Hope the Sandman Visits Milli Tonight

Oh the joys of being a loyal pet owner...

Milli was up most of the night last night

that meant that I was, too. 

However this was Milli most of today

I, however, did not get the privilege of sleeping the day away.

I was very tired and a bit cranky today and the phones would NOT stop ringing

but I put on my happy voice when I answered the phone. 

I hope the sandman visits us all tonight so we can get a good night's rest.

Good night all.

Panera Bread and Starbucks Baby

Today was errand day. 

Mom had a doctor appointment and of course we had to go to Paneras & Starbucks

because Mom loves them both and doesn't get out much. 

I actually remembered to snap a picture of our lunch

It was delicious!!!

And this was dessert

BOY they were good!!!

Totally Toy Story Two

Today was Boo Bear Day, aka Ethan Mark day.

He was full of smiles (and some tears, too).

His mama thinks he might be cutting some molars. 

It was a beautiful day outside so we sat out of the front porch  

with Grandma Helen, Buttons and Milli.

Everyone had a great time!

 Buttons is in the walker 

 Milli was enjoying the sunshine

 This was later on...nap time

 When he woke up I put on Toy Story 2

 He was totally into it, ha ha

 Before he went  home we called Aunt Nettie on Skype.
 He like to see and talk to her and sometimes Uncle Chuck when he's here. 

He thinks they are a TV show and always enjoys the animated Cows Aunt Nettie shows him

X O X O X O X O X O X O X

Hugs and Kisses to you Ethan because we LOVE YOU!

UGH...it's a Monday :0)

Busy, busy, BUSY day, especially with the phones.

Had all three going this morning: main business line, Locket line, and cell phone...YIKES!

Got through the morning ok though, thank the LORD. 

Tonight I'm going to a Zumba class for the ladies at church

and then I have a webinar to listen to when I get home

so I doubt I'll have time to write later. 

Hope YOU are having a good day. 

You know what they say, "life is what you make it." 

I'd like to leave you with this devotional I read last week

I thought it was kind of neat because the theme behind the lockets I sell is that 

"They tell YOUR story"

But this devotional explains how our very lives tell a story, too.

I hope you'll take a moment to read it.

Our Daily Bread -- Story Time

January 26, 2013

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: 2 Corinthians 3:1-11

You are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. —2 Corinthians 3:3

As a child, I loved it when my mom read to me. I would sit on her lap and listen to every word. As she read, I examined the details of every picture and waited eagerly to hear what was on the next page.

Have you ever thought about the idea that our lives tell a story? In every situation—good, bad, or indifferent—people around us are watching and listening to the story we are telling. Our story is communicated not only through our words but also through our attitudes and actions as we respond to life’s buffetings and blessings. Our children and grand-children, spouses, neighbors, and co-workers can all observe the story we’re telling.

Paul reminds us that as followers of Jesus, our lives are like letters “known and read by all men; . . . an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (2 Cor. 3:2-3).

What is the story that those around us are reading through the letter of our lives? Stories of forgiveness? Compassion? Generosity? Patience? Love?

If you’ve experienced the joy of a grace-filled life that comes from the Spirit of God in you, then welcome to the joy of being one of God’s great storytellers! —Joe Stowell

Dear Lord, we love You. We want our lives to
tell the story of Your goodness and grace.
May we be a bold witness of You.
Use us in ways we never thought possible.

Let your life tell the story of Christ’s love and mercy to the world around you.

http://odb.org/2013/01/26/story-time/

Friends are Friends Forever...

Today we got to see and visit with our dear friends from out west. 

Bryan and Shelly (to the right of Manny & I in this picture)
 are originally from Utah, but now living in Washington State.

We met them about 18 years ago when Bryan's job brought him to Florida.

He's an engineer and was doing a project down here in FL for about 18 months. 

They attended our church, that's how we met them. 

They had two kids and we had two kids and we just seemed to connect. 

It was so hard to say goodbye when they went back home to Utah,

but we told them, Lord-willing, we'd go out to visit them

and we did...TWICE. 

Since then, Shelly has come to visit a few times through the years

but we hadn't seen Bryan in like 15 years.

They both look AMAZING! 

They came to our church service and then we all went out to lunch

and tried our best to get caught up. 

 Sarah enjoying her lunch

 Daddy have a special moment with Hannah
He's such a great daddy with his girls!

Ethan with Shelly giving his signature smile

You know you are the forever kind of friends when you pick up 

right where you left off even if there were years in between since you last were together

Good friends are such a blessing!

