Thankful Thursday ( Summer)

                                            Thankful for Goofy, Graduating, Girls...

                               Thankful for families who have fun together being silly...

                                Thankful for Homeschool Band and for the friendships made through it...

 Thankful for Homeschooling Conferences with writing seminars for teens and for good friends to attend it with...

 Thankful for our good, faithful Sisters in Browerville who spend a full week on saw-dust drawings just to give honor and love to God...

 Thankful for for Eucharistic processions through Browerville while singing and praying the Rosary to celebrate Corpus Christi and The Sacred Heart of Jesus...

                              Thankful for 16 baby chicks in my bathtub...

 Thankful for husbands who make Chick-pens in the garage, so the chickies can move OUT of the bathtub after a week...

                         Thankful for my biggest blessings ( and Saint-makers) my beautiful children...

               Thankful to be able to attend the SSPX priestly ordinations in Winona again this year...

                                    Thankful for first blessings from 12 newly ordained priests...

                             It channels SO much grace from God...thankful for that grace!

 Thankful for Barn Dances with friends...

 Thankful for hard-working young men from church who re-shingled our garage roof in 4 hours!

 Thankful for our beautiful daughter and her graduation party which was a big success...Congratulations, sweetie!

Thankful for Big Barns that are wonderful for dancing...

                                     Thankful for good friends, fireworks and the 4th of July!

 

 Thankful for beauty bursting in the sky...

 Thankful for husbands who mix concrete to pour in chicken coops to help keep the mice out and make it easier to keep clean...

 Thankful for girls weeding gardens...

                                              Even when they don't particularly want to...

                            Thankful for family vacations at Wisconsin Dells and for Lazy Rivers...

                                   Thankful for girls in modest swimsuits who are truly beautiful...

                                 Thankful for my family and for friends who join us on vacation...

                                Thankful for friendships that are real and lasting...

                        Thankful for families that get along well together, even in close quarters for 5 days

...

                               Thankful for fun water parks with wave pools to swim in...

 Thankful for a young man who is a child at heart, who was SO happy with the prizes he "won" at the arcade...

                                Thankful for bumper-boat wars...

                 Thankful for horse-drawn wagon rides as we are getting ready to leave for home...

 Thankful for Paul Bunyan Lumberjack restaurants and for generous friends that treat us to a brunch there...

                           Thankful for Swing dance lessons in our barn and for a great turn out!( 16 couples!)

                                           Thankful for Daddies that dance with their daughters...

                                   Thankful for wholesome entertainment for teens and adults alike...

                                     Thankful for my sweet baby daughter who just turned 18...

Our First Homeschool Graduate

The graduate poses before the ceremony

18 homeschool graduates took part in the ceremony

We made these great paper flowers with pix in the centers for each graduate...so pretty!

With her God-parents and cousin...

With one of her Uncles

A Family photo with the graduate

With her diploma

We are sooooo proud!

Met this young lady when they were both 11 year old flautists in the Homeschool Band

Friends

Fellow graduates after the ceremony

Easter...He is Risen, indeed!

   Happy Easter...May God bless you all today and always.  Well this is the first Easter without my Mom. So, I attempted something that she ALWAYS made , for as long as I can remember, the Bunny Cake. It was pretty fun! I made it differently than Mom made it, but everyone liked it ...and it was simple and fun to make.

 
Hope that you all enjoyed celebrating Christ's Resurrection surrounded by your loved ones. I pray that you all come to the knowledge and acceptance of the saving grace of Our Lord through His One, Holy, Catholic & Apostolic Church. He is Risen, He is Risen, Indeed!

Branson Vacation

This family vacation was bittersweet. My mom was so excited that she and my brother were coming on vacation with us. And we were going to be meeting up with another brother and his wife and 5 children during our stay...vacationing with 3 of her 9 children and 8 of her 22 grandchildren. Spending time together at shows and restaurants and back at the condos. Mom passed away just TWO weeks ago today, and her funeral was only a week ago. We had been tempted to cancel the whole thing...but mom wouldn't have wanted that. So, here was our vacation in Branson, Missouri.

We've arrived...Hubby and Drama Queen playing a game before bed.

Max relaxes after a long drive.

Very nice accomodations...

Cousins

Yum

Saint Patrick's Day cake

Hail, Hail, the gangs all here!

Getting breakfast together

A game of Chess

The Winery tour

Very interesting

At the wine tasting...we prefer sweet wines.

Cheers!

The Titanic Museum...the were featuring an exhibit on "Children of the Titanic"

Two new teens!

Historic Civil War battle site

The old-fashioned refrigerator... the spring-house

Walking the Battleground

Catch!

Enjoying the Condo Pool

The hot tub cousins

The Guys play a game of Risk

Great show...but we missed seeing the Dutton Family...they weren't due back in Branson for 2 more weeks.

Enjoying the River-walk...

And the candy shoppe!

Before the "Joseph" show

This is the second show that we have seen at the Sight & Sound Theatre in Branson. Absolutely phenomonal!

Road trip back home after a great vacation...it turned out to be relaxing and took our mind off of the sorrow of losing mom...she would have been happy that we went, and happy that it helped us recoup after  such a loss. We miss you, Mom (Grammy) and we hope that we all gather together in Heaven someday!