Look what I got!!

It looks pretty, doesn't it? Always remember, looks can be deceiving. This is a DNA model of the common cold... and I got it. So sorry I haven't posted anything interesting in the past few days, but this lovely little rhinovirus won't let me do much more than snatch tissues from a Kleenex box.

21,890 VIEWS at last report...

I never dreamed our YouTube video would be so popular! Abbey and I did this on a whim one Saturday morning for something fun to do. If you haven't tried to fold your T-shirts this way, you should! It's kinda fun to do and adds variety to the never ending laundry that needs to be folded.

Landon's cow...

Here's how Landon's steer looks on a plate, just in case you were wondering...



I think it's looks delicious!

The Lone Star State

My nephew, Landon, and neice, Maddie, who live in the great state of Texas, recently competed at the 2007 National Junior Bradford Show.

Landon took top prize with his new tiger-striped heifer. Good job Landon!

This guy makes a great cowboy!


Quite handsome too, don't you think?

Cowgirls just don't get any prettier than this!

Maddie is quite a natural with her cows...

...she won showmanship and overall champion for her division! Wow, Maddie, I'm IMPRESSED!

What's on the menu?

Clarke Cooke - an historical, 17th century, seaside restaurant serves its water in crystal clear goblets with sparkling cubes of ice and lemon. It also serves calamari - absolutely NOT my favorite. Abbey-girl likes it...


...so we ordered it. It came on a nice white plate with dipping sauce. We ate the rings and left the legs. Argh! Can you blame us?


The inside of the restaurant still has the original 17th century timber. Only the furnishing have been replaced. I can just image the seafaring sailors who ate hot clam chowder in this place. If walls could speak...

“Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self.” ~Charles Spurgeon

Oops! So sorry everyone, I made a mistake.

Check out this link: Mars Spectacular!

Guess who's one?

Today is Abbey's spiritual birthday! Last summer, during a 10-day prayer meeting, Abbey was saved the Bible way. She has grown so much! She is sweet, kind, and willing to lend a hand in any area of service. WE LOVE HER!

Does anyone know who this is?

This is fun, and I'm not lion!


Make these adorable cupcakes with your little ones this summer! Simply bake your favorite cupcakes. Then, tint a tub of frosting to the color of your choice. Frost the cupcakes and draw the lion's face using a tube of black gel-icing. Lastly, create the lion's mane by trimming the cupcake with caramel corn. These also make a great Junior Church snack if your Bible story involves a lion. Have fun!

Madison - almost three.

Six down, one to go. Poor old Guinea hen, he lost his last buddy to the neighborhood fox.

On the windowsill in May:

In the garden in July!
Violas seem to smile, don't they? I just love 'em!

Abbey has befriended a chipmunk! After many days of exercising extreme patience, she has her little friend eating right out of her hand! With bugs and bees flying all around her, Abbey was able to ignore their tormenting buzzing with her ipod - the John Marshall Family entertained her while she entertained the chipmunk. Enjoy the video - recorded at 7:30 am this stormy Wednesday morn.

Abbey and me on the front porch in the evening...

Here are some random shots from our brief vacation to Newport, Rhode Island:

This door was double tall - magnificent!

Sign explaining what actually went on behind these doors:

Someone's front garden. Imagine stepping out your front door to such a lovely place!

RED!

Seen in downtown Newport:

ORIGINAL cobblestone. The steeple in the background belongs to the church where John F. Kennedy married his wife, Jackie.

Most of the homes in historic Newport look somewhat like this one:
Architecture!

On the Cliff Walk

Forty steps will carry you downward to a beautiful view of the ocean at Newport, Rhode Island. Each step is inscribed with the name of an individual or family who gave benevolently to maintain the Cliff Walk and its beauty. One family gave in honor of a father and son who were lost at sea and who were never recovered.

The Cliff Walk is marked by several of these rustic archways:

At the bottom, looking up!

Abbey and me:

Stopping for a brief moment to record family history.

A favorite photo of mine.

Walking on the rocks requires one to be sure-footed, which can mean removing one's sandals! The long reeds of beach grass in Abbey's hand were used to make me think I had a bug on my neck.

Enjoying the coastline. . .
Newport as it appears from the cliffs.


One of the mansions whose backyard is the cliff walk. It is required that those who walk the Cliff Walk respect the property of the mansions that overlook the walkway and the Atlantic Ocean.

On tour...

Our tour of Block Island included this Jeep Wrangler Sport - with the top down and the wind blowin'! Block Island consists of ten square miles of bucolic, seaside country. If any of my readers have seen "Anne of Green Gables," think of Prince Edward Island and you'll have a good idea of Block Island's scenery. What a beautiful place on planet Earth, untouched by industrial progress.

In the Jeep, as close as we can be!

Randy and Abbey parked at the cliff of Rodman's Hollow - a deep gorge that sits BELOW sea level on the island.A different point of view:


Mohegan Bluffs - the gorgeous cliffs that are the coast of Block Island. There were at least 300 steps to the beach.

Randy, on his way up, turned around for this perfect shot...
Double click on this image to see a mother Canadian goose and her gaggle of babies:

This house sits atop gently rolling hills with the Atlantic Ocean for a view. What a beautiful, beautiful place... We're going again in the Fall!

Happy Birthday Randy!

Happy, happy birthday to you dear husband, father, and friend!

Here you are as a toddler, third from the left:

Newly married, standing by our first car at the Turtle River Park in North Dakota:

In your Air Force Blues - what a great picture of you!