ARIA

I don't have the program in front of me so I can't remember the name of this aria or the opera its from. The video isn't even close to what it sounded like in person. It's in this type of music that I can see how all of his vocal coaching and practicing is paying off.

O Glorious Love

There are times in every mom's life when moments happen you want to keep forever. Such was the case for me this past Sunday. It was once again my privilege to accompany Amy as she sang in our service on Sunday morning. She sang so beautifully! If I would have thought about it, I would have had someone video her so I could share it. I will be sure to do it next time. I was so proud of her!

Then, I looked out into the congregation and I saw all 4 of my kids sitting together in a row. That rarely happens anymore! I thought it was so cool.

Sunday evening, our oldest son, Josh, gave a concert with my Aunt Roxie. She is an incredibly accomplished pianist. She played and he sang. It was a wonderful mix of inspirational as well as classical music and they both did as well as any musician I've ever bought tickets for.

I did record a couple songs from this concert which I'll post over the next few days. Today was their last piece...O Glorious Love.

Sorting Through Pictures

I got my first digital camera in 2005 for my birthday. Since then, I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pictures. I have been somewhat diligent about backing them up onto CD's and consequently have a CD album that houses these hundreds of pictures. My problem? I forget some of the pictures on those CD's.

Over the past couple weeks, I've been working on sorting through my digital pictures and putting them into folders on my computer so they can be more easily accessed and used in my scrapbooks or other photo projects. I'm using a system similiar to one Stacy Julian, a digital photo & scrapbooking expert recommends. I've divided family pictures into folders in "My Pictures." They are: Who we are (each family member has their own folder), Things we do (activities, holidays), People We Love (extended family, friends), Home (house, yard, animals), and Places we go (trips, etc). This is working extremely well for me as I'm more easily able to find pictures. I've gone through all my photo cd's and picked out the best pictures and "filed" them into these files and have since backed everything up on an external hard drive.

I've also put all scanned pictures into these files too. Which, leads me to some pictures I wanted share today. These are some pictures my mom has had displayed in her home for several years and I LOVE them. I've scanned my own copies and have a scrapbook layout in mind for them. They are of my maternal grandparents, Anna Mae, and Donald Eugene. I LOVE the WWII feel and nostagia they have and how beautiful my grandmother is and how handsome my grandpa. The third one of them is years later at my cousin, Sarah's wedding. It was around the time of their 65th wedding anniversary. These are treasures to me.

Summer Cleaning

I got on a mid-summer cleaning roll today. I was determined to clean the carpets and while I was at it, I decided to wash curtains as well.

I found a carpet cleaner recipe online a few years ago. It calls for 1/4 cup Tide liquid, 1/3 cup white vinegar, and 1/3 cup ammonia. I decided to give it a try today. I was a little worried that either the vinegar or the ammonia smell would be overpowering but when I mixed them all together, it just had a beautiful fresh, clean scent. I mixed them in a glas measuring pitcher and just used the amount the cleaning machine called for. It cleaned my carpets amazingly well! I knew it had to work fairly well because of the Tide but I wasn't expecting the good results I got. And the best part is, its so economical and my house smells so fresh and clean!!

Mid-Summer Notes

Here in the K.C. area, we have been in HOT weather for the past two weeks now. Mid to upper 90's. I'm focusing on staying cool. The air-conditioning went out in my car last fall and I was so hoping it was just a leak in a hose somewhere...It wasn't....it's the compressor and frankly, the cost of repairing it is far more than I want to invest in the car at this point. In the meantime, it makes for some long HOT rides. Come on fall!!

We are in the process of preparing our house for painting. We knew it was going to need to be painted when we moved in 7 or so years ago. It's been kind of fun picking out the colors and I'm finding I'm usually drawn to Cape Cod colors....gray-blues, clean whites, dark blues, and cranberry. So that's what we're going with. A gray-blue for the main house, crisp-clean white for the trim and porch rails, charcoal blue for the porch floor,and a dark cranberry for the front door. I can't wait to see it done!

My Newest Niece

If you are family, you've already met her.

If not, this is my newest neice, Emma Grace.

Born to my sister, Elizabeth, her husband, Paul and their 6 other children on July 6.

I can't wait to meet her! I LOVE all my neices and nephews and wish I didn't live so far from them.

Sometimes It's Hard

My sister, Elizabeth, and I have lived no less than 16 hours apart since we moved to Kansas 13 1/2 years ago. For the most part, life and time take over and you get used to the distance and you get on with your life. That doesn't mean I like it, it just means I'm used to it. But there are the days when I really get to missing my sister (who lives in Georgia) and my brother (who lives in Florida) and at these times I wish I could go have lunch with either of them or go see a movie or just hang out and talk.

Monday, July 5, is my sister's 44th birthday (yes, I'm telling her age because she would have NO PROBLEM sharing mine). On Tuesday, July 6, she will be giving birth to her 7th child. It's times like these when I really don't like the distance at all. In a way, I almost ache to be near her. I would be with her and support her as much as possible in the hospital if I could. I'd love on her precious new baby girl like the proud, doting aunt that I'd like to be. Yep, this one's a hard one. So Elizabeth, I know you'll read this at some point. Know that Tuesday you will be in my constant thought and prayers. I LOVE our bond of sisterhood!!!!! I love you!!