O baby!

Rachel, from In His Hands is hosting a baby picture carnival today. She wants us to post pictures of ourselves, our spouses, our kids... when we were babies. I went hunting for baby pictures and here's what I found.

Yes - that's me at a young age!

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I had a harder time with Bob. We don't have any baby pictures of him but I found some from when he was quite young.

Isn't that a cute picture? He looks a little naughty here, don't you think?

To see more babies, visit Rachel.

I was having a hard time scanning the baby pictures of the kids so I'll save them for another time.

PS - Happy April Fools Day!

Spread the word

To all my dearest friends,
I'm so glad I found out about this!

The correct way to weigh yourself:

I can't believe I was doing it wrong all these years. We must spread the word!

Fat Cat

I must admit that our cat is not the skinniest thing around, but she looks downright svelte compared to this cat. Check this out!

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4604401/12315137

A peek inside my purse

I was challenged by Kayren, of Everything's Coming Up Daisies, to share the contents of my purse. It can be a scary place but if you're willing, so am I!

Here is the purse - not bad from the outside.

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Here you can see the inside of the purse. It's not too messy today - it has certainly looked worse. Now for what's in it:

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Inside it is: a purse organizer, lotion, hand sanitizer, keys, wallet with check book, gum, sunglasses in case, keys,mints, kleenex packet (under wallet). My camera is usually in it too, but it's being used to take these pictures!

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Now for the purse organizer. You can't believe what all fits in here. It's called a Pouchee and you can find out more about it here. I learned about this from Shortstop Sarah and have loved mine! In it is my phone, motrin,extra pen, manicure set, money, gift certificates, envelope with my check in it, pictures (that's Andy when he was about 4) cologne, and a zipper pack. I keep all those little cards in it - you know the kind businesses give you for money off, or buy 10, get the 11'th free kind of cards.

Hope you enjoyed looking in my purse. It's not too exciting is it? Now are you up to sharing yours?

Slow Cooking Thursday

I've missed a few weeks of Slow Cooking Thursday but I've got a recipe for you today!

Tangy Pork Chops

4 pork chops (1/2" thick)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 large green pepper, sliced

1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes

1/2 cup catsup

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 beef bouillon cube

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

hot cooked rice

Place chops in slow cooker; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the onions, celery, green pepper and tomatoes. Combine catsup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and bouillon; pour over vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6 - 7 hours.

Mix cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into liquid in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until thickened. Serve over rice. Yield: 4 servings

For more Slow Cooker recipes visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM.

Works for me Wednesday

I recently tried out the new Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet cleaning gel for the first time. It's a gel that you put on the inside rim of your toilet, so that every time you flush some of the cleaner is distributed. It's supposed to keep your toilets fresh smelling and clean for a week. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to work the applicator the first time, but was easy after that! There are 2 scents - fresh scent and citrus. I bought the fresh scent. You get a package of 6 gel discs and an applicator for about $4.

The scent is quite strong for the first few hours but I didn't find it overpowering and I was happy later in the week to find that I could still smell a clean scent when I walked into the bathroom. As for keeping the toilet clean, it did make a difference. I used it in both of our bathrooms and for some reason, one stayed cleaner than the other. We have hard well water and it did make a difference in the sediment that usually appears. It doesn't take away the need to clean the toilets though! The disc lasted over a week in one toilet and less than a week in the other, which I'm sure is due to how often they are flushed.

I liked this and will be buying this product again. If you want to see other tips and reviews, visit We are THAT family.

Praying on the road

I saw an idea list of things to pray about while driving, that I want to share with you. It uses road signs as reminders of things to talk to God about.

When you see these signs:

Curves ahead: Pray for trust in uncertain times

Road Closed Ahead: Ask God to close off things that are not in his will for you.

Merging traffic: Ask God to show you, who you should come alongside and help.

No Parking: Ask God to keep your faith from becoming stagnant. Pray for desire to spend time with him and for increased spiritual growth.

Divided road ahead (Y): Ask God for guidance in which direction He would like you to take in decisions that need to be made.

