Last week my mother-in-law came over.  She’s well-known for her Grandma Buns and I thought it was a perfect time to learn the how’s of them since I needed buns for Zachary & Hannah’s wedding.  For years I’ve wanted to have her come over and teach me how to make them and for my kids to watch her making them but just never did it. The recipe for her buns was handed down to my mother-in-law from her mother who made it quite often since they were a large family with 9 kids and of course, there weren’t the stores around like we have today – especially when you lived on a farm in Canada!   She even used to sell her bread to the…

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My little guy, Justus, is now 10.  Having 6 kids I have learned first-hand that there are no two personalities alike – even in the same family.  They all have their own little twist or bent.  But that is what makes it fun and keeps it interesting.  Of course, along with that comes the challenges. You think that after a few kids you have this raising kids business down pat.  Uh, huh.  Easy peasy. Sure there are some similarities amongst their own sex.  Boys tend to be quite active and not as refined as the girls and the girls have just a wee bit of interest in their appearance whereas boys not quite so much and girls, of course, are just generally more gentle and soft. But…

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Our 24th wedding anniversary was yesterday and every year it’s a busy time because the kids are getting their 4-H animals ready to show and then to sell at the auction. But just like my birthday back in March, Russell decided to take me away. I’m thinking “I’ve got a wedding reception to plan and a myriad of other things to do but whisked away I was. Our first stop was for an hour-long massage. A sister at our church gave me a gift certificate for one a few years ago and it hasn’t worked out till now to use it. A person could get used to things like that. Then we went to Sedona but not to stay in a tent this time. This…

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The Sunday after the wedding, our gracious hosts showed more hospitality and had a luncheon with all the out-of-towners. It was lovely and although they live in small quarters, it just shows once again that you don’t have to be in a big place to be accommodating.  You can do it and people will still love it. Monday most everyone left (except for us) and so we waved my sister and her family, as well as Seth the wanderer (my son), who went home with them for a week and doesn’t come home till tomorrow. Time with family and friends… is always delightful… Happily, our next reunion will be in May for Zachary’s wedding. Our last day in Michigan was Tuesday and Russell decided we…

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The wedding day that Austin & Claire had waited for so long such a short time finally dawned and outside all was covered with a fresh layer of snow. Beautiful but cold. Brrr. When we arrived at the church, Claire was there waiting for the moment that she would slip her wedding dress on, even though that was several hours away. But we had work to do.  Although they were having a catered meal, my sister wanted to have appetizers while the guests were waiting for the photographers to finish taking pictures. This is one of my sister’s. She’s a pro at getting things done in the kitchen. My niece who read the book Eat that Frog months ago and hasn’t stopped since.  Seriously.  …

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Austin took a look about him and fell in love. There were tears, joy, plenty of laughter and thankfulness to God this past week. My nephew Austin married the light of his life, his other half, the heartbeat of his heart. Austin & Claire are now married and what a happy joyous occasion it was. But back to when we arrived. Not wanting to miss a single possible moment with friends, Because we were on the budget flight using our frequent flyer miles we flew out to Michigan on the red-eye flight landing at the daylight hour of 6:30a.m.  Uh, although we dearly love our friends we really would have liked a more sane flight schedule and even though our friends happily picked us up,…

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Well I had another birthday.  I’m now the grand age of 44 years.  Russell decided that since life has been quite the whirl lately to take me away to Sedona for the day.  So we had a relaxing drive, set up our tent on Oak Creek Canyon and headed out to look for a restaurant. We have found a wonderful Italian pizza restaurant in Sedona but I was wanting something different. Unfortunately, I’ve been disappointed several times with my dining experiences in Sedona. The food usually is mediocre. So we went on a hunt, searching for that place that would give the perfect dining experience.  (You know how nothing can be said, but you kind of think you know what your husband is feeling?  I think Russ thought I was being a little…

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