Tag Archives: family

Family Time

Finally Friday, , ,

Last weekend Brian (our oldest son), Lauren (his wife), and Liam (their son) came up to celebrate Michael and my niece’s birthdays. Michael wanted carrot cake, so of course, I obliged! :)

Brian frosted it for me and then added a bit of decoration to it, sprucing it up a bit.

It was pretty good. It was a THM S (healthy fats) dessert. I don’t remember where I got the recipe but it was online somewhere.

My niece likes the Shopkins real minis. She got two packages (like small mystery packs or grab bags). In one she got Boom Chicka Pop and Pringles sour cream and onion.

The other package had chocolate pudding pack and whipped cream can. I didn’t get a picture of the pudding but the whipped cream was adorable.

They are adorable! Thankfully, both packs were different and both included ones she really wanted. :)

Liam enjoyed being outside. Sean and Tiffany took him outside while we were at our house.

Tiffany and my niece took him out while at my parents.

It was a fun day. I was surprised how loud we were when we all arrived. I nearly had to shout to be heard. :D

My parents close on their old home next week so we’ll be going over and helping get the remaining things from there this weekend. It shouldn’t take terribly long and then it will be done and they can just enjoy settling into their new home just a few minutes from us. :)

I’ve finally gotten some reading done. I read the second in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series by Anne Perry and am sad to say I didn’t enjoy it very much. I’m hoping the next one will be better.

I started Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and am really enjoying it sans the curse words. There isn’t so much that it is intolerable for me yet and I’m already halfway through it but it is definitely something to be aware of before you pick it up. I’m sure we’ll be talking about it on Joyous Jabbers soon since Tiffany plans to read it too.

I have to admit that it feels really good to be reading again and to be excited about it. I read the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt book on my Kindle Paperwhite and I am really enjoying reading on that device. It isn’t hard on the eyes like tablets and other devices can be. It’s a lot easier than reading on my phone. I read one of the books in the Stormlight Archive on my phone and that was not something I’d like to do again. ;)

Well, I’m going to go for now. I’m not sure what the day holds for me, probably some tangling since I’m a week behind on Inktober. :D

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

Family and Relationships

Finally Friday,

I don’t think I do very much until I start to write it all down or tell someone about how my week went. Then I think about all that I do and can start to get a little overwhelmed; so I don’t think about it again and again begin to feel that I don’t do much, but I digress.

Last Saturday Tiffany and I helped my parents with their final attempt at a moving sale; living so far out in the country, it was only God that got us any shoppers at all, we think. ;) (And of course, I didn’t get any pictures! Ugh.) At any rate, we did get a few and sold a few more items. Once again, Dad was the winner in items sold, even though Mom had soooo many more items than he did. :D

Around noon, we started boxing up the remaining items to donate to the lady whose son needs a transplant of some kind and needs to raise funds. Tiffany and I had left before she’d arrived to pick up the stuff, but Mom said she was very happy to receive so many items that could actually be sold. I’m guessing she gets a lot of junk, since she is getting yard sale remains. She got some nice things: a sofa, queen size bed frame, queen bed springs, mirrors, pictures, kitchenware, knick knacks, plush padded hangers, CBs, antennae, purses, shoes, refrigerator/freezer, luggage, a desk, keyboards, and LOTS AND LOTS of clothes in larger sizes for both men and women. I’m sure it will be a help to them; it was a help to my parents to not have to deal with the stuff any longer.

It looks like they may have sold the house already, in the first few days of being on the market. AND to the first people that looked at it. :) I know it will be a big relief for them to be able to go on vacation and not have that looming over their heads. :) AND only have one yard to maintain again.

I don’t know about you, but family is important to me. That’s why I talk about mine a lot. They are a big part of my life. I’m so glad I have my family living nearby. I’m also glad for my relationship with my children. I hope and pray that we will remain close once they are all married and starting families of their own.

We don’t get together with all of my family the way we once did but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t in my heart or on my mind. I get so busy with things I’m doing (even if it is just relaxing) that I don’t communicate with them on a daily basis. For so much of my married life, we would spend every Sunday together and sometimes even an extra day in the week too. I guess that programmed me the way I am. I don’t communicate on a daily basis so that I actually have something to talk about on the weekly basis. :D However, when it goes much longer than that, the little things are easily overlooked.

I remember when I lived in a trailer park and lived next door to a very good friend. We talked nearly every day and had something to share nearly every day. But when we moved, we got to the point where we communicated less and less, to where we only shared the biggest things. And then sadly, it dwindled to where even those were left unshared.

I guess what it boils down to is relationships, no matter what kind of relationship it is, takes work. Some times it feels binding but it is just what is holding you together on that level. If you don’t make the effort, the relationship deteriorates.

For me, I’m glad my parents have moved so much closer! I’m excited, now that the other house is nearly out of their lives and occupying so much time, to drop by their place for an hour or so whenever I feel like it. I’m also looking forward to them dropping by mine. :)

I encourage you to examine the relationships in your life and put in the effort to make them what you want them to be. Cherish your family and friends!

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

Summer Birthday Weekend Continued

Finally Friday, ,

On birthday celebrations here, the birthday person gets to pick what we do for the evening. Since we were celebrating  Brian’s birthday he got to pick what we did. He chose board games . . . well, card games . . . well . . . Carcassonne and Citadels. These games are suited for large groups as well. I played along with the kids. (It was hot and my hair was in a hair band . . . not very flattering. ;) )

That one is Citadels. Tiffany got Sean the definitive anniversary edition, which means it has several different character sets you can play with. Brian is really good at this kind of strategy game. I think he won both games we played. ;) We don’t play it often enough for me to get used to it and figure it out, so I’m always fumbling through the game with barely any points. :D But it is fun together time.

Sunday morning Grandpa got the morning Liam cuddles. :)

Don’t know what Michael is looking at so seriously, but maybe it is just his morning face . . . he and Liam have a very similar look here. :D

We had breakfast and played another game of Citadel. We only played one game of Carcassonne. It’s kind of like playing dominoes, only with land and tiles instead of numbers.

We had a Dory toy that he found end was playing with. He was having a good time. :)

Sunday afternoon we went to my parents’ home with my little sister and her family to celebrate some more.

He was so excited! He kept saying “OH” and “WOW”. :) It’s so fun to see little ones and their expressions. He is  bundle of energy!!!

After the opening of gifts, he loved playing with them! He went and kissed my dad’s knee and hugged my mom, thanking them for his gift–PJ Masks something or other. ;)

The bigger kids were playing some pac man like game that Sean had on the Switch and Tiffany let Liam try for a bit.

Nana helped him get his Toy Story Duplos out of the box.

It was a good weekend! Very glad to have spent it with family!

I hope you have a great weekend. It’s Labor Day weekend and I have no idea what we are going to do. :D (Don’t forget to check out our Youtube video tomorrow.)

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº