The first of many....

The first of many "Graduation" parties this summer, I mean! One of my very dearest, oldest friends, Anne is graduating her second daughter this year!Here are Anne (in the middle) with her oldest daughter, Kaitlynn 20 years old and Elizabeth ( who will be turning 18 soon). I didn't get to take a picture of Elizabeth today at her party in her pretty dress, but thought this one was even more appropriate. When Elizabeth was 3 years old, she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma...a very strong, pediatric cancer, and she had a tumor removed. She has been cancer free for a while now, but I never forget what her mom and dad went thru and am very proud of the strong, sweet young lady she is! She will be going to Clarion University in the fall for teaching.
Here is Jerry, Anne's husband with Kaitlynn.

The party was held at the USC fire department, and Anna & Ronnie loved being in the firetruck!

And....here are Anne and I! Oh, my goodness....we've been friends now since 1981....28 years! ( We don't possibly look old enough to have been friends so long....right?!)

~ The littles and I came home this afternoon and relaxed after church and Elizabeth's party. After all the planting and trimming yesterday...I was bushed! I rested my sore muscles, made a simple dinner, then we all watched the movie "Nim's Island" tonight. I love this movie! Now it is off to bed, Ron starts his new trip tonight, tomorrow my big girls come home (Hooray!) and we are having a family picnic. (I'm really hoping to quickly sew the cushions for my grandmother's glider and two rockers that Ron painted for the deck...it will look so nice!) Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! ~Sue~

Hard work...and sweet rewards!

Lots of hard work today.....but now....sweet rewards! Dropped off Meghan and Sara at my sister's house at 9:30am this morning (and wasn't late!) to ride out to spend the weekend with my other sister and my mom......CHECK!

Stopped at Payless to get Anna some nice, pretty sandles to wear to church (that fit her wide feet! ) CHECK!Trimmed all the forsythia bushes...AND....got all my raised beds planted! CHECK! This bed should have hot peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, grape tomatoes, beets and celery.
Have my herb bed planted with lots of sweet and savory herbs...have to pot up these red geraniums yet......

Have cauliflower plants in here with some marigolds...and lots of seeds planted. If everything comes up, this bed should have green beans, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach and zucchini.

Wrote down where everything is so I can remember where I planted what! Now, to outsmart the deer and rabbits....Hubby has a plan!
Still more to be planted....but today was most of the hard work.

Drank my 'green lemonade'....and my kefir & kombucha today!

Now...after a nice, cool shower and watching the Penguins beat the Carolina Hurricanes...... Let's Go Pens!!!!!!

Now for my sweet reward! My favorite...Breyers chocolate chip icecream! And....hopefully....a good, solid nights sleep! (I'm off to call the girls and see how their day has been....I miss them!)

Phases....

Our game of the evening.......like the phases of life....

There is the 'almost walking'...just discovering independance phase......

There is the making "fairy" houses.....and.....

"fairy" bridges & communities phase....

There is the working hard "like a man" phase....

The planting and putting down roots phase.....after 3 1/2 years here, we're finally getting our gardens in! Hooray! All I need now, is my outdoor clothesline and I'll be happily planted!


Danielle and Alaina

And...there is the "being friends with your daughter's friends" phase......Sarah Elaine was able to join us for a taco/burrito dinner this evening and stay to visit. Danielle came over later (the lovely young woman on the left above this photo....Alaina wasn't able to join us, but was here with us in spirit!) and I spent an hour and a half playing 'phase 10' with them. So much fun!

~I am blessed to be enjoying all of these phases right now! Having Ty with us 2 days a week is a priviledge and a joy....I probably won't be having any more of my own babies, and sometimes that makes me sad...but he takes that sadness away and brings joy everytime we're with him.

I have the wonder and silliness of Anna's age right now. Fairy houses (Sara, the mastermind, helped Anna with this one, of course!)...making up songs, skipping instead of walking and the wonder in her eyes is so precious...I never wanted an "empty nest" and God has granted my hearts desire! At 4 years old, my nest will be filled for a long time!

I am in awe watching Ronnie grow up. At 7 1/2, he just wants to be like his dad, and do everything with him and like him. He is so serious sometimes...wanting to work hard, and carry the 'heavy' things...and when we are reading scripture out loud, he is so serious to interpret it and apply it to his life. At other times....it is pure joy to see him streaking down the ice, playing hockey...knowing how very much he enjoys it. Swinging, running around the yard...hitting the ball into the street, and then bragging about how far he can hit it. I love the closeness between Ronnie and Ron....and how he says he'll never live far away from me....when he gets married, he'll live across the street, so I can help his wife! LOL

I am so enjoying the stages that Sara is in right now....she is so "between"....still loves flying around the house...playing outside....coloring with chalk on the driveway....building 'fairy' houses....and yet....growing up so fast, too.

And, Meghan....my young lady. She is so responsible, so concerned for MY health....she is such a help, as is Sara, that I don't know what I would do without them! They are my dearest friends...my joys, and I love them so much!

I'm also in the phase where....my girls friend's are also my friends. I enjoy their company, I enjoy the company of my own girls....and I love when their friends are over....I hope they know they are welcome any time!

~As my Anna is no longer a baby, Ron and I are moving into yet another phase in our marriage...but, I'm so very glad that we have all of these different phases all at the same time! As we will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary soon, (and are no longer spring chickens!) our marriage, also, is entering another phase....a deeper, richer phase.

Hopefully, tomorrow we'll get our seeds in before the rains come...and God will water for us. He always blesses all the 'seeds' that we plant...all of our efforts when they are in accordance with His will. Now.....I hope a good nights sleep is coming! God bless your weekend! ~Sue~

Some thoughts....

Just sat down to relax for a few minutes....Ty just left, and he was so active and happy today! But...I'm beat! LOL He loved being outside, and pushing his little car around the yard...I'm grateful that we have a lot of shade in the summer...I don't need to worry about putting sunscreen on my children when they are outside here.

I've been thinking a lot today about gratefulness, and God's provision. Seems as my husband's income keeps going down, prices of everything keep going up...and now today, my husband came home and told me that gas went up AGAIN...and he had heard that it will be at $3 a gallon by the Fourth of July.

After a moment of PANIC last night after discussing our finances....I re-read some journals, flipped thru an old Bible that I had tons of notes written in...and felt comforted. As I sat out on our deck this morning having my quiet time, God just kept meeting my every concern (fear?)....until I was quieted and confident again that my God has ALWAYS provided for our family....He is so faithful to us....and He will provide now, too.

Does this mean that we don't need to SERIOUSLY watch every penny?! Yep...we do! Do we need to cut out a lot of things and maybe not do as many of the things this summer as we had planned...yes. But that's o.k......God has shown us even BETTER alternatives! Lots of time together doing free things.....going on picnics, fishing, bike riding.....lots of time with extended family...swimming, going to the lake.....lots of "potlucks" with other families...making lots of crafts and gifts....roasting marshmellows around a fire. Church picnics....friend's graduation parties....birthday celebrations....weddings, babies......wonderful, fun, memory making opportunities this summer!

Would it be nice to take the whole family to the beach for a week? Of course! But it isn't neccessary for us. Sitting on our deck, which is so quiet, peaceful and private...listening to the birds and church bells....watching my little ones play, swing and climb their tree....talking with our girls....watching all of our children grow and mature.....We are blessed!

It doesn't matter if we eat rice and/or beans a couple of times a week....we'll be healthy and together....and that is really all that matters. Memories can be made without money....memories shared that will last a lifetime!

No matter what happens to our income, the economy or anything else....I will not fear! My God is in control of everything, and He loves us....and I stand on the promises in His Word.....He will always meet our needs. If we have food and clothing.....we are content. Praise you, Father God!!!!!! ~Sue~

Man, ya'll are fast!

Two people got the answer to the last riddle, so I figured I might as well tell what it is:
THE HORSE WASN'T TIED TO ANYTHING!

Congrats to Meriette and Michaela for getting the answer right! Next week I will have another for you all to solve :)

Odds and ends of our day....

~Just some odds and ends from our day....it was actually, sort of a "fractured" day today. Lots of different things going on all day. It started off with my brother-in-law dropping Ty off this morning.He is so cute...hard to believe he will 1 year old in only 6 more weeks!Sara has been praying for a 6 month old little boy named Stellan who suffers from heart disease. As she was playing playdough with Ronnie and Anna this morning, you can see who was on her heart! She actually wrote a paper and gave a speech about what Stellan suffers from....'Super Ventricular Tacchiacardia'
Two books we've been pouring over....starting to become a reality!
Ron and Ronnie working hard together on the wood for the frames. Ronnie learns so much from his dad! As a car was going down the road, he said it sounded like it needed new brakes! He is definitely his father's son!

I loved this one! We have pictures of Ronnie 'building' things with his dad since he was around 1 year old....I'm so grateful that Ron knows how to do so many things and can teach Ronnie.

This one is for my herb garden....Ronnie was so proud!

Two rectangular 4x8 foot beds ready to be filled with dirt and plants. Now to keep the deer away!
I don't know why I posted this...Ronnie's ant farm. It is so cool...and we are all enjoying watching them and observing how they work.

Ah....my little corner of the world! My new 'MaryJanes Farm' magazine....the new 'Above Rubies' magazine as well...and a chenille afghan I'm crocheting for a bridal shower gift using my homemade cedar hook.

~And....these were just a few of the odds and ends of our day! Meghan helped me do some laundry, both girls helped with Ronnie, Anna and Ty....Sara babysat for a couple of hours, while Meghan helped with dinner.....now, after our second kefir smoothie of the day....it's early to bed for everyone! Happy Dreams!!! ~Sue~

Overdue update...with photos!

