Fresh Veggies and Fruit

A week ago we got to go over to my brother in-laws to pick fresh blueberries, corn, and peaches. There is nothing better than fresh fruit and vegetables from a home garden...and they were FREE!!
Here is a huge bowl full of the blueberries we picked. This picture doesn't really show how BIG this bowl is..it's about 12" wide and 4' deep. I froze 3 quart size ziploc bags full and then ate the rest throughout the week.

Here's a picture of the corn I cut off 23 ears of corn. I froze 5 quarts of corn.

Then I also picked a bunch of peaches and my sister in-law gave me an incredible recipe for peach cobbler. It was fantastic!

YUM YUM YUM!

My First Painting

Finally, here is the painting I did for Jerimae for our 10th anniversary. The painting is of the Burrell's Ford waterfall in South Carolina. It was on top this waterfall that Jerimae proposed to me. For your 10th anniversary, the gift to give is aluminum. Not the most ideal gift....maybe some canned soda or a 12 pack of beer (ha ha). So, I tried to think of some creative way to incorporate aluminum in the painting....so I framed it in aluminum. The task of cutting and bending the aluminum was not as easy as I thought it would be, but I finally got it done.

Nothing Lasts Forever

I forgot to mention that when we went to the 4-H Fair, both the boys won a fish. I was excited for them because Kaleb, especially, really wanted to come home with a fish. On the other hand, I knew that I would end up having to clean the fish bowl and that was just ONE more thing to add to my list of things to do. Honestly, I didn't think the fish would last but only a few days. I wish that I had taken some pictures, but it never crossed my mind. Surprisingly, the fish have survived until today....that makes it 3 weeks. The boys went to feed the fish and found them dead. They both were really OK with it. We explained to them that there was a chance that they may not live for very long. Zarek did say that he was a little sad. We said "good-bye" and flushed them down the toilet. Now they keep talking about getting two more. I guess we'll be taking a trip to the pet store.

10 Incredible Years!!!

Friday, Jerimae and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. Ten years.....I really can't believe it's been 10 years. Being married is the longest thing I have ever done. (I've never been in one job for 10 years or lived in the same house for 10 years, or even lived in the same town for 10 years) Actually, I wouldn't mind living in the same town and house for 10 years, but I'm not sure that will ever happen living with Jerimae.

Ten years ago, we got married in Indy and headed to Gatlinburg for our honeymoon. After the honeymoon, we returned to Fishers to a small apartment to start our lives together. A year later, we moved to an old farm house in Fishers where we stayed for a little over 3 years and had our first child, Kaleb. Then we moved to a newer house in Fishers and had our second child, Zarek. We stayed there for about 2 years. Then we purchased our first home in Westfield. There we lived only 2 years and had our third child, Maeci. Finally that brings us where we are today...South Bend. We've been here for almost 1 1/2 yrs. We will be moving again I'm sure (we're just in a rental house right now). We were living in a different house when each one of our children were born. I will have to say that I'm a little tired of moving. I'm ready for the next house, to be it!! But like I said earlier, it may never happen as long as I'm with Jerimae...type A personality...big plans...changing all the time...but I do love it. Being married to Jerimae has never been boring. I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us in the future.

So for our 10th anniversary, we got to go away for the night. Before we left we exchanged gifts. He got me a MP3 player that I've been wanting for awhile and downloaded a bunch of music that we both love. For him, I made an abstract painting of the waterfall where he proposed to me (Burrells Fords, SC). This was the first painting I've ever done. I tried to find an abstract painting, but I couldn't find one I liked. So I decided that I would try to paint one myself. I've wanted to paint something for a long time now. I had so much fun doing it. I've found something new I like to do now. (I'll post a picture of it soon)

We stayed at this beautiful Inn tucked away into the woods in Michgan City. The name of the place is Creekwood Inn.



Attached to it is an incredible restaurant called Kelly's Table. The food was spectacular. After dinner we went to Washington Park to walk along the beach, relax and get connected again. Jerimae had surprised me with the video of our wedding downloaded onto his laptop. (I was wondering why he brought the laptop) It was so much fun reminiscing. Saturday we had breakfast at Kelly's Table, went shopping at the Outlet Shops and grabbed some lunch before we headed back home. It was great finally spending some time with Jerimae. I was reminded of how much fun we have together. I've truly been blessed with the best husband that is so patient with me and loves me unconditionally. I LOVE YOU J!!!!

Time for the Fair

About 3 weeks ago we went to the Elkhart County Fair - one of the largest fairs in the nation. We love it when it's time for the 4-H Fair. Unfortunately, Jerimae was out of town. But we met up with Jerimae's parents on Wednesday night (kid's day). It was only a $1 a ride, so the kids got to ride a lot of rides this year. We ate the usual fair food- cheese fries, chicken, and the best ice cream. No elephant ears this year. I rode one of the little roller coasters with the boys. This was their first "roller coaster". They LOVED it! We had to ride it again. Maeci loved the animals. We almost got peed on by a cow!

Jerimae was able to make it to the fair on Saturday. He took Kaleb with him and they got to see Trever (J's nephew) in a dirt bike race. Kaleb thought that was AWESOME!! He and Zarek want dirt bikes just like their cousins. Maybe someday when we get a house out in the country, but right now I'm just fine with the bicycles!

Can't wait til next year!!

The BIG 2!!

Saturday was Maeci's 2nd birthday. It's very hard for me to believe that 2 years has past. She has brought so much joy to our family. She is so loving. There is nothing better than a huge bear hug on your leg while cooking in the kitchen and she likes to give out a lot of those.

That evening we had my mom, Jerimae's mom and dad, Keith & Melissa and Drew & Trever over to celebrate Maeci's birthday. The theme for this year was Hello Kitty. Maeci loves cats so I thought that Hello Kitty would be a big hit for her, and it was.

Here's a few decorations:

I looked around for a Hello Kitty t-shirt for her to wear, but I never could find one, so I decided to just make one myself. So I bought her a white t-shirt and some puffy paint and here it is below:

"I'm two" (she's trying to hold up 2 fingers)

We grilled out for dinner first. Here is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma Yoder eating with all their grand kids...how sweet!!

Then we had cake and ice cream. I made her a Hello Kitty face cake.

YUM! YUM!

And finally the unveiling of the presents. Many, many presents. She made out.

Even Kaleb liked playing with her new toys!!

I think she was a little overwhelmed at first with all the new toys. She got a doll with a bunch of accessories, stroller, highchair, baby bed, baby car seat carrier, glittery purse with accessories, dress up doll, vacuum, broom, mop, new bathing suit w/cover-up, and a cute capri outfit.

The Lord has blessed us with an incredible daughter. She gets lots of love from all of us, especially her brothers. They are so good with her. I have so enjoyed watching her grow. She makes me laugh all the time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUNKIN!!!!

(I hope to add a video clip if I can get it downloaded)

Good Times!!

Bonfires have to be one of my favorite ways to spend time with the family. The weather was awesome yesterday, so we decided to have our first bonfire of the season. We roasted hot dogs and of course, marshmellows. You can't have a bonfire without making smores.

Not too close!!