Charlie Makes Breakfast

Tears In My Eyes

Miss B just showed me her final English assignment for the year. The name of the assignment is "I am from poem" and her grade is an A+. After reading through it I immediately hugged her, trying to hold back tears, and asked her permission to post it here on my blog. Enjoy!

I am From a Family-Time Family

I am from a family-time family,
loving to spend time with each other,
and never wishing harm to one another.

I am from an early morning greeting,
waiting for me at the top of my steps,
warmth fills my nose with the sweet scent.
The embrace of chocolate chip pancakes,
cautiously being flipped in the kitchen.

I am from clothes piled high on my desk chair
to hard work put intricately into new pillows and blankets.
Homemade,
they lay sprawled across the corner of my sink-into couch.

I am from friendly neighbors
waving as they stroll down the street.
I am from beautiful tulips,
pushing up through the freshly down mulch.

I am from hungry cats,
crying for food as they peer out the window.
And an anxious puppy down the street,
waiting to be walked.

I am from glorious bonfires
billowing smoke around our house,
to a little neighborly fun challenge of corn toss.
I am from family dinners
every single night,
and lots of family creativity making twist trees during the Christmas season.

I am from many comfort foods
each specialized.
Sautéed mushrooms over pasta, to my brother’s favorite,
steak cake, which is thin chocolate cake,
cut into funny shapes and sizes.

I am from a fishing line
cast shortly from my grandpa’s pontoon.
Drop in, pull out.
Over and over again,
The fish never ceasing.

I am from “Breezy Mareezy” to
“Charlie Bricker,”
My Mom saying her new little slogan,
“Flip that situation—think of a way to make it positive.”

I am from a family like no other.
We are unique in our own special way,
always putting a spin on life,
and looking out for each other’s best interest.

End of the School Year Ramblings

Today is the last full day of sch.ool....tomorrow is a short day and then "no more cla.sses, no more books..." The summer is pretty much planned to the hilt: Unless God has other things in mind for us, Miss B is taking summer PE & theatre and will be tied up with those for 8 hours every weekday in June. Charlie goes to technology camp at Purdue for a week in June. Dr. Love is busily getting the finishing touches on his High Sch.ool Entrepreneurship Academy that will have him gone for an entire June week too. Towards the end of the month we will have visitors from Alabama. Then in July the kids will be gone on a Texas trip for 12 days. We'll be in Michigan for vacation the first week of August and then school (High School for Miss B!) starts back up the very next Wednesday. Somewhere in there we hope to do a little visiting up in the Region and also get to Wisconsin to see Aunt Joe.

Yesterday was my 45th birthday. I woke up to a big zit on the end of my nose!
Dr. Love and the kids plus Miss M took me to Turkey Run State Park for a day of kayaking (Charlie & I) & canoeing (Dr. Love and the girlies) plus a cook out. We took the short trip so we'd have time for hiking too. I'd never been in a kayak before; now I don't think I'll ever sit in a canoe again! I loved being closer to the water & able to move about the water more freely plus I could stop & look for rocks at will. I really liked having the backrest too! Just as we got to putting the boats in the water the rain began so I don't have any pictures of the actual trip down the creek. It was a nice gentle rain so we weren't too bothered.
Afterwards we changed into dry clothes & headed for the part itself. As Dr. Love started the charcoal, the rain came down in earnest so we huddled around the grill under umbrellas while the hot dogs cooked. Since it was still raining off & on, we decided to not hike on this trip. We did stop & make a reservation to spend one night at the Inn next Memorial Day weekend. After napping (me) on the way home, we leaded up the wash machine & then napped (me & Dr. Love) again! The day ended with Kentucky GRILLED chicken, presents (a red rooster for my kitchen counter and a very generous gift cert.ificate to my local quilt store) and a chocolate cake that Miss B made all by herself.

Our family devotions have moved on to the book of Esther at Miss B's request. Since I finished Beth Moore's 10 week study of Esther back in April, Dr. Love has me co-leading our discussions. Today we talked about Xerxes' command that all husbands should be mas.ters in their own homes and cross-referenced that with the passage in Ephesians that tells husbands to love their wives. We discussed the idea that love is an action, not a feeling. I also brought up the verse that instructs older women to teach the younger ones to love their husbands & children, etc. One of the kids was taken with the idea that loving someone is not always easy. I think we may have more discussion on this topic during dinner tonight.

The robin in the slide show has built a nest on my front porch. I opened the door to take a picture of the chair cushion that I made and saw Momma feeding the babies. She was none to happy with me for intruding and she flew around & chewed me out but good! I'm glad that the nest is high enough to keep the neighborhood cats from accessing it.

Miss B's new skirt took just a couple of hours to make. There's a dress on the way for her too but I need to get some housework done before I start on it. We're also working on a backpack for her 1-year-old baby (1/2) brother. She wanted one with Elmo on it but we couldn't find one in the stores. I'll post pictures of both the dress & the pack when they're finished. I've got a second quilt going too.

I was thrilled to find the rug on Craigslist! I was a bit worried about the color--it looked sort of peachy in the sun. But I think it blends in really nicely with the room and is just right.

Wishing a happy day to you all...Grace & Peace,
Leslie

p.s. Once I posted this, links showed up! I don't like that, so I added some periods in the words. I really do know proper punctuation!

Bragging On My Husband

Here's the picture of Dr. Love and myself at Saturday night's Indiana Techpoint Mira Awards.
While attending a work-related event on a weekend is not my idea of fun, getting dressed up to go out on my gentleman's arm is always special. I enjoy observing his interactions with his clients (everyone likes him!) and hearing his business acumen. I just think he's the epitome of a man's man: smart & savvy, able to pop the hood on the car, discuss sports and repair a leaky faucet. Not afraid to read directions or research how to do something. Looks equally good in a monkey suit or jeans. Willing to give his time & energy to what he believes in. Above all, a servant-leader who loves God and desires his family to grow closer to Him.
Thank you Dear God, for the man of my dreams!

Tulip Time

Warning....this slideshow is long on pictures and short on the subjects of the same. I took these about 3 weeks ago when we put down fresh mulch. Since then, the flowers got much more profuse and gorgeous and are now in the throes of death. But the hostas have gotten huge...now Guinivere is barely visible as she peeks over the tops!

My First Quilt

I finally finished my first quilt! It's a lap quilt done on the machine using a Moda Layer Cake called "Miss Jump's Scrap Bag" for the top and a Thumbleberries print for the back and hand-sewn binding. I started it back in October (I think!) and finished it last week. At first I just sewed together the blocks but after seeing how a nine-patch can be re-arranged, I took it apart and stitched it back together in what I think is called the disappearing nine patch pattern. I wish I would have used a Moda coordinate for the backing. The biggest reason that it took so long to complete is that I was scared of putting together the "sandwich" for the first time and of doing the quilting. My dear (and quilting-experienced) friend Connie visited a month ago and showed me how to do both of those and then I was on my way! I have some other decorating/sewing projects to complete first but I already have plans and material for my next quilt!