She's HERE! :) Grandma, that is!

Yep, Mom arrived just after midnight (our time) Thursday evening. Her flight through Chicago was delayed two hours because of a broken seat - which never got fixed incidentally! But now she has to get used to the time change. Yesterday was a relaxing day of watching the kids show off on their bikes, scooter, roller blades, etc. - even got a bit of a sunburn! Crazy! Time to break out the sunscreen!!

Today we are headed up to L.L.Bean's (Mom's new favorite store :).

Hope you all have a great weekend!

When Life Gives You Spring Break, Sell Lemonade!

This is what we did today. Yes, even Alex helped. And a good return (money wise) for the 3 1/2 hours outside. :)



It's supposed to be up around 75 degrees tomorrow!!! I say - Bring it ON!!!!! :) Happy Tuesday to all.

I Believe We Have DONE It!!!! + Horseback Riding

So, the latest update on the squirrel feeder, I mean, BIRD feeder :) situation is: we have outsmarted the little guys!!!!!! YEAH!!!! So to answer the question from the last post, YES, we are smarter than the squirrels!! Whew! Oh the victory in the little things! Happy! There were a few 'attempts' at trying to get down onto the pizza pan, but since there was nothing to hang onto this time, they had to jump to the closest tree. A feat in and of itself to watch! So now we can watch the chickadees, mourning doves, cardinals (beautiful!) and many others as they can eat in peace. The squirrels have taken to the seeds that have dropped on the ground below the feeder thus making the score the GRAYS - WINNERS! and the SQUIRRELS - well, you know. :)



Not sure if you can see him but on the branch above the feeder is the culprit - or ONE of them! (If you double click on the photo, it will enlarge on your screen for a closer look.)

Last week was the last of Alex's therapeutic horseback riding classes. All the parents were invited to come and see what their child had done while there. He did so well that we are considering having him do this during the year.


Grooming Firefly before the Ride


During the Lesson/Preformance


A blue ribbon for great participation!


Mommy and Alex

Well, the kids have this week off of school, so we are busy getting ready for Grandma Gwen to show up on Thursday. We are cleaning up and trying to keep the house clean! Good luck to ME!

Hope you all have a great week.

Current Score: the Gray's 0, the Squirrel 2

Yes, Spring has finally decided to appear here in the Northeast!!! So we thought we would get into the spirit of the season and hang up a couple bird feeders. You know...to feed the birds. Yeah, NO!! More like feed a couple little chickadees and BIG squirrels!! They can clean you out in no time flat!!! Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to feeding squirrels BUT this is ridiculous!!

We are smarter than the squirrel, right? That was rhetorical! You also need to keep in mind that these little bird feeders cost us a 'whopping' $12 - including the feed. :) SO, at the 'Swap Shop' (a fabulous little place here at the transfer station - I'll have to write about it sometime), I found these wicker plate holders that I figured would keep the little monkey - as we call him - at bay. This too was short lived. We watched as he crawled up the tree with much curiosity...NEVER have I seen such a display of the 'flick the tail dance'! And THEN, he figured out how to get to the feed once again! AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!



At present, I can hear my husband down in the basement hammering and tinkering away to devise the PERFECT fix for this "problem"! I love it when a plan comes together!





We'll keep you updated on what the score is! :)

Happy Spring to one and all!!

You have got to watch this!!!

I'm not an Oprah watcher anymore BUT tomorrow, April 2, she is interviewing two Christian families involved in an extrordinary situation. The Cerak family was made known to us over a year ago when we moved to Maine and started attending the Evangelical Free Church. Emil and Muriel Frank are a lovely, elderly couple who welcome new people and make a habit of saying 'Hello' every Sunday after that. (They have just recently relocated to Michigan to be closer to their family.) Emil told me one day about his granddaughter, who had been in an accident that apparently had claimed her life. All to find out that 5 weeks later, once out of the coma, Whitney was NOT dead but she had been mistaken with another girl in the vehicle!

Have I got you now!!! The two families have written a book called 'Mistaken Identity' and they tell their stories of how God worked through the entire event! Truly an amazing thing!

Watch it if you can or tape it. :)