#100HappyDays: Day 90

 

 Day 90 of #100HappyDays
Simple things like a game of virtual scrabble with my S-G make for a gloriously relaxing Sunday evening.

#100DaysOfSummer
#SimplePleasures — feeling happy at The Man Crew House.

#100HappyDays: Day 56

 Day 56 of #100HappyDays
Flowers from my Sister-Girl Karen 💚 She's so good to me!

#100DaysOfSummer
#SisterGirl
#MutualAdmirationSociety — feeling happy at The Man Crew House.

#100HappyDays: Day 53

Day 53:
Devin and Annabel are in town!! — with Daniel Meyer, Annabel Bruno, Kelly Spencer and Devin Bruno.

 

This might have been the best Game Night ever. So much love in this picture. 

So.

Much.

Love.

 

#100HappyDays: Day 8

Day 8: Road Trip Fun! Have you seen The THING?!? Karen had never seen it so we stopped and enjoyed a few happy minutes traipsing through the "museum" that houses The THING. Worth every penny of the $1.00 of admission. LOL! Good stuff!
And yes, I know this is a terrible photo of both of us, but when you ask a stranger to take your photo, you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit. Amen.

In other news, Karen got a clean bill of health from the heart surgeon, who just told her to eat more and walk more. Hallelujah!

Sister-Girl Road Trip Adventures: Going to see The THING

If you like this challenge, head over to www.100happydays.com to sign up. You can choose a start date, your favorite photo posting platform and even a custom hashtag if you want to be more original. Do it, you might just decide you love it.

#100HappyDays: Day 6

 

Day 6: Road Trip! Karen and I are headed to Phoenix for her (hopefully) last post-op check up following her heart bypass earlier this year. We're hoping for a clean bill of health, some extra sleep and to enjoy a few days with less responsibilities. YES PLEASE!

Hello AZ, may this be the last time I visit for a while...

 If you like this challenge, head over to www.100happydays.com to sign up. You can choose a start date, your favorite photo posting platform and even a custom hashtag if you want to be more original. Do it, you might just decide you love it.

#100HappyDays: Day 2

Day 2: Live Christian Music on the Plaza, great weather, food trucks and my Sister-Girl. Life is good.

Happy Sister-Girl!

If you like this challenge, head over to www.100happydays.com to sign up. You can choose a start date, your favorite photo posting platform and even a custom hashtag if you want to be more original. Do it, you might just decide you love it.

10 Minute Catch UP

Well, hang on to your hats, I'm trying to get you caught up in 10 minutes or less! Oops, hang on~Derek just lost a fight with Rusty...be right back.

I'm back...he's fine; a band-aid and a Jolly Rancher and all is right with the world again : )

Moving on...life is never dull around here, have I mentioned that??

• Dolli has been here for almost two week and hanging out with her is always fun. She is so vivacious and special. No wonder she's the light of Karen's eyes, not to mention that sweet grand baby! I was even allowed to babysit for an afternoon and like any good great auntie, I filled her up with sugar and covered her in kisses : )



• School is rolling along well and if we keep at it, we might just have a summer break after all, hurray! My Father's World continues to be a hit and we are wrapping up our time in Germany and heading to Africa soon to study a few countries there. I think next year we will lay aside our beloved ABeka for the older boys and find something a bit more engaging. Derek will be using their Kinder program...Whoa, that was hard to type!


• Dan and Josh have been working and working and working. They are on day 8 of consecutive work days. Their side job is almost done, just a few more weekends and then they can relax on weekends~ and I'm sure they are looking forward to that.
  


• David's gymnastics recital is next week. He is really excited about that! I can't wait to see him do his 'thang' Working at the gym for me is fun and Patrick has started to really enjoy coming along and serving customers and his change making skills are really improving. Derek loves free gym. His favorite is the foam pit where he can jump in to his heart's delight with no danger of hurting himself. : )
  


• Let's see...what else? The house is a mess after we all just worked like crazy this weekend. 'Shua, Dan, Lauren and I have all shared a cold/virus something over the past week and it's just a awful. I've never wanted to take my next dose of cold meds early before...it's that bad! But, we are all on the mend now and that's good news!
  


• Anywho, I suppose that all the news that IS news around here right now. Take a moment if you will and pray over these things.

