We Have A Surprise~

Well, I knew a while ago..

But my dear daughter,

Mimi,

wanted to wait

to tell everyone.

Guess what?

On Mother's Day

Next Year..

we will have another

little grandbaby

to love!

Move over

BabyE~

Big changes are coming!

Due date?

11/11/11

Gotta be something special

about a baby with

all those 1's!

Congratulations to

Mimi and TheIslandScout

and Baby E.

We can't wait!!!!

Poke Me With A Fork To Drive The Devil Out.-SCheeks Videos

When BlogSpot

had it's "melt down"

this disappeared

*POOF*

and went back to

editing stage.

So...here it is...for

those that missed it~

We're not sure where

SweetCheeks

comes up with all her

"ideas".

I don't know if

YOU

can see them..

but I CAN!

I CAN SEE

the

Angels In Her Eyes.

Followed closely by

the

Fork In Her Ear!

That's Our SweetCheeks!

A Message For My Children~A Chalk Talk

Pretty Ugly, Huh?

No?

REALLY UGLY!

Ahh...

But a bit of white paint...

Distressed a bit...

And the ugly before

becomes a beautiful

After...

The message says it all~

You ARE my heart~

Mother's Day Gifts From The Heart

I am so blessed.

I am blessed to be a Mother.

I am blessed to be a Grandmother.

I am blessed to be Nana..

just Nana...

My children honored me with

the most wonderful, thoughtful

gifts.  I was not expecting

it and there are several

pictures of me bawling..

which I will NOT be showing

because, trust me,

they aren't pretty!

I am apologizing for the pictures

ahead of time-I did not

realize how bad they were

until I loaded them into the blog...ugh...

Here is a tea set of

bone china.

I have never seen this pattern

before, have you?

It looks Irish but is made in England

as you can see by the mark

(or not-you know my photo skills)

It is beautiful and I love anything Irish.

I received a wonderful purse..

and a bracelet..

and a great ceramic

"watering can"

that has been planted with

a miniature rose.

And 3 wonderful cards-

But my

MOST SPECIAL

gift of all..

came from my

grandkids..

It is etched with the words.

"My favorite people call me Nana"

SweetCheeks informed me that

I could wear it IN the shower

but I could NOT wear it to bed.

Hmmm...she'll never know!

I don't think I will ever

take it off!

I Am

Blessed-Simply-Blessed.

So Many Kinds Of Stuck! BabyE Video

The English language

can be very confusing..

for instance-

we have

THIS KIND

of stuck....

and we have

THIS KIND

of stuck.

And then we have

THIS KIND

of stuck!

Or maybe the
worst kind of
stuck ever!

google image

Thank you Lord for
THIS KIND
of stuck!

 

Guess What Nana-Your Mom Is Far Away~ SweetCheeks Video

We started out at Starbucks

earlier this week...

SweetCheeks showed me

all her Karate moves...

She dissovled into giggles

when she got tickled

but had some very

serious words

for me about my

Mom at the end of

the video...

Watch my daughter's face

in the background

when SweetCheeks breaks

the news to me about

what happened to

my Mom.

(Pardon my video taping abilities
There is one very blurry spot).

I hope you know that when

YOU get to HEAVEN

YOU can watch ALL

the TV you'd like, or
speak Japanese,
or Chinese...
just by snapping your fingers..
oh yeah...or do Karate on  your Dad!

Amen~

Happy Mother's Day~

I wrote this a year ago..

when I was pretty new to

blogging..and now that

I have some readers-

I thought I would share it with you...

Mother's Day

Some of us have been blessed with wonderful Mothers.

Some of us have Mothers that were not quite so admirable.

Some of us have Mothers that praised us and adored us,

Some of us have Mothers that never said a kind word.

Some of us have Mothers that loved us unconditionally.

Some of us have Mothers that loved us only

if we met all her expectations.

Some of us have Mothers that smiled readily.

Some of us have Mothers that never found much to smile about.

Some of us have Mothers that~

whatever we did~ it is more than they hoped for.

Some of us have Mothers that

no matter WHAT we did-it was never enough.

Some of us have Mothers that had a charmed childhood.

Some of us have Mothers that were raised in pain & shame.

Some of us have Mothers that

 need us & want us in their lives.

Some of us have Mothers that are needy

 and we seldom see them.

Some of us have Mothers that complete our lives.

Some of us have Mothers that

leave us aching, wanting and empty.

