Another Perfect Sunday

Abby spent the night on Saturday night with us. It was funny cause my son, Nate called me to see if we wanted to come over to see a movie, but we were in for the night. So, I could hear Abby in the background yelling "mimi", so I told Nate if he wanted her to spend the night he and Elsa could watch the movie and catch up on some sleep since she usually wakes up real early. Well, they took me up on it and brought her over. She was so excited....She slept all night and woke up at 7:00, which is very rare. They picked her up on the way to church, then after church we all went to a Harvest Festival not far from our house. We walked around and looked at antiques and other things and I ended up buying a late 1940's early 50's large hand mirror for dirt cheap and a beautiful glass pitcher that is very unusual. I spent under $5 for everything. We ate there and Abby played on the playground and had a ball. I love this family picture of Abby, Nate & Elsa.....oh, and baby..... Abby loved playing in the tunnel and slide. Can you believe the head of hair on this child? She is already 18 months old. She is my Abber Dabber.......

She didn't want to leave....

Pretty in Pink

Ivy is tired of all the picture taking. She's saying "will you please put down the camera already". I held her quite a bit on Friday night. She is such a good baby and is getting use to her 3 brothers giving her lots of kisses.

Smile, It's Friday!

Noah, showing first missing tooth! Happy Friday Everyone!!!

"Throwback Thursday"

I want to brag on the Best Daughter-in-law in the world. She was Heaven sent to my son. She is a Beautiful person, inside and out! She is a wonderful mother to my beautiful grand-daughter Abigail. Yesterday she found out her due date which is May 13, 2009. Abby will have a sister or brother. It is so hard to contain the Blessings that God is bestowing on my family. This picture tells it all.

Wacky Wednesday

Gay or Straight? I'm still a Claymate..........

Sister Sizing

With another season of the Biggest Loser underway, my Sister and I are on board again. We named our team "Sister Sizing". I don't know about you, but summertime is a hard time for me when it comes to sticking to a healthy eating plan. I blame it on my birthday, fair food, festival food, more birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, entertaining out of town guests, baby births, DQ, Dairy Dip....the excuses go on and on. So, we have officially started our journey of healthier, much less eating. I don't want to make this a contest like last year. It tends to add too much pressure, which could lead to failure. I did gain back some weight I worked so hard to lose, but that is in the past. I want to focus now on getting back on board and feeling better. I will report often about how we are doing, so stay tuned!

The Most Perfect Sunday

My Sunday morning started off by driving a few miles down the road to the Apple Orchard to be one of the first when they opened. I wanted to surprise my daughter and family with freshly made apple cinnamon & pumpkin donuts, apple cider and of course the best apples. We like the gala apple or the honey crisp. When I got out of my van to go in, I looked across the street at a beautiful farm field with the sun rising. I stood and actually looked around and just soaked in God's beauty. Lately, I have not taken time to stop and do this. I had worship music playing on the radio and I stood by the van and took pictures and Thanked God for the many blessings he has given me. Then my hubby and I went to a very neat little restaurant by our walking trail in town and ate the best breakfast. After breakfast, I went to pick up my mom and just her and I went to Steph's to see Baby Ivy. My mom had not seen her since she's been born. She was so excited to hold her Great grand-daughter. I thought how neat it would be to have a Generation picture taken while we were there, so Steph set the camera and we got some really great pictures. Steph, Mimi, Ivy & Great Mommal. My mom gave Ivy lots of kisses!After our visit with Steph & Ivy (Jeff & boys were at church), I took her shopping for some new clothes and we went to lunch. I love spending time with my mom, just the 2 of us....She is a very classy lady and the most wonderful mother! The day could not have been more perfect!
This time last week we were waiting on Ivy's arrival. We are such a Blessed Family!

Ivy loves shoes already!

I had to share this sweet picture of Ivy's feet. These are the cutest socks that look like shoes. She already has a collection of shoes and comes by it naturally. Her mommy was nicknamed "Shoes" in school.