Men Working: Thank God for his continued work on and through us.

U-turn: Lord, when I get off track, turn me around and direct my return to You.

One Way: Thank God for providing, through Jesus, the one way to salvation.

Alphabet Meme

Leigh of Bloggeritaville had this meme on her blog and I thought it would be fun to play along.

A is for your age: 48
B is for your burger of choice: just a plain burger, with tomato and lettuce on it
C is for the car that you drive: Ford Windstar
D is for dog's name: Our dog died about 5 years ago but he was a chocolate lab named Roscoe
E is for an essential item you use each day: I think my computer is pretty essential!
F is for your favorite television show: Survivor, Lost
G is for favorite game: Uno Flash is the last one I bought and it is really fun to play
H is for hometown: Hudsonville, which also begins with H
I is for instruments played:Piano
J is for favorite juice: grapefruit or V8
K is for what you'd like to kick: Hmmm - I don't think there is anything right now!
L is for last restaurant you dined at: Peppino's
M is for your favorite muppet: I love Animal!
N is for number of piercings you have: 2 - one in each ear!
O is for overnight hospital stays: Lets see... I guess it's 6; 3 for the birth of each child, 1 for a hysterectomy and 2 knee surgeries
P is for people you were with today: My family and lots of friends at church
Q is for what you do in quiet times: Blog. Watch TV, Read, Play games on my Nintendo DS
R is for regrets: No big regrets - I do wish I played more with my kids when they were younger instead of worrying about doing housework.
S is for status: What? I have no status!
T is for time you woke up today: 5:45 am
U is for what you consider unique: people - each one is different
V is for favorite vegetable: Tomatoes, although they are not a real veggie. I also love carrots and peas.
W is for your worst habit: procrastination
X is for x-rays you have had: dental, knee, I think that's it!
Y is for yummy food you ate today: Chili
Z is for zodiac sign: I don't believe in that junk. But if you do...I am a Sagittarius





If you want to do this, feel free. If not - that's fine too!

Awards and other fun things!

I've had a few nice things come my way and I need to acknowledge them!
Isn't this the cutest award? This award is for blogs that "show kindness and sweetness in their entries" and it was given to me by Jennifer of Zaankali's Adventures, Kim of Scattered Stones and Melissa of Melissa's World. Thanks to all of you! I know all three of these ladies in real life as well as the blogging world and can tell you that they are kind and sweet in real life too! I'm not a rule follower as far as passing on awards. It's too hard to pick some out. You are all kind and sweet so anyone reading this may grab this award!
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This little button was made for me by Demara of Demara blog. She is really good on the computer and is always changing her layout and doing fun things, that I am hopeless at. She made this button for me because I was first to read and comment on one of her posts. Thanks Demara!
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Last but not least was a package I received in the mail this week. It came all the way from Portugal! Lara of Prossigo para o alvo sent it to me along with a cute hand made card. The design comes from a famous Portuguese tile. She also invited Bob and I to visit Portugal and stay with them. Thanks so much, Lara! I really appreciate the watch and your friendship! We don't have any plans for traveling that far yet, but if we do I'll let you know. If you come to the US, you may stay with us.

Are you positive?

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)


I saw this quote on Ask Kari and Kisja a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty funny. I've known a few people like that though - people that can always find something to complain about! A few days ago it was such a beautiful day here, with temperatures at almost 70 degrees. I was out walking and I came to a house where the man was working in his yard. As I passed him I said "Hi" and "isn't it beautiful today?" The response I got was "how long will this last before it goes back to being cold?" I thought it was sad that he wasn't enjoying this day but looking ahead to the cold that would be returning.
I can't say I'm always positive and never let things get me down, but it is something to work at. I think as Christians we have more reason than anyone to be positive and live joyfully. That doesn't mean we should be unrealistic, but usually if there is a problem in your life you will see a way that God is taking care of you at the same time.
So, this is a reminder to myself and anyone else who needs to hear it - a positive attitude goes a long way toward having a good day!

