What a day we have had!  We are remodeling the kitchen, finally, after the water leak we had back in February.  It has been a little slow going - picking out what we wanted, waiting for the insurance company to decide what they are going to do (not much!), figuring out financing, and a wedding in the mix with 2 trips to Colorado during this time.

Finally, at the end of last week, Sam, my son-in-law and contractor, told me it was time to pack up the kitchen.  He brought boxes and boxes, helped pack a lot of it, moved some cabinets into my sewing room, a huge bed from the sewing room to the downstairs, moved some other furniture and appliances, and then we did the rest - packed boxes, sorted out some yard sale items, moved some furniture around, set up our appliances, etc.

Today was tear-out day.  I wasn't home when Sam got started.  Why not?  I was running to the printer to pick up invitations, meeting with our church secretary who is helping me put inserts into the bulletins - oh - I left out that part - we are having a reception at the end of July for Betsy and Andrew.  At 10:00 AM I met Amanda at the church.  I was watching Charlie for the morning while she took Megan and John for doctor check-ups (2 years for Megan and 4 months for John).  So, she dropped off Charlie with his backpack and lunch, and we spent the morning playing on our church playground with my friend Jessie and her grandson until it got too hot, then played in the church nursery and ate lunch until Amanda picked Charlie up.

I was home by around 1:00, where Sam and 2 other young men were already tearing out all of the cabinets and the appliances.  I set up my computer in one of our downstairs bedrooms that used to be Amanda's (I usually keep my laptop in the kitchen).  And I discovered there was NO WATER - they needed to have it off.  Sigh.

2:00 - meeting with a decorator about window treatments and lighting, at my house while the noise and banging was going on around us.

3:30 ish - Amanda arrives with the kiddos for the piano lessons she teaches.  I watch the kids upstairs and she teaches downstairs at our piano.  They were thrilled to see Daddy and the other men they knew but scared by the noise and commotion.  Especially Megan, who had just gotten 2 shots that morning at the doctor, was warm to the touch, and couldn't stand for me to pick her up because her legs hurt where they gave her the shots.

We stayed out of the way of the kitchen, which wasn't easy as the rooms are all near each other!   Charlie and Megan played, and John, who had also gotten 2 shots, was fine for a few minutes, but then started crying and then screaming!!!  He screamed for at least 30 - 40 minutes, with me walking with him, trying to keep his pacifier in his mouth, and trying to calm him down, because I knew that Amanda and the piano students could surely hear him!  I think he was upset by the combination of the pain from the shots, not feeling well in general, all the noise and banging, and a little separation anxiety.  We did okay, with Megan crying every little while when the banging got particularly loud!  And by the way, still no water!

Finally, Amanda was finished, and she took the kids on home.  They were great cleaner-uppers, which I really did appreciate.  I didn't need toys all over an already cluttered and torn up house!

By now it was 5:30 and I knew that I wasn't going to try to eat in that house!  The cabinets were out and the floor was next!  I had my stitching group meeting at Barnes and Noble and Jim had already told me he was going to be late.  I texted Jim and asked him to please pick himself up something to eat whenever he was coming home (he was happy to do that).  I gathered my stitching and my purse, stopped at the nearest fast food place on the way to Barnes and Noble, ate my unhealthy dinner in the car, got to Barnes and Noble where I ordered an iced tea unsweetened (I have been off sugary drinks for the most part) and sat down with my friends and my stitching - what a blessing!!!  I am STILL working on my Grandmother's Flower Garden, but it is such a mindless, easy, comforting project, and fills me with peace and tranquility when I work on it!  Oh, and a headache that had started way back on my way home from the church at 1:00 was by now full-blown, but fortunately, my headache medicine goes with me wherever I go.

I came home close to 8:30 and the guys were just leaving!!!!  Jim was just arriving.  So, then he and Sam chatted and made some decisions about lighting or something or other, I had some organizing to do of the stuff that was now everywhere, I fixed up a place to wash dishes at a bathroom sink, and fixed up my "coffee station" at the long counter downstairs where we used to do school - it is still called our "school station" - where I will keep the coffee pot and all.  Now I am sitting here and I can finally feel the muscles in the back of my neck relax.  I have made a million and a half trips up and down the stairs in the last few days, so at least I am getting exercise!

