Thirty Days of Thanksgiving – Day 19

Day 19. The Letter S.  Today I’m thankful for my son Scott. He came twenty-four tension-filled minutes after his twin brother, Brett. Their differences were apparent from the beginning, being fraternal for one thing, but I’m amazed at how early in each of our boys’ lives their personalities became evident. Scott has always—ALWAYS—been a competitor and understood the concept of …

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving – Day Ten

Day 10. The Letter J. Today I’m thankful for my son James – the “baby” of the family. By the time your fourth child comes along, you think you know the drill and what to expect. Granted, it had been eight years since I’d given birth to the twins and the Big 3-0 had sailed past in a blur. But …

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving – Day Two

Day Two. The letter B.  Brett, happy at sea As fate would have it, on the second day of thankfulness, our second-born son’s name appears in the alphabet. Brett. He’s one-half of a matched set – twins born nineteen months after our first son. Can you say harried mom? Scott, his other half will have to wait until his turn …

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving – Day One

Today I’m starting something new here at the Cafe – Thirty days of being thankful. If you’re anything like me, you’re thankful every day for God’s gifts and His blessings. Mine tend to be generic more often than not, so as I’ve seen others do, I’m devoting November – the month of Thanksgiving – to being intentionally thankful every day. …

>HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

>To moms everywhere: No matter where your kiddos are – I wish you a lovely Mother’s Day. Being a mom is one of the greatest privileges I’ve had. Love to my boys, their precious wives, and all my grandkids. You know who you are. PS: Once every few years, Mother’s Day falls on the birthday of my grandmother on my …

>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Deviled Eggs

>Anyone dyeing Easter eggs this year? This was always a favorite and greatly anticipated part of our Easter season each year growing up. I couldn’t wait until I could extend the tradition to my own kids. So when Andy was three and a half and the twins were almost two, I bought a good supply of eggs and put them …

>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Allison’s Perfect Guacamole

>This week’s special comes from my daughter-in-law, Allison. Born and raised in Orange County, CA, she’s been an avocado / guacamole aficionado since the cradle. Her dad (waving to Jan!) had an avocado tree in his yard as a kid. Talk about heaven on earth. I, on the other hand, grew up a thousand miles from California and only knew …

>One WICKED Show

> We’ve had our theater tickets for months! I’m a huge fan of Broadway musicals, and after hearing my daughter-in-law rave about WICKED, we coughed up the $$ for five tickets. Hubby and me, our son and daughter-in-law (Happy early birthday Allison), and our twelve-year-old grandson. The three-hour show was even better than all the hype, so without giving anything …

>MAKING MEMORIES

> Christmas has come and gone. We had good weather, safe travels, and only one person became ill and had to delay spending Christmas with the family, so overall it was all good. As usual, pictures tell the story much better than I could, so enjoy some of my favorite holiday shots. My dad (where we celebrated Christmas Eve), my …

>Fa-la-la-la-la!

> Tis the season! I wish I were one of those early shoppers who had all my gifts purchased, wrapped, and under the tree by the day after Thanksgiving, but I’m not. As a matter of fact, I don’t even have a list made yet, so if you’re out there and still want to get your request in to me, …