Appreciating Heirlooms...

Mick's mom Elsie passed away in 2001.  While Jan and Mick were cleaning out her things,  Mick decided to ship her China home for us to have.  At the time I think it cost like 450 dollars to pack and ship the China and I though were am I going to put it.

When it got here and I looked at it I realized I loved it.  I loved what it represented.  Years in a family.  Many Christmas Dinners were most likely eaten off of these plates.  You can tell that a lot of coffee was drank because there were only 3 coffee cups left.  I am assuming that there at one time was a service for 12.  I was in need of some of the pieces so for this past Christmas I put together a list of some of the items that were missing and asked for that for Christmas.

There is a place called Replacements.com that you can register your pattern and when something comes in that is what you need they will contact you.  I added 2 new dinner plates so I have 10 now.  1 creamer so now I have the sugar and creamer set.  I hope to finish the set in the next couple of years if the company can find the pieces.  I do not know how much the China cost when it was purchased in the 1940's but it is Priceless to me!

I hope that when I am gone one of my children will take it and look at it and appreciate the history and the family value that it has.

Even though we only use it on holidays  I love to look at it and think of my mother-in-law Elsie McCarty and how she must have loved having her family for dinner on those special occasions.

Here are some pictures of the China.  It is Noritake, pattern is Severy.  I am proud to call it mine.

Cold, Bronchitis Go Away!!!!

I have had a head cold/bronchitis since Christmas Eve and it has not been fun.  I have coughed and hacked and slept a lot lately.  Trying to get rid of this is taking some time.

I was planning to start my workout routine this week but will have to wait until next week.  Keep your fingers crossed that  I will be 100% by then.

Warren has been home the last couple of days and Katie came out to visit.  

They got into Dance Party on the XBox and had a lot of fun.  Thanks for visiting!

Warren is headed to Israel next Tuesday.  He will be taking a class and having some fun visiting their for 10 days.  Keep him in your prayers for safe travel.

Cindy

Happy New Year

Hoping to blog a little more in 2012.  Eat a little less in 2012 and exercise a little more in 2012.

Kitchen project is about finished just have to pick out backsplash, paint and some lighting fixtures.

before facing hallway

After facing hallway

Kitchen sink area before

Looking into kitchen from hall.

Here are some pictures of the kitchen before and after.  Mick did such a great job on the cabinets.  It was well worth the wait!  It is hard to capture the beauty of the granite counters and the solid cherry cabinets, but they are so special to me and with the extra work space on the island makes for fun entertaining.

9/11 =Hope

Not only is September 11th the day America was attacked by evil.  It is the day(9 years later) my beautiful granddaughter Evangeline was born.

"So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord" (Psalm 31 NLT)

I feel a sense of hope today as I write this post.  I watched some of the coverage of the 9/11 remembrances and was moved especially by the recounting of flight 93.

The terrorists had taken over the plane and turned it around and were heading back to DC to  either hit the Capital or the White House.  Brave men and women on that plane called their loved ones and said their prayers and goodbyes.  Then took on the terrorists in order to save many people who would have been killed by that 4th plane.

I hope I would be able to be that courageous.

Happy Birthday Sweet Evangeline.  We will never forget your birthday.  You are a beautiful gift from God, and a reminder of how wonderful his blessings are.

Family

I love my family.

Fun times with Caleb and Meredith!

We had such a great time with C and M on Saturday despite some very rainy conditions.

We started off with grandma's french toast and scrambled eggs.  Then it was time to go to The Wild West Town and The Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL.

It was raining pretty hard when we got to the museum so we spent about 1/2 hour inside looking at the old west museum.  The kids were not that interested, but their grandpa was.  Grandpa was a big cowboy/indian fan as a kid.

It stopped raining so we went outside and rode the little canoe ride, the carousel, and attempted to go to the outdoor wild west show, but as soon as the "cowboy" shot a gun in the air M started screaming.  Poor thing the noise was so loud it scared her.  We decided it was best to leave the show and head to lunch.

When we got out from lunch the sun was shining and the temps had picked up so it was very warm.  We headed over to the Railway Museum to catch a ride with "Thomas The Tank Engine"

We had a 2:30 ticket so we had about an hour or more to walk around.  We rode a trolley car and some ice cream.  M was getting tired but Caleb was so excited to ride the train.

We finally got on the train and Thomas pulled us around for about 10 minutes and then pushed us back.  He sure must be tired at all of the work he does.

Both kids were exhausted and so were there grandparents.  We love having time to spend with the grandkids and hope they remember the special times with Grandma and Grandpa(minus the loud gun sounds):)

34 years and still going strong

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband Mick.

Thank you for being patient and kind,
a great father and role model for our children,
supportive and faithful,
God loving and truthful.

I love you more than the day we were married.  Thanks for the past 34 years and I hope we have many more together.

Love you!