Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a time to reflect on people who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.  It is also a time to thank our current service men and women and veterans for their courage and bravery.  It is because of you that our country is the best place to live on this planet.  Thank you is such a small and seemingly insignificant phrase, but know that it is meant with the deepest respect and admiration for all you have done.

I love to decorate for the summer holidays starting with Memorial Day and leading next into the 4th of July.  It makes me feel so patriotic.  Red, white and blue are such happy colors and I get such a feeling of Americana when this time of year comes around.

We celebrated this fabulous holiday by inviting some friends over for a cookout.  We did "cook out" on the grill, but the entire time was spent indoors because the temperature soared into the 90's and the humidity was oppressive.

Here is what our menu consisted of:

chicken or shrimp kabobs with peppers, onions and mushrooms

Greek Santorini Couscous Salad

macaroni salad

deviled eggs

strawberry shortcake kabobs for dessert

Greek Santorini Salad.....see recipe here

Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs....via pinterest

We also made whole fruit margaritas.  Oh my, were they ever delicious.  We recently purchased a Vitamix and this recipe was in the cookbook that came with it.  In the future I will talk more about the Vitamix and everything wonderful it can do.

Whole Fruit Margarita

1/4 cup water

6 oz tequila

2 oz Grand Marnier or triple sec

1 medium orange, peeled, halved and seeded

1 lime, peeled, seeded

1 lemon, peeled, halved, seeded

6 Tablespoons sugar (I used 4 T of Truvia)

4 cups ice cubes

1.  Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container (blender) in the order listed and secure lid.

2.  Select Variable 1.

3.  Switch machine to start and slowly increase speed to variable 10.

4.  Blend for 15-20 seconds or until desired consistency is reached.

5.  Pour into salt-rimmed margarita glasses.

6.  Serves 5.

We do not care for the salt on the rim, so we just skipped it.  Sugar on the rim is another option too.

Olivia 15, Chloe 17, Josh 19, Adam 18

The kids have basically grown up together.  Although they go to different schools, they have become good friends over the years.

The Coles....Olivia, Donna, Adam, Ed

 Donna, Mark and I are originally from Buffalo.  Donna moved to Syracuse after she graduated from SUNY Potsdam and married the love of her life, Ed.  She has been a music (instrument) teacher in the same district that hired her right out of college.  I believe they have lived here for about 24 years.  Ten years later is when we moved to Syracuse and it was Donna who helped us get acquainted with the area.  Thank you so much....we couldn't have done it without you.

Just us.....Josh, Mark, Chloe, Holly

Donna and I have been friends since the 5th grade.  So that is about 36 years.  Wow, that's a long time! I never realized it has been that long.  Well, it has been a fabulous 36 years my friend.  So many great and wonderful times/laughs/trips/tears and memories.  Cheers (with my margarita in hand) to friendship.

Holly and Donna

Hope you all had a marvelous Memorial Day weekend!  Let summer begin....WOOHOO!

Holly

Moving....one of the top stresses of life.

WE ARE IN...........that's all I'll say for now.  You would think I could move blind folded and not have it effect me, but it is never the case.  It truly is one of the top stresses of life.
The only pics I will show you is the outside (curb appeal) and a few empty rooms and boxes.  We are getting our furniture in two shipments.  In some cases that is good, so you can settle before the second shipment comes. In other cases not so good, because you have to do all over again.  In any case it will get done and the Lord willing our backs will survive.  I will blog in the near future with pics of the inside when we are a little more settled.  Then when complete we will have the full reveal.

This is the front of our house.

Here is our skinny little driveway...so cute

This is  our neighbor's yard.  Thank you for keeping it so pretty for us to enjoy.

Messy backyard.....

Backdoor (still messy)

Backyard 

This completes the outside (before), now for a few inside (before)          

The following pics are rooms waiting for the balance of the furniture.

