the duck got pardoned

at easter kristie and sean bought 4 ducklings the were cute and fluffy. from the start it was explained that 2 were for pets 2 were for dinners. well time has passed and the ducks are now quite large and sean is "seeing" duck dinner in his mind. so he took one duck out of the pen away from the other ducks. the directions say 24 hours with no food before butchering so...there she was in a pen by herself quacking away. taison could hardly stand it he went to the pen and pet her and talked to her. on the way home from church kristie talked to the boys and they said they were NOT ok with duck dinner, "wait till we have a bunch of ducks" was their solution. soooo... the duck is pardoned and back together with her feathery friends.

st.thomas

russ and i had the opportunity to go to st thomas. it was very pretty the water was crystal clear. we saw some really cool things and got to go sailing and snorkeling, something we have never done before. the problem with this is we were really out of our element. we were noticing the difference in the way people vacation there and the people that live there. its such a huge gap. we talked to a local guy,he was our taxi driver, he told alot about the history, the way of life, the education etc. i think we enjoyed that as much as anything else. we and some other couples (more like us) we just wanted a plain old baked potato. it is rather humorous when put that way, the food there was just very "posh" like everything else. i did on several mornings enjoy sitting and watching the ocean and being truely grateful for the world that Heavenly Father has created.(even though i know there are several places on the earth that are so completely opposite this)

t-ball

now that the rain has finally stopped the t-ball fields are dry enough to play on. we should have had several games by now but this was only the second one. after watching two cute grandboys play and each teammate is improving!, we as adults wanted to know what the score was. really funny to notice not one child even cared all they cared about was the fact that they got to play, and had a fun time. thats the way it should be.

after school snack

ever since my children were in school they would come home famished. so we always had an after-school snack. sometimes fresh chocolate chip cookies, sometimes apples,carrots with peanut butter. it didn't really matter as long as it filled their tummies till dinner. my youngest child just started college so pretty much the"after school snack" days are over...except on the days when my hubbie is home then he gets the grandboys to ask...whats for after school snack, even if its saturday. what a silly habit. but its one that i guess is being passed down the line.today the snack was cheese crackers and popscicles. what a combo!!!

baby ducks

kristie decided that they wanted to teach the boys about raising a pet and also dinner, so she bought 4 baby ducks. they all now have names and think daimon and taison are their "mom" i'm not sure the whole duck dinner thing is ever going to happen.we'll see. they can't wait to take them outside for playtime. yet again another sign of spring.

spring

i love spring! all the blossoms are bursting. the air is warmer and there are lots of birds arriving. i realize that many places in the world are still in a winter wonderland,however their day of spring will soon come. i hope you all enjoy spring!

where does it come from

I was having a discussion with my4 yr. old grandson today(one of many). he said milk comes from a cow, the farmer puts it in bottles and takes it to the store. I asked him where does hamburger come from? he said The hamburger store of course. It was funny at the moment and then I started thinking of how many things and how many children don't really know where something comes from. Not just meat but dairy products,veges, fruit, nuts, etc. aren't we doing an injustice by not showing,teaching and being a little more self sufficient? Just a thought for the day.

The wrapping of a soon-to-be 4 yr old

About two weeks previous to Daimon's 4th birthday, his Grandma and Grandpa Southard sent his gifts to him.
What 3 year old has patience enough to wait, when the presents are there enticing him to open the wrapping - if just a little bit - to see what's inside.
After a couple of seemingly innocent attempts at peeking inside, the unknown present had now come to light. He had managed to catch a glimpse of what was inside.
But knowing he would now be in trouble for such acts, he thought for sure he just had to re-wrap the present.
Now - the gift was in my room, and no tape was to be found. So he grabbed the next best item of which to close the wrapping paper....



What a creative little now 4 year old.

groundhog day

I think its kind of funny that we listen to what a groundhog has to say about the weather. first of all with all the spotlights on the furry critter would he really NOT see his shadow. also his prediction is 6 more weeks of winter. Which puts us to the middle of march. now I think most people already know that march is almost spring. in some parts of the country it will be warm and sunny. yet other parts i'm not sure if spring comes before june or so. but at least we can dream about spring and plan gardens,vacations,etc. hopefully everyone has a wonderful groundhog day!

just a thought for the day

To have a good friend is one of the highest delights of life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest undertakings.

you cannot always have happiness, but you can always give happiness.

The best portions of a good life are the little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love we do for others.

january blahs

Ok so I've spent the last several hours reading lots of blogs and all the ideas people have about every subject you can imagine. After all the 'research' I've come to realize I have a very boring mundane life. I go to bed many nights thinking "what have I accomplished today?" It seems I'm busy most of the day but I can't say I actually have improved anything for anyone. Sure the clothes might be clean the dishes done, but in the eternal realm of things what have I done? I really need to work on this. I have a son studying and reesearching on how to improve the poverty issues in the world. He says its really hard to read and learn of all the issues and then talk to people who can't decide on "where to go out to eat or what movie to see". Our conversations seem to be one sided...I'm thrilled to listen to what he learns but I don't really have anything to imput into the conversation. I guess I need to read more or find some way to help my little corner of the world. I realize winter is really only in the middle or beginning of the worst, but now that the holidays are over and we want to get out just for fun...its yucky. well i guess I need to stop being a complainer and just get out. thanks to all who have great blogs ...It makes my day!!!