Delightful Weekend

Early Saturday morning,

Mark & I hopped in our rented car and headed to New York City.

We are staying 90 minutes from the city so we knew we had to take advantage.

He always amazes me (scare the padootie out of me) as he drives down 7th Avenue. Craziness.

We saw 

I've seen it before but not in NY. 

It did not disappoint. 

We always get our tickets at TKTS.

It's the best place we have found to 

buy discounted tickets to all the plays.

We ended up just behind the orchestra.

Perfection!

We did some shopping and ate at the famous

2nd Avenue Deli.

It is one of my faves.

It reminds me of growing up in Miami and eating at Corky's.

Authentic kosher food.

Mark and I shared the best corned beef sandwich evah!

We enjoyed walking through the city

& spending the day together.

The Empire State Building 

is always impressive.

I was amazed how crowded the city was this weekend.

I may be getting old.

Ok, I AM getting old.

I walked around in Macy's for a couple floors 

and felt like a sardine. 

Just too many people so we left. 

It was a lovely day and I have a new appreciation 

for Siri as she guided us to and fro.

What would we do without our faithful friend?

Stormy Days

Our family has been through some 

rough times in the past few weeks.

My sweet father-in-law went home to the Lord a few weeks ago.

We had been watching him going downhill 

since he fell last December.

I find peace knowing he is with Jesus.

He has no more pain & suffering.

Of course, I miss him like crazy and it makes 

my hope of heaven even more exciting.

This is one of my more favorite pictures of him.

He was a Baptist preacher most of his adult life.

My favorite thing about him was his love for people.

He was one of the few pastors who knew how to 

love and shepherd his church.

He loved our family.

He loved our kids and grandkids and he always 

told me he loved me.

He told me that he prayed for me before I was born.

I love that!

I got a new bedroom suite this weekend and I was thinking in my head, "I can't wait to show dad."

I don't know how long it will be before I get used to the fact that he no is longer here.

The next tough thing, which obviously doesn't compare, is

the fact that Mark is still working in Kansas.

He has been home for the last 2 weeks 

and today he flew back to KC.

I can't wait till this separation is over.

I think the older we get, the more we need to be together.

I'm no good without him.

Time Hop of FaceBook posted this pic today. 

Like they knew just what I needed.

Anyways,

my emotions have been up and down for awhile now.

All in all, 

what I mainly see is how blessed my life is.

I can't get over how God has given me the best of the best.

He is so good!

I love that in going through life's "storms,"

we can find peace because of Christ.

Hope I don't sound too depressing.

Life isn't always peaches and cream, is it?

Good thing,

I don't even like peaches.

Happy Birthday To Mark

Every single year,

it never fails,

Marks birthday falls on Flag Day.

Does anyone really know what Flag Day is?

According to wikipedia it commemorates 

the adoption of the Flag on June 14, 1777.

Now ya know!

In our neighborhood here in Kansas,

lots of homes bring out their flags 

and place them on white poles by the road.

It's really pretty to drive by a street and look down 

and see all the patriotism.

I enjoy that every year,

on Mark's big day,

people put flags out.

We had cake and presents.

His favorite cake is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. 

Boring!

He is an easy one.

Happy Birthday honey!

I   a d o r e   y o u !

Most Valuable Player

Mark is on two softball teams.

He is the youngest one on both teams.

It is hard not to laugh.

I do love this man.

They have a cage in front of the pitcher so he doesn't get line-drived in the head.

Let's face it, our response timing ain't what it used to be.

He is the best one on the team.

Just to let you have a clear picture,

other players sometimes ask him to be their pitch-runner.

I try not to laugh.

OK, that's not true.

I sit next to the cage and watch these old guys
use profanity when they strike out. 

(not Mark, he never strikes out because he is amazing)

It just cracks me up. 

How do you strike out in softball?

In all fairness,

I am sitting in my zero-gravity chair with my blanket 

& a thermos of coffee.

It's easy to laugh behind the fence.

I tell myself I go to his games to be a supportive wife.

Truth is...

I enjoy a good laugh.

I do love you Mark.

You definitely are the MVP!

The City That Never Sleeps

I don't know if you know this about my husband or not

but he has a track record of finding out the "must-see's"

wherever we go in life.

He missed a flight one time because he thought he had enough time between flights to rent a car and drive over to see Niagara Falls and get back to make his connection.

The story ends well because he loved it so much that he made arrangements to take me later that year.

While on business this past month

he decided we needed to take the weekend 

and hop over to 

New York City.

Is there anything better than NY on Valentines Day?

The city that never sleeps did not disappoint.

We stayed a block from Time Square.

It was blistery cold and snowy.

We bundled up, held hands 

and walked through this amazing city.

So romantic!

We went to see Les Misérables. 

We had our rented car and he drove through the city like a pro.

I prayed and took pictures.

There was a skating rink near our hotel where the locals skated.

Do you recognize that tall red building in the background?

You got it!

The Empire State Building.

I was looking for a big heart

like in Sleepless In Seattle.

It was our view right out our hotel window.

We slept with the curtain opened so I could enjoy it.

Sometime in the night,

it was turned off.

We made precious memories

walking hand in hand.

