Squidward vs Squid Worm:

Squidward:
Okay, a correction to yesterday's post. Duh, as the kids would say! I always thought the kids were saying squid worm and it is Squidward from SpongeBob. I knew when April and the kids made them before it was after a cartoon character but did not pay much attention. I'm sure if Blake would have read my blog yesterday he would have caught my error! lol
So, now I know what Squidward is and for those who (like myself) don't know you can become enlightened below:
Squidward is a whiny stick-in-the-mud; a self-centered snob who imagines himself to be sophisticated and talented, but he's rather average and untalented. He's jealous, especially of his classy and successful nemesis, Squilliam Fancyson. He's quick to anger and just about everything annoys him. The Krusty Krab annoys him. Mr. Krabs annoys him. But most of all, SpongeBob annoys him, almost 24 hours a day. Besides working side by side with SpongeBob at the Krusty Krab, Squidward is SpongeBob's next-door neighbor. If it weren't for the fact that SpongeBob is the only one who appreciates his clarinet playing, modern dance routines, and artistic abilities, Squidward would have nothing to do with him. SpongeBob finds Squidward's grumpiness part of his charm, knowing that deep down Squid's got a good heart and likes to have fun, Squidward just doesn't know it!
Came across a picture from the first Squidward creation at our house with Liz and Blake.


I am grateful to have gained this new knowledge.......... lol

The girls and "Squid Worms":

Two of my beautiful great nieces came home with me after school for a girl's night.
We had so much fun. It's funny how you can talk and laugh and not be tired after a long day at work. Maybe I'm not so old and tired as much as making myself feel tired by laying down watching tv when I get home.
Lizzie was at the house a couple years ago when April and Blake were making squid worms by sticking spaghetti noodles in cut hot dogs and then boiling them in water. When you take them out, they look like little sea creatures. I had linguine noodles last night and they seemed to work better than the thinner noodles.
Assembling the squid worms:


I had to be different and make a hot dog man:

After:


After watching several "teen" shows and having a slumber party type atmosphere, it was time for the girls to go home and get ready for school the next day.

I am so so grateful for these little (they are still little to me) girls in my life.

Sunday:

Sunday was such a beautiful day. We enjoyed the outdoors quite a bit.
The day started off with breakfast with Nathan and Blake and a few minutes of play on the porch before Kenny and Shelley came to pick them up. Our front porch works perfect for running and playing.
Chad brought Desmon over to visit the boys but they had already left. Desmon was all cleaned up to go to church with me. Chad was so proud Desmon had combed his hair to the side for church. The weather was so nice after church we went to the park for a little while.
Desmon doing a stunt:


After the park, we went to visit Desmon's great-grandma, Maxine and his great Aunt Pat who stays with Maxine and takes excellent care of her. Desmon is so sweet giving his grandma hugs and gave her the little project he made in children's church.
Dwayne worked in the yard all afternoon and I took a nap. Not used to so much kid activity anymore. lol I now understand the saying of having your kids when you're young-you just do everything and don't think a thing about it.
That evening, Dwayne and I rode the four-wheeler up to Mom and Dad's. Mom has not been feeling well and she looked a little pale. Her blood has been too low. It' such a fine line being on Coumadin, either your blood gets too thick and they have to increase the dose or it gets too thin and they have to decrease. It's a real life save but has to be monitored closely. Dad tells his history stories repeatedly, but we just smile and listen again. I find myself already doing this with my kids. I think we just want to relive memories.
It was such a nice evening out, I suggested to Dwayne we ride on down to Chad's. The ride on the gravel road was a nice slower pace and gives you time to "smell the roses" or in this case the lilacs blooming in neighbor's yards.
I hadn't been down to Chad's in awhile. He has so many flowering trees in his yard and everything looked so pretty. He is building a log barn with a breezeway in the middle. I had heard people talking about it but hadn't taken the time to go see it yet. He has a long ways to go on it but it is going to look great.
What a peaceful and relaxing day.

I am grateful for such lovely weather and family and friends to enjoy it with.

A Dear Lady:

Our church and community lost a dear friend this week, Betty Terry. Betty was indeed a lady in her manner, grace, and walk with the Lord. Her kindness touched everyone she met.
I became acquainted with Betty when I worked for Donnie in town. She moved into the house across the street and was the talk of the town. Only for her unusual yard, large white rock with various lines of black rock mixed in. Unusual to us but not to Betty who moved here from New Mexico where rock yards were common in the desert. Betty's yard was very steep and hard to mow so this made perfect sense. I can remember seeing people pull in off the highway just to drive by Betty's yard.
Betty and I would chitchat across the street to each other, visit at the post office and then became better acquainted at church.
Betty's daughter, Tracy works at the local Quik Spot. Tracy opens up in the mornings and Dwayne is usually one of the first customers of the day. Tracy loves to give everybody a hard time but she is really a softie. We've been there for each other with hugs and friendly words through many a heartache. My heart goes out to Tracy as her and her Mom were very close.
Tracy has a good outlook on her Mom's death. She stated that her Mom had a very happy last day on earth and not many people can say that. This is the brave Tracy but I know inside she is very heartbroken. We need to remember her and her family in our prayers.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have known Betty and the legacy she has left with her three children. Their words spoken at her memorial are a testament to her love for them.

