Those Nasturtiums!

They come in many different colors

The Bees love them, they smell like roses!

And they have absolutely taken over!

They will grow and bloom all summer, but when the cooler temps come, they just take off. I have found them climbing up shrub, they will sprawl across the lawn, it really is a sight to behold, and they smell divine. Ahhh, the simple pleasures in life!

Caylee

Caylee had a list of things she wanted us to do together, and we have finished most of them. Last night I made breaded chicken for supper and she made a fruit salad for dessert. Also we made this really cool book bag for her! She has had almost every minute planned out, and we have had a blast!!

Jordan's game!

I came to Bossier City, Louisiana on Sunday to stay with Caylee and Jordan while Chris and Jen flew out to Colorado Springs to look for a house. They sold their house and closed on Monday, so now they are preparing for the move. They called today and said they have narrowed it down to 2 houses, and asked for prayer to choose the right one. I knonw the Lord will lead them exactly where He wants them to be. I am really enjoying spending time with them. I helped Chris with a photo shoot Monday night for a restaurant here in town. It was all still life of their sandwich, salad and dessert products. Their specialty dessert is called the "Humphrey Bogart" It is frozen yogurt with honey, granola and 3 different fresh fruits of your choice, and it is delicious!!! If Chris passes on any of the pics I will post them. It was so nice to spend time with him doing what he is loving doing!! A mom just misses time with her son and cherishes when she can spend a little time in his world.

So as they are gone I am filling in and enjoying every minute of it!!

Jordan is in 7th grade and decided to play football this year, as you can see he is number 12. He got to play, he is closest to us in the front line. They were the guests, and as you can see, THEY WON!!! He is growing up so fast - I just can't believe it!! He has been very helpful all week, and Caylee had a list of activites for us to do, we are slowly getting each item checked off. Last night we had a dance off, I taught her some really cool moves, like the Jerk, the Swim, the Monkey and the Twist - she said she already knew that one, she taught me a few moves of her own. I watched Jordan, but would not even think of trying his moves - he moves way to fast and I am sure I would trip over my feet or put my back out!

Daphnes learning pillow

Daphne turns 2 on Friday!!! This pillow will help her learn to do all the closures and the zipper on the front opens to a big pocket for her stuff

Dew Drops

Click on the photos to enlarge, they really look cool!

God creates the best art!

Prayer request

Daphne at Chuck E Cheese for Cassies 8th Birthday party

John called yesterday to share some news from a doctors appointment for Daphne. They have been concerned for some time about Daphne's speech development, they have taken her for hearing tests, which appeared normal, so they went on to a child development appointment. At the appointment they did a Childhood Development Assessment and they are of the opinion she may be autistic. There is more testing to be done so they are not saying this is a diagnosis, but rather an opinion from the assessment. They are setting up several different therapies in the home for her to start as they continue the testing. They are sending an interpreter with each of the therapists for Tania, so that is great. Please pray for Tania and John as they work through this and as they further test her. Pray God will bring support into their life in the form of Christian women and men that can be an encouragement to Tania and John. Thank you.

Dad and his boys

A 40th birthday party!

Wendell's brother in law turned 40 and Becky had a surprise party!

Complete with..... a cake!

And an "old fart mobile" That really had the sound effects!

They live in Dale Indiana which is 1 hour from Louisville, so of course we had to spend the night with the boys (and their parents)

What handsome men!!! Hope you all are staying safe during this hurricaine weekend, we are receiving a ton of rain, we had over 2 inches on Thursday and that was before the hurrcaine made landfall. Be safe!

My cookbook cupboard

I have been looking for a cupboard to hold all my cookbooks, recipes and some of my old bowls. I have looked and looked, but no luck. I found this cabinet on clearance at Shopko marked down from $179.99 to $79.99. It is solid wood, not fake stuff, so I thought "I can make that look like I want" - so what do you think?

The metal recipe box was our "craft item" over Christmas - Jen, April and I each made one and they turned out so cute!

I have plenty of room and a little to spare for growth.

Another loss.....

This is my cousin, what a good and loving man, I will miss him. John C. Baraona
JOHN C. BARAONA, age 61. Founder of local dry-cleaner and community leader. Former Revere School Board Member, Cuyahoga Valley Career Center Board Member, Cose Board, Greater Cleveland Growth Association, Ohio Dry-Cleaner of the year, Fairlawn Chamber Citizen of the year and member of many Cleveland and Akron area Chamber of Commerce. Preceded in death by his wife Jane (nee McAllister). Loving son of Charles (deceased) and Josephine (nee Scopilliti); Cherished father of Elizabeth Long (Jason), Katie, Annie and Maggie; grandfather of Kylie Jane (deceased), Andrew John and Thomas Warren Long; brother of Roseann Valus (John), Charlene Valvoda (Ken), James Baraona (Lisa) and Sandy Baraona; uncle of 19 and great uncle of 20; Godfather to 13. Friend to many, loved by all. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Victor Church, 3435 Everett Rd., Richfield, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, at 10 a.m., where friends will be RECEIVED FROM 9 A.M. UNTIL TIME OF SERVICE. (PLEASE MEET AT CHURCH). Family will receive friends at A. NOSEK & SONS, GERBER-McCREERY FUNERAL HOME, 8150 BRECKSVILLE RD., THURSDAY, 6 - 9 P.M. AND FRIDAY 2 - 4 AND 6 - 8 P.M. The family suggests donations to the John and Jane Baraona Memorial Fund c/o FirstMerit Bank.

