ON our way through town this morning, i saw a sign that said "garage sale". on a thursday. in an alley at an older lady's house. older people's garage sales = very cool vintage finds, hopefully. i was VERY excited. so me, eli & zach perused through the treasures. older treasures. i LOVE those kind of sales...i don't want "new" stuff just bought at target 6 months ago, i want the really OLD stuff, stuff with a history, the fun gadgets that i remember my grandma using when i was little. & i'm a FREAK for little junkie old stuff, like little miniature toys, coins, game pieces, old dice, old game boards....not sure why. oh. i'm also freaky for old notebooks, old tin card holders, & vintage/old desky stuff. i picked up this metal "box" thingy...& was so excited to find these little disc film holders inside (like 6" across)...holding actual films...from someone's family! i asked the lady if she wanted them, & she said that they weren't hers, a friend had just dropped some stuff off & there it was. i mean, these are films labeled like, "christmas, 1957", & "family, odds & ends," & "lynden berry growers, threshing, horse parade, forest fire, zoo," & lots of filmed trips to montana, nevada, yellowstone, colorado, & so on. seriously. if my mother or grandmother had gotten rid of these i think i would have wrung her cute little neck. all i wanted were the containers--for a fun scrapbook idea. (cute circle books? i think we have a 5.5 or 6" circle die at treasury...yay!) so what do i do with the films?? (insert furrowed brow here.) just another day in the life of a thrift/vintage/garage saler.

& look at this cool old stapler! it still staples!! tho, i'm not sure how it opens to reload staples...i'm sure zach will help me with that. :) i found this fold-out yard stick & copied the idea from my super creative friend carly to use it as a photo holder...SO FUN!!!

so, that's it for today. am i a junk collector? maybe. but it sure is fun!!! :) it "stirs my cocoa" as my fun mom-in-law would say. :) love you, bev!!

this is one happy dad on father's day with his best friend mark. they're heading out to do their favorite thing--golfing. happy father's day, honey!

papa vern & zach fixing our basement window...& zach right by his side the whole time, soaking up any & all knowledge & know-how he can. tim says this is what he was like with his grandpa ollie when he was little. so sweet!

just a few pictures from the relay for life walk this past weekend...bailee & my nephew noah...

my dad & aunt carol walking the "survivor" lap--such a cool thing to watch!!

eli giving his teacher, mrs. bouma a big hug--& that's her husband, jim bouma, also a survivor!

two more cute survivors!!! amy & kk!!!

these pictures are from last year at around this time when tim's aunt mike (short for marilyn :) ) & uncle dave came out to visit from michigan. aunt mike makes these incredible m&m cookies & came over to our house to make them with the kids. they had so much fun & ate them as fast as they were baked. aunt mike had been very, very sick the previous year, & the kids (all of the cousins!) prayed & prayed (as we did, too) for her to get better. & for her to not only recover, but to fly all the way out here & for them to SEE her & to see how God answered their prayers was just amazing. so, even though these pictures are a year old, they are precious & i just love them!

YUUUUUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!! i wish i had some right now......

i wasn't sure to post this, but i talked to traci & she said it would be good. & she was right, because i need to remember how incredibly blessed i am with the children God gave me & i need to be more & more thankful.

i think i'm just now fully realizing how this event could've turned out...we could be planning a funeral today. even as i am posting this, tears come to my eyes. i took this picture of my two sweet boys this morning & how this picture wouldn't even be here...& how one moment can change everything...forever.

last night, God was watching, no, holding on tight to our eli as he long-boarded into the street & a car came & RAN OVER the board with eli ON IT. & then--KEPT DRIVING. eli fell off with some scrapes on his knees, & a very scared heart. a neighbor across the street just barely caught the whole thing, but enough to catch a glimpse of the car, & to see that eli had almost been ran over. tim called the police. & then we hugged our eli over & over. tim told him that "God has a plan for you yet...& that He was watching over you tonight." i think i was just in shock, that something like this would happen & that the person wouldn't even stop to see if he was ok!! & now typing this, it just breaks my heart, but at the same time, i am so grateful to God & his continual blessings over us. and when i tucked eli in last night, he got on his knees to pray--(i'm sure God gently brought him to his knees & brought me to mine) & tearfully thanked God for having a plan for him & for keeping him safe that night. i just cried. not only a precious spiritual moment for this little boy's life, but for his mom, who needs spiritual refreshing everyday.

