Willy? Is that you?

Yesterday we had the April Birthday dinner party with the family.  Paul scored all sorts of cool Duck Dynasty attire.  So what do you think??? Is Willy his Doppelganger? 

Roller Derby Anyone?

Joyce said she'd like to go ice skating, so Keith met us at the ice rink.  She changed her mind and suggested roller skating instead.  Sooooo... that's just what we did.  This was Joyce's first time roller skating.  She did quite well.  I'm proud of her.  Uncle Keith stayed right with her the whole time.  She said it was fun and that she’d definitely do it again if the opportunity arose. 

 

Memories No Longer In Motion…

October 26th is my Gram-ditties birthday.  She would have been 96 years old this year, but she passed away several years ago.  I wonder if anyone will remember my birthday as fondly as I remember hers?  She is the single-most influential person of my lifetime.  She spent more time with me than any other adult.  Everything she did was looking out for my best interest.  She was an example-setter.  She spoke the truth of scripture and lived humbly.  God was first and family was extremely precious to her.  She walked me through disappointments and danced with me through joys.  She was such a precious gem and I miss her so very much.  I hope that in my lifetime I can exhibit but a glimmer of her reflection.   Fortunate for her, she’s tending the gardens of Heaven now and enjoying the constant and glorious presence of Christ!  Awesome!  Some people bid their lost loved ones Rest In Peace… I say LIVE the Peace Grammy!  Live it up!    

One More Thing

This entire situation with our car has made me into a nasty person that I truly did NOT intend to become. I was annoyed with the mechanics and the staff there... frustrated... and nervous about what our total bill would be. As of yesterday they had our car for two weeks straight. For INSPECTION! That's it! Oh the drama... I busted the owners chops pretty bad last night. We have been calling and calling and all of our messages were either ignored or else we were told they'd call us back. One time the secretary called me back, just to tell me that she'd call me back! I was furious!!!! I asked FIVE TIMES for a total of our bill because we cannot afford to pay more than the car is worth. Nobody could give us a total. I'm not even giving you all the detail here, but lets just say... they did the right thing... They apologized. They got us an inspection sticker. (apparently they had to ask the State for a waiver because they could not get the computer in the car to reset properly???) And they did NOT charge us for any of the labor fees (only for actual repairs). I am pleased, although still annoyed.

THANK YOU ZOMBECKS!!!!! For the loan in the meantime. Sorry it took so long. We are so blessed to have you both so near and dear to us! We owe you now more than we did before!!!! We love you guys!!!

Ponies Parks and Zoo... What more could a little boy want?!

Penny & Sir

Slippery Slides at the Park

Petting Kangaroos!

Our nephew, Hayden, and his mother (of course) payed us a visit this weekend. His proud Uncle Keith spoiled him rotten!!! First was a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo... then Aunt J.J. took him to pet the ponies (and even sit on one)... and then the picnic dinner at the park! He left this morning with his new black-bear-back-pack, bug puzzle, and other goodies. We don't get to see him but a couple times each year so we are most impressed that at 2 years old he even knows our names... What a delight. His mom is quite aware that we are glad to visit with her, but the main attaction is the little-one. We were sad to see them go this morning.

Family Emergency

We had to attend to a family emergency this past weekend. Saturday we got the call to get our butts to Cincinatti ASAP. K's Mom had developed blood clots in her lungs. K had to secure coverage for his job and that took several hours. Meanwhile I was supposed to be house-sitting for a friend and had to make alternative arrangements for that. So we get on our way and find out that we need to pick up his sister and BIL in Columbus on the way. Shortly thereafter we find out that they were bumped from their flight. So we got into Columbus about 7pm and had to wait until 1030pm to pick them up. In the meantime we get a call that K's Mom is having emergency surgery because she has bleeding in her stomach. We arrived at 130am in time to meet the surgeon after her 6 hour surgery to find that she had her gall bladder out, a ventral hernia repaired, and she had a hole in her stomach and needed her gastric bypass repaired. WOW! So we think the hole was the source of bleeding and was likely affected by the Heparin therapy. She has been in ICU ever since. She is VERY ill and in a LOT of pain. They removed the ventilator yesterday so she can talk softly now. She's quite weary but glad to have her children hovering over her.

Everyone's thoughts and prayers are so greatly appreciated.

Sneak-Peak Sunday

Hope ya'll had a very nice weekend. Ours was very good. Here is a sneak-peak...