Some of us have Mothers that stand

on this side of the Great Beyond.

Some of us have Mothers that have passed

 over this earthly barrier.

Some of us will emulate our Mother.

Some of us will vow to never be

anything like our Mother.

Some of us are happy and fulfilled,

no matter what kind of Mother we had.

Some of us will never be happy

even if we were nurtured by an amazing Mother.

Today I am blessed to be a Mother.

My daughters are blessed to be Mothers, too.

Today I vow that I will be

the best mother (and grandmother) I can be.

Today I vow that I will love

as deeply as I can those that share my life.

Today I know that I am blessed indeed~

Today I hope that you find blessings

in your own life-

and love your Mother

even if it is just because she gave you life.

~Happy Mother's Day from Me to You~

Amen

I Feel Sad...Very Sad...

You know there are people

all over that tell you that

blogging isn't "real"...

whatever THAT means.

They tell you that followers

aren't friends..

and that you can't really

connect, and get to know,

people you meet

here.

I have.

I have met some wonderful people.

I have formed some great friendships.

I have felt totally connected

to some of you.

Then there are others
that find blogging has taken
over their life.
It becomes as important
to them as family..
It becomes
MORE IMPORTANT
than anything.
It BECOMES their lifeblood.

I hope I can strike a
happy medium
somewhere in between.

But...

Today I got a very sad note.

It made me feel like crying.

It made me want to shout

NO!

It was from my dear, sweet friend,

Lisa of Informal Home.

No..don't bother double clicking

because she has taken down her blog.

I asked her permission to post

about her here because she doesn't

want anyone to think she just

disappeared...that she wasn't "real".

The truth is that she IS real.

And to BE real she has to

get back to her family and her

life as it was before

blogging.

She wants to focus on her family

and her faith and I give her a lot

of credit for that.

She did a brave thing..

but, for me, it is a sad thing.

She said she will still be

around, checking out our blogs,

and commenting a bit here and there...

but she won't be posting anymore.

Lisa,

you were a bright light in my daily life..

and I hope that we keep contact always..

cuz you are like extended family...

and SweetCheeks loves ya..

and your little Miss I..

Even SweetCheeks feels sad....

So sad.

Now look what you've gone and done!

You better pop around ...

just to say a cheery Hi...

and let SweetCheeks and Company (me)

know that all is well with you.

Besides that -if you

DON'T

come around how will I

EVER know what time it is in

Australia, mate?!

God bless you, Lisa.

& G'Day- as you say-

~Our doors are always open~

Love to you~ Diana

Lulu Goes To State-Imagination Destination

Lulu is in 3rd grade.

This is her first year of

being part of

Destination Imagination.

To qualify you join a

small group.

I think there were 6 kids

in Lulu's group.

A panel gives you

a problem to solve,

5 mintues to figure out

how to solve it,

3 or 4 props to work into

the solution,

and a "zinger" written down

on a note that you can

see after you start your skit.

You have 5 minutes to use

all your facts,

your props

and your "zinger".

Lulu made it through all the

local rounds and was

one of 3 groups

(out of around 600)

going from this area

to state in

Stevens Point, WI.

I went along with her Mom,

Lulu and my other daughter,

Mimi, and BabyE met us there.

Before their round they

were a little nervous.

After their round they

felt pretty good.

Lulu was all smiles~

BabyE was excited too!

Sadly, Lulu did not get to go on

to Nationals...but she did a great job

just getting this far.

Next year, she will be older,

and wiser about the whole

process.

But for this year,

swimming in the hotel pool

was reward enough.

Wisconsin Dells Welcomes SweetCheeks

Last week we went to a

Medical Conference.

The conference was

held in Wisconsin Dells.

We stayed at the

ChulaVista Resort..

a huge waterpark..

The conference lasted for

2 days and then

we were joined by

SweetCheeks and Company.

When they first got there

they inspected the room where

they would be staying.

Then we did a little walk about.

We saw the Lazy River.

We saw the big slides.

We went into a little eating area.

I looked over and saw a

look of horror on

SweetCheeks' face.

What's the matter I asked her.

Luuk UP, Nana!

Thass skeery..cuz the plahnts

are growing down frum the

ceihling...and I dohn't like it.

That's kinda a skeery looking guy

there, too, SweetCheeks.

She insisted she had to go potty.

(I think to get out of the

Plant On The Ceiling Room).

The floors aren't always clean,

SweetCheeks..

