Happy Days

Where does the time go?
Seems like forever that I sat down to share with you.

The weather has been glorious in Kansas.

The Spring colors are breath-taking this year. 

I feel like everywhere I turn, God speaks and says, 

"Hey, Wendy, look at this one."

He thrills me with all the colors.

Impressive.

Sorry it's fuzzy.

I was going downhill on my bike.

When you have the opportunity to finally go downhill,

you don't stop to take a picture.

You just don't.

These are in the Walmart parking lot.

I have been taking advantage of the amazing bike trails

offered in Kansas.

I could ride forever,

if someone would come pick me up :)

I rode about 13 miles a couple times this week.

Some of the hills are a challenge

but I'm getting better.

I have been getting more acquainted with my embroidery machine.

I love all the fun I am having with it.

Of course,

I have a family picture to share.

Dani Mae wanted her hair curled like her doll, Caroline.

Pure sweetness.

Here is a great family shot from the ball park.

Oh how I love them!

Hope you are having a happy day!

XXOOXX

Walking Through The Neighborhood

 Where did that weekend go?

I hope you had a wonderful one.

All my teams lost.

(There, there now)

I went for a walk on Saturday.

I just kept walking and walking.

The homes in our area are gorgeous

so I thought I'd share some pictures

of my faves. 

My iPhone doesn't do any justice 

but you will get the basic idea.

Landscaping is where my heart is. 

I love a groomed yard.

I have reached the stage of life 

where I'd rather higher a landscaper.

Not sure if you can see the apples in the tree.

It was covered a few weeks ago.

When I first got married many, many moons ago,

I wanted a brick house.

Our first home was brick so...

been there, done that.

This one is pretty with a mixture of textures.

This one is my favorite.

You can't see the huge front porch trimmed in white.

How about those stained garage doors.

Did you count them?

Yes! 4 garage doors.

I should have taken a better picture

but when you are out walking,

you don't want people to think 

you are stalking the neighborhood.

What is your favorite style of home?

I can adapt wherever I live 

but 

I believe Kansas has the 

most gorgeous homes.

I just kept walking and walking and before I knew it,

I had walked 2 hours.

I did stop at a garage sale.

No mun, no fun.

I took this picture for Mom.

I was thinking this would be nice 

around her tree.

She recently picked up a cart 

just like that from a garage sale.

My walk ended up with my honey

tracking me down and giving me a ride.

Thank goodness!

This World Is Not My Home

Driving home from church today,

I was humming an old song that I knew from Sunday School when I was a little girl.

The words say, "this world is not my home,

I'm just-a passin' through,

My troubles are laid up

somewhere beyond the blue..."

It goes on to say, "I can't feel at home in this world anymore."

(don't make fun...
it's an "oldie but a goodie")

I told Mark that it is so true.

Not for the reason that the song indicates

but because we haven't settled anywhere.

Albuquerque for a year and now we have been in Kansas for a year.

Nothing feels like home.

Renting a house has it's pros but over-all,

it just sucks.

It's not yours.

You can't knock a wall out and make it better.

You can't paint every single wall, 

which is what I would love to do.

The good news...

It's called Grace Church.

Yes! 
I believe we have settled on a church to attend.
I know, I know!
It took us long enough.
We tried tons of churches and just 
never found a place to call "home."
I'm looking forward to getting involved.

Count your blessings if you attend a church that you love.
There not as easy to come by
as you would think.

Hope you are having a fabulous day!

Family Time at MiMi's (part one)

They came!

D & D flew in last week.

They left early in the morning and didn't tell the kids where they were going.

I couldn't wait.

The kids had no idea.

What a wonderful week.

So much to tell you.

I found out a couple months ago that my kids/grandkids would be spending the first week of July with me.

Those of you who know me, know I get WAY too excited.

I plan. I shop. I collect. I make lists. I shop some more.

Anyhoo, I found lots of toys at garage sales that I knew the kids would love.