SATURDAY

• Up early and into Butler for my Girls Group - was a fabulous time! Love my lady-friends! I'm so blessed by them.
• Shopped at Target in Butler. Disappointed again. They had the bed-spread I wanted, but only in a King Size and I need a Queen. Finally succumbed to the idea that I am not meant to have said bedding.
• Found some new really cheap and rather elegant place mats. That made my day and hubby approved commenting that they really accentuate our dining room decor.
• Re-organized my coupon box, purged expired coupons, planned sales shopping for the weekend.
• Shopped deals at Rite-aid as per previous post.
• Established next weeks menu plan & calendar notes
• Washed dishes... and there are still more!
• Made BBQ pork ribs in the crock-pot for dinner. Got the thumbs up from Handy-hubby. Yumm-O! I love my crock-pot!
• Went on a date with Handy-Hubby. Saw a movie.
• Fell fast-asleep in the arms of my man...

SUNDAY

• Went to church. Was a lovely worship service. I adored the hymns we sang this morning as they were tunes which I was well familiar with.
• Picked up this weeks Giant Eagle gift-card for grocery budget. Our church purchases grocery gift-cards in bulk and in advance. The stores sell them for 10% less than the value so the church can use them as a fund-raiser. Then I purchase it for face-value and use them to do my shopping. Costs me the same amount, helps me keep within my established budget, and helps the church in return! Each week I purchase a $50 gift-card for Giant Eagle and the church gets $5 of that! It's an awesome plan! Although the church has to purchase like $10,000 at one time to do this, but it is so worth it. It supports our building fund. AND... we can also use the gift-cards to purchase other gift-cards at Giant Eagle if we choose.
• Picked up this weeks groceries. Took Handy-hubby with me. I really should have learned the last time that he doesn't help the budget. He is like shopping with a child... "can I get this?... that?" UGH! But I love when we go together. Also - I don't usually shop on Sunday. It's a mad-house and I have other more important aspirations for our day of rest. In the future... I shall wait and shop on a week-night.
• Picked up this weeks newspaper with coupons. I don't read the paper. I just get it for the coupons.
• Hubby watched some of the Nascar race while I clipped those coupons and organized them.
• Took a 90 minute nap. Shared it with the kitty.... Crystal. It was quite refreshing.
• Washed some clothes. Folded some clothes. Washed some more!
• Exercised
• Tinkered with some work-related things
• Blogged

A Whirlwind Of A Week

The Valentines were here to visit this past week. It was a grand time with plenty of smiles and maybe some mixed attitudes and temper tantrums, but just the same full of hugs and special comments and moments to remember. So here are some highlights from my perspective...

Essie: "Aunt J.J. I wish I could stay here and live by you."

Me: "But what about your Grandma and Grandpa Valentine and your Aunt Chris and Uncle Cliff? Wouldn't you miss them?"

Essie: "Um, I could call them sometimes."

TOO SWEET!

• I had a farm-night with Essie. She cleaned the stalls, held the kitties, pet the doggy, brushed the horses, and rode the mule!
• I had a date with Isaac. We went to Ichiban for lunch and then spent a couple of hours bowling and playing video games. He's quite the gentleman... holding the doors for me and being so thankful for some special time with his Aunt.
• Gaylie greeted me bright and early each morning. She's so very sweet.
• Elijah is his Mother's boy. I held him a little, but look forward to days ahead when he will be more outgoing and wanting to go on a date with his Aunt J.J.
• The girl-cousins had a little sleep over at our house on Friday night while the boy-cousins did the same at their Grandparents home.
• The girls watched Barbie, ate popcorn, baked and decorated cookies, painted their nails and toenails and primped for a night on the town... (the retirement dinner)
• Uncle Keith complained about the level of estrogen in our home commenting that he could feel his bra size increasing. HA!
• Mom & Dad had the family all together for a special retirement dinner on Saturday. It was delightful. We took pictures afterwards, but Dad had already escaped to the car, so he missed out on that part.

The family has departed and is likely home by now or at least all most. It was a delightful visit. So-long until summer Valentines...

Too Cute To Not Share

Gaylie is one beautiful ham!

Grandkids

David, Joyce, Mom, & Esther

Mom & Annabelle

Mom & Elijah

Lady Admirer

Gayle

Esther

Joyce

I caught Gaylie admiring herself in the mirror and immediately it turned into a photo-session!

Fancy Hair-do's

Aunt Mandy bought each of the ladies a special flower barret with feathers to match their dresses.

Girls Only Slumber Party

Joyce

Gayle

Enjoying Oram's Donuts...

Thanks Aunt Mandy & Uncle John!

Esther

A Date With Isaac

I wish I would have had the camera in Ichiban for lunch. When the chef lit the volcano on fire, he had a squirting doll to put it out and squirted Isaac in the midst. It was hilarious! Isaac said "If he does that again, I'm ducking down!" He really enjoyed the entertainment there... and I enjoyed his company throughout the day. He is such a lovely boy.

Funny Stuff

For a good laugh... head on over to my sister's blog. I busted a gut laughing!

