CARTER STUMBO OUR GRANDSON

I don't have a current photo of Carter because he lives in Washington and we see him only once a year. These are mostly from last summer when he visited. We would like anyone who feels lead to pray for him. last week he went in for a reconstrution surgery for his circumcision which had grown back. He has been home and doing well but then developed croup. My daughter called yesterday and he had to be admitted to the hospital his chest was caving in and he couldn't breathe. He is 15 months old, our second grandson. A friend of my sons just lost her baby to a respirtory illness after being sent home from the hospital. They told her everything was fine. The baby died in her arms a few hours later, at home. So when we are faced with challenges of life , for me any way, there is only one place to go and that is on my knees in prayer because GOD is the only one who can make a difference if one lives or dies.

He is breathing without oxygen now but he is still in the hospital. I will find out more later today. Thank-you for your prayer support

SPRING EVENING IN WOBEGON

After babysitting all day....yes I know...Grandpa and I watched Hunter while his mommy went to get her hair cut. We had such nice weather we went to the play park. Baseball has begun here in Wobegon and so there were lots of kids at the park(it is near the baseball field). Hunter was ready to play. He took Grandpas hand and off they went, bucket in hand hoping for a sandbox.

There was no sand:( Lots of bark chips which I didn't quite get for a playland but maybe it is earth friendly. He loved the little slide that looked like a train. (we forgot our train whistles at home.) I think Grandpa was happy we didn't have any whistles.

This was repeated over and over and over again. He really had a great time, and so did Grandma. There is something special about bringing a smile to your grandchilds face.

This , I think, is suppose to be like a teter-totter. He kept his hat on the whole time. He has fair skin so sunscreen and hats are important. He let his sunglasses fall around his neck.

What a Grandma won't do for their grandchild. He wanted to go on the big slide, like the big kids, but needed help finding his way to the top. Yes, we did that a couple of times.

Climbing to the top

Finding out where the stairs where.

This is our new splash park. They haven't turned the water on yet but they will soon. Hunter had brought a few cars along to play with and dropped them on the side walk.

He is very particular about how things should go and had to get them back in the bucket just so.

Now...off to McDonalds to get some ice cream

GIANTS IN WOBEGON?

I was on my way to Wal-mart to look at containers for my patio. I will be doing container gardening from now on because of the move to a smaller place. I still hope to share the many gardens we will visit in our state, just not my own. Back to this picture....I thought all the Giant Trolls were gone from Wobegon...but here you see a truck delivering their toilet tissue. My hubby and I got such a laugh because it relly looked like toilet tissue on a giant roll.

As I said ...I was on my way to Wal-mart to see about some flower pots and containers for gardening although I saw a few I ended up purchasing these dishes on clearance. The pots will wait for a couple weeks until the weather is a little warmer. This week is my "Spring" dinner for the family. (aka..Easter) My childrens spouses have family here also and it gets a little..tricky..should I say to decide whos house you will go to for Holidays. I decided this year I would have it later and call it a "Spring" dinner. There will be baskets filled with bunnies and eggs, but my grandchilden are too young for much candy or treats.

Well I am off to begin the spring cleaning for the spring dinner...I really think these dishes will look good on my spring table...now to decide on flowers.

COTTAGE HAPPENINGS...

It was a long week of babysitting. We had Hunter and Eleanor on Tuesday. The plan was to take them to the new splash park but the wind was to strong and we had to settle for the malls playland. Hunter was busy running around so I didn't get any pics but grandpa did...he has to send them to me and then I can upload them.

Eleanor is finally eating cereal. She is not interested in any other foods but Grandma is plugging away at introducing fruits and next week is veggies.

She finished her bowl of cereal every morning this week. I think we can try to move on now to some other foods.

We took the kids to the Library this week but all Hunter was interested in was the long flight of stairs. His other grandparents own a farm and in the farm house they let him slid down the stairs..not a good thing in the Library where there is no carpet. Well I am off to do some shopping. I will be doing container gardening this year so off to wally world to get some containers. Oh yes.. I am looking for a carpet for the patio the ones I saw were too large because the patio isn't square.. Hunter had an accident pushing his cars around and fell flat on his face. He had a fat lip that bled alot so I guess I should make it a little softer to fall on?? ( his mother said it is looking good now and grandma doesn't have to feel bad)

Happy Weekend!!

