V is for Vacation....

Well I skipped u because I just couldn't come up with one and I was babysitting and then on the way home my tire blew so I had to wait for 2 hours on the side of the road for the tow truck from my town to come and get me and the car. Sounds like a good excuse right? LOL

V is for vacation. My dad was a teacher and a coach when I was growing up. I remember having to wait for supper until after practices and being all ready for bed and then eating. He was a hard worker. In the summer he would paint houses all summer and he did that so he could give us all a family vacation every year. He felt that was very important and looking back now at all of the memories we made on those vacations I thank him. We had some big trips...we went to Mackinac Island, we went to South Dakota and we went to Canada but usually we rented a cabin at the lake where my dad could fish and the kids could swim. My Aunt and Uncle would get a cabin the same week we would. It was a great tradition. Looking back I don't think it was much of a vacation for my mom but she went along with it.

This summer we are taking my nephew to South Dakota for vacation. Hopefully we can make some memories for him.

Hmmmm not what to do for W....X....Y and Z. We will see if I am back, I know I will be for 2 of them but not sure and X and Y.

T is for Twin...

I was born a twin...boy was I a surprise too! First my twin Brad was born and then the Doctor said we have another one...then came me!  I think being born a twin is an awesome thing. The only bad thing is that I do not remember being with my twin. Brad got leukemia and died when we were 5 years old. My sister, who is 13 months younger than I am, and I kinda became like twins after Brad died but not really. I always wondered what it would have been like to have a twin brother, especially as I was into middle school and high school. I always figured he would have been there for me, stuck up for me, had my back. Even though I did not have my twin brother sticking up for me and having my back here on earth I truly believe that I have a special angel in heaven looking out for his twin.

The last picture of my angel twin months before he died.

S is for Sister...

There are two girls in my family.  I am the oldest and my sister is 13 months younger than me. Growing up we were each other's playmates. We played dolls, house school and were outside a lot. In our teen years we had a lot of fights and arguments but knew that if either one of us needed the other, we were there. Now as adults we are not best friends but we are great sisters. Now as adults we have each other's backs, we do things together and when we are together there is no one we laugh more with than each other. When I was in the hospital she would drive the hour each way to come and see me after work a couple times a week. She helped me through so many things and I love her so much. There is nothing better than a sister!

R is for Resurrection Sunday

 Hello to all of my blogging friends, to those of you who come and visit and leave comments thank you so much, you have no idea how much it means to me! 

What a wonderful thing Christians celebrated yesterday. Resurrection of the Son of God. It is kinda hard to wrap you head around isn't it?  God loves us so much that He sent His Son to earth to become human, feel pain and be crucified, raise from the dead, ascend into heaven all for us...for our sins...so that we may go to heaven...amazing! What a gift. What a lot we have to live up to. Thankfully God knows that we make mistakes and thankfully He forgives us. What an amazing thing to celebrate.

I hope you all had great celebrations yesterday! My SIL had to work so my brother brought the boys to Grandpa and Grandma's. My sister and I went out and we all celebrated together.
Here is Grandpa spending time with Isaiah before we ate.

 Isaiah going through his "bucket" of things.

 Ivan climbed a tree so I had to document it!

 Aunt Tammy with Isaiah enjoying the beautiful weather.

What better way to celebrate than with family!

Q is for Quilts....

I know I am behind but that is just going to have to be the way it is. I actually should have titled this Q is for Quilt because I only have one. It is not old but it is beautiful and it was made with love for me by my SIL Jane. I love it so so much. Here is my very special quilt.

Also I wanted to wish you all a very Happy Easter...HE HAS RISEN ALLELUIA!!

N is for Niece and Nephew...O is for Over

When I was growing up all I ever wanted to be was a mom and a teacher. I loved kids, they always held a special place in my heart. When I was in middle school and high school I was a number one babysitter. I loved the kids and they loved me. I went on to college and got my degree in Elementary Education. I was a teacher for 10 years. I loved working with "my kids". The one thing that did not happen for me is that I never became a mom. I think it is that reason why I feel my greatest joy and blessing in my life was /is being an Aunt. I was lucky enough where I first became an Aunt to Matthew in 1990...he was the first grandchild too so we doted on him a lot. Next came Michelle who was our first (and only girl). It has been so fun and special doing "girly" things with her although she isn't so girly. Then in 1998 Logan was born and for years I though all of my Auntie love and attention would go to those three.

Then when my brother married Judy in 2011 I got two more nephews, Ian and Ivan. They brought even more joy into my life.

 Then of course in 2012  I became an Auntie again with the birth of Isaiah. I am able to babysit him and spend a lot of quality time with him so at this old age it is like having a grandchild.

I love all of my nieces and nephews so much and like I said in the beginning there is nothing better than being an Aunt!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wanted to share my spring tidings swap goodies I got from Lynn at the Life on the Wienee Ranch.

Thanks to Amy again for putting it on.  I haven't seen a post yet of what I got Lynn but I am sure it will be up soon.

M is for Mackinac Island.

One of my very favorite places to vacation is Mackinac Island. It is beautiful, it reminds me of the past because there are no motorized vehicles and it is full of history. I have been there three times with the last time being 2012. It was a great trip that my mom, dad, sister and I took. I also got to meet two very special online friends there so that made it even more special.
 The first thing that is exciting is taking a ferry over to the Island...the view is spectacular although it can be a bit chilly if you are not in the covered part. Here are some pictures while on the ferry. These were on the way back because it was warmer so my sister and I sat up where it was open.
The Mackinac Bridge which is 5 miles long and connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. My sister did not like driving over it but thought it was neat from the ferry.

 The Grand Hotel

 Fort Mackinac

Some beautiful houses that are on the Island, love the flowers.

This is a stone church on the Island

Our Ride that took us around the Island and to my favorite scenery place Arch Rock

Then we got on another taxi and headed to the Grand Hotel for lunch...it was beautiful...the food was ok..I am more of a hamburger kind of girl though! LOL

Red phone booth on the way

Yes it is a great place to take a step back in time and vacation.