Make sure your clothes don't

get on the floor.

I knohw THAT, Nana!

(as you can plainly see)

I gonna wassh my hands..

I gotta wassh them twho tihmes

cuz I did twho things in there!

TMI?

Time to go back to the room

and get ready for the water park.

Ria smiles and asks,

Nana, will you take a picture

of my toes?  I just got

my toenails painted!

Uh...Nana...could you take

a picture with my shoes on

cuz they look even cuter that way.

Speaking of cute..

SOMEONE is ready to go

Swhimming!

Time for Nana & Papa

to head home.

Y'all have fun~

I know WE will----

ah...peace and quiet....ah..

ps.  Anyone know a way to edit off the
"tails" of videos-a simple way?
You know- simple things for simple minds.
Uh-huh..that's right-
I AM talking about myself!

How To Make Your Hair Glow-SweetCheeks Video

SweetCheeks assures me

that if one sings this

song-their hair

will begin to glow.

We have

Version ONE here..

taken in the hotel

at WI Dells just

before going to the 

waterpark. 

And we have

Version TWO here..

taken in the hallway.

As you can hear..

MY hair will NOT

be glowing

anytime soon.

Notice the siblings trying

to get into the act!

Isn't sisterhood grand?

I Won The Dutchess of Doora from Flora Doora

I am almost embarassed to tell you...

but I won another giveaway!

Yes, indeedy!

And, it a piece crafted by a

talented lady named

Jane!

Jane of FloraDoor fame!

Jane lives in Naples,FL

and, as you can see,

does most of her

*ahem* drinking on the beach.

If I am not mistaken this chair is

one of those low risers-only about

1 foot off the ground..you know..

so she doesn't fall off after getting

up from drinking her *ahem* coffee.

She is making a product that I have

never seen before.

It is a beautiful little bag,

lined with heavy plastic,

and you can put real flowers

and water in it.

They are gorgeous creations.

She made this one in a new pattern.

It has an "apron".

She had a

Name The Flora Doora contest

and I won-

My entry?

The Dutchess of Doora!

Isn't she sweet?

I have put her up with my

blue and white dishes that

I have had for many years..

Is that perfect, or what?

The china is from a dear friend of mine, Ruth.

She used to have a shop-

and I was her best customer..

and she sold things to me at very

reasonable prices.

Everytime I look at these I think of her.

This is a close up of a cup.

And we could never really read

the manufacture's mark.

The plate tucked in back

is a gift from my friend, Lisa,

that lives in Australia, mate.

She has a wonderful blog

Informal Home

I have never seen another like it.

This tureen belonged to my hubbys'

grandmother.  No one wanted it when she passed.

No one-except me!

Quite by a fluke I found out that

DebbieDoo

had one just like it-

and she thought she had a

one-of-a-kind..

*smiling*

Here's one more close-up of my

new Dutchess of Dora.

And one more-

She's a beauty, isn't she?

Oh yeah...

and just to make you drool a bit more...

This is the original one I got from Jane..

to match my lavender room..

I named her too~

I call her

Lucy Lavender.

If you don't have a

FloraDoora

you can purchase one

from her site.

You'll be glad you did..

because..

her creations have traveled

all the way to Paris..

but YOU can buy

one here at

Flora Dooras by Jane.

NOT Move-In Ready

Whenever we go to another

town I am one of those

weird people

that likes to

drive around

and look at houses

Now, we have

NO intention

of moving to a different town..

but I am a dreamer..

and I can look at a house

and see it restored to

its former glory.

This is my top pick

for this past week.

It is in the town of

Wisconsin Dells,

on a side street.

Time cannot dim the

beauty of this place.

From the front..

From the side..

Isn't she a beauty?

She is do-able,

don't you think?

It looks like someone has

started rehabbing her.

This one is a little

more complex..

an old abandonded

mansion

near

Springfield, Mo.

Here's the reader board

and you can see her in

her glory days.

Here is part of the overlook.

It overlooks this...

Imagine the

social events held here.

It is eerily quiet here

And I can only imagine

the beauty when she

was in her prime.

When I leave I feel

a bit forlorn..

like there has been

a piece of magic

lost.

A piece that, now,

will never be restored..

I can only dream

of what once was..

when she was young

and fresh and filled

with the voices and

laughter of family

and friends.

It makes me want

to hurry home to enjoy

the place that is mine

and listen to,

and appreciate fully,

the family that surrounds me.