A sad evening

I received some very sad news about an acquaintance this evening. A Maryland family, living not far from me, lost a young son today--taken from this life prematurely as the result of a malignant brain tumor.

My heart goes out to this family. Their story has touched me in ways they cannot know; their strength and love and faith continue to serve as inspiration to me. Though they knew that the end was near, no self-pity was apparent. They worked with a single-minded purpose--to make this child's waning moments here on Earth sweet and tender and painfree. It appears that they were successful, mercifully.

Please say a prayer for this family, as they surely have many sorrow-filled days to come.

And don't forget to hug your children tight tonight...

Dr. Katy

Today, Katy wants to be a veterinarian. Tommorrow, it will be a waitress or policeman or teacher.

But today, she wants to be me. So I let her dress in a scrub top and my "doctor jacket" and we danced and laughed and had a very very good time togeher

Life is good.

Photos by Katy

Katy has showed a renewed interest in her little digital camera. I told her to take some photos and that we would post them on the Internet so Nana and Papa could see them.

Without further adieu, here's a few of Katy's favorite things:

Images

Randy got her retirement award, an ARCOM, in the mail yesterday. There was a great little writeup about all the work she did over her twelve-year military career to justify the award.

She seemed unimpressed, but we were pretty proud of her.

More boring house stuff

It's a good thing my parents love to see photos of the house (or pretend that they do). I think I've bored everyone else silly.

In fact, I've bored myself silly.

Goodnight, Mom and Dad.

Mom and Dad's Wurlitzer

Bryan got a very good deal on this cool old jukebox. He's going to clean it up and then send it to my parents, who seem genuinely excited by the concept. I love all the chrome on it!

Basement, finally completed!

So, we finally got the basement completed. Here's a couple of photos:

As well as some photos of Bryan's pride and joy, which he just completed overhauling. Isn't it wonderful? It sounds great, too!

Drawings from Michelle

One of my dearest friends sent me the surprise of all surprises the other day. I gave her a batch of photos of Katy a couple of years ago, and I just received two of the most wonderful drawings a few days ago. I haven't gotten them framed yet, but I rolled them out on the kitchen table Here they are, with an area "zoomed in" on each:

Drawing 1:

Drawing 1 close-up:

Drawing 2:

Drawing 2 close-up:

Aren't these the coolest??

Thanks, Shel!!!

Just a cute cuddly moment

I peeked into the living room to check on Katy this morning and found her in the middle of a cuddly moment with Kip. Aren't they both cute?

More progress on the house

So, we've nearly finished the basement renovation. All that remains to be done is to get that last final layer of drywall dust cleaned up and to get some carpet installed. I am SO happy to have a space of my own that I can claim permanently! Hooray!

Happy New Year!

Antique store find

Please be forewarned: This is a silly post. I know that, but I don't care. There might be a rare few people out there who "get it," but I realize they number but a few.

Most won't understand, and I am okay with that.

These are two of the silliest, happiest buys of the holiday season for me. I stumbled upon these inexpensive Pyrex beauties in a local antique store today, and just had to have them. Five minutes and eleven bucks later, and I am the proud owner of some old Pyrex bowls.


I brought them home, cleaned them up, and set them on the counter. I couldn't bring myself to put them in the cabinet, so I just think I'll leave them out for a while so I can look at them whenever my heart needs a little lift.

They really make me smile.

Merry Christmas!

Santa has come and gone from our house, and he was very generous this year. I snuck in a photo of the Christmas tree, post-Santa's arrival and before Katy could demolish it.

Here's a quiet moment at the end of the day, after a long day of playing with all the toys that Santa (and Nana and Papa!) delivered. I think even the dogs were exhausted, and so they got some good quality sofa cuddling time. Bryan (wisely) opted for the recliner and got to play photographer instead.

Randy looks thrilled to join in the silliness, as she "goes to her quiet place" while Katy dresses her up in some of her new Christmas finery.

Hope that Santa treated everyone similarly wonderfully, and I wish you the happiest and healthiest of New Years!

Robin.

Ch-ch-changes

There have been lots and lots of changes in the house in the past 18 months. As evidence, I present the formal living room, prior to closing:



And then the newly painted and designated dining room:

And finally, the close-enough-to-call-it-done dining room:

I love a good happy ending!

Merry XMas,

Robin.

Reminiscing...

I'm at a conference tonight, and practicing avoidance of the work I SHOULD be doing. Instead, I have been playing with a few photos, and I had some fun memories as I scanned through a bunch of old layouts. Hope you enjoy them too!