Romantic Homes- I Left Someone Out

Upon reading my comments

last night

I discovered that

I had left someone out.

Here is another

breathtaking blog that you

will want to visit.

ShabbyFrenchForme.

However,

don't let it throw you when

you follow the link because

it says

French Farmhouse 425

It is one and the same, ladies.

I am just signed up as her

newest follower and

I'll bet you will follow suit!

It's a great blog!

White and lovely!

Bloggers In Romantic Homes October Issue

I am gone today but

taking my newly arrived

magazine,

Romantic Homes,

with me.
  I may get a chance to peruse it

while I am

IN CHARGE

of BabyE.

IN CHARGE

 is our family joke because

 SweetCheeks

is always telling us

WHO IS IN CHARGE!

You will notice in

the picture below

WHO IS IN CHARGE

of BabyE!

When I get my new

Romantic Homes

magazine

I always open the

front cover to see

which blogs they have

featured.

This month I found

my sweet friend,

Cindy Adkins.

She does the

most beautiful

Altered Art.

You can find her here at

CindyAdkinsWhimsicalMusings.

This blog is a new one to me

but will delight your eyes.

Post Road Vintage

had a full page spread to

introduce her to readers.

Her name is

Heather Anderson and

you will love her blog.

AND

One of the features inside

this beautiful publication

is

Amy Chalmers

at

MaisonDecor.

I have been following her

for a long time and

her blog is always beautifully done.

I noticed that these pictures

were taken before she

did the back of her

bookcases.

You will have to pop by her

blog to see the amazing

transformation.

Enjoy!

Here's What Happens To Babies!

Methinks

SweetCheeks is sometimes

a wee bit jealous

that there is another

"baby"

in the family.

Just for a minute she likes

to imagine that SHE

is the baby of the family

once again.

You can see how far

that goes in

THIS FAMILY!
Watch this VERY SHORT video to see.

Poor little baby

SweetCheeks!

The Rocker Rolls-And-The Front Walls Are Done

I am reposting this Sunday
night because I just went
to MamasBoy's house
and he had finished the front
rock wall.
(His back hurts- Gee-really?;>)

A few weeks ago I shared

MamasBoy rocking project.

He is building rock walled

terraced areas for his wife's

(and his) home on the Bay.

I have been taking pictures and

kind of documenting the progress.

He called today and asked us

to stop by to see what he

had accomplished.

I didn't think he

was much further than

he was the last time

I was there

but I, dutifully,

started snapping pictures.

Afternoon update:

And a bit more~

And a few big bottom rocks to anchor

things in place...like this one...

And here she is!

Purty, huh?

HOWEVER,

What he REALLY wanted us to see

earlier -

and I am SO excited to show you this.

The conversation, pre-viewing, went like this..

Wait, Mom and Dad!

Don't look, okay?

I've got something in the

garage to show you.

You aren't looking, are you?

Nope!

OK- NOW you can look!

oh wow

what have we here?

ISN'T THIS GREAT?

I saw it along the road

on one of my trips and called

on it - struck a deal over the phone

and went to pick it up.

oh wow

what a great find.....

I've been wanting one of these

for years!!!

seriously?

Look-it's fun to ride!

uh-huh
Well...

you sure do look CUTE on

that THANG...

I love it that he still

wants to show MOM

his new toys!
An old
Montgomery Wards
Three Wheeler..
seriously..
WHO KNEW?

ps...His wife is VERY excited!

Oh..yeah..did I mention that

It has a ski for winter use?

oh wow can't wait to try that uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

Lulu And A Deere

Lulu is growing up.

This year for the very first time

Papa let her drive the tractor

all by herself for a few

minutes.

The mower was not engaged

so she just drove.

She was sooo proud of herself.

And while we were out and

about I took a picture of

one little area in front

of the house...

Ignore the weeds-

I think God must love them

cuz they sure are abundant.

And then noticed I had some

roses abloom..

and the sedum is coming on

nicely.

I was so happy with

how the garden is cleaning up...

but not

NEARLY AS HAPPY

as this little girl

seemed to be!

~Proud and Happy~

And what ELSE is Lulu

old enough to enjoy?

BRACES!

Multi-colored

WHAT NO PINK ONES?

 

Not to be outdone

SweetCheeks

shows us HER braces.

 

You don't have braces, SweetCheeks!

YEHS I DO!

They are ihnvishable!

Of course they are..

even I can see that!

Everyday I see more and more

milestones as these

precious children

march forward onto life's road

to walk the walk that will bring

them into young adulthood...

a walk that will be marked with

tears and joys,

sighs and whispers,

a walk that will be fondly

remembered by those that love them most,

and days that will vanish like smoke

leaving only warm embers of

memories for us to enjoy.

Jumping The Waves

I came home from work

and looked out the window.

We don't get many days

with big waves on the Bay

during the Summer months.

When I saw the waves,

I called my daughter and

told her to bring the girls

out to

Jump The Waves.

Lulu & Ria remember

this from last year.

For SweetCheeks it was a whole

new experience.

It was fun to watch them

as they all waded out into

the waves together.

and, just for a moment,

I felt like a kid again myself...

'Deed I did!

A little deeper and the waves

get a big heavier...

Ria encourages SweetCheeks

to go out just a bit further.

(ummm..that is what happens

to MY suit too and I can't

blame it on a life jacket strap!

And here she is..

right in the midst of the waves

Oooopps..

Just a little too scary

and

SweetCheeks comes running home..

where it is safe..

and she feels safe.

Here's just a short sound bite

so you can hear the waves...