Maybe one day, we'll get to visit them in Washington. 

A Girly Afternoon

Today I got to spend the afternoon with two of my favorite little ladies

♥ Hannah and Sarah ♥

We had the best time! Sarah didn't cry at all. She's getting use to me now.

And Hannah was so amazing with her. She helped me feed her and everything
she's like a little mother.

We went for a walk...Sarah in her stroller and Hannah on her bike. 

The weather was beautiful...it was such a lovely afternoon!

The highlight of the day for Hannah was when we met up with the Ice Cream Truck.

When we got back inside Hannah & I played with her Lalaloopsy Dolls

and we also did Just Dance on the Wii. BOY do you get a workout doing that!
Sarah just did her own thing

Later on, when the girls' mommy and daddy came home, 
Uncle Mark, Aunt Mimi, and Ethan came overand Papa was there, too, 
so we all hung out and had pizza and wings and talked and the babies played 

  It was such a great time!

(This posting was delayed because internet was down yesterday)

Thank the Lord it's Friday!

Today was rough, it was WAY more like a Monday

but thank the good Lord it wasn't ... it's FRIDAY!

I don't know why it is, but any time Mom and I have plans to go out

the day gets crazy, especially the business phone calls that come in.

This is particularly frustrating to me

because Mom doesn't feel up to going out that often 

and as the day goes on she grows more weary

but she patiently waits until we are actually in the car heading out.

Today it was to get pedicures and do lunch.
We only get pedicures maybe once every  four to six weeks

and the last time, Mom wasn't feeling up to it. 

I'm glad we made it today. 

Then we went for lunch at Panera Bread...

YAY for Panera Bread!!!

We both love that place and have been waiting a LONG time

for them to bring one to our town.

They have delicious, wholesome soups, salads, and sandwiches

and they also have lots of this

Need I say more?

After lunch we headed home, dropping off some locket orders on our way. 

Sadly, I missed some great photo ops

but I will tell you that our feet are very pretty again. 

Last night Milli was making noise every couple of hours

so tonight she has fallen asleep in her bed in the kitchen 

and she shall remain there (hopefully) through the night

so that Papa Bear and I can get a good night's sleep.

Good Night All!

Sleepy.....zzzzz

This will be short and sweet because this morning's wake-up call

came around 2:40 AM! 

Milli...again, restless. Got her settled down the first time and climbed back into bed

but within 15 minutes she was at it again. 

So I carted her and her bed upstairs where I got her to sleep peacefully

and then I got to work on some locket orders. 

I worked for about 2 hours then turned out the lights around 5am.

Fell asleep about 30 minutes later and work up at 7:15. 

Had a wonderful day with Ethan!
Papa spent time with him before he left for work

 Later in the morning, Ethan wanted to help me vacuum, ha ha

We had play time, and after lunch we took a walk in the stroller with Milli in tow

remember this

The rest of the day Milli was like this

You'd think she would get tired from standing all day long like this...

but NO! Of course not, she actually slept last night!

Oh well, I love her still. 

Hope we all get a good night's sleep tonight.

Night, night all...

ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

WOW Day!

My wake-up call this morning sounded at 5am, 

it was actually the sound of tiny paws going pitter-patter on my bedroom hardwood floor.

It meant that Milli was awake and needed to go out, 

and to avoid having to clean up a mess, I took her out, in the dark in the cold. 

But then I snuggled back into bed only to lie awake for an hour or so 

before drifting back to sleep, and then of course, 

the time to get up came way too quickly.

I had a dentist appointment today to fix a crown I had broken.

I psyched myself up for the occasion only to be told

I'd have to come back in three weeks to have it done. 

It's not that I'm afraid of pain 

I've been going to the same dentist for more than 30 years and he's wonderful

it's the sitting in the chair for three hours and being confined that drives me nuts.

Oh well, could be worse. 

Today I had three more ladies join my team in my business

that makes four all together...that's pretty exciting! 

I'm looking forward to working with them.

And the thing that brought the biggest smile to my heart today 

was this picture

His mama posted it on Facebook today.

Isn't he a doll baby! Don't you just want to eat him up!!!

We l♥ve you Ethan!!!

Inspiration

Today was another very, very busy day, but a good one.

I've been working on our books trying to close things out for last year. 

While I sit at the computer entering data, I like to listen to things it helps pass the time.

