got a (somewhat) promotion at work (another excitement I wanted to share). And, with his promotion, he gets a company vehicle to drive back and forth to work. So...now he doesn't need the car to drive to work! Ironic how that happens. But, Lily will still have a place around here...especially to drive for small errands, groceries and what not...hopefully, this will help keep the miles off the truck.

In other, other news...the weather sure has turn cold here. This morning, it was below zero! Brrr. Tonight, there is some cloud cover, so the temps won't drop as much...but we are to get a dusting of snow through the night. Tomorrow, it is to be windy. Hopefully, the drifts won't get too bad.

And, finally...I believe we are finished Christmas shopping! I have made my list and checked it twice. Tomorrow, I think we are going to try and go to the mall so Doug can look around for ideas for his list. Let's hope the crowds are not too terribly bad. In addition, I am almost finished with my cards. I'm waiting on a few addresses, and then they will be done!

Until next time...

Early Morning Wake-Up Call

This morning, Doug and I were woke up a little before 5 am to the sound of things resetting from the electricity going on and off. Then we noticed how strong the wind, rain and lightening was. Doug grabbed the weather radio and headed downstairs in search of a flash light. I went and peeked on Dallas ~ there was enough light from the lightening that I could see he was sleeping like a rock! After listening to the radio and hearing no reports of tornadoes, we decided to go back to bed. Before go upstairs, Doug looked out the back door and saw this...


Of course, I took this picture later in the morning, but it was clear (at 5 am and through the heavy rain) that we lost a tree. I was worried about my car...but I didn't want to go out in the storm to check on it. I mean, the tree was already down...so the damage was done. Luckily, when I went out later this is what I found...


The tree missed Lily! Good thing because just this last week I had the collision and comp taken off her insurance! I would have been really upset had she been totaled in the storm. The tree also missed the shed that sits at the back of our property. It was all a close call.

Here are a few more pictures of the downed tree...





As far as my garden...we can only say our prayers that it will recover. All the plants are either bent over or broken. And my tomatoes were doing so well...


The broccoli


The pepper plants...


The other main worry for Doug sat in when we saw that corn was laying over in the field beside the house. If hybrid corn is laying over...that means real bad news for the inbred corn that Doug's department raises. Here's a picture of the corn beside the house - I haven't talked to Doug yet to find out what their nursery is like.


Here's a look down the road in front of the house...


Finally, the log that is in the ditch was in the road. A passing van hit it and busted it up when we were getting ready to pick up the other sticks in the road. A neighbor stopped and helped move what remained of the log to the ditch.


All in all, we survived our early morning wake-up. The rain gauge showed just over a tenth of an inch, but the website I checked showed between a half inch and an inch. I think the wind was blowing so much that we didn't get an accurate reading. Also, our neighbor said he heard the winds were 65-70 mph, but he thought it felt a lot stronger than that. I just got off the phone with my friend Laura who said she heard the winds were up over 80 mph - nearing 100 mph!!! I will tell you this, I felt the house shaking this morning, and I thought the windows were going to rattle themselves out.

That's all from us.

Until next time...