Just thought I'd share about my day!  Now to wash those few dishes from today and fix up the coffee pot for the morning. . .

                                       
                                           

Back in February, I took a class in hand appliqueing felted wool.  This is the Winter Wooly Sheep; the next class, on the Spring one is coming up, so I needed to finish this one!  Finally finished him last night.  I am not sure that wool applique is going to be my thing, but I'll go ahead and do these four seasonal sheep.

The basting lines look askew in the picture, but they are actually even all around the picture and are to be used as a guide for framing.

Amanda and I decided that instead of picking strawberries this year, with 3 children, ages 3 and under, we would go to the farm that has them and buy them!

                                  

A couple of our friends thought that was such a good idea, that they wanted us to buy them some!  So, we bought 2 flats for us and 2 for other people.

We had a nice time!  We let the kids walk around the area where they had a little farmer's market, and eat a few strawberries, then back in the car. . .

                                  

                                  

Then, yesterday, we made jam.  Sometimes we make freezer jam and sometimes we process it, and this time, we wanted some processed jars of jam -

                                   

We made 2 batches, giving us 20 jelly jars of strawberry jam -

                                    

                                    

And this is all we had left! 

                                    

The kids wanted me to take their picture watching "Word World" on PBS -

                                    

                                    

                                    

We still have freezer jam in the freezer, so with what we made yesterday, we have enough strawberry jam.  Maybe we'll pick some other berries soon!

My dear elderly friend, Mrs. Davis, died about 20 minutes ago.  She is at peace, in the presence of her Lord and Savior; her faith has been made sight, and for that I rejoice.  But her precious husband must be in so much pain.  They came to church faithfully in spite of so many health issues over the years, and I usually sat next to them.  I will miss her.

I am so, so sad here.  On top of all the tornado destruction news that keeps coming in, an email from my church that just came said that told of one of our elderly women having a massive stroke and is not expected to live.  She is the sweetest, dearest woman.  I chatted with her on Sunday about her daughter, who lives in another state, who is probably a little older than me, was having yet more surgery Wednesday (tomorrow) for breast cancer.  My dear elderly friend will be in Jesus' presence, but I will miss her, and it is her precious husband and family who I feel so sad for.

And another email, actually a Care Pages update also makes me so sad. . . a dear young friend, mother of two young children, who is battling breast cancer with metastasis to her liver and bone, is not doing well.  Again, Kim is strong in her faith and knows the Lord, but my heart aches for her husband and sons.  Please pray for a miracle!

Just thought I would share my heart with my xanga friends this morning!

On Saturday, May 14th, we went sightseeing.  We headed out in 2 vans to Colorado Springs.  It was chilly!  I don't think it got out of the 30's all day.  But at least it wasn't raining when we started out.  I don't have a lot of pictures, but I have a few, to remember the highlights of the day.  We went to Garden of the Gods and walked around, looking at the beautiful rock formations, watching rock-climbers, chatting with each other.  I was soooo cold all day - I was NOT prepared for the chilly weather - never again will I believe the weather people, who predicted 70's and sunny right up until the snow!

From there, we ate lunch and then headed to the Cliff Dwellings, where you could climb in and out of the places where the Indians had lived.  This was a little more fun for the kids -

                                      

                                      

                                      

                                      

And I got this great picture of Dave and Wendy!

