Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Questions?



This past weekend my husband's siblings and families all got together to honor his now deceased parents wedding anniversary. He thought it would be neat for all of us to get together and make his moms favorite foods that she used to make. So, all of us got together Saturday evening with Potato Salad, Spanish Rice, Maidrites, Goulash, Zucchini Bread, and Chocolate Cake. While we were preparing for the gathering we were searching through recipe boxes and cookbooks for the recipes for all these dishes. Some were found and some had to be guessed at. We discussed how it would be so nice to just be able to call up "mom" and ask her how much onion flakes to put in the potato salad, or which chocolate cake recipe did you always use, or how do I make your peanut butter frosting. But, of course, we can't do that. So, we did our best and had a great display of food, lots of laughter, and memories that were made.


So, from this, I am even more determined to ask those questions of my parents before they are gone. I want to be sure I know how all those favorite dishes of mine are prepared, I want to know how my parents met and what their dating life was like, my birth story, etc. So, this is my nudge to you...ask those questions, get those recipes, listen to those stories now before life takes that chance away from you. No one know how long we have here on earth, but live each day to the fullest, tell those closest to you that you love them, and ask those questions you want to know and you will have no regrets!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Friends are the family you choose!

"The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

I had a great conversation with a cousin of mine today. We don't live close together but try to keep in touch and I truly enjoy our conversations when we get the chance to have them. We were talking about how grateful we were for our friends. Both of us talked about a great group of "grown up" friends that we rely on and think of as a family. I am truly grateful to my girlfriends and hope that they know how much they are appreciated. I have seen a poem traveling around on emails that talks about all the different kinds of friends a person needs and I think the gals in my circle fit the bill for me. I just hope I do for them. Make sure your friends know how much you appreciate them today!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

VACATION!





















Here are some photos from our recent family vacation to Tennessee. My husband's sister and her family also went on the trip. We spent time in Nashville and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and downtown Nashville. We rocked out to a new and upcoming band, "American Bang" on July 4th. We then traveled on to Sevierville/Pidgeon Forge to a cabin/house in the mountains. We spent time seeing the sights in Gatlinburg as well. We even hiked a 5 mile round trip trail in the mountains to see the waterfall pictured above. That was definately a day filled with memories. We also enjoyed a surprise drop in visit from my brother-in-law who was also in the area traveling. We had lots of laughs and memories were definately made for our children. We were grateful there were no injuries, car troubles or weather problems. We had a fabulous time and many laughs were had (thank goodness for text messaging to break up the long drive!) and we hope many memories were made for our children.