so, hug your kids a little tighter today. or your spouse or friends or mom, dad, siblings, papas, beppes, nanas, aunts, uncles, cousins. take their picture with the dog. tell them you love them. a lot. but don't let them take the lighter out to the flower bed & light a "snail house" made of twigs on fire. (hmmm...yes. just this morning.) keep an eye out--it only takes a moment. this advice is more of a reminder for me more than anything!! love to you all...& may God bless you today in every moment.

this is the board.

and these are 2 happy boys with their really hairy & shedding dog. can't you just feel the love? :)

aren't these crazy kids cute?! this was last week & i had my nephews over. they swam, played in a tree or two, ran around & had lots of fun. we had pizza bagel bites for lunch. sam's favorite. can't you tell by his cute smile?? :) love you guys!

this was earlier this spring & we had a few extra kids over playing in our backyard...& i was making lunch, & well, what's a few more sandwiches...like 8 total? the sad little folded over half sandwich was bailee's--who doesn't like jam, or even peanut butter for that matter. (big sigh.) anyways...thought this was a funny pic. have a great day!

this is a picture of a very happy boy with his stuffed dog, "can". (yes, that's his name. don't ask me why.) this boy is so very happy because his dad just rescued it from the roof of our house. which this boy happened to "fling" up there, i'm sure to "just to see what would happen."

there's the poor flung "can."

here's dad on the ladder which eli had first drug out & started to climb himself until we noticed what he was doing. i'm sure dad is giving eli a little "this is what happens when..." speech...

anxiously waiting....

couldn't reach with the rake, so tim "lasso'd" it with an extension cord. oh, the creativity of my husband! :) & "wa-la!" "can" was rescued!! dad saves the day yet again. :)

so this was wednesday thrift store day. my little sister macki (she'll always be my little sister) & her two precious kiddos, noah & mia & i set out in search of treasures. (i even got to go with her in her new shiny honda odyssey mini-van--it is SO nice!!) we went to the 2nd chance thrift store, one of my favorite places to go. i even spotted my fun friend julie there in search of treasures, too! we had so much fun--& these are just a few of the things i found today: these mugs had to be my favorite find! i love how retro they are!

i am also a HUGE tin collector/addict. i love tins. old, vintage tins that come from england or something & originally kept biscuits, cookies or toffees or "golden toffee wafers" in them. i started a long time ago with vintage christmas tins...& now have moved into more...i love the colors of this one!

this was a sneaky find: it was on a cart of goodies that had just come fresh from the back of the 2nd chance store & had yet to be put out. i often see people "oogling" the carts...if you have shopped here, you know what i mean. :) this is a "baby ben" clock--the kind you have to actually wind to keep going. it's heavy, too. LOVE this. except the ticking sounds a little like a bomb in a box....

anyways...that's it for today. hope you all are surviving the heat!

these are the flowers right outside my kitchen window. they smell heavenly. i think they are called lace cap hydrangea. (?) they are so pretty!unfortunately, i think we hacked a bunch of this off the arbor thing we removed from the backyard. oops.

happy monday, everyone! this is my favorite mug. & i'm drinking coffee out of it & playing on the computer. & enjoying the quiet--oh, except for matt lauer & anne curry in my living room. & after thursday, there will be no more quiet mornings. not until august 29 or something. however, i am looking forward to being lazy in the mornings--no having to get up & bark out the usual: "brush your teeth! find your shoes! did you brush your teeth? i don't know where your shoes are. grab a sweatshirt; no, not that one, it has holes in it. BRUSH YOUR TEETH!! bailee, please do something with that hair. i don't know where your library book is. bo, please pick up your wet towel! did you eat something? put away the cereal & milk, please. did you brush your teeth???!" (& no more putting kids to bed when it looks like it's about 3:00 in the afternoon. eli & zach have a had a hard time with that. i remember not quite "getting" that too, as a kid. :) )

whew. anyways...that's a lot of barking. i think the kids will be more excited about that being done than me. :) they are VERY excited about summer coming...remember what that feeling was like as a kid? lets see...summer for me is: the sound of a lawn mower, open windows, the slam of screen doors, (we have two!) popsicles, kool-aid, the smell of coppertone sunscreen lotion, the smell of a bbq grilling, playing at the beach, flip-flops, tan little fingers & hands, freckles, camping(which we need to do more of), american flags on houses, & of course, the fair, & i'm sure more stuff that will hit me & fill me with nostalgia as this summer cruises on by.

what is summer for you?

have a great day, everyone.