An Ode to Gramo

  HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MAMA!!!!

 You are beautiful. 

Remember that when you look at these pictures and say, "uhhhh" like I know you will.

 You are smart.

Thanks for having an answer when I call with weird questions and always knowing what's happening in the political arena so you can be my voting guide.

 You are blessed.

With 9 gorgeous children who by God's grace are teaching God's love to your 8 gorgeous grandchildren.

 You are loved.

By this motley crew.

You are gutsy.

When the rest of us are about to throw up. (Thank you Becca for the pose.)

 You are adored.

By me and many others.

Love you Mama!!

Just to sit in His lap

My oldest gets scary dreams at night. Trying a new avenue of comfort for her, I told her to listen for God when she wakes up scared because God wants to talk to her if she will listen. She responded, "Mommy, I will say, 'Yes, God' Then I will ask if I can sit in His lap." This is one of those "Teach Mommy" moments. And I will ask God, too, if I can just sit in His lap today.

Winter in May

 There were some storms that moved through Huron today,

 And from the pictures you would think it was snow.

But you must remember, I have pictures I downloaded recently,

 From 2 months ago.

 As fun as it would be to lie to you about the major snowstorm that went through today,

 I can't get past my conscience.

So it rained instead.

Thank God for Seasons

Spring is gorgeous. It seems to bring out the smiles more and this is why:

Rainbows - if you look closely you see 2 lines of blue and purple in the first rainbow

 Green Grass to Tumble In

 Sprinklers to Run In

 Sunshine

 And Friends to Come Out and Play.

Ways To Play

Here's what happens when bags do not get fully unpacked.
You lose things.
I decided to actually LOOK for the picture-downloader-device, and I found it.
In a bag we took to Kentucky 2 months ago.

So here are some of the ways the girls have played since then.

 Juliana decided to serve soap for the tea party.

 If you look closely, in order from left to right is ConLai, Mommy, Juliana and Daddy.

 The oven mitts are used as crab claws (Juliana's original idea).

 Pull all the drawers out in the kitchen and you have a house.

 ConLai's depiction of Mommy, Daddy, Juliana, and ConLai

How to Find Cobwebs

Option #1

Put oil in a pan, place pan on stove and turn burner on. Let the oil get so hot that it bursts into flames when you move it off the burner. Freak out.

Race for the phone. Freak out.

Call husband. No answer. Freak out.

Frantically redial. Husband answers. Freak out. He calmly says, "Go get the extinguisher."

Thank God that the previous owners left fire extinguishers. Thank God again He reminded you where it is (in the back of the cupboard, behind some pans). Thank God it works despite the idiot operator.

Douse the fire. Open all the windows and clear the black smoke. Once smoke is cleared, look up and you should find cobwebs outlined in black.

Moral of the story: Never leave the wife at home by herself.

I'm currently seeking a safer option #2 for finding cobwebs, any suggestions?

s'prise s'prise

So a lot has happened in the last couple weeks, but I'll share the most recent highlight. Anthony told me on Thursday to pack our bags, we were going an overnight adventure and to bring our swimsuits! I love spontaneity, so I was all in. Found out we were going to Sioux Falls which was a little odd, since it's farther than Mitchell.

After we had done the pool thing and were getting ready for bed, Dhana texted me asking if I'd do her a huge favor. She'd heard we were in Sioux Falls and was wondering if I'd be willing to go get a student ("Julie") from the airport and take her to her hotel. The shuttle would be done running by the time her flight arrived. I thought, wow, that's a funny coincidence we are actually in Sioux Falls to be able to help.

Get to the airport looking for a "short, dark-haired Asian girl named Julie". I found her...