Codey went home.....

Well, Codey went back to Maryland to be with his family. Ben is so excited to have his home back and be able to sleep on the couch with both eyes shut. We decided that one dog is enough for now.
We met Chris and Jenn with our niece Lindsay in Zanesville during Easter weekend so they could take the dog home with them. It is always so much fun for the cousins to get together since that is only a few times during the year. Sarah Kate and Linds are only one month apart in age so they have a blast together. Corey loves to tease them both!
I am thankful for the time we get to spend together, even if it is only a few hours. They are planning a weekend in Columbus in May so we are excited that they will have the chance to play with one another.
So, until May, bye Codey...my bed seems like it has grown since you have been gone......

Too much food network????????????

Sarah Kate has become very fond of the Food Network. We have spent many hours watching Rachel Ray,Paula Deen and others that we love. One of her favorites is ThrowDown with Bobby Flay. If you have never seen his show, Bobby searches for the best chefs across the country and then goes to where they are challenges them to "a throw-down". Well, sister came home today and took Ella outside to play with her new kitchen "cookware". I overheard her telling Ella that she was Bobby and challenging her to "a throwDown". It was so cute!! Ella did not get the whole concept, but I sure did and it brought a smile to my heart.

As many of you know, I love to cook and bake and knowing that Sarah Kate has taken to this hobby makes me so happy. We have spent lots of hours in my kitchen and I love the thought that we will have many years as she grows to do just that!! That's my girl!!!!

A wonderful Easter Sunday.....

We spent the day with Daniel, Kara, Tyler & Julia. Since their family live in Indy and of course ours are in Florida, we spent the day together. I was a little nervous because I have been ill for the past several days and was unsure of how I was ever going to clean my house and cook a meal, but the kids and Buzz really pulled everything together and helped me. You can see that it was a great day for an egg hunt so we did that after we all sat around and fed our faces! It is very hard to be away from family on holidays, but when you havc great friends, it makes these times very special. I am thankful for our time together. Hope you all had a great day!!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! It is hard to believe, but it is March and it is spitting snow outside. These are my tulips from last year. I am excited to see what spring will bring this year. I love it when my flower beds come into bloom! Sit in my front yard on my covered swing, reading a book and enjoying the laughter of all the kids playing outside. I am ready for warm weather!

We are having dinner here at our home tomorrow with friends of ours. They have no family here in the area so we thought we would get together and spend the day together. Hopefully it will be dry enough for the egg hunt outside.

I hope that each of you have a wonderful day spent with love and laughter!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Ella Kay

I would like to introduce everyone to my niece Ella who will be turning 1 this Saturday. She is my brother Mark's and sister in-law (i hate that title) Kim's daughter. She is having her birthday party back in Belaire this weekend and since we could not travel back, we celebrated with her on Monday night at her house.

It is so much fun when we can get together. The kids love to play with her and the bigger she gets...the more fun it gets to spend time with her. To see her walk and hear her say her famous "Uh...Ohhhhhh" is just too much!

She is just the sweetest baby and that smile just melts your heart. I hope she has a great time at her first party and smashes all kinds of cake in her own face!! Have fun with grandma Kay Kay and grandpa Jim.

We love you.......

Welcome to the Big Dance....

Well, the selection for the NCAA tournament is all said and done and now the fun begins! Of course I have been running my mouth cause I beat my dad last year (which you still owe me!!!) My brother Todd thought that it would be fun to get the whole family involved so this is the way it is gonna play out:
Dad, Buzz, Don, Todd, Ryan, my friend Chris and myself are all on board to share our brackets with one another. The winner will receive 6 new shirts from The Buckeye Corner...one from each LOSER!! Of course those with bad taste (Buzz and Ryan) will get one from whatever loser team they choose. They both deserve to be in the same category since both of their teams are that ugly blue and gold..maize..whatever!!
So, I believe I will make something good to drink...sit in my nice chair and decide what new t-shirts I want cause I just got a new catalog!!!
So...BRING IT ON BOYS....and Chris too!!!!

Friends....

Well, tonight I was lucky enough to have one of my favorite Sister-chicks over for dinner. My friend Alison moved to WVa in December (trust me..this was not her choice!). They finally sold their house here in "the tucky" and are closing on it tomorrow. She has been busy at work all week packing boxes and moving furniture so I made a great dinner....even better dessert and we had lots of laughs..even if it was only for a short time.
I of all people understand how difficult it is to move. We have moved from family more than once and begun new lives. But ya know, when you put yourself out there, God can bless you in ways you never imagine. If He had not moved us from Florida, I would have never met Alison (and many others like her) and I would have missed out on some great friendships.
I am once again thanking and praising Him for the works He has done in my life.
I miss ya when your gone Alison and look forward to our time together again.......you get to bring the fruit loops!!

It's snowing.....STILL!!!!!!

Well, We have a little over 10 inches of snow in our back yard. With the snow drifts..probably 15 inches in some areas. This is Lu Lu out playing in it while Buzz and I shovel.

Our neighboors Dave and Valaire shoveling their driveway while Dave has two cracked ribs. You can also see poor Ben getting lost in the snow. He didn't think it was too bad till he got off the back porch and fell in to the snow. He could not walk. He had to jump to get through the snow.

The red coat is our neighbor Eddie. He drove in from Virginia in the wee hours of the morning to find his home snowed in. Andrea his wife stayed inside with little Jack. There is so much snow you can not even sled. We not only shoveled ourselves out, but our friend across the street. It was ALOT of snow!

Buzz is suppose to go to work this afternoon for a double. He is watching the news because all the counties around us are under a level 3 snow advisery which means you are not allowed on the roads. He is praying we go to it too so he can stay home.

It's snowing.....AGAIN!

Well, here it is ...March 7th and we are expecting a foot of snow over the next 20 hours. The kids rushed home from school to change clothes and get outside. This is us sliding down the front yard in tubes. Depending upon how well we can get out tomorrow, we are heading over to the bigger hills to tackle them and each other.
It is so cold here that about a half hour in the snow and they were ready to come in for hot cocoa. This will be a wonderful night to light the fireplace and snuggle under a warm blanket and enjoy the family that we have been blessed with.
Hope you all are keeping warm and having a wonderul night filled with love and family fun!!

Guess who came for dinner????????????

Well, everyone..no I have not lost my mind and got another animal in my home. This is "our nephew" Codey. He lives in Maryland with our sweet niece Lindsay and her mom & dad. He is staying with us until Easter weekend when he can go back home with them.

I thought our Ben was gonna have a heart attack the first day, but since then, he has gotten use to being smacked in the face with a huge tail! It is funny to watch him duck everytime Codey comes around him!!

The kids have loved having him here. He hates our wood floors and walks backwards on them. It is so funny to watch! We always called Ben the big dumb dog..well, these two are truely related!!

Oh yeah..Buzz has no idea I took this picture. I guess the "boys" were all pooped out and ready for bed!!

Sick and tired of being sick and tired.......

I hope that everyone else's winter has been healthier than ours. In the last week, we have had three doctors appointments ranging from strep to a sinus infection to a virus that landed Buzz in the ER at 4:30 this morning. Everyone has been ill in my house, including Ella Grace. I keep trying not to catch everything, and I am hoping that I have built enough resistance not to get it all. If all I have is a runny nose, than I guess I am good.
Please pray for all of us. It is a warm spring day here (which means it will probably snow tomorrow) and hopefully the weather will cooperate and help get rid of all this disease!
Also, my dad is having surgery this week to remove the cancerous growth. Please keep him in prayer on Thursday.
In the words of a great thinker.....TTFN........