The Princess & The Peer

When the girls are at our house
 we sometimes  have a visitor,

The little Capt C,

From up the lane.
SweetCheeks, always the Princess,
decides that Capt.C  is the perfect Prince!
Okay...Hearh is whut we arhe gonna do!
I yam the moahst beeyootiful Pwrincess and
I gonna get underah a spell and
fall down.

Now I gonna sleeep for a hunndretd years..

But yoah gotta whake me up wif a kiss or sumthin,

I'hm still whaiting! Whare ahre yoah?

I can hardly keehp my eyes closeded this long.

Nana (SweetCheeks calls out)
That Pwrince never cohmed so I hafta

get myself up

And NOW- I gonna change into my spechul
Mahgical prwrincess gown with the

Mahgic crown

and grwab my own special powarhs wand (broom)

Annn I cahn rwide it somewheres
annn see whuts ghoing on over thehre.
OH NO! Issss SOOO sad!
Whatever is the matter, SweetCheeks?

My new fwriend has runned away wif

My evil sistah!

Jusss like in that stworybook!

Hmmm....I think maybe YOU have been watching

Soap Operas

instead of

cartoons!

Another Starbucks Summer Day

School starts here pretty soon.

I will miss the summer days

when I am not working.

I often meet my daughter

and the girls at

STARBUCKS.

TPot and I sit and enjoy a coffee..

and the girls play

summertime games

in the grass just off

the patio.

SweetCheeks is always one

to investigate everything.

While sisters are more content

to look for

four leaf clovers.

Sigh..

Soon..they will be gone...

back in school and

I won't find my smiles

at Starbucks in

the morning...

Although..

sometimes the kids that

work there DO make me smile!

And,

who knows what

other interesting

characters I might meet there.

Hmmm...

Back-To-School-Day

might not be so bad

after all.

Although....

NO CHARACTER

will ever replace

THIS ONE!

Amen!

Please Say Hi To MyHero (In Action)

In case you are wondering

what everyday life is like

around here...

this should give you a clue.

I think MyHero is a little

jealous over all the attention

the kids get on my blog..

SO..

We'll see how he likes this.

He has on a hat I hate..

I think he looks like an

old fogey with it on...

but he loves it.

So...

There IT is!

And here HE is..

coming in off the water..

Isn't he cute?

Please make sure you say

HI

to MyHero

because we wouldn't want him to

think you like

SweetCheeks & Company

more than you like him!

Thanks! 

Celebrating a HALF birthday

Somehow,

SweetCheeks has found out

that some kids celebrate

a Half-Birthday.

Did you ever do that when

you were a kid?

We never did.

My parents worked so hard

that it is lucky they remembered

to celebrate our birthdays at all.

But..

Here is SweetCheeks

talking about being

MBarussud

about celebrating her

"burthday" in Milwaukee

(and where she

 GOT THAT IDEA

is anybody's guess)

At the end she will give

you a lesson in the new

art form she has learned.

Laughing without showing your teeth...



Play Me A Song-Please- Play Me A Song

When our little Ria was

5 she asked for a violin

for Christmas.

She REALLY wanted

a violin.

We thought it was a whim,

a passing fancy,

something that would

be forgotten long

before Christmas

the next year.

Guess what she wanted

for Christmas

last year

AGAIN?

A violin...

A real violin...

Auntie Mimi found her a

beautiful little violin

at a local resale shop

and gave it to her for

Christmas.

She picked it up-

having never held one before-

and played a few notes..

with no

squeeks or screeches.

She has

The Touch!

That violin is beautiful-

a gorgeous instrument..but...

too big for her little hands

right now.

When her Mom & Dad

signed her up for

Suzuki lessons

the decided to rent

a violin that is just

right for her.

This girl can play.

The instructor asked how

many lessons she had taken.

None-

Nary a one.

This girl has

The Touch..

Here she is playing

a piece for Nana.

Suzuki teaches using

a different method.

She plays the same song

but uses all different

tempos.

It is amazing to hear her.

And she has learned the proper way

to hold her instrument when

accepting applause-

And the proper way to bow...

Want to know what

SweetCheeks was doing whilst

Ria was playing the

violin?

With no attention on her,

and left to her own devices,

she was doing

SOMETHING!!

But WHAT?

Upon closer inspection we find

that she is using a pair of

SHARP POINTED SCISSORS!

Hnmmmm....

Well, at least she is not

cutting her own hair

and THAT is a blessing!



To end - I love this quote...

I want to make good citizens. If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and endurance. He gets a beautiful heart.

—Shin'ichi Suzuki

Happy Anniversary To Me~

Here we are-

On a hot August day

in 1975.

Where has the time gone?

If you're wondering

where I am

TODAY-

I am here-

Pictured Rocks National Park

A beautiful place to

celebrate any occassion..

A perfect place to

celebrate a

36th

Anniversary.

When anyone asks how

long we have been married

we respond in unison

36 YEARS.

He says- Seems like yesterday.

I say- Seems like forever.

The straightman

and the

joker.

We make quite a pair.

It has not been an easy

36 years, despite what it

may look like from the outside.

We both came out of broken

relationships....

and probably should have gotten

to really know each other

BEFORE we got married.

We dated 30 days before

we said

I DO

under an old oak tree

in

Alva, Florida.

There were lots of ups and downs

over the years.

Some easy to accept,

others much harder to deal with.

BUT-

If WE can do this-

If WE can hang in there for the long haul,

then I believe that if

two people really

WANT TO

make a relationship work...

they can...

and will...

and should.

You just lean together

and look towards

God

and see what happens.

AMEN