Pumpkin Carving 2010

Carol's relatives grew these little guys...

The duct tape with "700" on it is the wieght.

We picked these to carve.

400 and 640 pounds.

The biggest grown was 1039 pounds.

A little serious carving!
Part of the mouth...

Cleaning out the guts...

McCarty Family Reunion, in the Basement

This year we had tornado warnings every night

of the Family Reunion.

I have NEVER spent so much time in that basement!

By the time our 8th trip down there rolled around

we had it all figured out.

Someone grabbed a cooler of beer while others
brought the guitars... We had a sing-along!

Carol fell in love...
The kids had a GREAT time!

Cousin Abby (from Carol's side) joined us

and helped catch fireflies!

My Mother's Day Quilt retreat

The view from the work room.
2 of my favorite mother's!

The Schoenstatt Chapel

Hard at work!

Some of my accomplishment...

4 purses for teacher's gifts at the end of the year,

2 sundresses for Mariah,

A Dora Quilt for Lola... Mom actually sewed that one together!

Lola picked the fabrics, I planned and cut it out!

First Day of School

All set for Kindergarten!
OK, so when Cheyenne got ready earlier in the day,
Mommy wasn't very awake.
My camera is acting up and this is the only photo
I got. I will try again after school.

We have had a wonderful and busy summer!
We did a lot of respite care for other foster parents.
Spent time on "vacation".
Hung out with friends and family...
Now we have full-time foster kids.
Our 5 yr old girl and 4 yr old boy are with us indefinitely.
We are all adjusting well and
the new kids are blossoming in the safety,
structure, and love we provide.

Church Directory Photos

If you want copies of anything let me know!

*laugh*

Seriously, we have the disk and can make copies...

DIY... Who needs profesionals!!!

We pulled up the UGLY carpet from the guest room

and put in solid oak floors...

All by our selves!!!

Now we just need to put trim on!

Mariah's Dream by Vigee' Blue

When we were at Sea World last spring Mariah fell

asleep while waiting for Shamu.

Carol took a photograph. A friend fell in love with the photo

and the peaceful look on Mariah's face.

She commissioned an artist friend of hers to paint a portrait she designed.

This is the finished product.

"Mariah's Dream"

composed by Stacy Simpson and painted by Vigee' Blue.

A Day at Papa and Nana's

Picking Dandelions...
Papa, 3 weeks after hip replacement!
Running through the woods

DUCKS!!!

The girls and Papa got 4 baby ducks.

They are Indian Running Ducks.
Mariah makes sure they are safe and warm!

Indian Running Ducks look very much like bowling pins.

This is for real!

They stand up like this!

Remodeling!

Cheyenne Was GREAT at ripping up the carpet!

We are installing hard wood floors in the bedrooms.
Mariah helped Mama pull staples!
Nice work outfit, isn't it?

Since flooring and trim was torn off I decided we should paint.

Sheree was a GREAT help!

The other kids? Not so Much.

April Odds and Ends

The girls are learning to bike!

Our little biker!

Ummm... She says it is art...

Worn out after all that biking!
Cookies from Miss Stacy!

Dandilion season...

Notice the pollen under her Mariah's nose!

Como Park and Conservatory

It was a beautiful, sunny spring day!
So the girls and I went to the zoo.

There was lots of exploration... Mariah was giddy.

Cheyenne? Well, she is 13.

You never know what kind of look you are going to get.

Happy girl, enjoying her spring break

A beautiful Spring Day with our 3 Girls!

Cheyenne, 13, Sheree, 17, and Mariah, 5

Sheree was briefly our foster daughter but is still part of our life.
Cheye loved swinging in the sun on this wonderful spring day!

Sister Love... How sweet!

17 is STILL a kid!

Sheree hasn't had much of a chance to be a kid.

We love that we can give her the chance!