May
Left:
Mark split the tree and carved out a place for the birds to make a nest. He built a log cabin birdhouse, too. 5/3/24
I love seeing the blue birds perched in the trees. They never visit the bird feeder. They drop to the ground for their food and food for the babies. 5/5/24
I bought a bigger block of seeds and fruit with red pepper to detract the squirrels. Someone forgot to give this squirrel the memo! He still did not touch the seed from the bird feeder. I’m thinking the block from Walmart did not have very much red pepper included. 5/9/24
Jessica, Araya and Jennifer came in to spend Mother’s Day weekend with us. We attended a banquet at Elisabeth’s church. with Hannah and Abby, too. 5/11/24
Mark noticed this chickadee inside the seed block cage. 5/13/24
Right:
Visiting with our sweet friend, Carolyn McGrew, who was dying of cancer and living with her daughter, Jocelyn in East Bend, NC. Carolyn went home to be with the Lord on June 12, 2024. We will miss her dearly! 5/8/24
Carolyn S. Phalen McGrew, October 6, 1938 - June 12, 2024
The weekend of Mother’s Day was a fantastic weekend topped off by a surprise event in the skies....the Northern Lights! How beautiful! Our God is an Awesome God! He reigns in heaven above with wisdom, power and love! Our God is an Awesome God! Picture was taken at Elisabeth’s on 5/11/24.
I had a hankering for Wendy’s, so we ate lunch there. 5/16/24
The neighbor’s cows. 5/17/24
Ilene and I got together on Friday and went to COSTCO after we ate lunch at Olive Garden, of course! 5/17/24
Relaxing on our new hammock swings after Mark completed the frame to hold them! 5/24/24
Credits:
All by Anna Aspnes
MonthReview Template Album No 8
ScriptTease Family No 1
BigWords Family No 1
ArtPlay Palette Family
ArtPlay Palette Among Friends
ArtPlay MiniPalette Cherish
Photos are mine
June
Left:
So that Nathanael and his family could attend our yearly Memorial Day weekend gathering, we met the following weekend instead. The Lord blessed us with perfect weather the entire weekend! Everyone from out of town arrived fairly early on Friday evening. So we ordered pizza from Domino’s for supper. Our house is not very big, but since the weather was so nice, some were in the house and some were on the deck and everyone enjoyed the pizza. We talked until way after dark before everyone left for home, hotel, or Ilene’s. The kids always stay with Elisabeth and Brad. Michael always gets a hotel room. Jessica and Terry, Nathanael and Sam and Adalina stayed at my dear friend, Ilene’s. This year Tim’s sister, Jennifer, and her friend, Sue, came for the weekend, too. They also stayed in a hotel. Mark and I picked up my sister from the airport at midnight.
On Saturday everyone gathered at the house again for lunch at the pits in the woods. Everyone brought their two and four-wheeled toys to run the trails before and after lunch was served.
Later in the afternoon, before we headed to Elisabeth and Brad’s for supper, we cleaned up the area and gathered everyone on and around the vehicles for our group picture. I think it is the best (and my favorite) picture that we have ever gotten of the group.
Thank You, Lord, for the blessing of FAMILY!! May 31 - June 2, 2024
Sue brought lighted wands for the kids. All of the girls, big and small, played the YMCA song from the internet and sang along and did the arm motions to the song. I think the big girls had more fun than the smaller girls!
Right:
Jennifer brought a pickleball net and balls and paddles with her. Liz and Brad’s driveway made for the perfect court! And the kids had a blast! There was some pretty serious competition going on, too, at times!
I love this picture with my adult kids! What a blessing the are!
Michael was heading back to Alabama that evening, so we got a few more group pictures. This shows youngest to oldest going up the steps.
I sure love this picture, too, which includes my sister and my sweet friend, Ilene.
One last group picture before all of the travelers head home after the services. I love the family attending the services with Mark and I before they go home! What a great weekend we had! Thank You, Lord!
Credits:
All by Anna Aspnes
MonthReview Template Album No 8
ArtPlay Palette Meadow
ArtPlay Palette Moorlands
Photos are mine
That was our Family Get-Together weekend. The rest of June follows:
June 2
Left:
While Kim was here she walked at the park with me in the mornings. We also visited with my dear friend, Ilene. We played Rummikub. We had a good visit. 6/5/24
I took Kim to the airport on Saturday, 6/8/24.
Kim spends the week with me following our family gathering. On Tuesday, we got together with Elisabeth. We played UNO on the porch until it got to be too hot out. 6/4/24Its been a month and the plant Jennifer gave me for Mother’s Day is still alive! 6/8/24
Right:
Jenifer treated us to baked potato and steak for lunch on Father’s Day, June 16th. We cooked the potatoes in the microwave and Mark grilled the steaks at the pits and we ate in the cabin.
Happy Father’s Day! We taught Jenifer how to play Qwirkle after lunch.
Enjoying a morning walk at the Union Cross park. 6/25/24
This is my favorite color of gladiolus. 6/17/24
Love this girl! Abby is such a sweet girl and she loves Jesus! 6/28/24
Credits:
MonthReview Template Album No 8 by Anna Aspnes
Atmosphere All in One by Natali Designs
Photos are mine
July
Left:
We were in desperate need of rain! The ground was so dry, the grass was brittle! When I walked at the park in the morning, I prayed for the clouds to turn into a downpour! 7/1/24
Finally, we got a downpour! 7/7/24
It was fun to watch the “baby” house finches learning to eat from the birdfeeder as dad and mom watched from their perches nearby. Boy! Those babies can make a racket! 7/8/24
And then you have those amazing little hummers! They certainly are spunky little characters! They are not afraid to confront you face to face if you are in “their” space! Love them! 7/15/24
I was able to get quite a bit of walking done during July. As long as I did it very early in the morning the heat and humidity did not bother me too much! 7/11/24
Right:
One of our favorite places to spend time...eating, of course! 7/18/24
Mark and I love to watch the clouds, especially when the sun is behind them yet you can see the rays shining into the sky! 7/19/24
Sometimes I have to make myself get out and walk! I always feel better when I do! Sometimes the weather or not feeling great hinders me! Sometimes I’m just feeling lazy! But not today! 7/17/24
Since Mark has been on Ozempic for his diabetes, his eating habits have changed drastically! He is more like me with my IBS in that he cannot have much on his stomach at a time. So, we “snack” quite a bit. And when we eat lunch out we share a meal. 7/23/24
Joy and Katelyn introduced us to The Factory about a year ago. They have all kinds of good food! I love the Carolina Sunrise which is egg, bacon and cheese on a waffle biscuit! 7/25/24
We went to Clemmons to eat at the new Coach’s restaurant where the old Dodge City was but it was not open. So, we ended up at Applebee’s in Winston near the Hanes Mall. It was good for a change. 7/26/24
Credits:
MonthReview Template Album No 8 by Anna Aspnes
Summer Riot {Collage Bits} by Mixed Media by Erin
Summer Riot {Mark Making Bits} by Mixed Media by Erin
Summer Riot {Vintage Flowers} by Mixed Media by Erin
Summer Riot {Paper} by Mixed Media by Erin
Summer Riot {Elements} by Mixed Media by Erin
Photos are mine
