Happy Anniversary, Todd

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband, Todd!

Things are better when you are around.

Things are easier to decide if I can talk to you.

Things are easier to manage if I can feel your hand in mine.

Sleep is definitely easier if you are beside me in bed.

I love you. I like you, too.

Bizarre Dinner

One of our family's favorite meals is rice balls, also called onigiri in Japan. They are about 1/2 cup of rice rolled into a ball with a little bit of tuna in the middle and salt on the outside. Sorry, no picture. Everybody in our family absolutely loves them. The only problem is that it takes me about an hour standing in the kitchen rolling the rice in to uniform size balls. Tonight I wanted to make rice balls but didn't want to take the time to roll them out. So I made rice squares. I put half the rice in the bottom of a pan and pressed it firmly. Then we put a thin layer of tuna on top and added the rest of the rice.

They look totally bizarre. And plain. But the family couldn't get enough of them.

Trencher

Today Todd rented a trencher to dig a trench from the house to the windmill so he can bury the wire.

Ouch

After school the kids went outside to play in the sunshine. After they came in, I noticed that Justin was hobbling around.

Me: Why are you hobbling around?

Justin: I hurt my knee outside.

Me: How did you hurt your knee?

Justin: There was a bug on my leg and I whacked it really hard with a stick to get the bug off.

And then Todd and I did the most inappropriate thing a parent could do when their child is hurt . . . we roared with laughter.

Candles

I love candles! And the ambiance they give. But as a paranoid mother, I have shied away from candles. Until now.

Meet my new favorite thing . . . the flameless candle. It has a LED light that flickers, looks like a real candle burning, and lasts for thousands of hours. Fantastic, huh?! Well, it only gets better . . . It has a timer! You turn it on, it stays on for the evening, turns itself off, and then turns itself back on the next evening at the same time. You can enjoy the ambiance of a candle without the fire danger and having to remember to turn them on every evening.

And here is the perfect spot for my new favorite candle.

Happy Birthday, Erica

Birthdays always begin with breakfast in bed with their choice of food. Erica's choice: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Erica wanted a chocolate cake with horses. The horses I found were a little big for a regular sized cake, so I made cupcakes and improvised.

Erica's dinner choice was Dad's homemade lasagna with garlic bread. Yum! Todd made it the night before and all I had to do was stick it in the oven.

Blowing out the candles and making a wish . . .

And opening her presents that were wrapped in our best Christmas paper . . .

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter, Erica!

Tom's Eagle Scout Project

Tom did his Eagle Scout project yesterday.

Thank you all for coming . . .

A few instructions . . .

And everyone got to work . . .

Cleaning out the drains . . .

And attaching decals on the sidewalk next to the drains that drain to the river to remind people not to dump their waste inside.

The day was a great success. We are proud of you, Thomas!

Handy Man

I just love having a husband who is handy! Move this . . . hang this . . . build this . . . Fix this . . .

This time he was moving this big frame to a new spot above the bench. I love it here. Thanks, Todd!

Electric Bill

A couple of days ago I was comparing the electric bill I just paid to the one at the same time last year. I wanted to see if it was lower since Todd had installed his wind turbine. Granted, we are trying to use less electricity in our home, but . . . the kilowatt usage on our electric bill was 44.4% lower than last year! Totally amazing!

More Talent Show

Tom also performed an "air band" with the priests to the song, "Dance the Night Away." At the end of the song they rolled out a paper asking girls to the prom.

Talent Show

Last night the young men and young women held a talent show. Here is a picture of Thomas doing his talent.

No, there is nothing wrong with your computer or my picture. Thomas' talent was playing the piano in complete darkness. The lights in the gym were all turned off and he played the most beautiful song . . . in the dark.

$0.99

A while ago, my friend Jeni, told me about the great $0.99 sale every Monday at Savers. I had every intention of going and then it slipped my mind until I made a trip over there last week. I was near Savers again on Monday and decided to slip in and see what I could find . . .

I got 3 pair of pants and 2 t-shirts for my kids each for $0.99. I love that store! I always feel like I come out with a bargain.