Fall Table Runner

I took squares from 2 different quilt projects from my latest American Patchwork and Quilting magazine and made a fall table runner - turned out cute don't you think?

Shots from my garden this morning

It is cloudy, misty and a bit chilly, I think fall is in the air!

Weather change

It had been in the 90"s, but the past 2 days it has been in the 60's!!! Yesterday it rained the entire day, when I dumped the rain gauge this morning it had 2.4" of rain - we were already way ahead of average, now we are REALLLY above average.. we are 20" above last year and 10 inches above the normal. It has been good for the trees and shrubs to have the ground saturated to a greater depth.

That is very apparent by these pictures!

An unexpected vistor!

If you look closely you will see the eyes peering up above the water - click on the picture to enlarge it.

I have never seen a frog in my yard, we are not near a creek or pond or anything, I was shocked!!

A strange view in the sky.

I am reading a book on the apostle Paul, about his conversion experience. He was persecuting Christians, I mean like, arresting, beating and killing them! He got permission from the authorities to go to a town about 100 miles north of where he lived to persecute the believers there, but on the road his trip was interrupted by an unexpected visitor - the Lord!! He was knocked to the ground, blinded by The Light and he heard the voice of Jesus Christ ask, "Why are you persecuting Me?" He came to the realization in a second that Jesus was real and ALIVE, that in trying to irradicate the believers, he was really trying to irradicate Jesus. The rest is history , he became a believer and his ministry is documented in the new testament, he wrote the majority of the books, as letters to the churches. Isn't it the same with most of us, we refuse to believe, belittle those who do and finally come to the realization it is God we are trying to pretend is not there, working in our heart, prodding us, calling us to Himself. My unexpected vistor and a strange sight in the sky reminded me of that this morning. I am so glad God never gave up on me, I finally, just like Paul acknowledged who He was and recognized He was just what I needed! Thanks God!

25 things about me...

I checked out my friend Jessica's blog today and she had posted 25 things about herself, she was following suit of 2 other friends who blog about their children with the diagnosis of RTS. Meeting the needs of their affected children takes up most of their days and nights, so I am sure it is a good exercise to remember or remind yourself about some things about YOU! Well, my kids are grown, and I am not all consumed with their needs, but I decided to see if I could come up with 25 things, I am challenging all you other bloggers out there to try it!!

1. I am Italian, my mother was a first generation American, both of her parents came through Ellis Island from Sciliy as teenagers.
2. My geneaology has been traced back on my fathers side to a distant relative that was an Earl in England, and another distant relative that was on the Mayflower!
3. I love sweets, particularly chocolate, but I am not to picky any sweet will do most of the time.
4. Ok - this is harder than I thought... I graduated from Marquette Sr High School in Marquette Michigan in 1972, moved to Illinois in 1974 and have been here ever since.
5. I do not like my profile and told Wendell when I die I would like him to have them turn my head slightly to the right so it will not be toooo bad.
6. I like the color of my skin, I tan easily.
7. I love being a mom, it was my goal in life.
8. My favorite subject in school was math - although I have to say I don't remember much about it now.
9. I think I am smart, when I applied for my current job, my boss asked me why she should hire me and I told her I was smart and could quickly learn anything I needed to do. I got the job.
10. I have a bad habit of skimming whatever I am reading and just getting the gist of it and not all the nuances.
11. I am getting into this now! I love to quilt, but hate repeating the same thing over and over, so I will do different parts when I get tired of one thing, maybe not in the order I am supposed to.
12. I work best under pressure, if I have alot of time on my hands I cannot decide what to do, but if I only have a small amount of time I can quickly decide what I want to squeeze into it!
13. I love to spend time in nature and if there is one thing I would like to learn to do well and spend time doing, it would be kayaking in the U.P. I have done a little, but would love to really get into it.
14. One of my major frustrations is watching people screw up their kids, most parents have no idea the effect their behavior has on their children. What is amazing is to watch the same children overcome that and become successful adults!
15. Ok, one more frustration and then I will get off the negative ... why do people think anyone should live up to their expectations, why can't we just accept the fact that we are all different, we all have weaknesses and strengths, we all succeed and fail, mostly we are trying to get through this thing called life, ...so lets just accept each other in the place that we and they are in and help each other along... what a nice thought!
16. I am surprised when people like me.
17. Most people think I am strong, but I am not.. however, I belong to the One who is and my goal is to allow Him to be strong in me.
18. One of my most favorite recent days was spending time laying on a blanket with my 22 mo old twin grandsons, watching the clouds and birds and an occasional airplane. spending time with them is a real lesson in "passing time", not spending time, or wasting time, but just enjoying the moment, playing in the sprinkler, having a picnic in the shade of a tree, or watching the clouds..... passing time.
19. I love to cook, on occasion I will fix a real gourmet dinner for Wendell, 6 courses, complete with the sorbet in between the courses .. sometimes we even dress up as if we are going out to a fancy place.
20. I have always thought of myself as adventurous, maybe I am not as much so as I get older, DID I JUST SAY THAT!!!! I must be losing it, I am not old, maybe it is true I am aging, but certainly not old!!
21. My idea of a perfect day is to be surrounded by my family, (husband, children, grandchildren, siblings) no matter what we are doing.
22. I love lobster, I would love to go to Maine and eat if fresh!
23. I wish I would have gone to college. I moved out when I was a senior in high school and it really was not an option to me at the time, of course I could have done it later, ... but I didn't.
24. One of the rules I try to live by in life is to make choices I will be happy I made. I don't want to look back at my life with a bunch of "I wish I would haves..." I think alot of us would do better if we stopped and thought about the long term affects of a decision before we decide what to do. It is quite easy to "react", however it usually is not the wisest decision. I want to look back at the difficult times and say "I am glad I....", whatever it was. Ok I am getting philisophical here (and I know I spelled that wrong!) so it is good the next is the last one.
25. OK , so what is the last thing.... I don't mind being alone, but I am afraid of the dark.