This has been such a crazy, busy, emotional 2 weeks! I feel like saying "stop the ride! I want to get off!"...hopefully, things will settle down now, and I'm feeling the need to guard our time jealously...especially since the emotional stress of my Uncle's death, the funeral and then the "busyness" of life have thrown me into a pretty bad fibro flareup....hopefully, it will start to ease soon...especially if I get a chance to rest a little for a few days. So....quick update on the Gorecki family...in photos!Ron was a pallbearer for the funeral and he was such a comfort to me...I'm so glad he was with me! Usually, he is working on Saturdays and wouldn't have been able to take off.
As this was the day before Mother's Day and we knew we would be out all day on Sunday, the kids decided that Saturday would be MY Mother's Day! This is what they did while we were gone at the funeral. (I love bare feet! )

We pulled into the driveway to this HUGE, beautiful sign for me! (they had a lot of fun making it)

My four wonderful blessings! I am so grateful to the Lord for each one....each one is so special!

My guys! Ronnie insisted on getting his picture taken with his Dad in front of the Penguins flag....Stanley Cup, here we come!

Anna wanted me to swing with her on the tire swing....boy, it was windy that day!

~We had a restful, wonderful day the rest of the day....got my favorite dinner (Carrick Poultry chicken!) and just enjoyed being home with all of us together! (watching the hockey game, of course!)
Sunday, after a wonderful church service and a lunch of leftovers....we set out to visit and honor our mothers! We stopped at Ron's mom's house on our way to my mom's. Here is "RoRo" with Ron and the kids....we were actually able to visit her for a little while, then again in the evening after leaving my mom's house...we walked in and she had warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies for everyone!

Here is my lovely mother! Poor Mum....she had had knee replacement surgery a few weeks before and between her knee pain and her sciatica pain...she was really hurting. We all stayed for dinner, cleaned up then left to allow her to rest. Her knee is doing much better, but her back is still very, very painful. Hopefully, she'll be able to get help tomorrow.

Here is one of my beautiful sisters, Pam and her twins Tina and Justin. (you know, mom's are never actually IN the pictures, so we try and take some with our children whenever we can!)

Someone took this one of me with the kids over my mum's house. We all had a great time being together that day! (should have taken a picture of the scarf that I crocheted for my mom...it is beautiful, warm rust color made out of very thin bamboo yarn....turned out beautiful!)

Our favorite model, Anna with her favorite stuffed animal (of the moment!)..."Rosebud"....the littles are very into the "Airbuddies" movies right now! It's next best thing to owning a dog....and with 2 cats and Ron & I not being dog people, this will have to do!

This same week, after watching Ty every Wed. & Thur., we had a cubscout picnic at our home on Friday....Praise God, it didn't rain! Here the boys are working on their "Leave No Trace" posters.

The guys visiting while waiting for dinner to be ready....

My friend, Ranea graciously offered to be "grill master" for me....so we worked together to get the "smokey" work done! It was a lot of fun for everyone! We are done with cubscouts now....it is a great organization, but with 4 children, Ron's nightturn work schedule, it is not a good fit for our family...but we've found a wonderful alternative for Ronnie called "Contenders for the Faith"...where he will still get together with Christian young men, and work on skills, character traits and earn achievements while growing into a strong, christian young man. I think we're going to love it! Meghan and Sara did the companion to it, called "Keepers at Home" when they were younger and still have the books and are working thru them...while Anna will have a little "Little Keepers" group of her own with a couple of her little friends.

After the girls and I being at youth group Saturday night, on Sunday Ron had a little high school reunion party. Here we are before we left.....we don't look TOO old for a 29th year reunion! Even though I didn't go to his school, I knew a lot of people since I worked in the neighborhood at the bank for years...even before I met Ron!
What a crew! I wish I had taken more pictues, though.....we had a good time, and Ron was like the mayor...he knew everyone! We're looking forward to the picnic that they are planning for next years 30th reunion!

~So....there is our update! Last night, the girls and I had our Maiden's group and finished our study of 'Beautiful Girlhood'. It was such a nice night, as every time we get together with this particular group of girls and moms always is! Three of our group are moving back to the state of Indiana next week, so we will miss Jenny, Megan and Sydney very much! We will be starting a new study next month on the book "Stepping Heavenward" by Elizabeth Prentiss.....we are very excited about this one! Hopefully, we will have a couple of new families joining us for this study. (I hope so!)......so today....off to work on more laundry, schooling (12 more days to go!)....then Meghan is babysitting this afternoon and Ron is going to the Springsteen concert tonight....he really excited about that! He always goes with my cousin, John, and the two of them have a great time! May everyone have a blessed day!

Answer...

... to my riddle!
Okay, so we had some enthusiastic participants, and due to busyness, I haven't posted the answer! OK, here is the question again:
There are three kinds of people in the world. Those that can count and those who can't.

And the answer is:
I am the one who cannot count!

Congrats to Bella, who guessed correctly! Here is a new riddle:
A horse was tied to a rope 15 feet long and the horses food was 25 feet away from the horse. How did the horse reach the food?

To tell the answer, I would like nine entries... think hard!