                                       

Ok, now I need to tell a story. . . In 1984, Jim and I moved, with the Air Force, to Plattsburgh, NY.  Suzanne was 4 and Amanda was 2.  Jim was one of two surgeons at a 20-bed hospital at the Air Force Base there, which is no longer in existence.  Plattsburgh is a wonderful city, 30 miles from the Canadian border.  We were there for 2 years.  And during that time I was pregnant with Betsy!  We made some friends in Plattsburgh, several of whom I am still friends with today.  We were especially close to another AF couple, Betsy and Ed.  Ed was a Physician's Assistant.  Betsy was a stay at home mom, and they lived in the cutest log cabin!  Betsy was a wonderful friend, especially during those difficult days of dealing with the pregnancy, the coldest and snowiest place that I could ever imagine living, and the fact that we were a little isolated from things - the two closest airports were either in Montreal or in Burlington, VT, which was a ferry ride across Lake Champlain.  And shopping was limited.  There was NOWHERE to buy maternity clothes in Plattsburgh - those were the days when you could only find maternity clothes in maternity stores.  So, Betsy and I drove to Burlington to buy me clothes, and her dear mother, who was visiting, hemmed them all for me!  Those were also the days when nothing came in petite sizes for short women!  And I spent all of the end of that pregnancy in two tank dresses that Betsy's mother had made her back when tank dresses were popular.  I looked quite like a tank!

We moved during that pregnancy, to Texas, where I had a beautiful baby girl.  I knew all along what I was going to name that baby if it was a girl - Betsy.  After my precious friend, who got me through that very cold couple of years!

Betsy didn't see her namesake until much later - we were 2 years in Texas, then 7 years in Biloxi, MS, for our second time there, and then Jim retired and we moved here to VA.  Then, Ed and Betsy were stationed in Washington DC!  So, soon after we moved here, we drove to DC for a visit.  Little Betsy was 9 years old before they met!

So, now Ed and Betsy are in Colorado Springs!  And I saw Betsy about 6 years ago when we were there for a visit, but not Ed.  And they hadn't seen our kids since that DC trip.  But this time, we made it work!  After we left the Cliff Dwellers, we drove into a town called Manitou Springs.  Amanda and Sam really needed to take 3 very tired children on back to Denver.  And of course our Betsy and Andrew had left the night before.  But the rest of us were able to hang out in Manitou Springs, and Betsy and Ed met us there.  What a wonderful time we had!  While the rain was pouring down, and the temps were getting colder, we all went into a little cafe and spent 2 hours visiting and chatting - so it was Ed, Betsy, me, Jim, Suzanne, Dave and Wendy.  Dave and Wendy were so very gracious to hang out with us and chat with our friends!

Wendy took some pictures for me -

                                        

                                        

What a wonderful way to end our stay in Colorado!

After leaving Colorado Springs, we drove back to Denver - through more snow!!!!  Jim and Suzanne and I had a very nice dinner with Dave and Wendy at an Outback Steakhouse, then on to our hotel to pack for the trip home.  Great memories!

                                      

Betsy and Andrew were married on May 13th, a Friday evening, at the Denver Aquarium.  I have already shown a similar picture, but it was a good place to start.  Mothers of the bride can't really take pictures during the wedding, or too many afterwards, but I took a few! 

After the wedding ceremony, which was not traditional in location, but was very traditional in the saying of vows and the message given by the pastor, we had a dinner/reception in the restaurant at the aquarium.  We had a section of the room with our own buffet dinner.  Here are a few of the pictures during dinner -

                                       

The people in the background of this one weren't part of the wedding group-

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

Luna was there, being taken care of during the wedding and this week while Betsy and Andrew have been away, by Andrew's brother and his wife -

                                        

Bets and Andrew with Dave, our very dear friend and a former pastor at our church, who was very special to us during the years he was here, and flew to Denver to perform the ceremony -

                                        

This is the picture that everyone signed.  Sorry about the glare -

                                        

Posing for a few more pictures -

                                        

                                        

                                        

Next time - sightseeing in Colorado Springs!

                                       

                                          

On Thursday, which was the 12th, after the Children's Museum, Jim and I went back to the airport to pick up Suzanne, while the rest of the kids ate lunch and then went back to the hotel so that the little ones could take naps.  We were staying at a wonderful hotel - a Residence Inn, in Aurora, CO, near the airport.  I chose that one because we could get two 2-bedroom suites and a studio suite for a very reasonable price that included a wonderful breakfast.  Each suite had a full kitchen, so, although we didn't cook there, we kept snacks and drinks and we had coffee there in the mornings, etc.  One of the 2-bedrooms was for Jim and I and Suzanne and Bets, and the other was for Amanda and Sam and kiddos.  They had a separate living room too, and it was especially perfect for Amanda with the little ones and a nursing baby.   We were all across the hall from each other, and Wendy and Dave were in a regular studio suite, right next door.

