Grandmom's Dollhouse!

I almost forgot....we were privileged to get my Grandmom's dollhouse! Grandmom worked for years on this house. Every detail, many years of hard work and collecting, and receiving help from so many different family members.....and I have it here in my home! The girls are loving it. We started by taking all of the furniture out and cleaning every room as carefully as we could. There are several shutters that came off and lights that need to be repaired, but here is what it looked like yesterday, for Memorial Day:

The only thing we added to Grandmom's house was the flag!

After some more work, Trina made the outside decks look beautiful, and here it is so far:

Next we need to work on the shudders and other broken lights. I forgot to mention, I can still remember Grandmom putting on each brick on that chimney, Uncle Tom putting in the dormers for her in the attic rooms, and Uncle Andy making more windows for her because Grandmom said there were not enough windows! I love my Grandmom and I love her doll house!!!

Time just keeps going and going and going...

I am amazed at how time can get away from you. I missed over a year of tales about my children! This past year our youngest, Toby Faith, turned eight years old! Winter Hope turned 13 and we had a great "Friday the 13th" birthday party for her! Tiffany Grace turned 17, Katrina Joy is now 19, Nathan is now 21, and Abe is 23!! I know, it's hard to believe. I am so thankful for my children. God has blessed us way more than what we could have ever imagined. As far as I know, all of my children have asked Jesus to be their Savior and have been baptized. All of them love Jesus with all their hearts, and as far as I can tell, they are all exactly where God wants them to be in their journey through this life! I am so proud of every one of them. What a real blessing each are to me.



This has been a difficult year. A good friend of ours passed away suddenly a few months ago. Todd's Mom had several strokes, then went to heaven on the same day, May 6th, only 7 years after Todd. It was and is surreal. It's so hard to believe that both of Todd's parents are now in heaven with him and our "baby."

Last week my Grandmother, who was 99 years old (5 weeks from her 100th birthday...born in June, 1912), also went home to heaven. She had been wanting to go for many years, but I am thankful for the years we had to spend with her. What a blessing and testimony her life was to us. I still love listening to and remembering her stories. What a legacy! I miss my grandmom so much, but again, it's neat to know she is now with Pop-pop and Todd! I am so grateful that heaven is a real place and that I will one day be there as well!!!

Last week I bought a motorcycle. I love it. What a difference riding a bike alone from driving a van full of children! I often picture Todd's half-smile, like he is saying, "I love you, I can't believe you bought a motorcycle, but I love you." (I got several of these kinds of smiles and I would always ask, "What?" He would respond with a hug and a whisper in my ear, "I love you.") So here it is (please note that it is ORANGE!!):

Grenade is still a little unsure of it. It's a little too noisy for him, and he still doesn't recognize me when I'm wearing a helmet! Poor Nader still seems lost without his buddy, Rocky. Rocky died this year as well. We all miss him, but I think Grenade misses him the most!


I think that about brings everyone up to date. There are a lot of things I could've said about this year without Todd. It's been interesting, but I can say with confidence that Father has taken good care of us! He has shown His love and grace every day and brought us through some really difficult times. I don't know how I could have gotten this far without Todd here beside me, had it not been for Divine Help and Grace! Thank you, Jesus!