Harvest!

As you may recall, I made the brilliant decision to buy heirloom tomatoes this year. I have harvested a grand total of ONE tomato. There are a few green ones, but I'm not even going to bother with those. NEXT year, back to the good old genetically messed with versions! Yeah!

There is a cute story that goes along with that lone tomato. I brought it in the house, washed it and proudly set it on the counter to admire. A little later Miss Audrey and Miss Hazel came to visit. Audrey grabbed her little pink stroller, which she uses as a shopping cart, and disappeared around the corner of the kitchen island. We were in the living room and soon noticed that it was mighty quiet. Next we thing knew she came walking back around the corner, the big tomato in her hand and a chomp out of the side of it! I didn't even know she could reach that high!

She announced, "Mmmm, this is DEE-wish-us! This is an apple!"

I said, "No, honey, it's a tomato!"

"Oh," she said, "It's a to-MA-to. It's DEE-wish-us!" Then she crawled up on the couch and proceeded to consume it. We threw a towel over her lap and watched her with much laughter.

(If you readers already saw this on FB...oh, well!)

 

Hazey!

 

The drum demo...

 

and something for Pom Pom!

 

(I hope it wasn't you who posted this on FB?)



I came home early from work today to be with Bob. The pain medicine he's taking is making him very disoriented and I didn't think it was a good idea for him to be alone for too long. I'm taking the next couple of days off and hopefully the doctor and I can find a solution to the problem.

Y'all have a great day!
Shalom!

Audrey's birthday party!

I can't believe I didn't take my camera! Audrey's birthday was actually on the18th, but we got together today for a party. Micah and Adam set up the party in the field next to Adam's grandparent's house. There's a nice fire ring where we had a bonfire and roasted hot dogs and smores. Then we sang the birthday song and Audrey blew out her "2" candle and ate a cupcake. I made the cakes and cupcakes and Audrey pronounced them dee-WISH-us! Then came present opening. She got lots of books (which she tried to read, but everyone hurried her on to the other gifts!) She also got coloring books galore, crayons, markers, a purse, and a plethora of My Little Ponies. Her mom and dad got her a tricycle/Big Wheel type vehicle with Dora the Explorer on it. She and cousin Cali played on the antique playground equipment that grandpa installed in the field. It's such a unique area. There are small patches of lilies, black eyed susans and other pretty flowers scattered here and there, a small playground, the fire pit and odds and ends of decorative metal objects (like an old arbor) placed here and there. It's kind of magical. Micah was apologetic about not thinking up something fancier to do for a party, but I think Audrey had a blast and everyone else really enjoyed the outdoor time.

The weather has cooled off as expected. It's feeling like...FALL! Yikes!

 

I caught Bob out in the pasture visiting with the horses. Before I clicked the shutter they were all gathered around sniffing at him. Pretty cute.

 

Josh once bemoaned the fact that people don't make their own greeting cards with their own words inside. So this is the card I made him for his 29th birthday, which will be on August 2. I hope he likes it. I wrote about a fond memory I had of his younger years when he loved to go fishing. I suspect he loved the solitude and time to think more than actually catching fish. He usually fished off the side of a bridge and he once came home and told me about how a huge loon had swum under the bridge. It looked like a torpedo under the water. I have so many good memories of my kiddos growing up, and I'm so proud of the grown people they've become!

 

Please continue to keep Bob in your prayers. Thursday is the appointment to get the lung checked and biopsied. He's feeling kind of glum and having pain from the ribs he injured on his left side. He's trying not to listen to Satan's whisperings, but when it's quiet his mind thinks on it too much. Thanks!

 

I think I already showed this picture, but I love it, so here it is again!

 

 

 Have a blessed day! Jesus will never leave us or forsake us! The road leads home! :)

Shalom.

Mini family reunion!

We're expecting a great get-together today. Trev and Rhonda and the four grands from Maryland are coming to spend the day. Also, Missy and great-grand, Hailey, will be coming. Of course, Micah will be bringing Audrey and Hazel. (Trev's family traveled here by van to attend [grandson] Aaron's wedding next Saturday. They're making a full-blown vacation out of it.)

There are plans in place to play with and feed horses and to go swimming  in the lake. I'm sure there will be lots of talking (I do a lot of listening) and laughter.

Micah's little Audrey tried climbing out of her crib for the first time a couple of days ago and fractured her left arm. Poor little tyke! She's adventurous like her mom. She came walking out of her bedroom saying, "My bone hurts." They weren't sure it was serious at first because she wasn't complaining and seemed to be using it, but took her in for an x-ray and it was, indeed, fractured. She got a soft cast over the weekend but today she gets the real deal. I stopped by their place yesterday and she was kind of proud of her achievement. She proclaimed, "I broke my arm!" and held it up for my inspection. Micah called this morning and said that Audrey had removed the soft cast sometime during the night so she's taking her to the doctor a little earlier than planned this morning. Hopefully she will get the hard cast right away and they can join the family reunion very soon!

I'm hoping to post some pictures later! Y'all be good and shalom!

Poor neglected blog...

Well, it's obvious that I'm having fun with my Pen and Ink blog, because I'm seldom HERE. But I will drop by now and then to add photos of the grandgirls and other tidbits. Glenn, if you're wondering where I've gone, you probably already know to check my art blog! :)

I can't believe I haven't posted these photos of Micah and the girls joining me for a walk! Micah pushed the girls 10 miles (from Nevis to Dorset and back) wearing her rollerblades and I joined her for the last 4 miles. Here are the photos...

