Tom & Brenda's Family Journal

Tom's Grandma Inman always said that you couldn't go barefoot until the first dandelion showed up in the yard.  So now we can go barefoot because our front yard is breaking out in dandelions like a child with breaking out with the spots of chicken pox.   I think all the fertilizer we put on the yard to green up the grass was really like junk food to those dandelions.  They are certainly flourishing. My daffodils ls are blooming and very lovely.  It has taken me years to find the right place for them and now I will be leaving them to the new owner. (If we sell the house) I planted about 40 tulip bulbs in the fall of 2007.  Last year 28 of them bloomed and this year we are down to 2.  I think my garden must have been the Golden Corral Buffet for the mice over the winter. I love ornamental grasses and had a large group growing at the front of the house.  They were growing higher than the eaves and Tom thought they looked out of proportion to the house.  I like grasses so much tha...

Yesterday we had an open house for the sale of our home.  We placed in on the market a few weeks ago.  Our realtor had told us the best weather for an open house was light rain.  If it is sunny, people find things to do like golfing or riding bikes and if it is raining too hard they won't come.  So I think yesterday was perfect.  There was one couple already before we left (about 1:50) but we haven't heard from the realtor yet how many more people there were. Tom & I went down to Tommy and Sherry's.   We had a fun time with the grandkids.  Anna (5 yr.old)  kept waiting on us.  "Is there anything you need."  She went and got me a blanket, a pen, and for Tom a snack and a pop.  She asked him if he wanted an apple.  Tom - "Sure" Anna  "Do you want red or green?" Tom "Red" Anna-"They aren't all red.  They have some green on them." Tom-"That's ok." Anna leaves and comes back in about 5 minutes.  "There ...

I've had two people comment this week that I haven't been writing enough.  Luann mentioned that I'm only updating my blog once a week and she liked it better when I wrote more often.  That was nice to hear but I got thinking about why I haven't been writing more.  I feel like so much of what I do isn't interesting to my readers. Then yesterday Jennifer sent me an email mentioning that I hadn't emailed her all week and that she was feeling neglected.  Now I talk to Jen daily but usually I send her an occasional email when I find something she might enjoy reading.   I came to the conclusion that my work life is interfering with my fun life.  I have a contract with Grand Rapids Public Schools to be a writing coach for teachers in three elementary schools.   I had 50 days to work and as we are getting to the end of the school year, I'm trying to complete the contract.  I've been working every day and it looks like I will continue on this schedule until the e...

The First Baptist Church of Alto has been the church home of the Benedict family for several decades.  We attended there for over twenty years and enjoyed the fellowship of many people.  Last Sunday the choir went to Sunrise where Mom Benedict is living to perform their Easter cantata for her and her friends.  The living room was filled and we all enjoyed the beautiful music and narration. At the end, the audience was invited to join in with the singing and we did.  It was a touching gesture on the part of the choir and they were much appreciated by the Benedicts and all the other audience members. It made me think about how we can touch the lives of others quite easily just by sharing our gifts with them.  Also, the choir worked together-there were a few solos but not many.  The combined voices were better than almost any single voice.     

Saturday we attended Jack's (our 6 year old grandson) first soccer game of the spring.  He was very enthusiastic and seemed to thoroughly enjoy every aspect of the game. While sitting and watching, the 3 other grandchildren played with our technology -the cell phones and my Kindle.  They did not need any instructions but seem to use it very intuitively.   Last year I purchased an electronic book reader called the Kindle from Amazon.com.  But to say it is just a book reader is like saying the computer is just a typewriter.  I have found many great features of the Kindle that aren't really showcased by Amazon.  This includes web access.  I use the Kindle for checking email and Facebook while we are traveling.  Amazon does not charge for this service because they use it for downloading your purchases.  Which, by the way, is my favorite feature of the Kindle.  I can pick a book and make one click and it is downloaded immediately.  No waiting.  Of course there is the $10 charge bu...

We celebrated Easter with Tom and Sherry's family on Saturday with our annual Easter Egg Hunt.  Aunt Jen plans and sets it up every year and we all enjoy watching the kids search for eggs with such enthusiasm.   It was wonderful to be outside this year because last year the hunt was held indoors because of snow. Here Madelynn and Anna start out in opposite directions.  Madelynn was very grown-up acting and allowed the younger kids to find the 'easy' eggs.  But in the end, Anna proved to be the best egg locator by finding the last eggs. Look at the joy on Jack's face as he runs with bag in hand. That determined look on Anna's face may be why she proved to be such a ferocious hunter. After the egg hunt, Aunt Jen had a science activity with the kids.  They made silly putty which we all enjoyed playing with.  Madelynn had asked for a chocolate bunny with big ears and I found this one.  That bunny certainly met her criteria. On Easter Sunday we attended First Baptist of ...

This picture is from our arrival at The Cabin last June.  We're looking forward to the day this year when our cabin life begins. As I sit here today, drinking my morning coffee, I'm watching the snow flakes fall gently to the ground.  Thankfully the snow is melting on the green grass.   This would be a pretty picture if it was December but not April.   This reminds me of our first spring that we owned the cabin.  It was 2000 and we arrived there the first week of April.  We were very excited to have our cabin to get away and relax for the whole week.  Things didn't go like that.  First, there was still lots of snow there.  We had to shovel to get in the driveway and then shovel the snow away from the door to allow us to open it.   Things went from bad to worse when we went to light the furnace.  Our fuel oil space heater was full of soot and we had the 'bright' idea to use the shop vac to clean it out.  Our plan was working well.  We were both focused on looking int...

The past week gave us some great reasons to celebrate in our family.        On Sunday night Madelynn and Jay, our two oldest grandchildren, were baptized.  It was a celebration of their declaration of their faith.  They are both very clear about their trust and faith in Christ and it was a blessing to be there to see it.  After the church service, we went over to Tom & Sherry's for a time with Sherry's family.  We had a meal of pancakes and all the fixings.  There was lots of love, food, cousins and fun. Jay took time out from all the fun to have some reading time.  It warms Grandma's heart to see her grandchildren love books.           On Tuesday we celebrated Mom's birthday with her.  We had a great time with cake, gifts and fun.  Mom is a joy to be with and is spreading that joy to her great-grandchildren who call her Grandma B.  Her contentment and wisdom enrich our lives and we are so happy she has had such a healthy year.           Today I had a coffee and lun...