Betsy was modeling her flowers, because I hadn't seen them yet.  They are a silk flower arrangement made at a Michael's near where she lives.  She chose silk because she is allergic to most flowers, as is Dave, so that was the safest, and of course they can be used again for the two later receptions she is having.

                                         

Jim and Andrew hanging out watching TV -

                                          

They had framed a picture of themselves with a white matte around it for people to sign at the reception -

                                           

That night, Thursday, we were all invited to the Quillens for dinner.  I took a few pictures but hadn't asked permission of any of them to blog them, so I won't.  It was a lovely dinner, very casual, and we were able to meet Andrew's family.  We already had met his parents and some others, but this was such a nice opportunity to get to chat and know them better!  We had storms all day in the Denver/Aurora area, and the Quillens had been without power for a few hours that afternoon!  But Andrew's mother did a great job in pulling off a wonderful, delicious dinner for us!

Friday - wedding day!  We spent the morning running a few errands and then started getting ready in the afternoon.  Here is Betsy trying on her dress early in the afternoon - I hadn't seen it since we had taken it to be altered back in March -

                                              

                                             

And with a shawl I knitted for her -

                                              

Bets and Suzanne -

                                                

Suz doing Betsy's hair -

                                                 

                                                  

The finishing touches -

                                           

                                           

All ready!

                                            

                                            

                                             

                                               

Next time - the wedding!  It was at the Denver Aquarium, and was very small - immediate family only, in front of the big fish tank!  Very interesting!

                                           

We left home on Wednesday, May 11th, with 7 people flying to Denver - 3 of them ages 3 and under.  The kids were well prepared and did great on the whole trip - 2 flights with a layover in Atlanta.  We were so proud of them!  Here we are, waiting in the airport -

                                          

                                          

                                          

We arrived in Denver at about 5:30 (Denver time) and were met by Betsy and Andrew, then we ate dinner in the airport.  We knew that by the time we picked up our rental cars, it would be very late for the kids, who were on Virginia time, and we were all hungry.  Just before we landed, the pilot, you know, tells the current weather conditions, and he said it was raining and cold - I can't remember what he said the temperature was.  So, we ate and then looked outside and saw SNOW!!!   Not just a little snow, but the biggest snowflakes that any of us had ever seen!

Jim and Sam took a shuttle to get our rental cars (we needed two!) and came back to get us.  We got in our cars, with lots of maps and directions, but we couldn't see a thing!  ALL of the road and highway signs were COVERED with snow!!!  The snow was blowing and sticking on the signs.  Betsy and Andrew had left to go to Andrew's parents' house - it was Andrew's birthday that day too, and they were celebrating that - and so we ended up stopping at a couple of gas stations to find our way.  We FINALLY made it to our hotel, but it took awhile.  Dave and Wendy had a flight delay, so they were even later.  Dave was the associate pastor of our church here for several years, several years ago, and we were always very close with him.  The girls especially had a good relationship with him.  He had left our church by the time Amanda and Sam were getting married, but he came back and performed their wedding ceremony.  Betsy really wanted him to marry her and Andrew, and we were all so thrilled when he agreed!  I have a picture later on of both he and Wendy, but there are a few of Dave coming up here.

Thursday morning we went to the Denver Children's Museum.  It was a great way to spend the morning -

                                           

                                           

Here is Dave, playing with Megan -

                                           

The bubbles room -

                                           

                                           

                                           

                                           

This room had activities and puzzles -

                                           

Luna was being a good service dog -

                                           

Next time - getting ready for the wedding!

                              

                                     

Betsy and Andrew were married on Friday evening, May 13th, in a very nice ceremony at the Denver Aquarium.  It was a wonderful evening, and I wanted to get a picture of them up here to get started.  I will post a blog with pictures of the day to day events of our trip, starting tomorrow!