Well that's it folks......the agonizing pictures of MOVING.  Stay tuned for more updates and pics to come......Must run, we have an appointment with the Chiropractor.

Chrissy

OMG......A New Car

Oh em gee! We bought a new car! And not just any car, mind you! Our family has a third car. We now have one for Mark, one for me and ONE FOR THE KIDS! Yikes!  How did this happen?  I don't really know because if you ask either of them they will tell you that our rule was that we would never buy them a car and that if they wanted one they would have to save up their own money and purchase one themselves. Yep, that's what we said.  Did we stick to that rule? Nope!

OK, so here's why.  Josh is home from college for the summer and he has a job.  Chloe will finish her Junior year in high school in a few weeks and she has a job.  Mark and I have jobs too.  Are you getting the picture?  We also thought that it would teach them some more added responsibility.  They are responsible for the gas, washing, scheduling the maintenance and figuring out who gets it when.  Josh is 19 and Chloe is 17.  They are pretty trustworthy already and we thought that they could handle this added responsibility.  Honestly, if I thought they couldn't handle it or weren't ready we wouldn't have even considered it.

So far, so good.  We are still in the honeymoon stages.  I'm pretty confident that they will step up to the plate and do just fine with it.  They are really great kids that God has entrusted us with and this is just the next step in allowing them to spread their wings and fly.  I hope I'm not disappointing you, God,  and that you would approve.

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy the wonderful holiday weekend we have coming up.

Holly

Worth the Read

Reading? Reading! What, reading? Me, read?  Haha! That's the biggest joke I ever heard. I hate reading.  Well, I use to hate reading.  Growing up I never read.  I don't even think I read in school, even though it was required.  Have you heard of Cliff Notes?  I had so many copies that I probably should have owned stock in the company.  It's still a mystery how I graduated at the top of my class, and was a member of the National Honor Society.  I'm pretty sure I would never make it through high school today.  When I see what kind of work my kids have to do these days, it blows my mind.  I tell them all the time that they are way smarter than I ever was.  Unfortunately, I think my kids inherited the "I hate reading" gene.  They also inherited the "I can't sing to save my life" gene.  Those genes are both from me.  My husband Mark (their dad) is an incredible singer and he is constantly reading.  Same goes for my Dad.  He sings just beautifully and usually has two or three books going at a time.


Anyway, I digress.  I now enjoy reading. What?  Did I actually say that.  Yes I did. I'll even say it again "I enjoy reading".  I actually woke up one day and thought that it would probably be a good idea to read more.  My idea of reading was to peruse the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens or Coastal Living magazines.  Although enjoyable, and the pictures are to die for, probably not doing too much to expand my vocabulary or exercise my brain too much.  Did I just pick up some random book and start reading, you ask?  Well, no.....sort of.  I joined a book club.  It made me think I was back in school again because it made me read.  I had a deadline to meet and I didn't want to be the only one at our next meeting to not have read the latest.  So I did everything in my power to finish on time, even if it meant pulling all-nighters or bringing my book with me to my kid's latest band concert in school.  Oh, come on, don't tell me you haven't done that, or at least thought of it?  I can proudly say that because of book club I have become a reader.  I even read different books in between book club books.  That brings me to why I decided to do this post.  Most of the books I read on my own have been inspirational or spiritual type books.  Here are a few of my favorites. 

Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.

A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.


It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch.


Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.

When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency appendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous survival. What they weren't expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed-a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy's trip to heaven and back.

Heaven Is for Real will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering the chance to see, and believe, like a child.

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." --Randy Pausch

This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.

This one is my favorite.  It answers anything and everything you might be wondering.  It's the one book that I keep with me all the time.  It is either next to my bed, on the kitchen table, at my desk or in the family room.  Pretty much wherever I am.  I highly recommend it.  Another one I recommend:

Jesus Calling is a devotional filled with uniquely inspired treasures from heaven for every day of the year.  After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her.  It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue.  She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but journaling helped her grow closer to God.  Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages.  They are written from Jesus' point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling.  It is Sarah's fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.

