Happy birthday to you. . .

It’s #2 for little Miss A!

 

We’re a few days late.

But hey, Miss A will never know.

(Until she reads this one day)

Her daddy describes his birthday princess with these words:

Independent

a real “cutie”

Says, “guys” a lot (meaning her brothers)

Mimics her brothers

Looks like her mom

focused

hugs and kisses

She knew the wrapped presents were “mine!”.

We had to keep re-lighting the birthday candle.

She blew it out 4 times while we sang happy birthday to you. . .

You are loved by many, beyond measure, Miss A.

May the Lord give you a long, healthy, blessed life and

may you pursue a strong, personal relationship with Him.

Blessed Sunday,

Heather

let’s count ‘em

one. . .

two. . .

three. . .

four. . .

Yes, four cats.  Not including Lucy, who then makes a total of 5 kittens in our home!

I told you . . . Mr. E. loves cats!

We are now the Simply Grand Cattery Rescue Mission.

These kittens were born at the landfill.

Thankfully I can say that we are not KEEPING all four.

Two are already spoken for and the other two. . .maybe you?

The “Cat Doctor” brought all kittens safely home and proceeded to bathe them:

Cut their nails. . .

And make sure they had plenty of lovin’. . .

Happy Tuesday!

Your friend @ Simply Grand Central,

Heather

P.S. As I write, one of the little kitties has climbed under the kitchen cabinetry. . .

we cannot reach it and it will not come out!

I’m tellin’ ya. . . there’s rarely a dull moment around here!

 

we’re outta here. . .

Last Thursday evening we headed north.

We, as in. . . just Mr. E and me!

I was giddy with excitement.

It didn’t even matter that the temperature had plummeted and

the winds began to gust as the rain continued to fall.

Nope. . . didn’t matter a bit.  We were outta here!

The U.P. of Michigan was our destination.

To a little cabin in the woods we found on the internet.

We were very pleased. . .beyond our expectations.

Here are some words which describe our time away. . .

quiet,

relaxing,

hot tub,

fishing,

quiet,

true Finnish sauna (pronounced sow-na),

tranquil scenery,

napping,

did I mention. . .quiet?,

antiques,

togetherness,

Lake Superior waves,

delicious Italian food,

Eddy’s ice cream,

steaks on the BBQ,

walk in the woods,

reading,

coffee on the porch,

antique shops,

history museum,

nostalgic cabin,

and finally yes, I must say it once more. . .

quiet.

The type of get-away we really needed during this busy (and noisy) season of life.

It was wonderful. 

A big thank-you to our praiseworthy parents and amazing Lindsey

who took shifts and cared for our six “chickens”!

Now we’re back to the real world. . .

Happy Monday!

Heather

Lucy Goosey

Yep, Miss Lucy made it here last week.

She even enjoyed a bath last night.

So far I’ve noticed a few things about Lucy:

She can jump. . .far!

She is litter box trained. . .yes!

Her “dad” is absolutely delighting in having her as a pet. . . it’s fun to see.

I’ve had to feed her the last two days. . . .this will change. . . right???

She is anxious to escape her room in the lower level and explore the rest of the house. . .

Then the excitement will really begin around here.

Oh. . and we now have a cattery name. . . Simply Grand Cattery. 

(Thanks Tina. . . .you win the prize. . .1st pick of the next litter? heehee)

Happy Wednesday!

Heather

 

snowshoe what?!

Snowshoe Baseball!

Never heard of it?

It’s a Monday night phenomenon here in small town America.

And yes, the guys really do play baseball with snowshoes on!

And they play very well, too!

popcorn. . . pies. . . pop. . . plenty of people. . .prime-time entertainment (I’m in the mood for alliteration)

Our friend Craig is the pitcher.  He even made a home run!!  Whooo Hoooo!!

That was our Monday night summer entertainment.

The Travel Channel will be filming next week. . . our local claim to fame!

Happy Tuesday,

Heather

 

wedding celebration

It was a fun weekend.

