I'm still here!

Life right now is full of ups and downs. We are all getting over being sick.

Phil as always has been super busy. He has been making various repairs of leaks thanks to ice damns on the roof. In addition, he redid the dining room and made it into our bedroom. Here are some pictures. I love it! It came out exactly as I wanted.

This weekend is the Springfield RV, Camping and Outdoor Show. Phil is doing all our shifts since Ben is still sick. It is not easy being home and not being a part of the show. Good luck Frank & Diane!

My family is all doing well. I have a new nephew, Jimmy. He is a doll. We went down to New Jersey to see my sister Amy and her family. Her oldest, Jon, graduated High School. It was a wonderful visit. I wish it had been for longer. Her youngest, Gregory, is beautiful. A nice snuggler.

Work is going well and I've learned a ton. A lot of the projects that I have been working on are now all fitting together. Lots still to learn.

I've been on Facebook. I actually like it because I can hop on for a couple of minutes and see how everyone is. I still prefer my family group pages even though the updates take longer to read they all mean more.

So, off I go to check on Ben. I've already talked to two sisters this morning...what a nice blessing that is.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.

Joan

Wow! What a fun Christmas!

This year, our Christmas was filled with Lego's and a new pet. Here is a picture of Phil working on building one set of the legos.

Ben is loving being surrounded by his legos. We had loads of fun. Five is GREAT!

Oh. our new pet...

What is Christmas without a spider? Yes, Ben got his wish and received "Fluffy" from his Aunt and Uncle. I have to admit that I'm already okay with having Fluffy in the house. And, it fulfilled the rest of Ben's Christmas Wish List.

The day was spend with family and friends. We were thankful that JM came over to watch Ben open his gifts with us. Dinner was great and Ben was on overload. I enjoyed having my nephews stop over to see me. I also was thrilled that on Sunday my cousins Thomas and Steve stopped over with my Auntie Beth. We had a wonderful visit.

Well, off to take down the tree and figure out where all these new toys should go.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.

Joan

Almost five is Great!

Having an almost five year old is so much fun! We have been working on saying prayers each night before bed. Not just the Our Father, but a prayer of thanks. Well, the other night as Ben began thanking God for everything in the whole world, he began to list all the things in the whole world like...the filter in the fish tank, the door to his room, his dresser. Cuter things were the roof over our heads and food in our bellies. He listed things for five minutes. I finally had to tell him to wrap it up. (Mainly I was trying not to laugh and needed to leave the room before I did.)

Today, we had Ben's friend birthday party. It was supposed to be last night, but because of the bad weather we had to postpone until today. Luckily Ben's two best buddies, Mateusz and Brady, were able to make it along with a his cousin Leslie, friends Sam and Courtney. It was a lot of fun. Ben wanted a Spider themed party. When I ordered the cake to have a spider web and spider, they confirmed that I didn't want Spiderman. I politely said, no just a spider with eight legs and web please. I made gift bags with spider rings, plastic spiders, spider tatoos, and candy. We also played, pin the spider on the web which I made. That was loads of fun.

Ben was great about saying thank you for the gifts, but then was annoyed when people didn't leave quick enough because he knew he couldn't build his new legos until they all left. So, Lego building took place and now he is happily playing. My heart is full!

Well, with the holidays I haven't been able to post as often. Forgive me!

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday!
Joan

I'm Thankful

I am thankful for a wonderful husband who is kind, generous and always there for me.
I am thankful for my Christmas miracle - Benjamin.
I am thankful for my parents, my in-laws, my sisters and brother, my out-laws, my nieces and nephews.
I am thankful for Beth who is there in all kinds of weather.
I am thankful for a roof over my head and food on my table.
I am thankful to still have my Memere.
I am thankful that I knew my Gramps and Grandma and Pepere.
I am thankful that I have faith that God loves me and all those around me.
I am thankful to have friends in my life who know me, really know me.
I am thankful for bubblebaths, red wine and a good book.
I am thankful for everyone who reads this silly little blog.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everday.
Joan

Amazing!

Okay, so I rarely go to concerts. I think that I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone to one...but last night I had such a great time. A group of us women all around the same age, crammed into a small car and drove down to Mohegan Sun. We got there in record time thanks to Johnna's driving ;) We were all very excited to go see Elton John. Alicia had gotten tickets and they were for behind the stage. We figured it didn't really matter, but they were AWESOME. We could see EVERYTHING.

Sir Elton played for three hours straight! How does that man do it? Some of the group didn't enjoy how some of the songs had long piano introductions, but I LOVE that. He'd finish one song take a quick bow and thank the crowd and go right into another song. His band is also fantastic. I loved watching the percussionist with all his gadgets. Really cool.

Throughout the concert I paid attention to the lighting and thought of my nephew Jeff. He would have really been impressed.

Got home by 1:30 am and was up at 8:15 today to go get a haircut. I'm tired, but it was so worth it! Totally going to take a nap today!

I'm supposed to be helping with the Children's Christmas Pageant Rehearsal today, but after about 1 hour Ben looked flushed and had a slight fever so I brought him home. I know he's sick because when I mentioned he needed a nap he said "OK Mom". You know that means he's not feeling well. So he's eating soup right now and then will go down for a nap.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everday!
Joan

Sorry I've been away...

Okay to the three, maybe four of you, who read this I apologize for not being as up-to-date as in the past. Boy is time flying by. I can't believe that it is already November, nevermind the 1th. This month is expected to be very busy. We've just had the baby shower for my sister Sheila. It was great to see everyone. Lots of babies there. I stayed away from them because I was not feeling great and didn't want to pass germs off. This weekend will be a whirlwind one...

Friday...Elton John
Saturday...9 - Haircut YEAH, 10 - Christmas Pagent rehearsal 11 - Help clean the church, 1 - the car goes in for an oil change and inspection
Sunday ... Church, breakfast birthday with two dear friends, 11 take Ben to a friends birthday party.

At some point Phil & I need to figure out what we plan to do for Christmas for Ben. He of course wants LEGOS. He is now able to follow the instruction books and build them on his own. He is just amazing.

Oh, did I tell you that he is having a pajama day. I will not be able to because I made arrangements to meet with my mentor for a couple of hours. I do enjoy spending time with her. She challenges me but is also encouraging.

Well, need to run.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan

Another Nephew

It is hard to believe that November is here, but today our family was blessed with a nephew. My sister Amy and her husband David had Gregory David today at 5:28 am. Mom and baby are doing fine. I hope to have more information soon. It is also their other son Peter's birthday today so huge celebrations going on at their house.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan