how could i be the mother of a thirty old???......

and how could someone so incredibly beautiful be something that i created??

i am in total awe of her. she is just as sweet and wonderful as she is beautiful.  she is a hard worker, a college student and a fantastic big sister and daughter.  

she is a great wife and homemaker.  

and she is a fantastic mama...

her girls, my beautiful granddaughters, are the light of my life...

one, the oldest is just like her.....sweet, sensitive and the image of her mama.

she is smart, loving and generous.

and she exudes sweetness....

and the other, the youngest is the polar opposite....sassy, fearless and one tough cookie....

she is also smart, loving and generous. 

(and she just oozes sass, doesn't she?)

this picture completely describes their personalities.....

happy birthday, shannon my love.....

(sorry this is two days late!!)  

xoxo, mama

Happy Mother's Day.....

to all of you beautiful moms out there...make this day a fun and relaxing one.  

my boys made me breakfast this morning.....

austen made a face out of the food on my plate.....and poured my orange juice into my favorite tea cup.....

have a happy, happy day!!!!!

ten on tuesday....

after reading suzanne's blog i was inspired to post ten random pictures every tuesday...

fun frame idea....

i got this 

huge frame from hobby lobby.  it was completely cracked in half on one side and was in the clearance aisle....the original price was $79.99 it was marked down to $31.97.

i hunted down the store manager because i didn't think that it was enough of a bargain because i'm used to goodwill and thrift store prices....i showed him how it was completely separated and asked him if he could do better on it and he gave it to me for 90% off.  $8.00.  8 smackeroos...

that's more like it.

i did not take a picture of this before i glued it but imagine it completely separated on the right side.

i glued it and then filled it with wood putty.

then i painted it heirloom white... 

and the crack is barely noticeable.  

after another coat of paint, i hung it in the goodwill, thrift store decor room sitting room 

and did this to it

i went into the back yard and cut a couple of branches off of a tree and stuck it into the back of the frame.  i used picture putty to hold the branch in place.  then i decided that i didn't like the branch on the right side so i changed it around...

i think it looks really organic and green.  and different!!

i like it...

i've added a dollar store bird on top of the frame 

 and a small nest made from moss...

have a great thursday....

a few favorite quotes.......

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh," he whispered. 
"Yes, Piglet?" 

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you.
                                                                                    a.a. milne

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take."

                                                                Wayne Gretzky

We must teach our children to dream with their eyes open.
                                                                                                Harry Edwards

When children are doing nothing, they are doing mischief.
                                                                                                  Henry Fielding

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”

                                                                                                                           Pablo Casals

"To become a real boy, you must prove yourself brave, truthful, and unselfish."                                                                                                  — Pinocchio Serenity Now!!!!                              George Costanza

"Life is not measured by the breaths you take 

but by the moments that take your breath away"

                                                                                                       Anonymous

i hope you are having a great weekend....

my baby is a teenager today.....

sniff, sniff......

sigh......

productive day.....

i don't seem to have too many productive days when i have a day off of work.  i am so whacked out from the work week that the weekends leave me barely able to scrub a toilet.  (oh, that's right, i don't scrub toilets. the boys do. because they mess them up).  but today, i went grocery shopping with don (which was a mistake because he said we spent $30.00 more that we would have spent had i not gone with him.... remember this?)

anyway, 

the one thing i do every weekend is make sunday dinner.  i usually work past dinnertime on the weekdays and really, who cooks on saturday night?  so sunday is my day to shine.  today, i went grocery shopping, made 5 meals, finished 2 loads of laundry, painted my living and sitting rooms and shingled my roof.

okay, i didn't do the last two things but i did make 5 meals.

i made beef enchiladas,

stuffed peppers,

cream of mushroom soup (thanks again, gemma)

corn on the cob (that was easy)

a big pot of spaghetti sauce,

and a pork roast shredded into pulled pork sandwiches.

i've never made this before and it was fabulous....and was one of the easiest things i've made.  that, and the corn with a salad was dinner tonight.....we were full....

this one....

laid at my feet and waited for scraps....

which he got mixed in with his dog food.  (yes, we feed our dog people food sometimes, if i don't, he gives me the stink eye, the sassy brat!)

we were so full that we needed to walk off all of that good food.  so we gathered up our happy and full dog and our wonderful neighbors curt and laura and walked around the 'hood.

we walked...

and walked...

and walked
because i made this for dessert...

strawberry pie

that deserves a closer look...

doesn't it????

so honey, that is where that extra $30.00 went....right into your stomach!!