James Taylor is amazing!

Yesterday my family went to the James Taylor concert with two old friends, Keisha and Kwaun. The whole evening was WONDERFUL!!! I can not give James the praise he deserves, but WOW! What a talented man!

Our friends invited us to the concert and what a fantastic gift! We had lawn seats so we were very lucky that it only sprinkled a little rain here and there. The temps last night were just cool enough to set a perfect mood. James took us to church and back, sang the blues, and rocked. He was fun, funny, an all around entertaining artist. The place was packed from the front seats to the back lawn. There were a few songs at the end, before the encore, that everyone sang.

The Red Wings were playing in the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins. All through out the evening people walked by us and said the score. Each time they scored you'd hear "Let's Go Red Wings!" cheering from the lawn crowd. When they won James Taylor put on a Red Wings hat and a band member held up a Red Wings jersey. How cool was that! As we left after the concert the cars were honking to celebrate the Wings win.

Nothing like hearing "You've Got a Friend" sang by James himself, sitting with dear friends, a cool summer night under the stars, and the Wings winning...

Graduation Weekend, Saturday

Graduation Weekend

Saturday morning came so quickly. I think we all could have slept in longer. Our whole family was tired from the graduation party for my niece Hannah. Seeing my niece, and my sister Laurie, so pleased about the party made all the energy put into it worth every minute of it.

On Saturday morning my family was treated to a brunch by my friend Danielle, her husband Brent, and their girls, Kaitlyn and Reagan. Thank you so much for all the yummy food and the monkey bread! Danielle is a fantastic cook. My husband wanted to and could of eaten a ton of food that morning, but he was afraid he's need a nap afterwards. I am pretty sure Brent was looking forward to the leftovers!

Their girls are so sweet! Kaitlyn is a more reserved & cautious girl, but very lovely and kind. Reagan is a go getter, but adorable through and through. Having lunch with my friend was like going home. You know that feeling, like, all is good in the world and a part of who you are was found again. Maybe when I grow up I can be more like Danielle :)

After lunch we traveled to my niece’s graduation. It was a wonderful ceremony. I captured the photo of my nephew, Isaiah, as he was leaning in his mother’s hand at the graduation. How fun is he! My niece Hannah and my niece Jordan are quite the pair too, "The dynamic duo."

Saturday evening, My husband, son, brother-in-law, and nephew headed to the Prince Caspian movie. Myself, sister Vicki, sister Laurie, and adopted in as a sister Katie hit Panera Bread and a movie. Thank you sweet Laurie who would not accept any other way than to treat us that evening. Laurie is such a thoughtful giving sister!

It is always good to be with family!

Graduation Party

The next day after Kentucky, Friday, we traveled to Tennessee. My niece Hannah was graduating from high school on Saturday but her party was on Friday evening. From the moment we drove up at noon until we were ready to drop at 10 p.m. or so, we got ready and had my nieces’ graduation party. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. My sisters made it fun. Our family can laugh, be silly, and get a ton of work done at the same time.

We had her celebration at a house that was 101 years old. The wood work told a story of ole. How beautiful the place looked as each of us gave it a special touch. My mom made the cakes, my sister Vic frosted and decorated them, Jan made the punch, I made floral arrangements, Laurie prepared food, Phil was Mr. Technology, Nana made appetizers, the kids played, and we all decorated, cleaned up and etc, etc, etc… Every one gave it their all and we had a wonderful time! It is funny how we all just look at each other and just know what to do. I suppose that’s what family does.

The pictures above are from the party and my sisters Vicki, Myself, Laurie, and Jan are in the bunch as well. Unfortunately, my parents (due to health) and my sisters Jill and Kathy, and brother Tim (due to work) were unable to make it. They were greatly missed!

Friends

On Thursday, May 22nd, our family was able to meet up with some old friends in Kentucky. We had a fantastic time catching up with Trevis, Nicole, Parker, and Lilie.

It was wonderful seeing Nicole being a lovely wife and mommy. How precious their children were. Lilie has her own darling language and adores her older brother and Parker was the adventurer and a perfect older brother. We were happy Trev made it home safely from his trip for work and was able to tuck the kids into bed and share some laughter with us as well.

The whole family welcomed us with open arms, food, laughter, and even sent us off with a care package for the road. Thank you dear friends for your love, kindness, and thoughtful nature! Thank you Lord for such good friends!

The Poe Reef Lighthouse

This past week we had to finish up a major project for my son's school's Open House. He and I made the Poe Reef Lighthouse. All the kids in his grade had to invent a board game, recreate a landmark or a lighthouse. I told my son thank you, many times over, for picking a lighthouse that was simple in nature. There are some lighthouses that have elaborate attached houses. We looked at every craft store for the supplies and found out foam cost more that college tuition. You have to love coupons! In the end the dragon was slain and we had a lighthouse! I was proud that my son hung in there with all the detailed painting. He said his favorite part was taking the dental floss through the white paint to make the lines on the windows and making the top out of a Pepsi bottle.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! This morning my son and husband made me pop-tarts for breakfast. You have to realise that this is an honor because my son absolutely LOVES pop-tarts and he wanted to share with me what he loves best.

Right before church my boys gave me a lovely gift bag that was green covered in beautiful pink and yellow florals. I had to laugh because the tissue paper was blue with red, white, and teal polka dots!

The boys gave me the purse you see in the picture above. You have to understand that my husband has never paid much attention to purses at all. When he was at work there was a lady who had a unique purse. He asked her about it because it looked very interesting. My husband went home that day and Googled it. When we were in the gift shop at the Art museum we got to see the purse in this striking red color, and that sold it! My boys ordered me a red Harveys Seat Belt Bag! Yes, you read correctly, seat belt bag. The fact it was made out of sturdy material made sense to my husband. It was an extra special gift because my boys picked it out, all by themselves. I love the bag! I love my boys!

After church the boys took me to a local restaurant that has the best bread ever! It was fun to hear, "Order what ever you'd like, even dessert."

Later on in the day I asked my son why he loved me. He melted my heart when he said among the other words, "I love you because you pray with me..."

I hope today you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

I know I was blessed more than I could possibly say!

Humility

"Humility does not mean you think less of yourself.

It means you think of yourself less."

~Ken Blanchard