Quick Update...

Just so that nobody thinks I've fallen off the planet - I am SICK! Tuesday morning I left work early, stopped at the doctor, then came home and slept the entire day, only getting up when Keith brought me chicken noodle soup in bed. Went to the doctor again yesterday and am still home from work today. What an incredible waste of vacation days!!!

Oh well - I should just be thankful I have the days to use.

Now back to bed for me.....

:)

Easter

She is just so beautiful! Of course we had a wonderful, blessed Easter. The service at church was so good and I looked down at Brooklyn in my lap at one point and tears welled up just from being so happy. Keith saw that, gave me a little smile and squeezed my hand. Ah....life is so good.

There was a little boy sitting in the pew behind us that apparently was pretty funny. Brooklyn was looking, then would break into a huge grin, stop for a minute, then grin real big again. Little flirt. :)

She was also very entranced by the high ceilings, stained glass, organs and handbells at this church. The first part of the service she just sat very still and only her eyes moved. Then we sang and she thought grandma's singing was funny!

I know the lighting is off on the second picture, but I so love her grin. Life is just so much fun for this little girl - she grins and laughs and kicks all the time. After church we went back to the kids' house and spent the better part of the day and this baby is just so fun to be around.

It did end up being too cold outside to have a picnic (the temperature was great, but the wind was cold), so we ended up spreading the blankets in the middle of James' living room and having our picnic inside. It was fun and very different from our original plan, but we are a "roll with flow" type of family and it just didn't matter.

After we ate we played a game of Disney Scene It and that was so much fun! There were four

teams - Keith and James were on "Team Uninterested" because they were outvoted on what we were going to play - and it ended up that they won!!! And I got teased quite a bit because for most of the game I sat on the start square. I've always prided myself on my Disney knowledge (!), but I am just not nearly as fast as the kids are - LOL!

I do so love the holidays. Good times....

Easter Eve

Brooklyn's Bunny is finished! Just in time to give it to her before church in the morning. The yarn is alpaca, so it's very soft and squishy. She stands about 7 inches tall, so is the perfect size for my 8 month old granddaughter.

Recipe: Pattern is the Luxury Lop-Eared Bunny from the January Creative Knitting Magazine; knit from Bernat Alpaca Natural Blend yarn.

I'm very pleased with how this turned out, especially since it's my first knitted toy!

--<>--

Today while out running my errands I picked up some photos that I'd had printed at Walmart. We have a new Walmart near us that I just love (sounds strange doesn't it?) and one of the bonus parts of shopping there is the Dunkin Donuts on the way out. I treat myself to a Mocha Swirl Iced Latte Lite most trips and today splurged and got 3 chocolate donut holes. Finished my errands, got home, brought in all my bags and could not find my pictures anywhere. Chalked it up to one of those things and figured the pictures would turn up eventually. Well.....tonight while cooking parts of our Easter dinner the phone rings and a young man asks if this is "Mrs. XXXX". Yes it is, I said. "Were you in Dunkin Donuts earlier today?" And do y'all know that the first thing that went through my mind at that point was that it was my conscience calling to make me feel guilty about those donut holes? LOL! He went on to tell me that I had left my photos there, so I hung up, relayed the story to Keith, laughing all the while, then went and picked them up. Never let it be said that a conscience is a quiet thing!

Happy First Day of Spring!

And a beautiful day it was!

After dinner tonight Keith and I took Joe for a walk and saw many different kinds of flowers blooming. Tulips happen to be one of my favorites and one day I'm going to remember to plant bulbs in time to enjoy them in my own yard! I was taking a friend home from work yesterday and the center median by her house was filled with jaunty tulip blooms. I didn't see an easy way to take a picture without putting my life at risk on the road, but they sure were lovely. These tulips were in a neighbor's yard.


And really, nothing says spring around my house like dandelions! Say what you will about these dastardly weeds, but you have to admit that the flower looks somewhat like a sun. The intense yellow is quite beautiful and as long as you block out the rest of the plant you can almost convince yourself that they are a wonderful addition to your landscaping. ;)

We watched the weather forecast this morning and it's supposed to be gorgeous spring-like weather tomorrow and Saturday. And then....Easter Sunday will be cooler by about 20 degrees and rainy. :( Because of this we are currently working on a Plan B for our family afternoon. Originally we were headed to the Arboretum after church for a picnic and picture taking of Little Bit amongst the pretty flowers. It could possibly still happen if the rains hold off for just a few hours longer.

And honestly, does it really matter? Our family will have a grand time together on Easter Sunday regardless of what we are doing. The most important thing is remembering that Christ died for us. Enough said.

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our sins; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." - Isaiah 53:5

March Stamp Club Night

We just had Stamp Club Night and again it was a highlight of my month.

This first "card" started life as an envelope before we cut the tops off and added the hemp handle (you can barely see it in the photo). There is a little cellophane bag of candy and crimped paper Easter grass inside as well. At the end of the evening I had thought I would add this to Brooklyn's Easter basket, but now I'm no sure I'll do a whole basket since she's still so little. There can be no candy, etc. when you are only 8 months old (her birthday is today)!



I really, really love this card. I think one of the things I like best about it is the color choice and how upbeat and happy it looks. Cherries just seem to always be perky!
The inside of the card has a flap that holds a recipe for Cherry Cheesecake. Totally cute! The stamp on the other side says:

Life is not a matter
of counting years,
It's a matter of
making years count.

The highlight of the evening was right as we left the demonstrator's house. Helen and I got in her car and Jeanie and Shelley got in Shelley's car and off we went to IHOP for dinner. Except that Helen and I were chatting so much that we missed our turn and the other girls were chatting so much they didn't realize we missed and kept following us. Jeanie called me and the four of us got to laughing so hard that our sides were so sore - literally. ;) The other car found IHOP before we did, but that afforded us the opportunity to call them and say "It's 10:00, do you know where your friends are???" When we finally arrived I did point out that really by getting lost we added a whole new dimension of fun to the evening. Good times. :)

Shopping Cart Adventure

Yesterday I started my post with a sorta quote from Titanic. For the life of me I can't think of one today that goes with this post and I really thought that would've been cute! *shrug*

Today Loni and I took Brooklyn shopping for her Easter dress. We found one that is darling - and believe it or not it's not PINK! - and I just can't wait to have pictures of her in it! Of course I had to get her a girly headband and bow and a pair of socks with lace. Adorable!

While out shopping we stopped in at World Market to see about getting some Salsa Lizano to use in my gallo pinto (struck out there). We put Little Bit in the shopping cart and then Loni realized that this is the first time Brooklyn had ever been in one. When she said that I had to whip out my trusty camera and start taking pictures. See how Brooklyn's checking the whole thing out? And to put everybody's mind at ease about cart cooties - we didn't have the shopping cart cover with us, but I always carry spray sanitizer in my purse. The two of us doused the cart before we put the precious babe in.

Our first stop in the store was back in the corner where they had things marked 75% off. There were some of the cutest rubber duckies ever - colored to look like Santa ducks, gingerbread ducks, etc. Brooklyn liked the gingerbread duck the best, so of course Grandma had to get it for her. And at only .74 cents it was cheap entertainment for her for the rest of the day. And it was a seriously fun day. :)