I am blessed with the sweetest husband,

who makes my life 

a constant adventure.

Playing In New Jersey

Happy Valentines Day to You!

I'm in New Jersey.

Mark is here on business and I tagged along.

We are staying in Fairway Villas and I could just live here.

Each villa has two bedrooms, a living room, full kitchen, hot tub and laundry room.

We are driving to Manhattan in the morning for the weekend.

I love NY but I haven't done the city 

in these extreme freezing temperatures.

Who cares!?

I'm just thrilled to be with the one whom my soul loves.

Mark & I don't care where we are, we just want to be together.

We are best friends. He is always there for me. 

He tries to please me every minute of my day.

I really don't deserve him.  He makes me feel safe. 

Sometimes I feel like a loser because I don't contribute financially and have a job.  

He always encourages me and says, "You don't need a job."

He knows I need to fly to my family, kids, grandkids, 

and girlfriends often and a job would get in the way of that. 

I can be hard on myself if I don't fix dinner sometimes. 

He will walk in from work and say "where do ya wanna go out?" or "I will fix something."

He sat in the car today while I got a manicure. 

See how blessed I am!

He prays for me. 

That is probably my favorite thing about him.

Enough about how blessed I am...

Are you doing anything special for V-day?

I love any opportunity to tell those I love that I just adore them so...

I ADORE YOU! I really do. 

I wish I could send each of you a box of chocolates.

Hope all is well with you and yours,

XXOOXXOO 

Precious Moments

Thankful

I have an endless list of all the blessings in my life.

Every now and then,

I actually sit down and start a list of all that I'm thankful for.

I especially enjoy this week every year

because Mark and I celebrate our wedding anniversary.

What were we thinking getting married on Thanksgiving weekend?

We squeezed it in while on break from college.

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

This year makes 32 years.

I thought it would be fun to do a video with him to share a little about our relationship.

Following the video,

Mark and I went back to make sure we didn't want to change anything

and I realized, 

as we were cracking up with each other that it is 

probably only interesting to ourselves so feel free to skip it.

A few things I learned from the video...

1. My A.D.D. has much difficulty in focussing.  

2. I desperately need a visit to Kayla for a haircut.

3.  It is true that video adds at least 20 pounds to you. 

4. We are so in love with each other.

I'm looking forward to this week.

Kristen is coming and I can't wait!

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Football & Acorns

What's better than a Friday night 

at a local high school football game?

The combination of 1 sweet date and some beautiful weather

and violá...

the beginning of a perfect weekend.

Then...

Mark was called into work early Saturday

and Sunday....

Oh well.

I ended up raking acorns all day Saturday.

Let me know if you need any.

I would guess I have 200 pounds of acorns.

Craziness!

My precious grandkids have been competing 

on their horses this weekend.

Looks like the youngest are starting to know 

what it feels like to win.

Oh how I wish I were with them.

Very thankful for a DIL who keeps me in the loop.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

My neighborhood is hosting a block party today.

To go,

or not to go?

I'm so shy.

I don't want to go by myself.

I'm new here.

Insecurity is not pretty.

I'll probably go.

I'll take pics.

XXOOXXOO TO YOU!

Pinky

My sweet father, Pinky.

My dad knows no strangers.

He introduces himself to everyone.

I remember when he moved into their present home,

watching him rush to the road to introduce himself to the garbage collector.

He is always looking for someone to talk to.

Mom says that's the only reason he goes yard-saling with her,

so he can talk to people.

He is a great guy!

My dad is always there for me.

He is a jack-of-all trades.

That turns out to be in my favor

because I always have ideas scheming in my head.

Anything to do with anything,

he can do it.

Any time I call...

he comes running.

Thank you dad for loving me.

Thank you for loving Christ.

Your faith amazes me.

Meet Sam.

This is has been my father-in-law for over 30 years.

He is a retired Baptist preacher.

He is the best example of a pastor ever.

He truly loves the people in his congregation of 33 years.

He has taught me to love unconditionally.

This is my hearts desire...

to love everyone.

He truly loves me and I know 

this because he tells me all the time.

Pinky & Mark

Another dad in my life that I know quite well is my husband.

I really got to witness him being a father to our 3 kids.

I have seen him play on slip-n-slides.

He coached them in Little League for too many years.

He laughed with them.

He apologized to them.

He prayed for them.

He led them to Christ.

He is blessed with wisdom.

I love you honey for how you loved our kids

& now our grandkids. 

Another amazing dad in my life is my son Daniel.

I am beyond proud of you!

I love how you play with your kids.

How you read with them.

How they all can sleep in your bed with you.

How patient you are for another night of chicken nuggets.

How hard you work.

I love seeing the pride in your eyes when you look at them.

I love how when I compliment one of the kids,

you always compliment the others.

You have always been that way.

On the play ground

in 1st Grade

You made sure all was fair.

You were big enough to make that happen too.

I love that you have made God the priority in your home.

I couldn't be any prouder.

As you see,

I've been surrounded by a legacy of great men.

What a privilege.

My favorite Father of all is my Abba.

He truly is always there for me.

He is the one who blessed me with earthly fathers.

Thank you Lord!

Happy Father's Day

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)