 

 

 

 

Micah changed her footwear...

 

 

 

 

This is crazy, because I REMEMBER posting these photos before. I even remember what I wrote under them! Too much blogging makes you forget what you did when! So forgive me if this is a repeat. I don't SEE the pictures anywhere on my blog. Sheesh! (After some thought, I realized that I posted these on my Exercise Log Blog. Too many blogs maybe?)

Grandpa Bob feeding Hazel Peach...

 

 



 

Audrey following in Grandma's footsteps...

 

We've been doing a fair bit of babysitting lately. Along with walking, working and doing art, my days are pretty full. Bob is into feeding the horses and is on the lookout for a potential milking goat.

 

Micah has finally decided that selling Herbalife isn't all it looked like it might be. She's had several requests from old dog grooming customers to groom their dogs. Adam and his dad, Doug, are working on tearing down an old barn which they are going to rebuild at Micah and Adam's place. Then she should be able to do some dog grooming, which will allow her to stay home with the girls.

 

Life continues! I spend a lot of time praying for family members living in tornado alley.

 

Off to do more art, perhaps. (If the basketball game lasts long enough!) :

 

Goodnight for now and shalom!



Oh, Minnesota...

I saw this photo on Facebook and had to save it. It tells the whole story! (The caption said something like "Two weeks of weather in Minnesota". It's true!

We're greening up! Yahoo! And here's a little proof of spring I brought home from my walk the other day.

 

And a couple of glamor shots taken by Micah's photographer friend Flo (who is also married to Micah's taekwondo instructor, Nick Bretz). Micah's girls were playing with Flo's little boy, Dominick, so they weren't all perfectly coifed, but I thought these were good.

 

 

We're babysittin' tonight! Woo hoo! Lots of giggles! :)

 

That's all for now. I spend way too much time on my art blog, so I have to say "Whoa!" sometime!

 

Shalom.

Warm!

I emerged from my den, blinking in the bright sunlight...

Still snowy, but the temps should be in the 60's today. Yesterday it was in the 30's, so this may be the big change we need to finally melt the snow and start the grass growing and the trees budding!

It's a quiet day off for me. Bob's gone to get hay, groceries and visit the doctor. I am a lady of leisure...for a while. The two cuties (Audrey and Hazel) will be visiting us tonight while mom and dad, Micah and Adam, go out to eat for their 4th anniversary. (They both celebrated their 22nd birthdays this month!)

Here are the latest photos of said cuties:

 

Rolling on the floor is one of Hazey's favorite things to do. She's just started to crawl to reach interesting objects!

 

 

Audrey is always quick to climb into Grandpa's chair if he dares to get up for a second. Here she's enjoying some fruit flavored treats. (Her faves!)

 

 

Then it's jumperoo time!

 

 

I'm planning to do some blog visiting and loafing. Have a great day!

Shalom!

Babysitting Audrey...

Turned into a concert!

How's that?

Yup, she lights up our lives! (Mama Micah and Hazel went to Fargo for a Herbalife meeting, so we were treated to a few hours with Audrey until Daddy got home!)

'Night and shalom!

A ton of fun with Odj...

Audrey was feeling under the weather, so Mama Micah (as Odj calls her mom) left her with us while she and Hazel went to Early Childhood class. Audrey has had a persistent, though intermittent cough for over a month and has visited the doctor a couple of times. The last time she got a chest x-ray and had to wear a "straight jacket" type device to keep her still. Poor little kiddo. That's the sort of thing that sticks with a little one. Pretty scary when Mom can't stay with you in the x-ray room! She had some inflammation in her lungs, so she got some medicine. Well, the medication seems to upset her stomach and make her throw up. Now she doesn't want to eat so we're trying to keep her hydrated until Monday when Micah will take her in again if she isn't better. We're not sure if she's sensitive to the medication or if she's developing an allergy to milk. Prayers appreciated for little Audrey.

Despite all of these tribulations Odj had some fun today with old Grandma and Grandpa. I was glad to have a chance to love on her after all she's been through since the last time I saw her!

There was much drawing to be done...

 

...and, oh! What's on T.V.?

 

 

It's the Bubble Guppies! (One of my favorites.)

 

 

Okay, more coloring.

 

 

We traced around everyone's hands. Audrey thought it was pretty fun once she got the idea! She's getting really good at manipulating those crayons.

 

 

Chomping on some raisins and watching...

 

 

 

Peter Rabbit! (Well, it's not Beatrix Potter's art, but...still fun.)

 

 

 

Audrey and Hazel got matching shirts...

 

 

Audrey learned how to "fix" crayons by tearing off the paper to reveal more crayon goodness.

 

 

Audrey "takes our picture" with some little audio gadget that doesn't really take pictures.

 

 

Ball throwing practice. Watch out!!

 

 

Playing with a little friend...

 

 

Bert!

 

 

Time for reading of Dumpty Dumpty Dumpty Dumpty.

 

Now the Bear Family. Audrey did lots of good reading today!

 

 

Next on the agenda, stacking blocks...

 

 

...two different ways!

 

 

Now for a little Dora the Explorer...

 

 

and some relaxing time (that lasted all of 5 minutes)!

 

 

And that's what we did today with Audrey. It's always entertaining! :)

 

Shalom!