Princess Ivy LaRue

Meet Mimi's newest little Princess, Ivy LaRue. Picture's are courtesy of Ashlee at Mama's Nest. She looks like Stephanie when she was first born.
I feel like I have been in a dream since Sunday night. What an experience to be able to witness this little miracle coming into the world in her own home. I am so proud of my daughter. She is so brave and the strength she showed was so amazing. I will let Steph tell the Birth Story when she is able to. I stayed at Steph's house to help with everything and came home last night. Ivy's brother's are on cloud 9. They want to look at her all the time and are just so happy to have a sister. Would you believe I only took 1 picture of Ivy the whole time I was there? I was too busy with other things. I will be updating with new pictures soon...probably tonight after going to visit her.

My wonderful son-in-law, Jeff, took this picture of Gray and I about 10 hours after Ivy was born. Gray crawled up in my lap and was sacked out in no time. I remember being so comfy from the breeze that was blowing and there was no noise in the house. What a night we had. It was like a big party.

Ivy has arrived!

A quick post to let you guys know that Ivy was born 1:40 am on 9-15....she weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. she is 22 1/2 inches long and looks like her beautiful mommy. She has lots of dark curly hair. Steph asked if she WAS a girl first thing...I can't even begin to explain the high I am on. This was the most wonderful experience I have ever witnessed. I was even asked to cut the chord...hope I spelled it right....I am squinting cause I don't have on my glasses. I will share pictures soon. Steph felt so much love from all of her Bloggy family. Thank you to all who prayed. Mimi has a new grand-daughter!!!!!

Baby Ivy is almost here!!!!

Steph's water broke about 6:00 pm tonight. Would you believe it broke while sitting at her computer? She called me and I almost had to swim to get to her house with all the flooding around. I did drive thru 3 small lakes. Steph is unbelievable! When I got to her house she was in the kitchen cleaning up, taking loads of laundry up and down the stairs, loving on her boys and was timing her contractions to decide when she should call her midwife over. Well, her midwife had problems driving with the floods but she did make it.
So far we have had a party waiting on the birth. Steph got out a bunch of munchies and would you believe she wanted me to go out and rent the movie "Baby Mama" with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler? She kissed the boys goodnight and we started watching the movie. Steph had very strong contractions but she would get up and either walk or get on the floor and work with them and relax.....I could not be more proud of my daughter than this evening. I will let you know when baby Ivy arrives. Thank you to everyone who is staying up with us tonight awaiting this miracle and praying.....
Oh, I forgot to mention, she even put on make-up in between contractions......

Ike news

Good news to report. My sister didn't suffer any damage during hurricane Ike. She said she didn't sleep any the first night because the windows were shaking and wind howling and she tried to get her daughter to get in the tub with her just in case, but they ended up trying to sleep, which she didn't get much of. They ran 2 generators. She ended up going back to her home yesterday afternoon. The downtown area and where she works is flooded, so she will get tomorrow off. Thank you again for your prayers.
I think Ike has hit us since yesterday with all the flooding and it is still raining. I live over 1,000 miles from Texas, so what is this? Please pray that I can make it to Steph's house when she is ready to have the baby. They were closing roads yesterday afternoon due to flooding, so I might have to have a firetruck drive me or find a boat to her house. I just talked to her and she is really feeling a lot of pressure, so it won't be long. I am trying to prepare for my evacuation when she calls. Also, please pray that the midwife can make it thru the flooded streets. She lives about 15 minutes from Steph. I live about 20 minutes. It could be soon now. I will keep you posted. Thanks for praying!

Hurricane Ike

Here we go again.....My sister and her family are under another mandatory evacuation due to the threat of hurricane Ike. This morning she went back to her daughter & son-in-laws house where she went during Gustav. Please say a prayer for their safety as well as others in these areas. My brother-in-law has to stay back again and work at the prison escorting prisoners out again and working long hours. He has not rested up from Gustav. I also have family in Texas who are evacuating as well. Thank you for your prayers.