So I was searching online for videos about my new business

This is what it's all about

I found these great video clips which confirmed why I l♥ve being a part of this company.

This first one is about Bella, the founder about a year after she started.

This one explains the business aspect...(just in case you're interested).

And if you are please contact me: 

My designer # is 5434

and my website is darlenemarie.origamiowl.com

Shape Up Girl!

My title today was directed to me.

I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked today.

I've not been my usual self. Something is going on, but I can't put my finger on it.

I'm not sleeping well...having restless nights, waking up early. 

I'm easily agitated and my husband's been getting on my nerves a LOT 

but it's not really his fault. 

My husband's been having weird dreams and not resting well either.

He's getting behind on jobs and that stresses him out.

Dinner tonight didn't turn out at all. WHAT IS GOING ON?

I've been asking God to show me what it is and give me peace. 

I know HE will. I believe in the power of prayer. 

I only mention these things because I want to be honest about my life and my feelings. 

Sometimes I think people see my life as being perfect and of course, it is NOT!

We all have ups and downs, trials and triumphs.
I try really hard to concentrate on the positive things, 

but that doesn't mean struggles aren't there.

Ok, so here's my happy thought

This picture was taken at church yesterday. 

It would have been perfect if Hannah were in it, too

but she was in Children's Church.

We love these kids, can't put into words how much.

Just seeing this picture makes me happy all over. 

Don't you love the way Ethan's momma spiked his hair, lol!

And Sarah, well she actually reached out to her Papa to hold her 

(maybe we're making progress :0)

Hannah, Ethan, and Sarah...we love you SOOOOOOO much. 

♥♥♥Don't ever forget that ♥♥♥

Early Sunday Morning

Woke up early this morning and felt well rested. 

Gonna start getting ready for church soon, 

but was catching up with my emails 

and noticed I had missed some friends' birthdays on Facebook

which really bums me out :0( because I think birthdays are important. 

In the two days I was out of touch w/FB I missed eight birthdays

so I sent each one of them a belated birthday message.

Then in answering an email to my sister about Cows (she loves cows) 

I realized that I never posted this incredible picture that I took on Wednesday

I took our KIA Soul aka "Hamster Car"

into the dealership for an oil change and these guys were in the lobby.

I would have loved to have taken them home with me 

(but where would I put them, ha ha?)

Thought I would go ahead and write on my blog early today.

I anticipate a lazy afternoon when we get home from church. 

I l♥ve Sunday afternoons!

Hope you enjoy yours, too.

In case you missed this live action of the Hamster boys in their new commercial...

here you go:

YAY...it's SATURDAY!

I was SO looking forward to today

because I didn't have anything major going on, 

and I didn't have to be anywhere...I could just catch up around here.

And the phones are usually quieter on the weekends so I can get more done, 

and I did!

When I woke up a little after seven, I didn't have to rush out of bed. 

When I did get up (around 8) I took my time with my morning routine - 

make the bed, get dressed, put on my face, etc. 

I even got to watch part of a movie that was on TV.

Manny was outside working on some locks in his van.

I was all dressed when he came in and I made him a nice breakfast 

that he could sit down and enjoy

without worrying about having to rush out of the house for a job. 

After breakfast, he went to work on our bus for a while.

I did some laundry, then went next-door to my moms where I

cleaned her bathroom and her floors, vacuumed, changed her sheets, 

and washed and colored her hair.

These tasks have become hard for her so I usually go over once a week and do them.
I love doing these things for her because it makes her happy to have a clean house.

I like a clean house, too. 

Everything else in my mom's day-to-day routine she manages to do herself 

and she does a great job!

When I came back to my house I worked on a Catalog Party that just closed out. 

That took a little while. I was working upstairs in what use to be our younger son's room.

That has become my new office and work center for my locket business.

After being up there a while I heard a familiar noise and went out into the hallway 

to check...sure enough, it was my Milli girl. She was trying to get upstairs to me. 

She must have sensed I was up there (because she can't hear anymore).

She had gotten two-thirds of the way up and was just standing there

in between two steps. I carefully walked towards her to catch her.

I was afraid if I startled her, she'd fall. 

I got to her and picked her up. I hugged her and she smelled so sweet

because she had just gotten a bath yesterday. 

She has not gotten up the stairs like that in a while and I had not hugged her like that in a while either, where I cradle her like a baby...belly up and kiss her head. 

She seemed to remember and like it. 