Weekend with the boys:

We had a fun time with the Allen boys over the weekend. Periodically April "steals" the boys on a Friday evening after work and they spend the night with her and Mike. They have a good time at the farm, fishing, four wheeling, seeing the cows, turkeys, etc. Then Dwayne and I will borrow them on Saturday night.
April and Mike brought the boys over Saturday evening and I fixed supper for everyone. Chad wasn't able to make it this time.
We had spagetti, meatballs, salad, corn (a must for Mike) and olive cheese bread. This is a Pioneer Woman recipe that we love. It's really good heated up the next day. We had chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. I cheated and fixed store bought Easter sugar cookies to bake. They were a hit with Blake.
Nathan would not sit at the table, he insised sitting at the counter. Works pretty good for a little guy, the plate is right at his level. Blake decided he would sit with little brother.

Nathan spilled drink and food on his pants. It was no big deal but it embarressed him so he had to have his April.

Todd asked Nathan if he was going to be in April's wedding. His face lit up and he said, "No, Mike's Wedding!!" Todd said, but what about April, "No, Mike's Wedding!"
He has become really attached to Mike. He cried and held on to him when they were getting ready to leave.
We had such a good time playing with the boys. Nathan talks so much now and is quite the little character. I had to be really careful not to leave Blake out as Nathan steals the show right now.
Blake and I had a late swing time on the porch. He was telling me all about when he used to stay with us when April babysat him. He is so smart and observant. He remembers everything. When they first got there and he saw our bedroom after we redid it, he's like Dwayne, you painted the knobs on the furtniture. Not many would notice that.
Dwayne fixed us chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Yum!! My favorite and seems to be a hit with all the kids throughout the years, too.


I'm grateful for these two special little boys that have come into our lives.

Kaden & Kaleb:

Aunt Connie with Kaden Michael & Kaleb Russell:
I was in Rolla yesterday evening and decided to go by my niece, Kristin's house for a visit. I should do this more often as I remember how lonely you can get when you're in the house with two small children all the time. Sometimes I would feel as if I was the only person on the planet. lol Don't know why we feel that way when there is so much to do taking care of the babies but the feeling of isolation does set in.
The kids are getting so big. I love how Kaden welcomes you in and then automatically becomes the little host by asking if you would like something to drink or a snack. He's a polite little boy. Recently at Mom's when my Elrod nephew, Dustin came with his little boy, Xander (almost five) Kaden went right in and shook Xander's hand and said, "Hi, my name is Kaden Michael, nice to meet you"!! Xander didn't know what to think. Kaden is only three years old, such manners.
Kaleb is such a good baby. He sat on my lap the whole time I was there and never cried or acted fussy at all. I was there for a little over an hour. He entertains himself and would just babble and laugh away.
I also got to see Ashlyne as she was there spending the night. She loves going and spending time with Kristin and the boys.

I'm grateful for the my siblings' grandkids. I enjoy them alot.

Sherie:

Oh, how I loved that name when growing up!! I always thought I would name a little girl, Cheri Rebecca. Sherry seemed to be the most popular name (or so I thought) while in school. So many ways to spell the name and all three of my friends spelled theirs different.
The first Sherry I met was my good friend since elementary, Sharon Laurel Deaton. We were good friend throughout school and after. She spelled her name, Sherri. I remember in high school we were trying different ways to spell her name, Shari, Sheri, Cherri, Sharey, etc. I wanted to be cool too and spell Connie a different way. We came up with Coni, Konni, and it just didn't look right. I tried Coni for quite a while. Mom never said a word about it, I guess she figured it would wear off after awhile and it did. But when spelled it Coni most people would call me coney. Nope, guess I'll just be Connie. Sherri was her own person and was always willing to try something new. I was timid and afraid to try anything out of the ordinary. We were an odd pair to most people but our friendship was very strong and we always had a good time. I spent many nights at her house growing up. I was very close to her family and miss her Mom very much.
Sherri got married in June after we graduated. I was in her outdoor wedding near Plato where her and Mike made their home. Dwayne and I visited often with her and Mike before they moved to Springfield. Our lives do not meet much throughout the years as Sherri has moved quite a bit. But believe me, when we get together we have lots of catching up to do.
Sherrie, another good friend I met in high school. Sherrie Bishop and her family moved to Vienna in her senior year. We became good friends and again, a most unusual pair. I haven't been in contact with Sherrie for years but would love to visit with her again. She had a beautiful little girl, Michelle the year after we graduated. I don't think I've seen Sherrie since Michelle was around a year old. After she moved away, we lost contact with each other.
And now to the Sherie that has been my best friend since 1973. I honestly don't remember when Sherie and I first ran into each other. She came out weekends and summers and stayed with her grandma who was our neighbor down the road. I always knew the family but really didn't visit with them. I think we met when her brother was running around with another neighbor or ours, Rocky. However, we became best friends.
It is funny the first time we went somewhere together. Sherie is two years younger than me but looked older, which was important at that age. I always looked at least two, maybe three years younger than my age. We had gone to a dance for teenagers at a barn by Macedonia church. Her cousin, Millie was there with her friends. She took Sherie aside and said, I didn't know you had to babysit tonight. lol She thought Sherie was babysitting me and had to bring me along.
So many stories of our times together. I was her maid of honor and she was mine. Our second sons were born the same day. I was due April 4th, 1981 and she was due around the first of May. I was two weeks late and had Todd at 10 a.m. on April 17th. Imagine my surprise (and hers) when her son, Jerami was born two weeks early and arrived around 10 p.m. on the 17th of April!! It would have been so neat if we would have got to stay in the same hospital room.
Long story short, today is Sherie's birthday. Sherie Lyn, her name is spelled so unique, first and middle. And in a time different spellings weren't the norm.
I so need to look up old pictures at home and post my different friends of Sherry's.

Happy Birthday, Sherie!!

I am grateful for good friends and just for fun, the name Sherry.