Gracie Lynn is really Evan Reed

My Niece Dayna is 21 weeks, due in January. Well, she had an ultra sound early in her pregnancy and the tech said she was 98% sure it was a girl. So, they have been planning for Gracie Lynn. Lots of pink clothes hanging in her closet and the shower registry had been started. My sister, Diane has been shopping a lot building up Gracie's wardrobe....lots of pink.
Well..........today Dayna had another ultra-sound and guess what???? Gracie has a male part and you can see it in the middle of this picture. It's hanging down. My sister shared this with me and sorry it's a little blurry. They are so happy that it's a Boy. Down deep inside, Dayna & Rob really wanted their first baby to be a boy. Diane went in with them during the ultrasound and she said that Rob almost fell over, he was so surprised and very happy. Dayna said she felt all along that it was a boy. So they went home and took all the little girl clothes out of the closet. They almost painted the nursery pink but changed their minds.

In Rememberance of 9-11-01

God Bless the brave men and women who lost their lives. I will forever remember! You will never be forgotten.

Number "6"

We went over my son's house tonight and he, Elsa & Abby greeted us at the door with this special brownie cake.....Can you see why my jaw kinda dropped after reading what it said? Yes, they let us know that they are pregnant. Abby is going to be a Big Sister! It was sort of a surprise but a happy one for them. So, this is going to be one busy Mimi! This will be a "May" baby. So, my grand-kids birthdays are, February, March, May, July, Sept. & Oct. Abby and the new baby will be 2 yrs. 2 months apart. That is a good age span. We are very happy for them and welcome another grand-child. It's raining babies!

My fingers are happy again!

About 6 or 7 years ago I lost the diamond out of my engagement ring. My girlfriend who worked at a place where they repair jewelry talked me into replacing the diamond with a CZ and it was huge! I was not happy with it, due to it's over size look and also knowing it was not a real diamond. I would wear it occasionally and ended up just putting it in my jewelry box hoping that some day I would be able to replace it with a real diamond. My co-worker, Amy and I would talk about the ring and she really motivated me to go look at what was out there and getting it fixed. Well, that day finally came. I went to our local Jewelry store and looked at loose diamonds and found the perfect one and it was the closest to the one that was in originally. I was able to size up and got a new mount and they even re-antiqued it. I was so shocked at how beautiful it turned out. This picture does not do it justice. I feel like a new bride...well, sorta. I also took in a ruby and diamond ring that was missing a diamond and they also put a new one in. It only took them 1 week to do this and I am thrilled at the outcome. My husband told me I could have gotten a bigger diamond, but I really liked the size of this one and I am not all about the size anyways...I just wanted my rings back and to that, I am thankful. This set looks pretty good for being 35 years old! I hope to wear them at least another 35 more years.......Thank you my dear husband. I love you.

Bits and pieces of a Fun Sunday

Sept. & Oct. are my favorite months. I love the change in the weather and the beautiful colors of mums. We went to Menards and saw the most healthy mums and you could not beat the price. "Save Big Money at Menards". I ended up with 2 shopping carts full. I took some over to Steph. I also got an Ivy plant in honor of baby Ivy who will be here soon. When I left Steph's house today, she looked very ready to have the baby. I have a feeling it will be this week, if not sooner. I also wanted to share my Goodwill find this weekend. It is a Tea party set with wooden table and 2 chairs. I could not believe it was only $6.99 and brand new, still in the box with the ties around it that you need a chain saw to remove to take it out of the box.

We watched Abby today and she loved playing tea party, but I guess I know now why the box said for ages 8 and up. The tea pot, cups and saucers are real and breakable.....We found out when Abby dropped a saucer and it broke. So, I will be trying to find the plastic ones and put these up for a while. It was such a beautiful day outside today. We took Abby to see her cousins. Here is Gray giving her a big hug.
Abby is the woman driver. Gray is riding in the back.Here is Noah, who lost his first tooth this weekend, pushing Abby in the stroller. He was practicing so he will be ready for his sister, Ivy.This was just bits and pieces of our Sunday. It was a great day!

