Sarah's First Communion

Sarah celebrated her First Communion on Saturday, April 24th. It was a beautiful service. Her teacher, Mrs. Farley, had the children so prepared for this important occasion. We were able to sit right where we could see Sarah kneel and receive the Body and Blood of her Savior for the very first time.

We were fortunate that both sets of Grandparents were able to be with us to celebrate. (I can't believe I posted that picture of myself ... but I have to remember: It is NOT about ME!!!)

Sarah with her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Farley.

Sarah with Monsignor Brovey.

Some snapshots I took of Sarah outside the house.

Sarah and her cake.

Sarah wanted Bar-b-que for lunch that day. After leaving the church, we went by to pick-up some yummy BBQ from Mutt's. We then had a slice of this most delicious cake from Strossner's. It just melted in the mouth .... Mmmmm!!!!

Although it rained most of the day, it was still such a beautiful day.

Easter Pictures

Lots and lots of pictures from Easter weekend.
Here the girls show off their dyed Easter eggs.

What did the Bunny bring this year?
Zhu Zhu pets? Wow!!!

Sarah with her basket of goodies.

Bethany with her basket of goodies.

Dressed and ready for church. I guess I should have moved the garden hose.

Family Shot!!!

We decided to have our own Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard. We filled the eggs with goodies and Myron hid them in the yard. He was told, by the girls, to hide them very well ... not easy.

They had to be given clues. I don't think they found a one without a little assistance.

What was in those eggs? LEGOS!!!! Whoo-hoo!

Bethany's made an airplane.

Sarah's made a dump truck.

Beauty Abounds

There is so much coming to life in the yard here at the little house in South Carolina.
We have been enjoying this bush for a few weeks now. It made a lovely backdrop for Easter pictures.

I think Bethany took this picture. I think this is phlox growing somewhere in the yard. There is no rhyme or reason to the plantings here.

A beautiful, huge Bradford Pear that was loaded with blooms this year.

We also have tons and tons of tulips in the yard sporadically placed. These are some I caught in bloom.

A purple vine of some sort growing everywhere.

Some more tulips.

The azaleas have busted out all of a sudden this week. They have been just beautiful and vibrant with color.

We have all colors in this yard.

They surround the house.

I tried to get a picture of Sarah in her pink dress in front of the pink azaleas. I told her she needed to be about 6 inches shorter ... hee hee!!!

Living Room Decorated Take 2

I switched the chairs yesterday. I think it opens the room up a little bit. But Myron didn't really care for it. We also had to lose the ottoman to the rocker with it this way.

Living Room Pictures

We are trying very hard to figure out how to arrange our furniture in such a small space. This is where we are at right now. I have a feeling it will NOT stay this way.

Look at Me ... Another Update

So, we paid to have the electrical wires buried in the yard instead of being strung across the backyard. Two men came out yesterday, dug the trench and buried the wires. They even filled the trench back in, raked the dirt and threw hay out. I thought that was very nice of them. You can't really tell anything was done.

Today, some more people came out to put the power pole up. There were at least three trucks and 8 to 10 men out by the road. Bethany was very impressed with the "Big Screw" they used to dig the hole ... hee hee.

When I got back home after running a few errands, the pole was up and one of the trucks had moved across the street. They were replacing the power pole that our pole would be connected to. The old one was warped and leaning towards the road. I guess they decided it needed to be replaced.

It's funny ... had we not gone to all the trouble of burying the electrical wires at our house, that old pole would still be standing there.

We are going to try to make it back up to the NC house this weekend to get some more of our furniture: sofa, cocktail table, dishes, etc. The weather is supposed to be very nice on Saturday. After moving these pieces, the house is going to look empty.

Spring is definitely in the air here in SC. We have bulbs coming up ALL over the yard. There is no rhyme or reason to their placement. Most of them are just out in the middle of the yard. We have daffodils, tulips, crocus, irises and I don't know what else. I am very excited to see all the flowers in bloom very soon. Not too many have popped out with blooms yet ... well, except the crocus. They bloomed a few weeks ago.

Bethany turned in her Science Project today ... Whoo Hoo!!! I was SO glad to be finished with all that. The only nice thing I can say about it is this ... the teacher sent home Benchmarks that had to be completed and turned in. The benchmarks allowed us to answer questions and list materials and procedures. Then when it came time to write the report, all Bethany had to to was copy what she had already filled out on the benchmarks. It was simpler than I thought it would be.

I'm Almost Afraid to Ask

Last Friday, as I sat here posting a blog, I noticed a strange sound. At first, I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I walked all around the house and stuck my head out the door. I knew it wasn't coming from outside. It was a loud "sanding" sound. It reminded me of when we were having the floors refinished. I finally realized it was the furnace and that cold air was being blown out instead of hot. I immediately turned it off and e-mailed the Hubby.

Later that afternoon, it was getting cold in the house so I turned the heat back on. Not really sure what I thought was going to happen. I guess I thought hot air would start blowing out of the vents ... NOT!!! And the noise ... oh my! It was so loud. So I turned it off again.

Hubby came home and the same thing happened. So we slept that night with no heat. Luckily it wasn't a very cold night.

The next day, Myron called a repairman to come out. Guess what? NO noise!!! Not one sound!!!! NOTHING!!!! How frustrating. Anyway, the repairman went under the house and found a wire loose. He fixed it and said if the noise comes back to give him a call.

Later that night ... much later ... like 3 a.m. later ... I was awoken to a burning smell. The next time the furnace kicked on, there was a squeaking noise that would NOT stop. Woke the WHOLE house up. Myron finally had to turn it off. We knew we didn't want to call the repairman back out ... did you know they charge more on the weekends? Yeah, I did too.

Anyway, we kept the unit off most of the day on Sunday. Myron turned it on later in the afternoon when the girls were getting ready for bed. Guess what? NO noise!!! That was kind of weird.

Later that night ... much later ... like 3 a.m. later ... the noise started back again. The unit had been on since about 6 p.m. on Sunday night ... so about 9 hours with no squealing noises. But at 3 a.m. it started again.

Myron asked me to call the repairman back out on Monday morning. I put it off a little bit because it wasn't doing it. Then all of a sudden, I heard it. So I called the repairman. We discussed the sound and when I would notice it. He asked me to turn the unit on while he was on the phone. Guess what? NO noise!!! NOTHING!!! He said he would be out after lunch. He came in, turned the unit on. Guess what? NO noise!!! NOTHING!!! He kept reassuring me that he believed me about the noise, but I'm not so sure he did.

The only thing he could guess was the problem was the blower motor. So he cleaned the blower and replaced the motor. I sure hope that it works. So far; so good. I haven't noticed anything since he left.

I guess we will have to wait until 3 a.m. to know if the fix really worked ... ;).