1. Dolli's safe return to Cali tomorrow
2. Karen's emotions after Dolli's departure...she always gets so sad when Dolli leaves.
3. Dan and Josh's continued safety on the job and on the drive there and back each day.
4. Continued success with schooling...Pat has come so far this year!"
5. Us finding a new church where we ALL feel right about it.
6. My Dad is retiring next month (Praise the Lord) and I'm HOPING that they will soon be visiting more often and for longer *wink wink, nudge nudge*

A few pictures and I'm out....20 minutes late, but that's life around here!

Blessings,

Kristy and the Man Crew

Catchin' Up with Us MeYeR's

My Oh My, what a crazy, hectic, wild few days we have had!! Life just spirals out of control some days, doesn't it? Life just flies by while we are standing around, scratching our heads, and trying DESPERATELY to figure out what just happened...HA! Among the highlights of the last 10 days or so...

• Dan is still working...we are so grateful. When he got assigned this job in Tularosa, he said he would be surprised if it lasted until the new year. Here it is the middle of February, and God is still providing him with work....AMEN!
• David is doing so well in gymnastics that the coach is starting to pressure him to compete. While this annoys me since we have made it perfectly clear that he does NOT want to compete, this gives D a chance to learn to say no and mean it...a valuable life lesson : )
• Pat is working very hard on his self control and starting to want 'privileges' enough to want to take on 'responsibilities' so that he can have them...and that's HUGE for him! (We are also cutting HFCS and Red Dye #40 completely out of his diet and are seeing some of the benefits of that for him...and he's finally old enough to understand why we are doing it, and not be too annoyed by it, YEAH!!)
• Derek has started recognizing letters well enough that he is starting to ask what things spell, and can consistently spell his name with his refrigerator letters. His coloring is improving by leaps and bounds and I know that soon he will be writing letters on his own...WOW!
• 'Shua and Lauren made it safely to IL and back to have a nice visit with friends and family. Call us all selfish, but we sure are glad to have them back : ) We had an adventure both dropping them off at the airport and on the way to pick them up. I won't bore you with retelling the story but if you want to read about it, it's here. As for on the way to pick them up, ironically it was raining again and I asked Dan to go with us since I didn't want to get stranded on the way to pick them up. He graciously agreed even though he really needed to be in bed and away we went. Along the way, we saw several cars in ditches, since no one knows how to drive in poor weather down here. Before long, the car in front of us started driving erratically and within 5 minutes had managed to do 3 spins crossing all lanes of traffic and smash into the median right in front of us. Surely the Lord protected us form being any closer to him or we would have been hit as well. Then just about the time our adrenaline wore off, we hit a puddle and the serpentine belt came off...AGAIN! Let me repeat, I AM SO GLAD Dan was with us. He pulled off the highway, put it back on and off we went, but there was no entrance ramp back to the highway....grr! So we drove in circles, got lost and then had to backtrack once we stopped for directions. We managed to pull up to the airport exactly at the time they landed which was odd since they were due to land some 40 minutes before then. Thankfully the ride home was uneventful as we listened to them tell us about their adventures from IL. Oh my...what a wild ride! The boys are still talking about it : )
• Me? I got my long awaited kitchen aid mixer this week. Thank you Tax Refund! I am also going to order the grain mill attachment so that I can grind my own flours...I am such a dork, but I'm so excited I feel like clapping and jumping up and down every time I think of it!
• Speaking of the tax refund...we have really enjoyed it this year. All the boys have new games or systems. David bought a PSP and can play games with Dan now, Pat got new headphones and several new gadgets or gizmos for his birthday DSi including a carrying case, an external flash kit and a zoom lens. Derek got a new DSi and a game. The family got a PS3 and several new controllers....so I think we bought all our technology for the year...LOL! Credit cards got paid down or off, everyone got new shoes or clothes...some got both and we filled our nearly empty cupboards to overflowing again! I got 2 new cartridges for my cricut machine, plus several other scrapbooking items, Dan got his long awaited electric razor and I bought several months worth of inks and photo papers for the computer printer. Dan's motorcycle is in the shop for a tune up and we will still have enough money to order next year's curriculum. Is God good to us or what? Not that God isn't good to us when we don't have much money, but I want to give extra praise where it is due. The Lord provides for our needs...and our wants. We even have some money set aside for taking care of others...now THAT feels good!
• Speaking of caring for others, I just want to give a little shout out to my Sister-Girl Karen. Last night she ordered pizza for the WHOLE game night crowd which includes....Karen and Tyler, Charlie and Devin, Kelly and Jared, Robert, Tracy and Little Izzi, 'Shua and Lauren, Jodi, Aaron, James and Titus, plus us 5 MeYeR's....just so I could have a break from kitchen duty. Is she great or what?? Not that she doesn't do wonderful things for me all the time, but this was huge...and so sweet. Sister-Girl, thanks!!
• In that same vein, Tracy has been super about taking the boys a few days here and there so I can get things done, work on Saturday morning, or so I can have a few hours with Dan and that's a wonderful gift to any mother, right?? : ) AND she's the wonderful teacher of the *all new* craft class on Friday mornings.
• The new job at the gym is going really well, as of next week, I am on my own to run the concession stand on Saturday mornings...I'm pretty excited!
• Kohls continues to be a good job and even though I'm pretty tired some days, it's a job that allows us to continue to enjoy our homeschooling lifestyle and I can still bring in some money. I call that, a God thing.