So there it is.. 25 things about me.

Happy Birthday to my oldest son!

You always had a smile!

How cute is this?!

whooops!

Getting more handsome all the time!

Senior year

Celebrating the big day with Nathan and the Dads.

Beginning the next phase of your life

One of my most favorite pictures

This is a beautiful picture, happy birthday to you both, 33 years!! Chris I remember so well when we found out I was pregnant - we were so excited! Your father picked your name, he had picked it out years before we were even married. He wanted a son named Christopher Lee! You were born several weeks early, weighing in at 5lbs 7oz. We were just sitting down to supper, I was talking to my mom on the phone and my water broke. We called the doctor, he asked if I was having contractions, I said, "no", he said, "you will and when you do - come in". Your father went to bed and about midnight I woke him and up and told him it was time to go to the hospital. My brother Al was visiting, him and your dad's sister Sharon babysat Tania for us. You were a difficult labor, you were turned posterior, like you wanted to come through my tail bone, so I was not dialating. The nurse just thought I was a wuss and said I had a long time to go. I kept telling her I knew what it felt like and it would not be long, she left the room and turned off the light, she did not even call the doctor to let him know we were there! Finally all at once you turned and got into position and I went from 1 to 10 in one fell swoop!!! Boy was that nurse surprised, she was scrambling, trying to get me ready and call the doctor! Dr Dohner came in in his pajamas, she slipped a gown over them and he walked up and caught you! You spent a night in the incubator, but you were healthy and strong, so no problems! You nursed well and put on weight quickly. You were a very happy baby, always smiling! You were always sure of yourself, smart and a quick learner. You did very well in school, and got great report cards with very little effort. I was not surprised you followed your fathers footsteps into the Air Force, he was your hero. I am so glad you made the career change within the Air Force a few years ago and are doing something you love, and are very good at!! I remember the night you got saved. You had went forward in Sunday school, because Jimmy did, but you knew it was not right. The Lord convicted you and you came into the living room one night in tears, afraid you would not go to heaven, your Dad talked with you and you prayed to receive Christ, hallelujah!!! The Lord has proved faithful in your life, as we have seen Jen and Jordan come to know Him and Caylee as she seeks Him. You have made me so proud, your talent, your strength and your desire to serve the Lord. You ARE my Favorite (oldest) Son! And then to top it all off you chose a wonderful wife! Truly I could not have chosen better for you, I love you Jen, Happy Birthday to you too! I love you Chris, Happy Birthday!

Sewing again!

We had the twins from last Wednesday until Sunday, Dan was speaking near Chicago and April went with him, so we were the lucky babysitters!! We had a great time with the boys, but I have to admit it was nice to sleep through the night Sunday night after they got back. They left about 4:00 Monday and are home safe and sound. April and I stopped by the Sewing center in town and I picked up this pattern yesterday morning, so this afternoon I sat down to sew! I thought I would like the smaller bag (and I do), but it was not quite big enough for my stuff, (it is about 11.5" square), so I made the larger one also. They have pockets all around the inside, and I made one just the right size for my cell phone.

I used decorator fabric for the outside which is a little sturdier, I actually got this fabric at Walmart - I love the colors.

I learned how to put on magnetic snaps, which I had never done before.

Here is the pattern, it is by Amy Butler.