My Quiet Reflections

Posted By Gina on June 13, 2009

I can’t believe that Cody is 12 years old today!! Even my BABIES are growing up!

We don’t have any BIG plans, but today is Cody’s day! Going to Holiday World was really part of Cody’s birthday, so we’ve really spent more than our budgeted amount on his special day!

I searched for the Wilton Mario cake pan, to no avail! So, I had to settle for drawing him on a sheet cake! I still think it turned out very nice… and CODY LOVES IT~ that is all that matters, right?!?

Now… I’m off to have a great day of cake, ice cream & birthday smiles!

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Posted By Gina on June 9, 2009

I was walking around looking at the garden, flowers and roses when I noticed something particularly interesting about one of the blooms on our climbing Don Juan rose bush…

The bloom was shaped just like a heart! It was so beautiful I just had to snap a picture of it! Isn’t it funny how God ALWAYS gives little signs that HE is still in control?!?

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Posted By Gina on June 4, 2009

We had a BLAST at Holiday World/Splashin’ Safari!! We got to spend the day with a lot of our friends from our homeschool support group enjoying all of the rides, games & most importantly the water park at Holiday World/Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana!! It is a wonderful, family oriented amusement/water park!! FUN, FUN, FUN for everyone!!

The sun was shining, the water was perfect! Who could ask for a better day!! We spent 7/8 of the day in the water park, which is our “normal” routine there! This is what three water logged, worn out kids look like at the END OF THE DAY! I always take my camera with good intentions… but it never gets used much because it stays in the locker most of the day…. due to the WATER! I’m thinking next year I might buy a disposable WATER camera…

We rode every water slide in the park at least once! Cassidy, Elyssa & I also braved their newest water ride, the Pilgrims Plunge! It is labeled the World’s Tallest Water Ride and is definitely #1 for a SOAKING good time! You can see the videos and information about it here: Pilgrims Plunge~ The World’s Tallest Water Ride!

I’ll try to post more pics later!!

Category: Family & Friends, Homeschool, Reflections, Special Occasion | 1 Comment »
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Posted By Gina on June 1, 2009

I have been on a mission for several years now! After my grandfather passed away, I only went into Granny & Paw Paw’s house one more time… There was so much stuff to go through, but I couldn’t make myself look through most of it to see if there was anything that I wanted. I walked out only a few minutes later with 2 cookbooks, 3 iron skillets, my Daddy’s baby album and the framed pictures of my children.

As I sat at home thumbing through the cookbooks (which I do ALL of the time!), caught up in the nostalgia of my Granny’s handwritten recipes, remembering all of the meals and the love that was put into them, I came across what I deemed as an “unusual” treasure! I found 4 very old negatives!

Those negatives have intrigued me for years… I have held them up to light so many times I can’t even count… I could make out a lady sitting with children which I assumed would be Granny with a couple of her 6 babies… But, the truth is, I really couldn’t tell who or what any of them were~ UNTIL NOW!

I can’t tell you how excited I was… I did not have ANY pictures of my grandparents when they were young! It gives a whole new meaning to see how handsome and beautiful they were in their youth!

I finally got my hands on a negative converter and was able to answer “most” of my questions…

I say most because we (the family) are trying to figure out who the man is… I originally thought it would be my Grandmother’s father, but everyone says NO… So, now we have a new goal… “Who is the Mystery Man?” I have to say that as soon as I saw him I thought he looked a lot like my Uncle Jack… so I still think he must’ve been an uncle or something of one of my grandparents?!?

The only problem I had was making myself cut on those old negatives… they were a lot bigger than the negatives of today. But, I finally took the plunge… and I am so glad that I did!

All of this excitement and fun just because of one little box…

I love this new negative converter! I’ve already pulled out my bags of negatives and can’t wait to get my hands on the families old slides too… because it converts BOTH!! Who would’ve ever thought I would use one of these things?!? Certainly not me! But, now that I know what I can do… I am so excited! Not to mention, this is really right up my alley and I never even realized it… I WILL BE touching up these photos with Photo Shop and Paint Shop Pro… another one of my favorite hobbies! As you can tell, the one with Granny & Paw Paw with the baby is damaged pretty bad! I will post the touched up version when I finish with it!

Can you tell I’m excited?!?

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Posted By Gina on May 25, 2009

Here she comes! I made this cake for for one of my dear friends daughter’s graduation party! She is headed to Ball State in the fall.

She absolutely LOVED the cake!! And it was sooo good… melt in your mouth moist! Vanilla/Cheesecake flavored cake with Almond icing!! YUMMY~ if I must say so myself! I decided on high humidity buttercream icing because it was a HOT, MUGGY day and we were going to be outside all day! The icing held up perfectly!! I was very pleased with the way it looked, tasted and how well it held up!

I have to admit I am glad to get the cake done. It was the “last” requirement (other than normal life~ KWIM?) of me for the month of May… and it does feel good to have it behind me!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
(Don’t know how much grilling we will do, it’s raining here )

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