This post is long overdue . . .

Okay - I kept threatening to do this, and after Ruth made a crack about my first batch of fudge that didn't turn out too well - I decided it was time. Yes - it is once again time for the Embarrassing Photo of Ruth of the Day. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

We had another fun adventure with Jennifer a few weeks ago and Ruth had to go under the DRYER. Do you remember those old portable dryers? Well, if not -- here's an example.



Isn't Ruth beautiful? It was so loud she couldn't hear anything we were saying - so she started singing to herself. It was REALLY funny. We love you Ruth!!!

To be fair . . . I have to go on. Tonight our small group had a diaper shower for Jennifer who is due to have baby Addison at the beginning of January. Here is Jennifer unprepared for the camera (and hiding her baby belly with a gift bag!)


Ahhh, here's the baby belly.


Everyone is going to hate me tonight - here is most of the rest of the group.

My husband and Jodi dressed alike . . . not on purpose.


And here are Scott and Ron, pretending they don't like to have their picture taken.


I'd show you a picture of Don & Karen - but the only pic I got of Karen, she'd kill me for posting - and Don, our fearless leader, did not attend this evening. I'll post one of them the next time, when they are least expecting it. I also didn't get a very close shot of Christopher, Jennifer's husband . . . but maybe she'll let me borrow one of those old high school shots with his hair in ponytails. Ha ha.

Really - I just wanted to post pictures of these friends who I am so blessed to have. We have a great time together and I think it is amazing how God brought all of together.

I hope you all forgive me for these pictures. I love all of you lots and lots!!!

I'll leave you with one last picture of Santa Gracie.


Have a great evening!

Thanksgiving

Okay - so I'm a tad late to post about Thanksgiving, but I've been pretty busy.

I just wanted to tell a little bit about our holiday this year. I felt like my Grandma came to visit me, in a way. I got obsessed with baking and I made chocolate and peanut butter fudge, and THREE different pies (pumpkin, sugar cream, and pecan). I had my successes and failures with it - but it was really fun and I enjoyed it. (If I could just keep from EATING the stuff I make - that would be good.)



Hunkahubby made everything else - turkey, ham, candied yams, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, and really yummy stuffing. Now - here's the catch . . . no one extra came to our house for Thanksgiving! It was just the five of us. But we have had leftover heaven since then! :-)

It was really nice to have just us for Thanksgiving. We took time to go around the table and tell what we were thankful for. Angelina said she was thankful for Daddy's hugs. It was precious.

When I was little, we always had Thanksgiving with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle and their girls. Grandma, my Mom, and Aunt would cook up a storm and we always had tons of food. We also had a lot of fun and laughter. One of my favorite parts was when the family stood around the kitchen, held hands, and prayed - thanking God for the many blessings He had given us in the past year. There is a part of me that misses those big family gatherings - but also a part of me that knows it would never be the same without Grandma there.

The holidays always make me miss her more. Another thing we almost always did on Thanksgiving was watch the movie, White Christmas. I think we all still know every word and every song by heart. So - we watched that with our children this year. (My husband's family had the same tradition of watching that movie.) At the end of the movie, I could have sworn I heard my Grandma singing along on the high harmony parts when they sing, "may your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white." I started crying and couldn't stop. I haven't had a crying episode like that in a while - but it was probably good for me.

So, I just want to say that I'm thankful for many things. I am thankful for family and good friends. I am thankful for health and employment. I am thankful for God and his goodness and love. And I am thankful for precious memories of Thanksgivings past and a Grandma who will always be in my heart (and in the mirror, if I look close enough.) ;-)

I hope that all of you took the time to remember the things that you are thankful for. Have a wonderful evening.

San Diego

I just returned from a business trip to San Diego and I am happy to say that I got back home safely, on time, and WITH my luggage! :-)

This was the first time I'd ever been to California and I had never seen the Pacific Ocean, so it was very exciting to me. We stayed at an old hotel called the Hotel Del Coronado. It is beautiful and has tons of character. It is one of the few surviving wooden Victorian beach resorts.

The Hotel Del has an interesting history . . . it even has ties to Indiana. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article about the hotel . . .