Christmas 2007 Revealed

Christmas was grand this year... as it is most years. I must say that we were VERY spoiled... much more than in years past.

We celebrated with my family on the Sunday before Christmas. Everyone brought snacks and we nibbled all evening. The Zombeck's brought Guitar Hero and have since left it for Keith to practice. One of our together gifts this year was a new PS2 with Sing-Star. We played that too! Loved it!

The kiddos opened their packages with grand expectation. Each of them had several very special and thoughtful items from their aunts and uncles. They all seemed to be very pleased.

Keith and I also exchanged presents. He gave me a sewing box and a beautiful necklace. He received the infamous VAN HALEN tickets and the Zombecks even tacked on a parking pass... THANKS!!!! After weeks of pining over how to wrap them, I found a snowglobe that holds a photo and has an option for a recorded message. I made a photocopy of the tickets and slid it into the picture slot. Then I recorded a clip of "I Can't Stop Lovin You." That was our wedding song!!! Love it!!! I was so excited to see his face. He is a HUGE fan and this was a superb gift!!!

On Christmas day we celebrated with the Mock clan at Rene'e and Lee's place. It too was a grand affair. There was so much food and a house-full of guests. It was great to connect again and mingle amongst them. We left there feeling entirely spoiled AGAIN... a milk can that matches my spare room (need to pick it up), a really cool festive pyrex dish, some Bath & Body Works items, a candle, a 3-pack of nuts, a Kennywood mug, and a really cool wall hanging!!! Wowzer!!! Not expected!!! But boy was it a good time.

Keith's Mom and Step-dad were here this weekend. Not a long visit, but enough to enjoy and celebrate once more. They spoiled me with a lovely jewelry box... with a gingerbread man pin... and Keith got a TABLE SAW!!! Wahoo!!!! Now we just need some wood and he'll be building me all sorts of things!!! Denise & Randy sent me some earrings... bless her heart. She always picks out the coolest stuff. I love it! She picks things for me that I would not splurge on for myself. While they were in town they took us to a Brazillian restaurant in Monroeville. It was very unique... and quite delicious as well.

All is quiet today... Mom and Jim got on their way... We played some PS2. (I stink at racing) Nibbled on some leftoevers... and now he's watching the game while I blog. I've spent a lot of time thinking about the freshness of the new year that is quickly coming upon us. I have all sorts of organizing that I'd like to accomplish and self-improvement projects that will make the Lord proud of me. All works in progress and what better time to embrace them than at New Years!

Christmas 2007 at the Vulhop's was grand this year... and we are looking forward to many more in the the years to come!

Thanksgiving Trip

Catching up here.

For the Thanksgiving holiday we traveled to North Carolina to visit with Keith's Dad and Step-mother, Rachel. It was a grand trip. Lucky for us it was warm the first two days, in the 80's. The last couple of days it was windy and about 55, brrrr.

Highlights of our trip are as follows:

• Traveling Sights... beautiful mountains. Cops drive Dodge Chargers in WV. (and no we didn't get a ticket. we are just observant.) Crazy drivers. One guy had a boat in the back of his truck. A little closer and we see he had a deer in the boat. Tried to get a picture but it didn't turn out. Sorry.
• Trip to "South Of The Border." Anyone who has traveled that route in the south knows about this place. It's the biggest tacky tourist trap I've ever seen. We bought a hat for my sister there. I should have bought her a sombraro, but I had a hard time justifying a hat over $40 that I know she will not wear. It might have made a cute center piece for a party though. We shopped around and we decided that salt water taffy might be a good thing to bring home. WAIT - it was made in Pennsylavia! That's a rip-off! Ha!
• Thanksgiving dinner. Rachel cooked up a fine feast. I had my first piece of coconut pie. It was yummy. She makes the best sweet potatoes. Yummy!!! We ate until we could just about burst! Then we napped all afternoon. I love Thanksgiving!!! It's my favorite holiday.
• Jazz Festival at Cypress Bend Vineyards. This was a Christmas gift for us. Dad wasn't able to go with us because of work, but the three of us went and it was delightful. Good food, good music, and good wine. Rachel bought us a couple bottles for Christmas too. Wahoo!
• Tour of the USS North Carolina Battleship. Keith's Dad was in the Navy so this really took him back. He was explaining how everything worked and all about the different areas of the ship. It was multi-level and quite interesting. The steps were steep and all I can say is... I would never make it as a sailor!
• Sunset at the beach... oh how lovely. It was chilly, but we got there just in time to see the sun begin its decent. There were boats on the water and the wind was blowing fierce. It was not a day to swim, but it was refreshing to say that we were there the week of Thanksgiving.

It was a grand trip. We needed to get away. It was great to be in such lovely company. We can't wait to go back again.