I have this book in journal form.  It gives me room to write down my thoughts and prayers each day to accompany what Jesus has to say to me.  It's like I'm talking to Him through my journaling.  Nothing feels more comforting.

These are two books that I currently have on reserve at the library.  I'm in line.  It seems everyone else wants to read these too.  I've heard wonderful things about each of these books.  What I like to do sometimes is borrow them from the library first and if I like them, then go and purchase them.  It's nice to have them to write in, hi-light or fold pages back.

So there you have it.  These are definitely "Worth the Read".  What's on your night stand now that you are reading.  Let me know and maybe I'll add it to my "pile" of up coming "reads".

Thanks for stopping by,

Holly

sources: www.amazon.com

           http://beeslikehoney.tumblr.com/ 

Just Josh

Guess what I'm doing today?  I'm so excited!!! Banker Man and I are driving up to SUNY Oswego to pick up our son Josh from college.  He will be home for the summer.  I can't believe that he has finished up his first year as a Broadcast Journalism major.  We couldn't be more proud.  I thought that this would be a great opportunity to share with you a little bit about our oldest child Joshua Christian Kay.

What a cutie!!!! He takes after his mom!?!

Josh was born on January 15, 1993 in Amherst, New York (a northern suburb of Buffalo).  He arrived 8 days past his due date at an even 8 lbs.  Come to think of it, he did everything a bit late.  He didn't crawl or get his first tooth until he was 10 months old.  He didn't walk until he was 15 months.  We figured out that if he couldn't do it perfectly he was going to wait until he could.  As time went on, that is exactly how he approached everything.

What can I tell you about Josh.....well, he's sweet, kind, loving and has the most incredible smile!  It melts my heart everytime he shows those pearly whites.  I call it his "Joshie smile".  Growing up he played just about every sport you could imagine: gymnastics, football, soccer, baseball, basketball and golf.  As time went on, baseball, basketball and golf won out.  He still plays these sports today, whenever he can.

His favorite position to play was 3rd base

Such concentration

Holy Family varsity seniors

Wildcat freshman

Josh is very passionate with whatever he takes on.  Whether it's his school work, sports, his job or just life in general, he's determined to do it well.  He doesn't deal very well when other people aren't as passionate as he is, sometimes to a fault.  He can be moody sometimes (we call it being "poopie") and very opinionated at times; but that's what makes him who he is. I wouldn't change a thing.

One of my favorite things about Josh is his love of the Lord.  His faith is so important to him and he gives me such inspiration.  He attended Holy Family school from kindergarten through 6th grade before moving on to the public middle school and high school.  He remained very active in our church from being as an altar server, to being very active in our youth group, to volunteering at VBS, to teaching religious education, to actually working at the church as a sacristan.  He enjoys the fellowship, spirituality and friendship he receives from being a part of a very large and active parish.  I not only thank God for him everyday, but thank Him immensely for filling Josh with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.

Holy Family 6th grade graduation - 2005

Alter Servers (Josh is second from the left)

Josh was Chloe's confirmation sponsor - 2011

Reading from the bible at one of the Lifeteen (youth group) meetings

Josh has always wanted to go into Broadcast Journalism....sports broadcasting to be specific.  He chose to attend SUNY Oswego because they have one of the best communication departments in New York state.  We were thrilled that he was beginning his dream.

Graduation day - 2011  

 He has since gone on to post a 3.90 GPA in his very first semester.  That totally blew me away.  We were just hoping that he would love it and adjust to his new way of life.  Guess we didn't have to worry much.  Again, it's all thanks to the Lord above.  It's amazing what happens when you just trust Him and allow him to Josh through his journey.

He started a website/blog while he was there with his roommate and another communications major.  Check it our here.  It's a place to hear play-by-play of Oswego sports and a way for them to hone their journalism skills by writing blog entries about current sporting events occurring around the world.