"On December 19, 1885, Elisha S. Babcock, retired railroad executive from Evansville, Indiana; Hampton L. Story, of the Story and Clark Piano Company of Chicago; and Jacob Gruendike, president of the First National Bank of San Diego, bought all of Coronado and North Island for $110,000.A 24-page prospectus titled "Coronado Beach. San Diego, California" asserted that "The Coronado Beach Company has been organized with a capital of One Million Dollars . . . ." The officers were Babcock, president, Story, vice-president and Gruendike, secretary-treasurer. Also involved with the company by now were three men from Indiana: railroad baron Josephus Collett of Terre Haute; lumber merchant Heber Ingle of Patoka and John Inglehart, a miller, who later became famous through the development of Swansdown flour. The men hired architect James Reid, a native of New Brunswick, Canada, who had practiced in Evansville and Terre Haute. Younger brother Merritt Reid, a partner in Reid Brothers, the Evansville firm, stayed in Indiana but brother Watson Reid helped supervise the 2,000 laborers. Construction of the hotel began in March 1887 and was finished just 11 months later in February 1888 at the cost of one million dollars. Labor was provided largely by Chinese immigrants from San Francisco and Oakland. The hotel was built as a premier resort for the wealthy. It is one of the oldest and largest all-wooden buildings in California and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977."

The Hotel Del is also famous for a few other things . . . Some Like it Hot (with Marilyn Monroe) was filmed there and L. Frank Baum (author of the Wizard of Oz books) was a frequent guest at the hotel and even penned some of his Oz books while there.

The most unique aspect about the hotel is that it is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Kate Morgan who came to stay at the hotel to meet her estranged husband and when he didn't show, took her own life . . . at least that is what they say. Strange happenings have been reported in the room she stayed in, both by guests and hotel staff alike. I'm not sure how much I believe in all those things - but I do know that the power of suggestion is more powerful than I'd like to admit - and I had trouble sleeping once I heard about those stories!!! :-)

It was a cool experience and my room looked out on the ocean. Although I do not like being away from my family - it was nice to be in my room at night and hear the ocean right outside.

If you ever get the chance to visit San Diego, I recommend at the very least, taking a tour of this hotel. It was beautiful, the staff was amazing, and the food . . . I can't even think of another splendiforous descriptive word this early in the morning. ;-)

Can you believe that November is already half-way over? Where does the time go?

Long time no post

I haven't had a lot of time to post lately - school is winding down and work is winding up . . .

But I thought I'd take a few minutes and update everyone on my life.

First of all - I know I don't post pictures of my kids . . . but this one is sneaky. This is my son and his buddy Ronnie in their Halloween costumes . . . they are in masks - so I feel safe posting this.

(Photo by Ruth Roberts Copyright 2007)

Isn't that fun?

Now on to other updates . . .

Hunkahubby just started a new job as a visual merchandiser/decorator at a furniture store in Indy. He got the job a few months ago. He loved it and was doing great. Then . . . they eliminated his position. But - they didn't want to lose him, so they offered him a sales position. Although it was a pay cut, and not what he really wants to do - he took it in hopes it is a stepping stone to bigger and better things. He has been working in his new position for 2 days now and he is doing great! I'm so proud of him. AND - he has to dress up, so I get to see my sexy husband in a coat and tie every day. Makes me want to dress nicer . . .

I am sure that God has a plan in all of this, and I can't wait to see what is going to happen next. :-)

I have 4 more weeks of my Masters and I'll actually be done - I cannot believe it. I will actually have TIME to sit down and love on my kids every night - that is more exciting than anything.

Also - this week, after a 2 year hiatus . . . I actually got to sing in church. Hunkahubby has been leading the children's worship for quite some time now - and no one has stepped up to help him. Well, the 'virtue song' was pretty high and written for a female voice this month and so I said . . . 'I'll do it if you want me to.' I did not want to commit to something that I knew I couldn't follow through on - but now that school is almost done . . . I feel I'm able to do a few things.

We had an absolute blast - and I love watching Hunkahubby dance around with the kids and getting them to do silly things like the wave. I had a hard time focusing on the words, because I was too busy laughing at him.

I really missed singing. Singing has always been a part of my life - and it depresses me when I don't get to do it. (Of course, when I'm alone, I sing to myself all the time!!) I am glad that this opportunity arose and is helping me slowly get back on the musical 'horse' again. I do have to admit though - these last two years have been nice. When I was on a permanent worship team - I very rarely just got to sit and focus on the service and be 'still.' I'm not usually very good at being still. But I learned a lot from being able to do just that. God has taught me many things in the past couple years.

At the end of this week, I'm going on what I hope is my last business trip of the year - to San Diego, California. I've never seen that ocean - so I'm pretty excited about it. I'll post pictures when I return.

Okay - those are my updates for today - I hope this evening finds all of you well.