Popcorn Parade

Today was the Popcorn Festival, which started off with a Parade. My son-in-law, Jeff organized his work entry and we all walked. Steph & Ivy, Carter, Gray & Noah before the parade waiting patiently for our turn to move on.
Jeff & Steph....the loving couple....Baby Ivy is really poking out there! She's making her entrance very soon......Steph walked the whole parade route and could have ridden in a fancy new car. We saw lots of friends along the parade route. One of them was Beth from Folding Laundry.
We all passed out tons of candy and were exhausted at the end. It was a fun time. Jeff's parents were also with us in the parade. Jeff's dad rode his scooter.

Mimi & Grandma.....say, it was a fun parade........Naptime, here we come!

C.H.O.I.C.E.S.

Steph invited me to go with her to a C.H.O.I.C.E.S. meeting last night since the topic was "Home Birth". I will be present at the birth of "Ivy". CHOICES is a Natural Birth & Parenting Network Promoting a healthy pregnancy, gentle birth experiences, breastfeeding & informed parenting. They hold free monthly community meetings with preplanned topics & speakers. They have free give aways and lots of information and samples. I had the pleasure of meeting her midwife and a lot of other very neat ladies. AND there were babies of all ages, from 6 days old to toddlers. I wish they would have had something like this 31 years ago when I had my first baby, or if they did, I didn't know about it. It was so informative and just neat to hear other views and comments and everyone respecting one anothers decisions as to doing a home birth or hospital birth. It is a person's choice to choose. There was even a father there who stood up to give his view on their home birth and giving encouragement to other mothers. I respect my daughter & son-in-law's decision for the choice they made in having "Ivy" at home. It really makes sense to me and I just know this will be such a magical experience for everyone involved.

Aftermath of Hurricane Gustav

What do some people do after they have been thru a Hurricane? Well, my sister, Diane headed to the Goodwill store.

She was fortunate to not have any damage at her home when she returned after staying at her daughter's house. She doesn't have to be back to work until tomorrow....She sent me this picture today of her bargains she bought. Can you tell she is having a grand-daughter soon? She was so proud of her antique muffin tin. She even got me something! Doxie dog note cards. When she comes to visit me, we love to go and spend a few hours in Goodwill. Call us crazy, but we find a lot of treasures! I love what she has written on her little blackboard.

Go over and check out a good buddy blogger friend, CE who is giving of herself after Hurricane Gustav. I am so proud of her! Give her your support and encouragement.

Bye Bye Gustav! See ya! Good riddens!

Thank you for your prayers for my sister and her family during Hurricane Gustav. I can report that they are safe and though they did lose power, they had generators and power was restored this morning. She drove back home today and is unpacking and trying to get things back to normal. I am very thankful for my praying blogging buddies. Love you all!

Hurricane Gustav update

Who would have thought that I would be chatting via the web cam with my sister, Diane, while they are waiting out Hurricane Gustav! I spent the morning chatting with her, my niece Dayna, her husband Rob and would you believe they are housing another family too? Their best friends have a newborn baby, Caroline and a toddler, Morgan. My sister scanned the room where everyone was at and I got to see my niece, who is expecting her little Gracie in January, holding the baby. It was precious. Dayna gets to practice what it will be like having a new born baby. They are having a party, looking so happy and calm while this awful hurricane was hitting only 150 miles from where they are at my niece's house. The eye was headed towards my sister's home town, so I am so glad she evacuated. We did get to talk but had a lot of static and ended up typing what we had to say. I just wanted to share her happy face, even though she is a little nervous, but we know that God has his mighty hand over them and will protect them. Rob will be taking videos of the storm. Keep praying for their safety and also my brother-in-law, who stayed behind to work at the prison.