Here's what we're up to

Andy is trying to recuperate from a 13 hour flight and a 13 hour time difference. He's doing all right with a cat nap now and then. It doesn't help that he got a cold. He's not used to Michigan germs!
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We've been giving the Wii a workout. Here are the kids playing Mario Cart.
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Andy and Bob have also been doing a little Wii golfing.
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Heather and Andy celebrated St Patrick's Day by having a Shamrock Shake.
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We had a little fire in the back yard. This is the kind of picture you get when you have your camera on night setting and your kid decides to goof off as you snap the picture.
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Bob and Andy enjoyed the nice weather we've been having by getting in a little basketball.

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Andy went with me on my walk yesterday and you can see how much he enjoyed it when I insisted on taking his picture!

Yes, we are enjoying the time off work and having a fun week even though we aren't doing anything big!

Andy and Halle

This is my niece Halle (she is Cheri's daughter) greeting Andy at the airport. She was excited to have him come home.

Last Christmas each kid in her class drew him a picture and sent him a little letter. She is in first grade and those letters were so much fun. There was a big concern from many of them that Santa wouldn't be able to find him. Many asked where he slept. Today he went to talk to the class.

Here he is showing them where South Korea is in relation to the United States. He talked a little and then answered their questions. He also brought some coins along so they could each have a Korean coin to keep. Those were a big hit!
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Here is the whole class with Andy and the teacher.
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I had to share this note Halle gave to Andy at the airport. It's hard to read so I'll translate it:
Rozes (roses) are red
Vilitse (violets) are blue
I coudt (couldn't) never have a bettr (better) cusin (cousin)
and he is strong!

Isn't that cute? I know Andy thought it was great!

Irish Blessing

Happy St Patrick's Day! This video is full of beautiful Irish pictures and a traditional Irish blessing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Andy's home!

What an afternoon! We had Laura and Aaron with us in our van and headed to the airport to pick up Andy. We were all so excited and couldn't wait to see him again.

As we were driving down the highway, we heard a "funny" noise. The women are asking what that was, the men are saying it's nothing. Until - a funny blowing type sound begins to come from the front of the van. It's still driving ok, but as we pull into the airport we realize something is smelling hot. We had Aaron, our trusty mechanic with us so he checks it and says it's nothing big, some belt problem that he can fix, but we won't be able to drive it home. So - we go into the airport where there are lots of family members gathered and they figure out a way for us to get home. Karla graciously lends us here vehicle and she and Diane (they are Bob's sisters) will ride home with my sister Cheri and Mark. At this point we all gather to wait for Andy.

Here is part of the group, watching for his arrival.

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At last, we see him walking toward us! What a great sight!
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Here is Laura greeting him.
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Heather welcoming him back.
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My niece Halle is so happy to see him again!
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Andy with my Dad
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Andy and Bob
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Here is the whole family - reunited again.
left to right: Me, Heather, Bob, Andy, Laura, Aaron

As I type this Aaron and Bob have gathered some tools and have gone back to the airport. We're hoping for an easy fix, but at least have to get it moved out of the short term parking! Andy is very tired. He spent about 14 hours in the air and is trying to make a a 13 hour time difference. We'll let him sleep late tomorrow!

*I just got a call from Bob telling me they are on their way back. It was an easy fix. One more thing to be thankful for!

I'm back!

Finally our Internet is up again! Even after getting a new modem we were having trouble, but I think it's finally fixed!

If you have been following the count down on my side bar you know that Andy's homecoming is almost here. He will be home Sunday afternoon. He will be losing time coming back. He leaves Korea at 11:00 Sunday morning and arrives in the States at 10:00 am Sunday morning!

He called tonight to tell us that his Internet and phone will be done tomorrow so we won't hear from him again until we see him on Sunday. He was getting ready to go to another base when he called. They are having a full day of farewell ceremonies for their base. The president of South Korea will be there to thank them for their service.

Be prepared to see pictures of the big homecoming on Monday!

No Internet

My internet is down! Someone is coming to work on it on Thursday, so hopefully I will be able to visit you all then. See you soon!