Category: Family

Stuff from A While Ago

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Family Trip to Florida

We went in March, after a super-busy,
super stressful time at our home.
It was superb.  I tell you
spending time with the kids and husband
with no other responsibilities makes me
very happy.  Gene asked if I could choose,
would I want to live like that forever, just
lazily getting up in the morning with
nothing to think about but where to go
swimming next, and what kind of food to eat.
I think I hesitated a little long for his liking,
than I said that it’s not a realistic lifestyle for one,
and two I can imagine it would
get unfulfilling eventually.   But for
one week out of the year?
Momma Mia!


A week of Mac n Cheese every night – is this what heaven is like?

        Every husbands dream vacation includes family pictures!

 

Then there is the 20 hour drive home…No judging allowed
unless you’ve survived a trip like that yourself.

 

Speaking of Momma Mia!
in April flew down to Florida with 5 of my good pals.
The cool part was that our husbands got their
heads together and sent us away.  They even said
things like:  This is not going to happen for a long
time, so BE GONE! TAKE FIVE DAYS INSTEAD OF FOUR!!
And we said “Done deal, we are outta here!”
And the grandma’s, dads, aunts and cousins all
covered our buns for us, while we tried to tan ours.

We really had a fun wonderful *bonding* time.

The funny thing about this group of girls is that it is
not a natural group.  Our husbands were friends before
we were, and we sort of became friends by default.  It’s
odd, because I rarely hear of guys that insist on hanging
out together, but these guys did.  As they got married over
a span of about five years, we would add a new wife to the
mix. So being friends was not without growing pains,
as some are added and some drop-out.

Having said all that, what started by default ended with
true friendships and I’m not sure what I would do without
these girls. Sniff, sniff..pass the tissues please.

I got a new camera on this trip thats why it looks so amazing.
Kidding! They were taken by talented Shannon


Giddy about being free from responsibilty, and happy with
our urber-dark tans, we take the town on a windy evening.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Stuff I learned from my Mom

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  1. Entertain guests often
  2. Care for your elderly parents
  3. Buy gifts for people
  4. Have your cuboards stocked with beverages
  5. Dry your wrinkly clothes in the dryer for a
    couple a minutes than hang them up, still damp
  6. Visit the sick and the widows
  7. Make your mashed potatoes a day ahead
  8. Read to your children
  9. Volunteer
  10. Dance in the kitchen


circa 2009 when Madi was born

My mom is the “giving-est” person I
know.  I grew up hearing from my friends “Your
mom is so cool.”  I didn’t really
appreciate her “coolness” at the time,(and I never told her my friends said
that) but the older I grow, the more I aspire to be like her.

She is a server who jumps up and gives food and drink to people in her
home.  Often her spare bedroom is full
with this out-of-town guest, or that missionary family.  She is the one who whips together a meal, and
I wonder how she does it all.  When we
visit her home in Ohio, early Sunday morning I can hear her footsteps pounding
upstairs in the kitchen while I lazily stay in bed.  (I’m sure her heart is brimming with pride as
her grown-up daughter reverts to a spoiled teenager whenever we visit)

When my sister brought a family home from Wal Mart (true story: She met
strangers at Wal Mart and brought them home with her) Mom opened up her home
for a week.

I don’t remember her being sick.  I don’t
remember her being down or depressed.  She
has a penchant for volunteering.  When I
was young I used to go with her as she drove people to doctors appointments,
grocery stores, and whatnot.

I remember last Mother’s Day something happened that stuck in my mind.  The family was together, but something happened (don’t remember what) that mom had to pack up in middle of our “celebration of her” (which was Sunday Dinner, and at most, a hanging plant or filled cake from Litty’s) and go take
care of her own mother or Mom-in-law.  
And I thought: the cycle never
ends does it.  This motherhood thing, you
give to your own kids, and when they are grown you give to your parents.

That’s what I’m learning from my mom, to keep going. And to keep giving.

So now I’m trying to wrap this up and realizing, how impossible it is to nail a
person down in a post.  I know her well
enough to know that she doesn’t take herself so seriously to get her panties
all in a twist about how she is portrayed. 
I know she is now blushing and clucking her tongue over my language
choice. (Don’t worry Mom, I didn’t learn that
from you)

Love You!
Your Daughter
Andrea
(the one who always painted her toenails)