A Crafty Friday

When Jessica and Scott moved into their new home, she found several old windows stashed in the small storage shed outside. We spent this gray, rainy Friday afternoon personalizing the window as a birthday gift for Jessi’s cousin Sara.

After some Pinterest searches, she settled on a monogram from vinyl to decorate the window. Sara is getting married in June, so the monogram is the first initial of her fiancé's  last name, then she added both their first names.

I borrowed the Cricut Expressions from the library and cut the components for her. Originally we were going to use the vinyl adhered to the glass and call it good. I offered her the option of etching the monogram onto the glass, and due to the obvious antiquity of the window, we both decided that was the best option.

We used the vinyl I cut as a stencil for the etching cream. It took us about an hour to place and adhere the vinyl to the glass, then we each grabbed a paintbrush and started applying the etching cream. The window is so large, it was quite a feat to wash off the etching cream in my tiny kitchen sink, but with the two of us, we got it done.

I wish I could have taken photos during the process, but for most steps, two sets of hands were necessary. Here is a photo of the finished product:

 

It’s not a crisp photo, but you can see the ornamental handle at the bottom. It’s kind of scrolly and fancy. This house was built in the early 1900’s, so this window is over 100 years old. The glass is bubbly in a spot or two, and there’s a line across the window that at first I thought was a crack, but it’s actually inside the glass – just an imperfection.

Jessica has a few more of these windows, and I cannot wait to make one of these for Greg and I.

 

Introducing the New Grandboy…

You know when the phone rings at 10:15 on a Saturday night that something is afoot. It was Jessica calling to let us know that she was on her way to the hospital in Lincoln. Contractions were 3 minutes apart, and had been going on like that for two hours. She’d had so much “false” labor over the past several weeks that she wasn’t counting on staying at the hospital, but stay she did, and at 3:26 Sunday morning she gave birth to the sweetest little boy!

His name is Silas Paul Robinson and he’s so cute we could just eat him up! Everyone thought Jess would have at least an 8-pounder this time, but he was a lean 6 lb., 13 oz., and 19 3/4” long.

Mama and Daddy are both very happy -

and his big brother Bradley just adores him!

Of course the rest of us, do, too, and we can’t wait to get to know the little guy!

 

Grammy Tammy

Hot Wheels

Last summer Jess found a big box of Hot Wheels tracks and cars at a garage sale and called me right away to see if I wanted it. I was thinking the Wyatt and Garett would enjoy it, and they have.

Bradley has loved Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars since he was big enough to recognize that they’re cars. He plays with them every time he’s here and has his own collection at home. The other day when he and Jess were here visiting, he brought out the box of tracks, and Jess set it up for him.

 

She figured out a simple oval track for him to play on, and is fitting in the battery-operated “booster” thing that shoots the cars down the track. He likes to bring that out to the living room and we shoot the little cars all over. :o)

It wasn’t long before Grampy came in and joined the fun. Jess happily gave over the track duties to him. After a little sorting and revamping there was a loop so the cars would shoot around and go upside down. Bradley loved that!

 

What fun to watch them playing cars together. Somewhere in the car collection is one that Grampy played with when he was a boy, as well as some that belonged to Uncle Nick. I love that Bradley is able to play with their old toys!

Summer Revue

It has been awhile since I caught up with you all here. I hope someone will read this and that you haven’t given up on me since my last post a couple of months ago!

‘Twas a busy summer, and Bradley has kept me running for most of it. When he took off walking at 8 1/2 months old, I knew I was in for trouble. Not the way I’d planned to spend the summer, but no complaints here. It has been an enormous blessing to watch him grow and learn.

Instead of me writing a novel to catch up on the past few months, lets do it in pictures, shall we?

Went to Sioux City to celebrate Reese’s first birthday,

and Taylor’s third birthday.

Took Randy’s kids to Little Diggers:

Greg built a new swingset for Bradley:

We took a field trip to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo:

There was blue rock shooting (Ben, Alan, Nick),

and target practice:

Of course there was swimming!

(Brad and Jess)

(Taylor)

(Taylor, Grace, Reese)

and Abbie stayed a few weeks.

We took Abbie home to Texas where we enjoyed our first visit to Joe’s Crab Shack…

At the county fair, Bradley fell in love with the baby chicks in the FFA animal tent:

At home, he LOVED sweet corn!

We got to know Scott a little better.

Let’s not forget the flowers

and the vegetables in the garden. Bradley has become an accomplished tomato-picker!

So there you have it, a glimpse into what has been a fun and busy summer around here.

I have several projects planned for this autumn, and there will be fun galore with the grandboy as we prepare to celebrate his first birthday in a few weeks. I hope you’ll stick with me as I get back into the blogging groove!

She’s Employed!

Since the beginning of February, Jessica has been working a temporary full-time job in the office at Tabitha Health Care Services. She got the job through ASI, an employment agency, so she knew when she started that it would be just a 4-6 week stint. We didn’t know why the 4-6 weeks, but figured someone was out on maternity or medical leave of some kind. She was happy to get out of the fast food biz for at least a few weeks, and really clicked with the other people in the office.

Turns out the job was open, and after she worked there just two days, one of the other staff brought her an application and told her to apply for the permanent position. She did just that.

Lots of HR hoops to jump through, and they extended the ASI contract, but finally today they offered her the permanent full-time job. Yea! It’s such a great environment for her, with wonderful people and a stable company. We’re very happy for her!