I decorated everything with red, white & blue.

Like any good MiMi,

I made sure we had plenty of fun snacks.

That cake!

Red velvet & cream cheese icing. 

To die for!

Mark & I had a game plan for pretty much the whole week.

We made reservations to spend one night at the 

Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City.

It is a hotel designed with one thing in mind.

Kids!

The main attraction is the water park.

They have several slides to impress all ages.

Dani & Abigail were content to stay in the kiddie pool.

Eli & Kacey braved to the more daring slides 

where my camera could not venture.

They worked their way through this balancing task

and became quite good at it.

Pool basketball with Pops.

Abi found pleasure in everything.

She thrilled my soul all week.

The hotel offers so much for a family.

The girls got pampered in a salon,

walking away smelling pretty and wearing a princess sash & a crown.

They have the Harry Potter game 

throughout the whole hotel.

Eli had a magic wand 

to guide him through the game.

He & Pops played that game well past our bed times.

Next to the hotel is plenty of shopping including

the Nebraska Furniture Mart and Cabella's.

I was excited to be able to share 

my stomping grounds with them.

That's the end of day 1.

I will close with some random pictures 

that I found on my phone.

Kacey loves to take pictures.

Ha! There were about 25 pictures of the Pop Rocks and an equal amount of pictures of herself.

I love my girl!

Family Fun

 We had a wonderful few days with our daughter.

 Cramming everything we could into a short amount of time.

We played a card game called Hand & Foot.

Have you played it?

It's a family fave.

It's best played with 4 people and 6 decks of cards.

I think you'd like it.

Our area has nice bike trails so I showed her where I bike.

Of course, we did some shopping.

Macy's had some good sales so we had much fun.

We did a 5000 piece puzzle.

You open a puzzle around my husband 

and he is going to finish it in record time.

We are used to the wee hours of the morning

complaining of back pain but 

"lets just find one more piece."

We went to the gorgeous Arboretum & Botanical Garden which is nearby.

It has long trails and lots of wild life.

 The peonies were just blooming.

  

Can you see the deer?

My sweet girl.

My sweet son.

Josh, Mark and Kristen.

They tolerated all my picture taking 

because it was Mother's Day & they love me.

Thank you Lord for blessing me above and beyond.

She flew home this morning so hmmm...

but I do plan to be in Florida next week

so don't feel too sorry for me.

(maybe a little)

Spring

Rabbits are everywhere.

Thumper wants to know where his carrot is.

Look at my neighborhood.

Spring is finally making an appearance.

Every road I turn down reveals stunning views.

Thrilled to see green grass.

I'm grateful to live where I can witness the change of seasons.

I flew to DC Monday morning to miss the forecasted snow.

I hope my recently planted flowers are hardy enough to survive the drop in temperature.

Meanwhile,

I'm enjoying our nations capital.

And…

Oh my!

This Doesn't Look Like Home Toto

In 2012 

I found out Mark & I had less than a month to load up

everything that I couldn't live without in a Penske truck

 and move across the country to Albuquerque, NM.

I tried not to focus on leaving our family.

I tried to find the adventure in our circumstance.

My goal was to

put my big girl panties on &

practice what I have preached 

for lots of years

by trusting God. 

I do trust Him but that doesn't always 

make everything easy, does it?

Imagine our shock

after less than a year in Albuquerque,

Mark gets offered a promotion that he couldn't refuse.

Once again,

we had about 6 weeks to pack everything

and move to Kansas.

Kansas!

Everything I know about Kansas I learned

from The Wizard Of Oz.

I flew out twice to find us a house to no avail.

Out of desperation,

I rented a house off of Zillow,

site unseen.

Trauma.

First thing we did after we unloaded the truck

was to go buy some rakes.

Never have I witnessed a move beautiful Fall.

Breathtaking!

Raised in Florida,

it was winter that I was looking forward to.

I love this winter wonderland.

It is like... magic.

That's where I am now

in Kansas

trusting God.