His family means the world to him.  He means the world to me.  There is nothing he wouldn't do to help out his family.  Come to think of it, there is nothing he wouldn't do to help out anyone in need.  He just has that kind spirit that I must say is quite infectious.  When you're around him you can't help but smile.  I am a better person because of him.

Josh came home for the weekend recently to be here for Chloe's Jr. Prom

 Lastly, I will make one last comment on how incredibly funny Josh is.  There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't make me laugh.  Even in the worst of times, Josh will figure out a way to make me smile, even if it's just for a few seconds.  From the comments he makes, to the silly way looks at you, there is never a dull moment.

How can you not smile at that silliness? I know I can't.

Thank you Joshie for just being you.  You are who you are because of all the experiences you have been through for the last 19 years.  From the day you put me through 19 hours of labor, to your first steps, to your first day of kindergarten, to the first time you swung a bat, to your first girlfriend, to getting your driver's license, to graduation and now on to college, I want to tell you that it has been the ride of my life watching you and I can't wait for what lies ahead.  Your certainly have me sitting on the edge of my seat with eyes wide open just waiting for the next adventure that comes along. You are my oldest child, you are my Joshie, and I will love you until the end of time.  I am forever blessed.

Your doing what? When? Why?

With just over a week before we move, Woodworker Man and I are doing DIY projects.  As to why we would be doing this, I can only say that maybe after we move we don't want any leftover projects left unfinished.  Get straight to the settling.  Who would want to have to pack half done projects.  Sound good?  It's the only answer I can come up with.

Without further ado, let's get to the projects.

This is a sweet bench Woodworker Man is making.  The top pic shows the primer, the next photo is the

bench top.

The above photo is the black finish for the bench....still needs another coat of paint.  Still in progress.  He does excellent work.  I will show you the finished project in a future blog.

This is an ink drawing I had an artist make for my Mom & Dad over 40 years ago.  It is the house I spent my teenage years in on Grand Island in New York. It is the house I was living in when I met Woodworker Man. After Mom & Dad's passing, it was a picture I wanted to have. I didn't want to take the picture apart for my DIY project, so I just turned it over and did my project on the back.  (I needed this size for my project).  Below is my finished DIY project, that will be placed over our bed in our new house.  I painted the back a "sea glass" color and painted the letters with a gold metallic then hot glued them in place and that was it.

                                                                             

The next picture is of a pail I picked up from a church yard sale.  Isn't it cool.  So many possibilities!

                                                                               

                                                                             

I stenciled the "NO. 29" on the pail.  I plan on putting it on front porch steps, with plants and flowers in it.  Of course that is our new address.  It is my first attempt stenciling on a round tapered surface, and I think I should have used a smaller stencil.  Oh well, next time.

These were the projects from the past week.  Now it is back to packing.  Thanks for looking and I hope to get one more blog posted before we move.  Holly and Chloe, who will be doing a guest post about her prom will be taking up the slack for Mom.

One last thing I would like to add..  My dear friend Lin and her family lost their beloved pet...Maui.  I loved that doggie and she was a faithful family friend.  Thanks Maui for all the fun and joy you bought to our lives.

                                                                  

This is what her family wrote:

Thank you for being our angel, our hero, our friend, our very own God-Send.
You have loved us, protected us, brought us joy, if only you'd learn to give up that toy!
You made us laugh, you made us cry, but we always knew on you we could rely.
Even when you ran away, we knew you'd be back that day.
Through all the crazy you stayed the same, Maui we found comfort in your name.
We counted on you in good times and bad.  You didn't disappoint even when we got mad.
Your loyalty was always there, your snoring loud, your shedding hair.
Now the Lord calls you home for you job here is done, quite well, we'd say...A #1
Our lives are better having had you as our pet.
Thank you Lord for 0ur Maui, we'll never forget.