29+29+2 party

Our dear sweet friend Marcella recently had her 60th (oops...29+29+2) birthday party. She is an amazing woman this one. She plays the piano and organ at our church as well as our sister church, and she is very active in the community, all the while holding a full time job! I have never heard a cross word out of this woman's mouth...she is an inspiration to me, that is for sure.

The party was held outside, and even though the weather forecast called for rain, it was an absolutely beautiful night. The temperature was cool, the breeze was blowing and the band was amazing. The gifts started arriving...now keep in mind the invitation said NO GIFTS... What a nice idea...having everyone sign the guest book so she can always remember her special party and who was there.
Cute, cute idea for the cakes!

The birthday girl blowing out her candles....Happy birthday to you....happy birthday to you...happy birthday dear Marcella....happy birthday to you!!!!!!!!

Beauty is Everywhere

I believe there is beauty everywhere. We are surrounded by it every day. Often we get so busy with our everyday lives that we forget to stop and look...just look, at what is around us. To prove my point, I set out with my camera to Valley Worlds of Fun (VWF). Now, anyone that lives in my area knows this is a misleading title. There should be a disclaimer for grown ups to take an Excedrin before entering. VWF is a VERY loud Chuck E. Cheeses on steroids in Fairmont WV, and we live right down the road from it. Yesterday we were invited to a birthday party of a classmate of Stephen's (7 years old). I took the pictures below at VWF while the kids were playing mini-golf.

So next time you are feeling down...stop...look for the beauty, it is there, I promise. If I can find it among over 100 screaming kids, in the middle of put put golf, I know you can find it too!

Thinking about Halloween

Halloween is fast approaching this year. This is Stephen's favorite holiday. He loves to dress up! The photo below was in 2006. He was a Micky Mouse Fire Fighter...sooooooooo cute. Forgive the sideways picture...not sure what happened.

Now in 2007 he was starting to get away form the cutsie costumes...and Momma is not happy about this either. He was a construction worker that year.
2008 was a little better...I did get a little cutsie worked in...he was a chef. Thank you Ratatouille (very adorable kid movie by the way).So what will this year bring? My guess is something involving bones or blood or both...

Lets hope I can talk him into something much sweeter than that...but I do let him choose...and let me tell you, it is getting harder and harder to manipulate...errrr coerce.....errr help him decide on something he does not want. I'll post the final dicision after Halloween.

The first day of school

Yesterday was the first day of school here in WV. My son started the first grade this year. Where has the time gone...I just gave birth to him a few months ago didn't I?
Look at this happy face, he was so excited to get back to school. He must have gotten that trait from his father, I know it wasn't from me. Can you tell who picked out his clothes? He insisted that this was the shirt he wore the first day. Oh well, it made him happy.Stephen picked out his own book bag this year. I was proud of him for choosing my Alma Matter....Go Errs! (for those of you NOT familiar with WVU...they are the Mountaineers..."errs")

My son was not the only one heading back to school in my family yesterday. My husband also started back to college, he is going to be a respiratory therapist! I don't know which one of them was more excited. I am so proud of both of my men!

The bus finally arrived, and the race was one. You'd think there was a prize for getting on that thing first!

And there goes my little baby...ummmm, I mean little man, getting on the bus and heading off to a life I am not part of. After 6 years it seems strange not to go with him everywhere.

After he got home yesterday he told me all about his day. He was so excited to have his very own desk! He was so proud that it was neat and clean at the end of the day. I am going to have to post a picture of this child's room one day, you have heard the expression "pig sty"...well that is an accurate description of his room. But all is well, he likes his classmates and his teacher this year. He is off for day 2 today and is still excited...we will see when the homework starts how excited he remains.

Artist

We were at our local mall on afternoon in April and there was a band set up and singing. Nothing special about that...they were very good though. The part that I found amazing was that on the right side of the stage was a young man painting a picture while the band played. I don't know the name of the band or the young man. But he really was something to watch. He painted with only his hands! No brushes, or any other tools.
The girls in the band played about 4 songs gospel songs while he painted.

This shows a little of the size of the painting...it is about 4 feet tall.

The final painting! This was auctioned off to raise money for mission events...what a wonderful gift!

OBX (my dream home)

When you think of peace, bliss, or tranquility...odds are that a particular place, smell or feeling comes to mind. For me it is the Outer Banks in North Carolina (a little ways from Fairmont, WV). A good friend of mine suggested this area to me several years ago, and with the exception of one beach trip to Myrtle Beach a couple years ago we have went back every year since then. Now there are many towns that make up OBX. One of our favorite is Waves, NC. This is where we stayed the last two years and probably will continue to stay.
Natural dunes are everywhere in the OBX.
Is this a classic beach photo or what? I can almost hear the ocean and feel the salty air when I see this picture.
This is our little camp set up at Ocean Waves Campground (www.oceanwavescampground.com). This is my idea of camping! Electric, water, air conditioning, bath houses, and even cable TV. Check out my little pink flamingos...they were what I brought home from the beach this year. The guard my flowers at my home now.
OBX is an island, so there are lighthouses everywhere. This is Bodie Island Lighthouse. It has historical significance in the civil war. It is also the furthermost inland of all of the lighthouses on OBX. Hopefully by 2012 the lighthouse will be restored and visitors can once again climb to the top.
Stephen (far left) found a couple new friends this year to play with.
Walkways over the water and through waterways abound. If you are a birdwatcher this is the place for you!
This year we even found some good friends staying for a week or so and met them for lunch at Mulligans in Kitty Hawk.
One of the reasons we love it so much is that you can find a beach and back your 4-wheel drive right up to the water. Now that is the way to go to the beach!!!!!!

Saying Good-Bye

Today we say our final good-byes to our dear friend Erin. Please keep us, her family, and her other friends in your prayers today for peace and understanding.

Appreciate Every Soul

Appreciation of Every Soul:

See through God's eyes and feel through God's heart and you will appreciate the value of every soul including yourself.

Pittsburgh Zoo Part 3

This is the last in a series of three from our trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. This is some of the fun we had.

Stephen braved the height and did the swinging bridge to the tree slide!
The "kids" rode the escalator a couple of times...

...fun rides for Stephen...

...he loved having his own Jeep!

This thing was interesting...He twisted the steering wheel and that is what made it go.

...Look at this smile...that is a happy boy.

He really concoured his fear of heights this trip...I am so proud of him.

This is my honey walking under the water tunnel with his snow cone.

Beware of polar bears!!!!!

Caught in a bear trap.

Thank goodness for some cool water on a hot day!

This size yourself up chart was fun...did you realize Ben Roethlisberger was that tall (hubby is 6 foot)?

This is a sculpture donated to the Zoo by a local artist.Outside view of the escalator that the boys liked so well.

I hope you enjoyed the trip to the zoo with us...we were glad to take you along!

Animals at the Pittsburgh Zoo

There are so many photos in this post...but there are so many animals! This is looking up at the fish through a walk through glass tank.
The fish in the ponds are huge! So many colors too...

...of course alligators and crocks.
...Kangaroos...

...beavers

...turkeys...

...SHARKS!!!...

....awwwwww baby deers...

...beautiful fish....

....and odd fish...

...show off polar bears...

...thirsty brown bears...

...grouchy gorillas...

...sleepy whatever kind of monkey this is....

...giraffes...

...zebras...

...Mommy elephants with their babies...

...antelopes with grass hats...

...tired lions...

...rhinos...

...even small crocks...

...pink flamingos...

...and last but not least tigers!