I think that's enough news for one post, don't you?? Oh, one more thing...Alec is coming to visit us next week, and I'm really excited about seeing him again. We didn't have much chance to visit when I was there in Sept, so it's really catch up time!! Spinal Tap, anyone??

Have a great week and thanks for being interested in our lives!

Blessings,

~K~

Catching up with us MeYeR's

Oh my we are being goofy today~~ First David is all smiles after having the first treat of watermelon for the year...Then Pat gives us his Crazy grin because we said he HAD to smile...Then we have GI James, all dressed up and no one to stalk
Derek is dashing through the frame on his way to his next grand adventure and...last but NOT least, Mr. Titus...looking super cute so you won't suspect that he is very naughty...ha ha!Well, since it's 1:30 AM it's officially Friday...yeah! I get to be a lady of leisure today...well, almost! Karen, Jodi and I are going out to breakfast and then shopping the Kohl's sales and clearance racks...yeah! Dan is taking the boys and running some errands of his own, I think...a new licence plate sticker for the van, union dues to pay, and probably a trip to the pet store for crickets and MORE fish....ridiculous HUGE tank...LOL! Then we are going to buy a bed for Pat...he is soooo excited! Then grocery shopping and pizza/game night...hurray! Suffice it to say that Friday is one of my favorite days of the week. Dan and 'Shua are home after putting in their 40 hours in Hurley already this week...the boys have gotten enough school done to call it a week, Titus got a top tooth and Jodi's puppy has Shadow and Bubba BOTH afraid of him..LOL! This was Jodi's first week home...but she spent most of the week dashing from one appt to the next, it seemed...and is probably worn out instead of relaxed and energized. I just finished my 3rd night of work in a row and I'm feeling it! Karen was over for coffee this morning...we had a lovely chat while the kids played quietly, and the boys FOUND the Lego box today and the playroom will never be the same...LOL! The dune buggy is ready for Ty to flip it over again and they have a new ramp built, I think...sometimes even I'm afraid to look! The summer schedule is starting to fill up with visitors...Dolli MAY be coming soon, Lauren nay swing by to see 'Shua, my Internet buddy Jen is bringing her boys to hang out for a while...oh my, the fun never stops! Anywho...since it IS almost 2 in the morning...I better hush! I'll catch up with you all later in the weekend, OK?? OH, and to the MeYeR side of the parents...Happy EVERYTHING! Mambo, happy birthday! Jerry and Maria, Happy Birthday to you BOTH and happy anniversary as well! To my Lost Boys, Mama K sends her love! To the rest...hugs all around!

Blessings this week and always,

Kristy

My Sister-Girl, Karen!

My Sister-Girl, Karen! She's been so fun to live near! She has shared her home, her bathroom and her life with us! We have so enjoyed getting to know her better over the past year and a half. She is a great housemate, glad to share in the chores, make meals plans and she cleans the kitchen every night...yeah! She is a great coffee pal, we have coffee together about once a week, sometimes more to share what's going on in our lives...and for adult conversation...LOL! The boys adore her and in fact, we invited them for dinner tonight since I've been hearing grumblings about me hogging her during the coffee hours. She is a honest, patriotic, freedom loving, hippy gal ; ) She tells it like she sees it and what you see is what you get with Karen. She doesn't put on airs or try to keep up with the Jones, she just does what she feels is best. She gives good advice, and unlike most people, will listen and take advice that is given to her....now that's rare! She LOVES to read and is knowledgeable about most issues. She is STRONG...and I know that she hates it when people way that, but the truth is the truth! She spoils me shamelessly, always bringing me some small treat, giving me a break or doing a dish while I'm not looking. She encourages me when I am discouraged, cheers me when I'm doing something right, and reminds me to take care of me, so I can be a better mom, wife, teacher, employee and friend. She gave me this really sweet card for my birthday and I think it describes our relationship really well...

