Grandma Gloria

This is a photograph of my grandma Gloria.  I love these old photographs of her.  She died this last February from pancreatic cancer.  I didn't know this grandma very well.  She lived in Florida most of my life and I only saw her once or twice a year.  However, I did know her well enough to know she was a kind, giving women who really, really loved and cared for her family.  I'm so glad that I do know that about her.  She moved to Indiana for about two years about a couple of year ago and then she moved back to Florida.  While she was here, I found it really easy to talk to her.  I loved her for that.  I don't remember the conversations, but I remember those moments of sitting in the living room and talking away.  I'm pretty sure she was pretty proud of me, not to sound conceded, but I think she was - which is also nice to know.

 A couple of Saturdays ago, my mother and I went down to Missouri for a memorial service in her memory at a family reunion.  It's funny, I don't really feel like she's gone, that she died.  It's more like it's always been - I just won't get to see her because she's so far away.  I thought going to the memorial service would give me some closure and that's pretty much the only reason  why I went.  Maybe I don't need it - I know she's not suffering (thank goodness).  I know she's happy.  I know she's in heaven, and that's all I need to know. 

I love you Grandma Gloria.  I'll be seeing you.

Summer Chicken Recipe

Summer Chicken from Andrea Davis

Serving size: 6-8 people
Cooking time:  15 minutes

Ingredients:
6 bonelss, skinless chicken breasts (if large, cut in half)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons grainy mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
1 gloves garlic, crushed

Mix all ingredients and marinate chicken for 6-24 hours.  Cook on a hot grill for 6/7 minutes on each side.  This recipe can easily be cut in half for smaller portions.


This is a favorite marinade of ours that we've been making this summer.  I got it from a friend from church.  I also love it because you typically have all these items on hand.  I usually fix it up the night before and let it marinade up really well for the following day. 

p.s.  Can you believe it is already Thursday?  Can you believe it is almost July?  Time flies so fast.

Father's Day

Kyle didn't get much of a Father's day because Leon and I got home yesterday evening around 6:00 from being gone all weekend long.  I was so exhausted from our trip that all I could think about was taking a hot shower and then going to bed.  So, I thought the least I could do was dedicate a post to Kyle who is an amazing father and husband.

Leon absolutely loves his daddy.  He throws fits when Kyle leaves for work in the morning and grins ear to ear when Kyle come home.  He loves being with Kyle.  I can just see the love he has for Kyle in his sweet blue, blue eyes whenever they're together.  We did get Kyle a little something - a card, a bag full of bean cherries (Kyle's favorite), and a weekend to himself.   It's not much but it's something, I guess. 

I want Kyle to know that we all love him so dearly.  We'd be lost without him.  He's a loving father and an amazing one, too.  I love watching him and Leon together.  That bond is so precious.

Happy Father's Day, Kyle.  We love you.

journal jar

I think keeping a journal is really important.  However, I'm not always the best about it.  I have times when I'm really good and times when I'm really not so good.  I've been trying to be good about it lately, but sometimes I find myself just writing about the everyday, what-we-did-today type of things.  I want my journal to be a real reflection of myself.  I want my kids and/or grandkids to really get a sense of who I am as they read my journals. 

I found this idea for a journal jar on a blog and thought it was wonderful.  It gives you ideas about what to write about.  It is a great to jump start a journal or, for me, to give my journaling the thing it really needs.   This is so wonderful and it really makes me motivated to keep up my journaling!

this is my journal jar.

If you haven't ever kept a journal, you should start.  It's a great way to reflect your thoughts and to record about you and your family's life. 

No Place Like Home

We're home!  I don't think I've ever been more happy to be back in my little home.  I didn't realize how much I love it until we had spent nine days away from it.  I seriously wanted to wrap my arms all the way around it and love on it when we pulled up the drive way.  It's such a sweet little house.  I'm so happy to be home - there's just no place like home.

Vacation was good - maybe not what I was expecting necessarily.  It was chilly, rainy, and cloudy pretty much the whole time!  I didn't get to take a lot of my beautiful photos I was hoping for which I must say was a total bummer.  However, I forced me to get a little more creative with my shooting.  We spent a lot of time relaxing and being lazy.  It was good for us to be that way for a little while.  I've only got around to editing this one photo.  Enjoy!

Isn't he just a sweetie?  Especially with that fishing pole?

P.S.  Don't expect to much blogging from me in the next week -
there's so much to do and I'm going out of town again this weekend.

And we're off...

I've been spending the week cleaning our house, doing laundry, and packing.  Tomorrow we're heading for Minnesota for a relaxing vacation at a little cabin on the lake.  I'm looking forward to it more than you could imagine.  It's been a while for us.  I'm looking forward to relaxing, reading, taking more beautiful photos like these, having time to just think, and even getting out on the boat and doing some fishing.  I'm just ready to have something that isn't the norm of our everyday lives. 

However, I will say I'm a little worried about my little dude.  It's a long drive for such a wiggly, energetic little boy.  We'll have to take lots of breaks.  I'm also worried about how things are going to go while we're there.  I'm telling you, he can be crazy. 

 For example:

Yep.  That's baby powder all over my hard wood floors and just dressed kiddo.  I accidently left the cap open after a diaper change, went into the kitchen to get some snacks, and that's what happened. 

Oh well.  We'll survive and I'm sure things will be just fine.  He'll probably love it.  I love watching him explore, so I'm sure it be wonderful to see him investigate all the new things.  I love him.  He's just so cool.  Have I mentioned that he's finally starting to day a few words?  He can say "Momma" and "Dadda" (only when he wants something) and "Hi".    It's so cute. Whenever I go to get him from the car seat he gives me a big grin and says "HI!"