Are We Telepathetic?*

As I arrived home from work this morning, the song on the CD player was “Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (1971).  I hate to turn off the car in the middle of a song (OCD much?), so I usually just turn off the engine and listen to the remainder of the song before exiting the vehicle. (I love Dr. Hook’s music and was able to see them live at the State fair when I was in High School.)

Jess and Bradley were (and still are) snuggled in the recliner, and J and I chatted a minute. I’d taken some migraine meds when I got home, so I sat in my chair with my eyes closed, waiting for the meds to take effect. While sitting in the quiet, that song, “Sylvia’s Mother” was going through my mind - “Please Mrs. Avery I just got to talk to her, I’ll only keep her awhile…” 

Out of the blue, Jess says, “Sylvia’s Mother keeps going through my head this morning.”  I started laughing and told her it was the song I was listening to on the way home, and it was going through my head too!

We do this once in awhile – one of us will start singing a song or quoting a movie that the other was thinking of. Either we’re telepathetic* or we just spend way too much time together! :o)

 

*I know the word is “telepathic” – see this movie quote from Stepmom (1998):

Ben Harrison: See Mom? I told you! I'm telepathetic.
Jackie Harrison: Telepathic.
Ben Harrison: That's what I said.

Hey There!

I've had complaints that I'm not blogging enough, and I know the reading has been slim the past few months. We've been busy getting ready for Jessica to have her baby, and the garden did really well (I dreamed about canning tomatoes last night - does that tell you about my weekend?), and I've had the privilege of having nieces and nephews here now and again over the summer, but just haven't made the time to tell you much about any of it.

I really want to show you how Jess is setting up the baby corner of her room, but she wants me to wait until we've finished personalizing it, and we can't do that until Baby is here since we don't know if we're getting a he or a she.

I do have a few photos from her baby shower which was held a little over a week ago. Family and friends gathered to wish her well, and she had a wonderful time.

Grace and Taylor were such good helpers with the gifts. Taylor wanted every toy and rattle, saying "This is Tay Rae's". She was in charge of bringing me the trash, and being two years old, wanted to throw everything away. We brought the trash bag home and salvaged quite a lot of tissue paper and a few bows, but nothing major. In this photo, Hannah is decorating Grace's, er, behind while Taylor wonders why that bow wasn't thrown in the garbage bag. :o)

Everyone was very generous, and Jessi had such fun sorting through all of the sweet gifts the next day. Everything is washed now and ready to be put away until they're needed.
Doesn't she look cute? She won't let me post "belly" pictures, but she's looking wonderful. Remember to go fill out an entry for the baby pool. Just click on the red button on the top left column of this blog. It's easy and free, and you just may win the prize!

Take a Guess!

Jess has just under a month until her due date, so I thought it would be fun to have a Baby Pool. If you want to take a shot at guessing stats, click on the button at the top left of my blog that looks like this one. You will go to the baby pool site where you can easily enter your predictions about baby's sex, birthdate, weight, etc.

I will have a yet-to-be-determined prize for the person who comes closest.

Here are a few facts that may or may not help you:
a. We do not know the sex of the baby.
b. Heart rate is consistently between 140-152.
c. She's carrying high.
d. She's measuring farther along that she is now, so the dr. thinks it will be a large-ish baby.
e. Her original due date from the calendar is October 4.
d. Her due date from ultrasound is October 2.

According to the dr., since it's her first baby, they don't want to induce labor. Even if you don't join in the pool, we'd appreciate your prayers for a safe and healthy delivery (and as close to the due date as possible - she will not entertain the idea that she could go overdue!). :o)

The Pink Guitar

The kids were very excited that Jessica has moved back to our house and they are able to spend some time with her again. (We're all excited that she's moved back to our house!)
The kids come here on Tuesday mornings while Leslie works, and we try to do something new and fun each week. This particular day found Jessi at home, so she helped entertain them by bringing out her guitar. (You should have seen Grace's face when she saw the guitar was pink!) They sat in a row for a mini-concert,

then each one got to take a turn. Wyatt sang of his love for Spiderman and regaled Ironman as being "awesome"...

Gracie also sang of Ironman...

Garett sang "Life is a Highway" from Cars. He's a Lightening McQueen boy.

Shortly after their performances, Jess inadvertently hit the ceiling fan with the neck of the guitar and broke some strings. That put an end to the music making that day, but I'm sure there will be more. Remember how Tucker loves pink? He'll want his turn...

The Flooding

Jess finally sent some photos of the flooding. She lives west of Grand Forks, ND, so her home won't flood, but she works in a building very near the river. Here's what her email said, "So these pictures are taken near Oslo, MN, just half an hour north of Grand Forks along Interstate 29. The river is now a little over 49 feet and expected to crest around 51-52 feet either Thursday or Friday. The last photo was taken on the roof of where I work. As you can see, the river runs right behind it. The tannish wall thing is the flood wall, although the city hasn't decided to put up the missing portion!"

The original email from the guy who took the pics:

"Attached is some pictures taken yesterday. The Warren crew along with Contractor putting 12 tandem loads of rock in holes in TH#1 along with on the inslope after some of these pictures where taken. We started using sand bags at first but rocks 8-10" that were crushed from 2' size was the better to use over sand bags."

This is the one taken from the roof of Western Polymer where J works. I think if you click on the photo you'll get the full-sized version. Jess told me on Friday that they'd started sandbagging around the building the day before.

These are just a few of the attached photos. If you want to see them all, lmk and I'll email them to you.

We're still praying for everyone to remain safe, and the weather to clear up. They were having more snow today...