COTTAGE LAMP CHOICE

Here are the lamps we are thinking of..a little rustic but not to much. Maybe I could call it traditional meets rustic? Anyways we took a liken' to these guys. Now if I can find them at a good price at a store, otherwise I will have to order online and they will cost more than I want to spend. FLOOR LAMP below

Here is the TABLE LAMP. They have a light in the middle, kinda like a nitelight. We are getting older and it is nice to have little lights around at night so we don't trip and fall...lol

We are way up North and this is the kind of decorating you see a lot of but I am trying to put my own little twist on it. Hope you enjoy the pics.

NEW ARRIVALS AT THE COTTAGE

The room is finally coming together. In the corner by the windows the club chair will replace the rocking chair and a cabinet still has to be bought for the stereo under the tree picture. The accessories are temporary, it is just what I have around, but will get baskets and such to use for more storage. I wanted to get some lamps for the sofa table but the cords will show and with little curious grandchildren I was thinking I would get candles instead for now. The entertainment center we want is being dicontinued and is a bit pricey, we do have a budget you know, so we are still debating what to do with Hubby's TV. I know we need cutains but that will come later..we just can't decide what kind. We don't want to block the light to much but we do get afternoon sun which is quite warm in the summer months.

This is the side table that will be for Hubby's things, I might need to look for a basket to house some of his stuff to so it looks neat and tidy. I like things to be orderly but not so much as to make people uncomfortable. I want my home to be comfy and cozy, a place for good food, good friends and lots of good conversation. We want to replace the lamps.

We haven't bought the baskets for under the coffee table yet, we still have to agree on which ones we like best. We agreed on some lamps we might purchase if we can find them at the right price. My cottage garden is turning into a rustic cottage, but I don't mind.

Our place is small, I like to say cozy, but it works for the two of us. There is still enough room to have the family over for a sit down dinner and enough for more if you have buffet style dinning. After the living room is finished we will start on the master bedroom but that will be after our vacation in September. It will be more of a beachy cottage theme. My husband use to surf and grew up in California so I gave in and I hope it will be a relaxing space. Blues and greys and greens will be the color choice and lots of white. It isn't easy finding white furniture for an adult bedroom but I think we have come close, now to wait for a sale:)

WELCOME TO OUR HOME

A WALK BY THE RIVER

We were by ourselves this Easter and the weather was so nice we took a walk by the river and through the gardens. We are planning a Spring Dinner for the kids in a few weeks so I can at least let the grandbabies have a little Springtime basket. We walked through the gazebo to get to the river.

A little wild life by the river...opps...that is the next picture

It was nice to see this pair of ducks sunning themselves on a rock..not long ago this river was frozen and the paths were covered in snow.

two ducks basking in the sunshine

The mighty Mississippi River and my Hubby standing on a rock jetting out from the path.

Lots of benches and swings to sit and take in the beautiful day.

I have some time off and have been able to get some reading done the first four titles are

The Christmas Secret

Life Among The Lutherans..Garrison Keillor

True Believer..Nicholas Sparks

Pretty is as Pretty Dies

Sorry I forgot the other two Authors but all were worth the time I spent reading. I am spending sometime now reading a series by Karen Kingsbury an author my daughter suggested. We have over 100 TV channels and I still can't find much that is worth watching. The stations where I spend most of my TV viewing are Hallmark, HGTV, Foodnetwork, AMC(old movies) Fox News,PBS, and a few regular shows from time to time but nothing right now...just the occasional movie. Hubby spend his TV time at ESPN I have watched some March Madness. I am tired of paying to watch the "PAID PROGRAMMING" where there use to be some oldtime shows. Have a great evening I am going to read:)

A WALK IN THE GARDEN

HAPPY EASTER

Spring is here!

We went for a walk in the garden today

A barren tree but not for long

The fountain is empty for now

Can you see the pussy willow trying to break through

Paul resting on the bridge

A beautiful place to have a wedding

Spring is trying very hard to break through here in Wobegon

WE will be back to show you when things are in full bloom

They are trying hard but winter is very cold here and it takes a little longer for the blooms

Now I took a rest

Do you think these are tulips?

A view from the garden steps

Bluebells singing in the wind

This will be very pretty come Summer

Daffodils

This is a beautiful fountain

This is the beginning of the season we will share more as it progresses.

Happy Easter to All!!