It's Blog Party Time

Aloha and welcome...
It's time to open our doors to the Ultimate Blog Party!

For those family and friends that aren't apart of Blogville, this is a time where some of us are introducing ourselves...hosting a little connecting blog party.
So...may I offer you some punch? Or a little cup of my children's apple juice, perhaps?

Let me start by saying just a little about myself...
And, no... I don't live in Hawaii. Sorry. But I have been there twice and the picture above is of my husband and I on our tenth anniversary. Our first time on the sands of Waikiki and Maui! (Not bad for two middle-agers over 40, huh? Funny, how this was just two years ago but I have to color my hair even more often now, and use industrial strength Oil of Olay...)
I use to say I wanted to move to Maui after our first romantic time there. Then we went back this past fall as a family where we endured an earthquake, sunburns, and rainstorms, all in the course of a week. I wrote about it in 3-parts here...but it's not for the faint-hearted.

I met my sweet husband on a blind date 14 years ago. Our love story is told in this post.

We have two little girls, ages 4 and 7 which I currently home school. They really keep me busy...but they truly can be the sweetest things ever sometimes!

As you can plainly see, we definitely do not live in Hawaii! We live the beautiful northwestern US...but believe it or not, this big snowfall last month was rare!

Last year, we also added a new member to our family. A little Lab\Chow puppy girl named Mandy. She was a huge handful, and is just now settling down a bit. But she's...ahem...not so little anymore. Here she is when we first brought her home the day after Thanksgiving...

And here she is now...(taken today)



And that's just at five months!

Now that you've met my family, here's just a little more about who I am...

The reason I originally started blogging last May was two-fold:

First: I wanted to keep my friend and families updated. I use to send lots of e-mail updates and pictures, and I sometimes wondered if I was beginning to become annoying! So, I thought updating a blog with our "family doin's" would keep it simple.
Second: I love to write ...and have off and on ever since I was a small child. Even though I have always preferred writing stories, I thought this would also give me an outlet for expressing some of my thoughts.

What happened was this: I found a whole network of friends that have become very real and dear to me. It has been truly a blessing to meet such wonderful people...especially other Christian women.

I have no particular "style" that I can even figure out. It is just all over the board! Once in awhile, I feel that God gives me something of to share. Sometimes, from my own experience, such as in this post. Or even this one...about No TV day.
Maybe, it's just a little Christmas poem I wrote, borrowing shamelessly from Clement Moore...as in this case.

But no matter what style of post I end up writing, I love to read each and every reply...and sometimes getting to know the people behind those little replies.

I love all things nostalgic- especially old movies- and have another little blog listed on my sidebar.
And to find out more than you ever wanted to know about me, you can find it out on My 100th Post!

So...thank you so much for stopping by. Before you move on to the next little gathering, enjoy that last sip of punch and don't mind Mandy's barking....I put her in the crate to spare you from being pounced upon and I'll be letting her out soon. Please...don't worry that you spilled a drop of punch on the carpet. The carpet has seen so much worse is definitely not afraid!

God's blessings! And do come again!