Happy Leap Day!

Recycling an oldie, fave photo from Hilton Head,

summer of 2009!

20 years later -- Happy Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to My Firstborn!

It's Philip's birthday today - -

and he turns . . . 27!

Wow -- how did he get to be so old!?! In this most adorable photo of him and his little bro, Connor, he was 6 or 7 years old.  Blame Mommy brain -- I'm not sure how old he was here, but I think Connor was headed to kindergarten, so would be 5 and that would make Philip almost 7.

Fast forward 20 years, he's finishing up his first year of pediatric residency, 

has a very sweet wife and two littles of his own! 

Happy Birthday Philip!!

Out on the Town with Molly!



Out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse!



Ever since Molly returned from the American Girl doll hospital,

Maddy has been having so much fun with her! 

Add to that some new clothes handmade by Stacy Z (etsy store -- ziggy tails)

and I have two stylin girls on my hands!

Love these clothes -- made me think of my Mom and

how she used to sew Barbie clothes for our dolls!

Molly and Maddy have been all over town!

At Barnes & Noble, they attended an American Girl event

on President's Day!

Of course, not every day is a holiday

and it was back to school together!

Last night, they attended "The Ugly Duckling" at the

 Lied Center and got to sit in the very first row! Very cool show!



No, that's not a bruise or dirt on Maddy's forehead, it was Ash Wednesday



Meeting Runza Rex last night was such a treat for Molly!!

Seriously, it is so fun to see Maddy enjoying playing with Molly and her other dolls,

though Molly does seem to be a bit favored lately!  I love that

she doesn't think she's too old for it.

Kids grow up way too fast these days . . . says this old Mom! :)

Thinking About The Lost Art of . . .

Letter writing!

It is a bit of a lost art, isn't it?!   I am so guilty of sending a quick email or text or making a call

 instead of putting pen to paper and writing a note.

A good friend occasionally sends me actual notes through the mail,

even though we correspond by email fairly regularly. 

 I think my heart skips a beat when I see an actual letter instead of a catalog

 (I am attempting to keep the U.S. Postal Service going with all the catalogs I receive). 

 And while I do enjoy catalogs, about the only other mail I get is the

 dreaded . . . bills! 

 I am resisting on-line bill payment.  I know, I know, save myself some postage and time,

but remember, I am still trying to keep the good old postal

service going --

somebody's gotta do it!

Did you know that I actually received a note from First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy?? 

Yes, I am kind of admitting how ancient I actually am,

but I was very, very young girl (kindergarten, first grade maybe) 

when the President was assassinated. 

 I remember it so clearly -- those big events stay with you forever!

  Going to Catholic school, we immediately fell to our knees and prayed the rosary. 

And later, I wrote my very first condolence letter.  

 A few weeks later, I received a little note from Mrs. Kennedy thanking me for

my letter, and yes, I still have it.  

This year, I will be attempting to write more actual letters or at least notes.

So, guess what, I bought myself some adorable note cards.

 I do love personalized things and

Shutterfly has quite a selection. My fave color for notecards -- red!

So festive, so fun, so Husker! ;)

Janie B's B-Day

My sweet little granddaughter just turned 2!  

I don't know how she can possibly be 2 already, but she is.

Can you guess who is one of her biggest fans?  Maddy, of course!  

Maddy was beyond thrilled when she heard that Janie loves Barney and was having a Barney-themed party since Maddy was (and still is) a huge Barney fan! 

Maddy wants to take Janie to her first concert -- a Barney concert!!!



Maddy, Philip & Janie



What a fun party -- complete with dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets,

PB&Js and cookies!!



Cookies!!!!



Maddy helped Janie open presents and play with them too! 

That's the bonus of having an auntie only 8 years older  -- more fun and a special playmate!  Janie and Maddy were making some music -- playing a bucket like it was a drum!

Philip and Catherine did a wonderful job on Janie's party! 

 Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!



Catherine, Baby Walter, Philip and Birthday Girl Janie



Favorite Photo Friday - Narnia Re-Visited

Just a couple more photos as the sun was coming up

after our Narnia-inspired snowstorm last weekend!

So lovely then . . . so messy now! :)

Happy Friday!

Snow, snow and more snow!

We had the most lovely snowstorm last weekend! 

 Kind of shocking that I would even call any snowstorm "lovely", 

 but it really did look so pretty!



Muffy had to be out in the snow!  The snow was too deep for  her and I had to shovel her a path around the backyard!



After temps in the 60s early in the week, an actual cold front came through and

brought some lots of heavy wet snow! 

Yes -- over a foot (13-15 inches, in fact) of snow fell around here.  

Mr. Tennis and I tag-teamed as the snow was too high and too heavy

for our snowblower. 

 So, I raked the top layers of snow and then he followed with the snowblower! 

 What a workout!  

Nearly every year I pat myself on the back for going ahead and getting that snowblower for Mr. Tennis, who said -- we really don't need it. 

Oh yes, we do! :)

It was very pretty, though so wet and heavy that it broke lots oftrees and resulted in power outages all over town! 

 Luckily, our power was only out for 45 minutes and since our big tree was

 already gone, it couldn't cause any damage!  That was a relief!

Dear Mom,

Maddy, Mom and Me -- 2009

Dear Mom,

I miss you. I think of you every day. 

I can hardly believe it's been a year now that you've been gone.   It's been a really difficult year without you. 

I miss your hugs, our daily phone conversations and hearing your calm sweet voice on the other end.  You were always the one I could go to who would listen to my joys, my worries, my problems, the big and the little things and would quietly reassure me that everything would be all right.  You were my (and all of our) biggest cheerleader. 

The whole family has been lost without you. Maddy misses you. She had a dream about you recently, but didn't want to tell me about it because she thought it would make me cry -- that did make me cry.  She loves to hear about you and the stories you told me about growing up on the farm.  She was thrilled  to learn you had a horse when you were a little girl, but sad to hear that it was hit by lightning when it took shelter under a tree during a storm!  She and I love to look at the photos of all of us in younger days.  We laugh together at our silly hairstyles, just like you and I did too.

I do feel your love surrounding me and the rest of the family.  Last week on my way to work, I glanced out the window and saw the most beautiful heart-shaped image made up of two clouds.  I felt like you sent it just for me.  And yes, that did make me cry too.

You were such a blessing in our lives.  Love you always,

janet

Hello February!

So long January!

 You've been a real treat this year with lovely warm temps for our part of the country! I may have felt a little sad about the small sampling of snow so far, but only for a minute or two.  And I know, I know, usually February and March are the big snowfall months around here!

Hello February -- you sassy leap year month!

Goodbye to our gigantic redwood (pin oak, really) and the somewhat rickety fence that had to come down to get the tree out!  Half of the tree had already been cut down in this photo.  It was a multi-day project!  Yikes!! 

The good thing about living in an older established neighborhood with lots of trees is the wonderful shade provided by the trees, the lovely look, etc. 

The bad thing . . . paying for taking a tree that size down!

Goodbye to the old rickety fence that also had to come down along with the tree.  See the orange stretchy construction fence in the yard -- isn't that lovely!  That will be replaced in the coming weeks with a new fence -- yay!! 

And so, you know what I've been doing lately . . . cleaning up the resulting tree residue and stump dust that is everywhere. 

Fun times people! :)