Cute Old Couple

While I was "stumbling around" yesterday on Mozilla Firefox (thanks to a certain someone I know ;)), I came across this video clip.

This couple are in their nineties and have been married for 62 years. One day they decided to give an impromptu piano recital for the residents at the Mayo Clinic. I just love how he keeps bouncing up and down to the music as they play together. :)

A Fun-Filled Week

My friend, Elizabeth, came for a visit this past week. We had lots of fun together! We had made a "to-do list" together previous to her coming and it helped us complete most of the things we wanted to get done while she was here. Last year we had made a list of 100 things to do which ended up being WAAAY too ambitious. This year we had 30 things on our "to-do" list and we got about 26 of them done, which is pretty good!

Here are some of the things we did...

1. Watch the 3rd season of Robin Hood (yes, I got her addicted to the show)
2. Went to Shady Maple for lunch (a lot of the week centered around food!)
3. Played tennis (I need help with my hand-eye coordination apparently)
4. Went to Rita's
5. Went bowling
6. Played games with the family (Dutch Blitz, Swap, Scattegories)
7. Went shopping (South Mall, Wal-Mart, Goodwill, Kohls...very successful shopping day!)
8. Went for a walk (we walked to Giant which is near my house to pick up some ingredients for a treat we were making and to get more candy)
9. Watched the premiere episode for the final season of Monk
10. Decorated my chalkboard outside my room (we had a Robin Hood theme going)
11. Watched Enchanted
12. Watched a few episodes of "Wipeout" on Youtube (cool show!)
13. Ate LOTS of candy (Twizzlers, Laffy Taffy, jellybeans, skittles, Mike & Ikes, M&Ms, 100 grand bars, chocolate...yeah, that would be a lot!)
14. Went to Panera Bread for lunch
15. Made frozen hot chocolate (the name intrigued us so we had to give it a try...yum!)
16. Went to Dunkin Donuts
17. Went canoeing as a family
18. Had a picnic lunch
19. Watched Dad and Andy play softball with guys from church
20. Swung on the swings (rather squeaky swings!)
21. Watched the Duggars (18 kids and Counting)
22. Stayed up late talking each night
23. Painted our toenails
24. Took TONS of pictures
25. Got hooked on "Stumble Upon" from Mozilla Firefox (thanks to Elizabeth! :))
26. Went to Bob Evans
27. "Stalked" Andy at Kalmbach Park (where he works)
28. Played Mad-Libs (with a lot of LOL out loud :))

I feel like I am missing some things...which I am sure I am...but that's pretty much what happened this past week! Lots of fun, lots of sugar, lots of laughter!!

Before she left, Elizabeth and I worked on creating a desktop background, and so now we both have the same background on our laptops. :)

A Cherokee Legend

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?

His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.

He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.

We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the Story: Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He isn’t there.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Birthday Pictures

Alayna requested the same ice cream cake that Andy had for his birthday. Yum! YUM!

Alayna LOVES to play the piano! She has been trying to figure out the notes to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song, so Mom got her the actual music to help her along in that process. We'll be hearing it every.single.day for the next few weeks or months....believe me!

During the winter time at school when break time was indoors, the high school would play this card game called "Swap". Its similiar to UNO, with just a few more complications....like swapping hands with other people...hence the name "Swap"! :) So I figured it would be a fun game to get to play as a family, or with friends.

Andy and I got Alayna a pink camera. Every girl needs to have her own camera, right? :)

Taking pictures is so much fun!

Happy 14th Birthday, Alayna!

So my little sister's birthday is today. Since I dug out embarrassing old photos for Andy's birthday, I simply had to do it for Alayna's birthday as well! :)

I LOVE this picture! Andy and I were staying at a friends' house when Mom was having Alayna, and Mrs. P did a great job capturing the exact moment when I found out I had a little sister!! You gotta love Andy's expression though. (I think he was hoping for a little brother!) However, home videos prove that he soon got over his "disappointment" and simply adored his baby sister...for awhile at least!

My first time holding Alayna at the hospital. She was sooo tiny!

11 years ago today, we brought our puppy, Christy, home with us. It just happened to be on Alayna's 3rd birthday, so she felt it was HER puppy. Oh my, this picture makes me want to cry. Alayna and I just got done watching the movie "Marley and Me" and I was crying buckets at the end. I had originally said I would NEVER watch that movie because I heard it was a sad dog movie, but curiosity eventually won out. We watched part of it last night, and the rest this morning. It was a sister "bonding moment" that's for sure as we sobbed together. What a sad, sad movie!

Even though we are 10 years apart in age, Alayna and I are the bestest buddies....most of the time! I still tend to be that annoying big sister, but hey...that's my job! Especially in recent years, we have had lots of fun together doing "big girl" things like shopping, getting a manicure, watching movies together, and just talking. The last time I went shopping I took Alayna along because I wanted her opinion on the clothes I was trying on. When your little sis becomes the one you turn to for clothing advice, you know she is getting older!

Since we got our hair styled similarly in the recent past, many people have started saying that we look sooo much alike. Personally, we don't see the resemblance, but its rather amusing to hear people always saying it! (at least it is for me...not sure how thrilled Alayna is about that though!) Our personalities are rather opposite, but I think we balance each other out rather well. She brings out my crazy side, and I do my best to bring out her serious, think-before-you-speak side. ;) I can't wait to see how our relationship will continue to deepen over the years. I am so thankful for my little sister and the LIFE she brings to our household. We often say...life would be so dull without Alayna around!!!

I love you, Alayna!!!

Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Just a glimpse of my goofy lil' sis!