Where did the summer go??

I know I had a busy summer but it doesn’t seem like it should be over already. I only spent 2 weeks away from the house yet it seems like I was always gone and didn’t get much done.

We worked hard on the playhouse and the “play/scrap-booking/card-making” area is completed except for some trim around the front door and one window. The laundry room still needs 1 wall and the ceiling covered with our chipboard paneling then it will need the plumbing and carpet. I am already enjoying the playhouse and have had my friend Sylvia over a few times to make cards. Now that we have a place to work I plan on having more friends over because I must get busy making some scrapbooks!

The pictures in the last post are old and I will post some new pictures soon!! I have stuff hanging on the walls and I have 2 new shelves that are not in the old pictures!

Playhouse Update

Wooo- Hooo

I am 98% moved into my playhouse. I still have some organizing to do but overall, I am very excited about it. It has been a lot of hard work but is sooo worth it. Of course, now that I am ready to crop, I have already made plans to go to Mobile tomorrow to crop there with some friends-- this was planned and paid for months ago. I am hoping to get lots of ideas and even some scrapbook pages done!!

Back to the playhouse, we still have not finished the laundry room/ bathroom but that will be next. We have 3 walls done so we have started. We are putting in the original enamel kitchen sink that was in the house into the laundry room. It has a drying tray built on the side and is just one large sink so it will work for laundry, handwashing and just general cleaning purposes. The carpet we bought is an indoor/outdoor so we will be putting it in the laundry room too.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures and just remember that it is a work in progress---

Making cookies

I spent one day with Kaitlin making cookies. She helped with the measuring, tasting and sampling of the cookies.

Cutest grandkids around

I know the picture quality isn't the best but the two little angels in the picture make it a perfect picture.

Bingo Update

I thought that it would be time for an update on my friends from bingo. Mr. Otto (83 yrs. old) is back with us. He has moved back to Biloxi so I have been calling the numbers out to him again. He is a joy to be around. Mr Thomas (82 yrs old) is still going strong. As a matter a fact, I had Becky bring him some of my homemade bread during her lunch break from school one day and he was out trying to start his push lawnmower so he could mow his back yard. He said it hurt his shoulder to pull crank it so Becky did it for him.

I have been making bread for Mr. Thomas for quite sometime now and last week I brought Mr. Otto 8 small loaves of bread. Well, tonight I brought each of them 4 small loaves. They told me it was the best bread they ever put in there mouths-- see why I like them so much.

So back to bingo, Mr. Thomas hasn't won in a couple of weeks at our VFW bingo but he does play at a couple other places and wins. Mr. Otto won $250 tonight on the pull tabs-- I never play them. But, I have won the consolation prize on the jackpot the last 3 times I have played. It is only $100 each time but I feel like I am winning thousands. Tonight I won a total of $175--- I see more stuff for my "playhouse"-- wiring and insulation???

Just wanted to share my good news

Happy 70th Birthday Dad

Today would have been my father's 70th birthday and oh how I wish he was here to celebrate it. It is hard to believe that he has been gone for 15 years. Sometimes it seems just like yesterday that he died and other times it seems like he has been gone forever. I miss him everyday. There are so many things that I want him to know--
- I love him dearly and he is on my mind most days. There are still times when I think about telling him something or about how he would have really liked something. We would talk everyday on the phone about any and everything and nothing important. Some days he would just call me to tell a corny joke. Speaking of which, dad would have really liked the movie Wall-E because dad collected as much junk as Wall-E.
- I am still teaching school dad and I know that it made you proud of me. I really feel like I am making a difference in many peoples lives with teaching the GED program. (You see, dad got his GED too.) I tell my students about you getting your GED and how you succeed in life. Did I ever tell you how proud I was of you?? I hope I did.
- Kandis has grown into a wonderful young lady dad. She is married to a great, hardworking guy and they have 2 beautiful children. I am proud of her. She is a great wife and mother. She is able to stay at home with the kids and I am thankful for that. You would love these 2 great grandkids-- they are the best.
- Steve is married to a wonderful lady he met back at Fort Polk. Drew has grown into wonderful young man and will be starting college in the fall. Tara is married and has 3 beautiful daughters and Shawna has a growing family with 2 children and 3 step-children which means that Steve is a grandpa- he-he. Steve has a beautiful place on a lake that you would love. He is still in the Army dad.
- Mike and Rachel have a beautiful little boy named Christopher Michael and he is the spitting image of Mike. I wish you could have met him. The "5" looks great because Mike takes such good care of his home, property and family.
- Gina is married to great guy and they have 4 kids. She also gets to stay at home to raise her kids and that is awesome. She has grown into a wonderful woman and you would be happy for her.
- Mom and Lyman are now in Phoenix and boy would you love to visit there. You often talked about going there- did you ever make it? I have been a couple of times and it is a beautiful place.
- Marilyn is doing good. She has found someone to share her life with and that is a good thing because we didn't want to see her lonely.

We all miss you Dad. You are always on our minds and will forever be in our hearts.
I love you-

The cost of Children- what a deal!!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down.

It translates into:
$8,896.66 a year,

$741.38 a month,

$171.08 a week.

A mere $24.24 a day!

Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich. 'Actually, it is just the opposite.What do you get for your $160,140.00?

Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God every day.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.

A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up.

You get to:finger-paint,

carve pumpkins,

play hide-and-seek,

catch lightning bugs,

never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,

watch Saturday morning cartoons,

go to Disney movies, and wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and

collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas,

hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and

cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for:
retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,

taking the training wheels off a bike,

removing a splinter,

filling a wading pool,

coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and

coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:

First step,

First word,

First bra,

First date,

First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo,

scare away the monsters under the bed,

patch a broken heart,

police a slumber party,

ground them forever,

and love them without limits,

so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!