Birthday-palooza!

Today is my husband Scott's 50th birthday and so I thought since I rarely blog about him, I'd dedicate this post to my very favorite husband ever!  He is my only one so I guess it's easy to be my favorite.  Every time it's someone's birthday, I usually either write on the bathroom mirror with window paint (if we have any) or make a little picture on the computer so that's the first thing the birthday person sees in the morning.  This year, my daughter took over for me and made this one...

He makes my coffee every morning because he gets up before I do and when he's got extra time, there's an egg sandwich sitting close by.  On weekends - watch out!  Iron Chef Russo takes over the kitchen.  I always remind my kids how lucky they are that they have a dad who has been involved in their lives since day one and who is such a great example of what a husband and father should be.  There was never a "mom" job or a "dad" job - we became parents at exactly the same time so what one of us didn't know, we'd figure out together.  If I missed a field trip at school, he went, and we both took turns doing playground duty at lunch recess (on his day off).  So without further adieu, here are just a few words that describe the birthday boy...

A dad (who never missed Dad's Night at pre-school)

Cub Scout leader...

Baseball coach...

  Good friend...

Best buddy...

Blues hockey fan...

Proud and loyal employee...

Daredevil...

Housework helper...(while he talks on the phone like a girl) LOL!!

Doofus and heart-attack-giver...

Son and brother...

Happy Birthday, Scott, 

and here's to 50 more!

There's No Place Like Home...

"The wind began to switch, the house, to pitch - and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch..."  (from The Wizard of Oz)


If you keep up with the news or weather at all, you may have seen that the Midwest has been hit with rain, storms, and even tornadoes this past week.  It's been rather unsettling and the tornado sirens are going off several times a week.  It's been raining off and on literally every day for at least 7 or 8 days.  I'm in St. Louis, or rather a suburb of St. Louis.


When you live where there are tornadoes, you tend to put off running straight to the basement at the first sign of a siren because they are pretty frequent, but this past weekend, it was just "different".  Don't get me wrong, IF the sirens are going off, taking cover is the proper thing to do!  We just usually wait for more information before we head downstairs.  Friday night the sirens were going off, the air had a very still feeling about it, and we grabbed our flashlights, candles, books, and of course the Doritos in case we had to stay there awhile, and went straight to the basement.


The good news is we were safe and our power stayed on.  However, tornadoes touched down a mere 10-15 minutes from our house and today I drove around to view the damage.  Amazingly no one was killed in the storm, but seeing the destruction up close and personal is not only unbelievable but terribly heartbreaking.  In a strange way, it was also inspirational watching people working together to help in the rebuilding process.  One place hit terribly hard (in addition to the St. Louis airport) and where the tornado touched down was the city of Ferguson - a quaint city filled with century old homes and full of history.  I wanted to share some of the pictures I took today and maybe you can add these families to your prayers, especially those who maybe don't have insurance and who are unable to live in their houses at the moment...

 

Since we live near the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, flooding is the next thing that comes after lots of rain and storms hit the area so I feel like no one's out of the woods yet.  Please keep them in your prayers and I hope the beautiful spring sunshine returns in no time with all its colorful enthusiasm!

Visiting & Sharing...

I've been busy as a bee lately making all of our Easter food from scratch and decorating and sewing all of our own clothes, so I haven't been around much lately.  I know, even I can't keep a straight face as I type it - it's so not true!  I bet I had you going (and pretty impressed) there for a minute though.  I have, however, done a guest post on my friend Monica's blog, The Mennobrarian, highlighting a few fun things that she's inspired me to try.   We both work at public libraries so it's fun to commiserate share our experiences working with the kooky nutty interesting public. Monica's been getting ready for springtime and fighting off the sinus infection that just won't quit so relax, take a little visit to her blog and wish her well. ♥

Have a wonderful Easter!

Easters past

 

Whenever I get the chance, I love to join Alicia at More Than Words for her Friday Photo Flashback.  It gets me in gear to get the old photos out and it's fun seeing what others post.  They're pictures from our pre-digital camera days. 

There's a theme going with all these Easter pictures - and believe it or not, we actually do have eyes it turns out.  I do remember always having to face the sun when we stood outside but WOW!  These just crack me up - especially the first one.  I was the sixth one so I hadn't gotten here yet and learned the squinting technique perfected by the other five.  

 

Now I finally get to join the squinting fun...

I remember my mom telling me the story about the babysitter cutting my hair while my mom was at work one day but I can't remember why.  That could explain why I never had short hair after that.  I hope you're enjoying the spring and that you've got nice weather where you are.  Now break out those cameras and turn away from the light!  ☼
 

Sweet Spring

 In St. Louis during March and April we can literally have snow on the ground one day and be up in the 60s the next.  I always think it's so funny reading what people who live near me post on Facebook when it comes to the weather..."WOW, it's crazy snowing out there, I can't believe it's March!" or "WOW, it's 72 and my windows are open, I can't believe it's March!"  It was 91 degrees here last Sunday, and the next day, my a/c repairman couldn't come over because it was too chilly out.  I think it needs to at least be warm enough the a/c will kick on or something, who knows.

Anyway, it's late enough now that most of the dogwoods are finished blooming but little by little other things are making their debut and you can just feel the "spring" in everyone's step.  

Our old neighbors started this garden years ago and every year in the springtime, it just pops right up little by little.  This is only the beginning.  When the weather is nicer, they keep their turtle in there.

Our little Bradford pear tree is trying to keep up with all the flowering trees...

Our backyard neighbor's Redbud tree greets us every day...

My tulips are budding...

Finches are everywhere and I'm forever refilling the feeder...

Three at once on this one!

Robins are ALL over the place and teasing my dogs all day long...

And these are my favorite shots...when I drove through a wooded park, I saw random little spots of flowers that looked so bright next to the mostly bare trees...

It's still early in the month so I'm excited to see everything come into full bloom.  This year, my son's birthday will fall on Easter and that hasn't happened before for him, and the following week is the big royal wedding!  If you're still having cold, icky weather, I hope spring will peek its head out soon ~ you know it's worth the wait!  Have a wonderful week.

A Little Fool

I can't believe the last time I posted was March 6th!  I have so many good blog posts in my head (well, at least a couple) just waiting to be hatched, it makes me wonder what I've been doing all this time.  Anyhow, in honor on April Fool's Day and Friday Photo Flashback, I'm sharing just a few "foolish" pictures.  Apparently standing there and just smiling was a little too difficult for me.

 

 

(A little sidenote - the building in the background is the St. Louis Art Museum built for the 1904 World's Fair)

For more pre-digital flashback fun, visit Alicia at More Than Words and have a GREAT weekend!  Hope you don't get fooled today. :P