She seems to be feeling better, too, FINALLY

and her nose is not so drippy anymore. 

Today was a great day, and tomorrow will be even better because it will start out

in church with our kids and grandkids. What could be better than that?

Hope you are having a great weekend, too!

RV Supershow

Manny & I went to the RV Supershow in Tampa today.

It's a very impressive show. 

We try to go every year...we LOVE it! 
It's really amazing! If you like even the idea of camping you'd love it.
Actually, even if you don't like camping you'd still probably like it because 
besides the HUNDREDS of campers (all different shapes, sizes, styles, etc.)
they have all kinds of food vendors and other vendors with all kinds of neat gadgets.

This was the most popular item this year

 Those were NOT for children, LOL, well, at least not the human kind.
I lost count of how many of these I saw people pushing with dogs in tow.
It is obviously becoming a popular trend.
I snapped this picture because I thought this display was neat

 And I had to snap a picture of my favorite flowers (White Daisies)

 And here is one more..
This is Cooper. He is 13 and he is deaf but he sure was sweet and beautiful!!!!

If you've ever wondered what these shows are like go to one sometime 
if it comes to your area. I think you'll really enjoy it!

Refrigerators

Today proved to be an interesting day.

When Ethan arrived his mommy said he was still kind of sleepy

and we could tell - he was hanging on to his blanket and hugging his mommy tight. 

He never minds being dropped off which always makes us feel so good

but you could tell he would have rather stayed home this morning and woke up at his leisure

and then spend the rest of the day with his mommy at home, doing what they do. 

But it was Thursday, one of Mommy's work days, 

and we were blessed enough to get him for a second day this week.

Now it just so happens that I was kind of sleepy, too, 

and I wasn't really happy with my hubby this morning.

I'm not sure why, it was just one of those "marriage moments" 

and probably had more to do with my attitude than anything he had or hadn't done. 

So Ethan and I went about our regular routine and after his breakfast 

I rocked him to sleep for a little nap. 

Milli was really a challenge this morning. 

She's been a handful since she's had whatever it is she has

and caring for her has taken a LOT of patience 

which I didn't have a big supply of this morning, for her anyway.

I texted a friend and asked her to please pray for me

which I'm sure she did because things started to change...

between the prayer from my friend and the worship music I had playing for Ethan as he slept

the day got better and better and I am so grateful. 

Then came the evening...Ha Ha. 

Ethan's momma came to pick him up and I began fixing dinner. 

Papa had made it home in time to play with Ethan before he left

and after dinner as I was cleaning up the kitchen I noticed some dust on the floor beside the fridge.

So I did what any good Susie-Homemaker wife would do...

I pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind it. 

It wasn't too bad. I vacuumed the floor and then washed it. 

My husband then asked me if I was going to take off the grill and clean there, too...

I said, "NO" which was his cue to do it :0)

OH MY GOODNESS!!! IT WAS BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so moved by this experience that I posted a comment on my FB page.
It was hilarious! Of course everyone was asking for pictures

but it was WAY too bad for pictures, 

in fact, it was more than the poor vacuum could even handle. 

Well, that's not exactly right, I mean - it filled the canister twice

but the bigger problem was that even with the crevice tool, 

he couldn't get the vacuum in far enough to get it all. 

And that's when he got the brilliant idea to bring in his small air compressor 

TO BLOW IT OUT!

Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but I know the difference between sucking something up

and blowing something out. 

Well, needless to say, things got a BIT MESSY and guess who cleaned it up?

It wasn't me, ha ha. 

The good news is that all the coils on the bottom of our refrigerator are like new again 

and my floors are shinny clean. The vacuum cleaner filter got cleaned, too, 

and the throw rugs even got washed. 

Let's just hope the fridge keeps working. It is 13 years old after all. 

I hope all that dust wasn't holding it together and keeping it working. 

We shall see. 

I took a break from posting tonight's blog segment so I could jump in the shower and wash my hair. 

It really, REALLY needed to be colored, too, but guess what - 

it didn't happen and I'm ok with that, but that's probably just because I'm so tired. 

Gonna leave you with this tonight...

I love to play music when Ethan is here. He LOVES music and so does his Grandma Dee. 

I try to expose him to different things (besides Yo Gabba Gabba). 

He listens to music at home, too, because his daddy plays guitar and drums

at church and practices at home a lot. 

Well today I stumbled on this video. I've seen it before and was SO inspired.

I was amazed at how much Ethan liked it. 

I hope you like it too: