Christmas in July

Hi all! I am looking for all suggestions for out Christmas gift exchange. I have already heard to include all ages in one drawing, exchange ornaments and do nothing at all. I am open to opinions and would welcome either a comment or an email to help get ideas flowing. That is all for now, enjoy the 4th of July weekend and do something special to remember our servicemen and their families. Julie

Happy Birthday Mama!!!

I just wanna tell my mama HAPPY BIRTHDAY and that I love her and that I got so lucky when God gave me a great mama who also turned out to be one of my best friends!!!!!  I am so lucky to have you in my life and can't believe you are only 45 and look soooo great!! And your heart is  made of gold.  You mean so much to me and I wouldn't be who I am without you or dad.  Don't know if people realize how close we are but I know I have for sure shared some things with you that other people would die if they told their mom. SOOO thank you so much for being you and for admitting you faults and sharing your mistakes to better my life.  Thank you for having some of the best days with me.  I can't believe how lucky I am to have two parents that I can talk to with for hours and share everything with I am blessed by my Lord Jesus beyond a doubt. I just wanted everyone to know how grateful I am for the woman who taught me how to love when my heart ached and who taught me how to smile when I didn't think I could. Hope you had a great birthday!! Here is our song by T. Swift!! Love you mama!!

"The Best Day"
I'm five years old It's getting cold  I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh
And look up smiling at you
I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch
And the tractor rides
Look now -- the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep
On the way home
I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day With you today

I'm thirteen now And don't know how my friends Could be so mean

I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys

And we drive and drive Until we've found a town
Far enough away
And we talk and window-shop Until I've forgotten all their names
I don't know who I'm gonna talk to Now at school
I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day
With you today

I have an excellent father
His strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother and sister
Inside and out
They're better than I am
I grew up in a pretty house
And I had space to run
And I had the best days with you

There is a video
I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen
And you're talking to me

It's the age of princesses and pirate ships And the seven dwarfs
Daddy's smart And you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

Now I know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side
Even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
Staying back and watching me shine
And I didn't know if you knew
So I'm taking this chance to say
That I had the best day
With you today

Memories

Looking at Dawns post, taking Riley out for his toilet duties, and Rita's birthday reminded me of the "good old days". Now i know I am getting Grandma syndrome. I remember when I was young and it was HOT outside I would get the Radio Flyer wagon. I would put down a blanket, get a couple of kids usually Rita and Monica sometimes Jeff and Monica or Jeff and Rita. I would put them in the wagon and take off for an afternoon walk. We headed over to Audley Drive and kept walking until I got tired or pulling the wagon. I looked at the lawns and we all said "HI" to people we met. I don't know what the passengers were thinking but I was daydreaming and had many days of that in the summer heat. So as the heat of summer rolls on take the time to day dream like Rita and Dawn did with the cottage on Geneva Lake. The sun and heat can make for the perfect time to dream and take a risk. Enjoy the adventure and "What you Dream is what IS possible. If you don't Dream it will never be Possible." Julie
Don't forget to click on Dawn's pictures and Dream!

What do you do at 2 a.m.?

What am I doing up at 2 a.m. I ask myself... I love this heat we've had for the past 2 days. I know many people really don't like it, but I think I was born to live in the juicy Florida climate. My whole body loves this. So what does get me up at this crazy hour???

My stomach is growling... seriously. You can stop laughing at me. I guess I should have had that snack before bedtime. Bummer, a little late now.

So is anybody else up with me? Is anybody out there? Probably not (you are all very wise). It was great seeing some of the family for Father's Day. We don't have family get togethers often enough.

The Riveria in Lake Geneva

For those I didn't see on Sunday, last week I sent Chris to summer camp... well not really. He has an annual golf trip he takes with 13 other guys up to the Wis. Dells. They rent a huge house on the Wisconsin River and play lots of golf Wed - Sunday. So while he was out of town this year, I had his niece Briana out to stay a few days with me. The highlight of Briana's stay was that I took her on the Mailboat Cruise on Lake Geneva. I hadn't taken that boat ride since Mom & Dad took us on that as kids... yes, many moons ago. :) So it was a treat to be able to share it with her.

The mail delivery kids actually have to jump off the boat while it is moving, deliver the mail to the dock mailbox, then back on the boat... and the boat never stops! Many a mail people have taken a swim in the past! :)

Stone Manor - now a 6 unit condo building, originally the largest single family home built on the lake. It has 7 livable floors with a rooftop pool! Nice!


What do you think for our next weekend gathering? These digs aren't too shabby. I just thought this home (especially the hammock) was super dreamy! :)

I wanted to share a few pics from our cruise and let you all know I love you! Stay cool in this heat, and please make sure to check on your neighbors & friends (especially the elderly or those with compromised health.) Share the love!