Little Miss A was a flower girl in a wedding.

 

She loved pulling apart playing with her flowers.

Brittany and her sister Lindsey have been our babysitters over the past 12 years.

 

The happy couple were high school sweethearts.

 

It sure was a challenge to get her to look at the camera.

Proud daddy pretty much melts when he sees his little girl.

And the thought of her marrying one day. . . don’t even mention it!

 

Our recycled dress from a friend turned out well.

Thanks for all your seamstress work mom!

As a friend said. . .”She rocked that bow!”

We all had a fun time.

 

And now as the week begins. . . so does our homeschooling.

Gradually. 

Just math today.

Happy Monday!

Heather

Lucy’s comin’ to town

She’ll be here on Thursday.

Who’s that, you ask?

Oh. . . .her name is Lucy. . .our new Bengal cat.

Wait just a minute. . . Back up. . . Hold on. . .

 

A CAT?

Oh. . . You didn’t know we loved cats?

Guess what?

ME NEITHER!!!!!

What is that you’re thinking? 

You thought this was SIMPLY Grand Central?

And adding an animal to the house isn’t SIMPLE????

I know. I KNOW!!

In fact, I could give you a list of 10 reasons why we should not be getting a cat.

BUT. . . . .

After 20 years of marriage I have now learned that The King, Mr. E.,

(or CAT-MAN-DO as I now call him)

looooooves cats. 

And although I am in pursuit of the SIMPLE life. . . .he IS NOT!

A BENGAL cat?

You’ve never heard of the Bengal?

Let me educate you on this breed:

The Bengal cat is a distinct, unique breed of spotted domestic cat derived from the ancestral crossing of a domestic cat such as an Abyssinian, American Shorthair, Burmese or Egyptian Mau with an Asian Leopard Cat. The name "Bengal" is derived from the Latin name of the Asian Leopard Cat, Feline Bengalensis. The domestic Bengal has inherited the exotic, stunningly wild spotted pattern from the Asian Leopard Cat, found in the wild in central Asia. This beautiful breed of cat is very loving, affectionate and friendly whilst retaining the uniqueness of it's wild ancestors.

Loving, affectionate and. . . WILD.

This WILL be interesting!

Would you like to see a picture?

Here she is:

 

Oh. . . .and one more thing.

Mr. Cat-man-do plans on BREEDING Lucy!

So . . .our home is turning into an official “cattery”!

AND. . .we need to come up with a cattery name.

Any suggestions?

That’s my story for today at SIMPLY Grand Central.

Your soon to be cat owner/lover?,

Heather

watching

I took this picture of little Miss A this weekend at the lakeshore while she was waiting and watching for her daddy to return on the fishing boat.  Later it reminded me of the following verse:

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the father.  Be on guard!  Be alert!  You do not know when that time will come.  It’s like a man going away:  He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  If he comes suddenly do not let me find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to everyone:

‘WATCH!’”

Mark 13:32-37

Heather

Number 10!

The twins celebrated their 10th birthday yesterday!

I remember that day back in 1999 very well.

They both weighed over 8 lbs EACH!

Yes, I was quite large to say the least.

We were very thankful to have two babies who were so healthy.

And I must say. . . I’m glad to be on this side of the ten years.

Living with only a few hours of sleep a day was pretty rough. 

Three kids under two . . . we lived life moment by moment.

God was always faithful.

He took good care of me.

He brought blessings and help along the way just when I needed it.

Back to current day events. . .

They enjoyed opening presents their siblings chose for them.

 

Their present from Dad and Mom when they turn 10?. . . their own BB gun!

 

This was little Miss A’s reaction during the present opening. . . . Where was her present??

Everyone had a candle on their brownie sundae!

  

It was a fun day. 

More fun to come. . . for their 10th birthday they are able to have a “friends” birthday party!

This will take place on Sunday.

I’m tired today.

For Mommy. . . birthday days are exhausting!

Happy Wednesday!

Heather