What Is a Sister? by Emily Matthews

She's someone beside you lending a hand,

Offering words that say, "I understand"...

She's someone you turn to, day after day,

To share any worries that life brings your way...

She's someone you trust, and her words and her smile

Are kept in your heart and make life worthwhile.

You're never too busy to listen, never to busy to care,

You're always so eager to offer your help along with your gifts which you share

You're a woman who's made such a difference in so many wonderful ways~

A sister who's loved and liked and admired and who's wished the most special of days.

OK, the last part is about the birthday, but the rest is so accurate! Karen is a good mom, a fun auntie, a sweet daughter, and happy Memaw and a great sister! I love you, Sister-Girl!

~K~

A Day Late and Dollar Short

Story of my life...right? LOL! Well, here it is Saturday afternoon and I'm finally getting on here to update everyone on our state of being. As I sit here, Dan, Dave and Pat are helping Karen move into her new apartment, Jodi is putting Titus down for nap, James and Derek are jumping on the trampoline and Aaron is nursing a migraine...never a dull moment. ; ) Actually, the reason that I didn't blog last night is that Dan and I were out Christmas shopping, grocery shopping and renewing our Sam's membership, hence the dollar short part...On the upside though, we have food in the cabinets, a new way to save money at Sam's and several more Christmas secrets in the closet...hee hee. With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, I am reminded of how grateful we should be every day and aren't. We are paying our bills down bit by bit and still can afford an occasional luxury. I have been looking over my journals as I sort through the 87, 392 boxes of paperwork I found in the garage (sigh!!) and I was reminded of exactly HOW BAD it really was for a while....no wonder I was pretending to be Scarlett O'Hara and saying I would think about that tomorrow...LOL! I am soooooo grateful to not be there anymore, but I am even farther down the road to be grateful for those hard times that made us determine whether we were going to sink or swim and also for those times that drove to my knees and into the loving arms of the Father. God is so gracious to us if we just ALLOW Him to be! Moving on...We are enjoying Aaron's visit and looking forward to Dad and Mom's also. Rumor has it that Ricky and Alec are going to try to sneak in a visit in the early parts of December, but that remains to be seen. For now, dinner is simmering, a fire is crackling cheerfully to keep us warm and soon Charlie and Devin will be joining us for an evening of laughter and games. So, I must get off of here and tend to my family and home (*sigh of contentment*)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all!
Blessings,
Kristy
PS. To those of you that know my very first lost boy ever, Dariel...he had an accident at work this week and smashed his hand in a press and broke it....pray for healing of the hand and patience for Dariel...waiting for things to get better was never one of his fortes! Ha ha ha!

Aahhhh, the good life! BTW, do you like the couch covers??

The BIg Move

Karen, Tyler and Dolli are moving tomorrow, and we all are pretty excited. Karen is really looking forward to some peace and quiet. Dolli is looking forward to actually LIVING with Karen. Tyler is excited to get away from the ankle biters...LOL! Dan and I are looking forward to privacy, a little elbow room and our own bed again...*sigh* David and Derek will be sharing a room and Pat is really looking forward to having his own room..well, he shares with the school room, but that's during the day, not at night...hee hee. Karen has been packing up a storm for a few days and we have a small crew coming tomorrow to help us so I am off to the store for food to feed the masses. I will give another picture tour once she is settled in. Have a great weekend, everyone. We miss you! Lost Boys, Mama K loves you!!
Blessings,
Kristy and the Man Crew

A Video for MOM...and all you other nosy people...LOL!

Mom, this is for you. A four and a half minute video walk-through of Karen's new place. It needs some cleaning and a bit of love, but it is going to be perfect for her for years to come. Dan and Karen are going to start making trips over there tonight and the big moving day is Saturday. So without further ado...Karen's New House!


OK, after 4 hours of fighting with it...I give up! I will load the video to my flash drive and bring it with me soon...hope that is good enough...LOL!

Love,

Kristy