XOXO,
Dawn

Free Woodburning Stove!!!

I know this isn't the greatest picture, but it's the only one I have on the computer. So, if you are in need/want of a wood-burning stove, we have one available. It comes with the hearth pad (pictured here) as well as the pipes (not pictured here). It works great, but we switched to a gas fireplace instead. I believe we will be able to haul it, just let me know where. It's taking up way too much space in my garage!

Have a stupendous weekend!
R

More Babies

Just wanted to share a quick post and pic. Tiffany, a miniature poodle, gave birth to 8 puppies - 2 boys and 6 girls. Two of the girls are twins! The top pic is of one of the twins, just to get an idea of how tiny they are. Who's Tiffany? She belongs to Audrey's and Kimberly's Grandma Buchan. Anyhow, I couldn't resist sharing. They are so cute and so very tiny.

Have a GREAT Day!

Love,

R

The Babies Are Here!!!

Not my babies of course... at least not by blood. By property ownership, then they belong to us! :)

I just saw the fawns for the first time today. Chris saw them early last week, but this was the first I've seen them. I glanced out the window in the living room by my computer desk and saw them romping & frolicking away.

The two pictures below are taking looking out my window. The one above was taken after I snuck outside in stealth mode, hid behind the tree like the paparazzi and zoomed in the best I could without scaring the poor little things. (You can click on each picture to enlarge it so you too can see the precious little white spots on bambi!)

Aren't they adorable? I just had to share because I know they will put a smile on your face for no apparent reason. They're just precious!

Much love to all and a great big HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the dads!

AHHH the Weekend!

I hope everyone enjoyed the sun and warmth of the weekend. I for one enjoyed the warmth with low humidity. Coffee on the deck to start the day and much home-work the rest of the day. I have few pictures of Amy and her Birthday present. She got a ladder so she can do her happy homeowner maintenance. She will have the pride and fatigue of power washing her deck to prepare for staining. I am posting the picture of her goggles because I always ask the safety questions when they tell of a project they are doing. You know, "Did you .......?" Have a good week if you bale hay or paint or wash you windows do it with pride, have fun and use your safety gear. You should really go visit Amy and Greg sometime in Oregon. They have a nice house and a nice deck with a woods like setting behind them and flowers and you will have to go see the rest since I am not a realtor and don't have the vocab to paint a picture. Julie

Farming, working and Life at the Merfelds

Wow Dawn you have had some animal action at your place:) Well life is crazy here, yesterday on my day off of work Pyper and I spent 6 hours cutting hay for Jesse and then he came and took over when he was done. He is back on 1st shift so I now have to share the bed again which believe me I don't mind at all. Jesse's Dad is in Mississippi baling straw for a local farmer in Columbus who rents land down there, there winter wheat is ready to harvest where up here it won't be ready until July. Pyper is growing up so fast and we are enjoying every second of it, she has rolled over a couple of times and she loves it when Daddy changes her diaper:) Jesse and I decided that we really do not need 2 cars and a truck so we are selling my car, if anyone is interested in a 04 VW jetta diesel that gets 45-50 mpg let me know we are hoping to sell it for 12995 or best offer. I get to drive the truck:):):) When is it ever going to warm up????

I am looking forward to getting a new lawn mower that Jesse and I are going to share with his parents, you see we have an arrangement that Deb my Mother in law will watch Pyper as I mow both her lawn and mine, that way she gets to spend time with her grand daughter and get her lawn mowed and I get a nice tan:):) see everybody is happy. Well I am off soon to go pick Pyper up and then go play volleyball, what a great night;) lost of love to everyone and enjoy some pic of my growing girl:)

Your Daily Wildlife update

** Oh look, it's a cow... it's a horse... it's a greyhound... **
no, it's just a deer, delicately munching on my Russian Sage.




As I looked out my kitchen window and saw this photo op, I knew I had to take the picture and post here to share. For a second I thought the neighbors greyhounds got out... LOL (refer to comments of previous post for the doorway to our inside joke.)

Much love to all!

Dawn the Critter Whisperer

Where the wild things are ... still!

It's funny, so after our ugly turkey vultures... it's been nothing but wildlife and adorable creatures around here. The adventure started last week when Chris went out to water the flowers. He went to turn on the spicket under the kitchen window, and he heard a rustling in the leaf-filled window well right next to the faucet.

To explain the arrangement, we have a few boards leaning up against the house to prevent the window well from filling with rain, thus keeping our basement dry.

So the first thought was oh gee, I think we've got a mouse in the window well... but after pulling back the boards, quite a different critter was waiting to say hello! Let me introduce you to Rhiyana... pardon her heavy eye make-up. :)



Here's a picture looking at her from Chris' desk.

We really thought she was going to settle in for the long haul and have babies. She was a small raccoon, but definitely had a very pregnant tummy on her. (thought she might be the next octo-mom!) But after 5 days of her free-loading at the Twelve Gables B&B, our adorable raccoon left to find more suitable arrangement to have her little kits. I think the dogs barking inside may have made her a little uncomfortable.

Just wait though... our wildlife story doesn't end there!

So today, we had some wicked bad storms that rolled through. Crazy winds, over an inch of rain, and it all rolled in so fast. So we hunkered down, read a book and when the storm passed and the skies were blue again... look what was waddling down our driveway...



Yes, this is Ted, our adorable little turtle. By the time I got my camera and got outside, he had waddled into the grass and was heading back to the woods. I got down to shell level to get to know Ted the Turtle better, he's middle aged, lives in the pond next door, and likes long walks in green grass. If you happen to bump into a single, Tina Turtle, Ted's number is 1-800-Got-Shell.

So that's the most recent adventures in Dawn & Chris' Wilderness Rescue. Chris said in all his years living here, he's never seen this much wildlife on such a regular basis. That is must be my good chi that they feel so welcome here. I still don't have any pictures of our drunken robin. The Mr. & Mrs. have nested down and I'm sure are sitting on eggs at this point.

Our little fox was running around early last week, but I didn't get any pictures. I just stared in awe at the beauty that surrounds us. I hope these warm & fuzzy pictures make you feel better than seeing our Turkey Vultures. Stay tuned for the next episode of Chris & Dawn + the 4-leggeds!

Love to all!

Swing set? What swing set?

Just wanted to share a pic of power-tool-hungry Noah on top of what was left of our old swing set. He and Scott took the whole thing down last weekend. Sure makes the backyard look bigger. Anyhow, I just couldn't resist sharing the pic because he is sooooo cool (aka adorable)! Right?

Burlington News

Hi Everyone!
It's been a while since I've done an update on the Storey family so, like a newspaper, I'll briefly fill you in on all the RANDOM happenings in our life.

Ashlynn-
11 Months old already! Where did the time go? I'm in the process of planning her 1st Birthday party so when I get more details figured out I'll let you all know. She's now walking everywhere! She really enjoys chasing Isis (our cat), playing "lets see who gets to Riley's water first," following the "big 2 year olds" at the park, and running away from mom and dad BUTT NAKED after bath time! She's a blast and we are enjoying every minute of it. She's also quite the chatter box! Vocab includes: mama, dada, thank you, good girl, kitty, Riley, uh-oh, Mo (more), Hi, baby, and the list goes on. She may not look a lot like me but she DOES have my personality! If I remember I'm going to include a video of her reading her book to Grandpa! :-)

House-
Over the past couple months we have spent many hours doing research and planning and searching for a house. We are closer than we have ever been to actually OWNING a home! :-) We "potentially" have a house here in Burlington, Honey Lake area to be exact. It's located in a town-in-the-county (if that makes sense.) It's a ranch style house with a nice deck, full basement (unfinished- for now) very open floor plan, and a great size for a first home. It's also set on almost an acre lot which is awesome. We can't wait to have a yard considering we have NOTHING for grass at our apartment. We have an accepted off, done our home inspection, done the well and septic inspection, and the loan is in the works. Everything is going smoothly! (knock on wood.) We are waiting for the bank appraisal and Rural Development inspection which we should hear about soon. Our closing date is set for June 26th! Cross your fingers!

Work-
I recently became the head of my department (cosmetics) at Walgreen's. It's not a huge step up or anything but it feels nice to have a little bit of power! We have been quite busy and my days usually go fast. Brian has been super busy at work! They have recently taken on many Government projects for the Highway Safety people and whatnot. (yeah it's complicated language to someone who knows nothing about crashing cars...well not on purpose anyway!) Anyway, they seem to always have a full load and he's still enjoying what he does. They have gotten in a lot of new or not-yet-released cars, like the 2010 Camaro (quit drooling Greg) and hybrids, that they load it with sensors and send it down the track 65mph to it's death. They have also done a lot of bus testing and crashing. It's interesting stuff. I don't do it justice when I try to explain his job, go to http://www.mgaresearch.com/ if you want to make sense of my chatter.

Expecting-
Yes! We are expecting again! I'm sure most of you have heard this thru the grapevine but if not SURPRISE! We are so excited. Pregnancy is going well, just as easy as it was with Ashlynn. Check-ups have been great, baby is growing wonderfully, and beginning to move quite a bit! Banana splits have been amazing and iced tea has been the best drink ever invented. ;-) We will be 20 weeks this Saturday! Our due date is set for October 31st. Yay! Today we had our ultrasound to determine gender. We found out we are having...
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That sums up this edition of Burlington News. Hope everyone is having a good Spring and lets cross our Fingers for some nicer weather!

Love-
Storey Family :-)