SRKindredSpirits

I fell in love with Leah Heffners "If you give your husband a kiss" article and I wanted to put my own spin on it for this time in my life. My hubby works long hours, we live on a hobby farm, own a home business, home school three kids, have a special needs son, and try to keep up with everything else that makes up this life we live.... but I still love kissing my hubby and nestling my head under his chin.... So here is my version... If you give your husband a kiss, he’ll probably want a hug to go with it. You’ll nestle your head under his chin, and just breathe him in. The smell will remind you of when you first started dating and you didn’t want to be anywhere else but nestled under his chin. You’ll think back on some of your favorite first dates – ice cream, long walks, holding hands, and late night talks. Before you can get too carried away, a child (or dog) will probably interrupt you, breaking apart your hug. You’ll open your eyes to see dishes tha

While my son, QW was in ICU of the Children's hospital, we were moved to the ICU Burn Unit due to the regular ICU being under staffed. We ended up staying in the ICU Burns Unit for 4 1/2 weeks out of the five weeks that we were in the hospital. We came to like and know most all of the burn unit staff and some of the patients..... including a little (3 or 4 yr old) girl called Miesha. Oh, my goodness, she was the cutest little thing!  She was already there when we arrived and was still there when we left. She was burnt from head to toe and could hardly walk or talk when we first met her, but every day she got a little bit stronger.  The kids in that unit would do their walking therapy in the hall. Miesha would stop and wave at our sons door when she did her walking therapy and my son and I would stop and wave at her door when he did his walking therapy.  Some days you could hear her just scream and scream when they did dressing changes. Other nights you could hear h

Our beautiful daughter, Faith graduated from  High School this Spring - so I wanted to have a graduation party to recognize that accomplishment... only problem was, trying to keep it simple, and not spend too much.... here's what I came up with.... Our theme was blue (her school colors), gold, silver, black, and white with pink peonies for a touch of elegance.               The Guest Table -  We had guests sign a JENGA block with a message. (If you couldn't make it, but want to still give her a note... we have lots left... let us know and we'll have you sign one!) Picture frames hung on the wall. A Vase of flowers, a card box, and a basket for the JENGA blocks on the table. We also had a quiz about the graduate for guests to fill out. You can see the quiz here. The Gift Table was pretty simple - it was the top of a garage cupboard... I glammed it up with a sign and flowers... We had her diploma, more pictures and some of her

There are some 'household hacks' that I think just about every body has heard of by now, like heating a bowl of lemon water in the microwave before cleaning it and it will wipe off effortlessly. But then, sometimes as I'm using a household hack, I think to myself, I wonder if people know to do this, because I love it so much ! So, today I'm sharing 5 of my favorite household hacks.... 1. Upside Down Laundry Room Towel Rack How many times do you have a wet rag with no where to put it, so it ends up on the washer, counter, floor, or flung over the hamper to dry until laundry day? Well, I don't know about you, but at our house we go through a lot of wet rags.... I had hubby screw in a towel rod upside down under the laundry room cabinet. It is the best thing ever! Now we hang the wet rags up, and when they're dry, I toss them into the hamper. Having this in my laundry room has made me a happier person! 2. Spinning Spice Rack Pampered Chef I used

Here she is.... Our oldest daughter, Faith Dahlia... a graduate of the class of 2017! .....  We are so proud of her! We had the following quiz at her graduation party.... How Well Do You Know The Graduate? What is her middle name? Dahlia What is her favorite color? Blue What is her favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate What is her favorite holiday? Thanksgiving What is her biggest pet peeve? Tardiness What is her favorite food? Fish If she could go anywhere in the world, where would she go? Ireland What was her favorite subject in high-school? English (funny side note - she hated English in grade school and had to take 4th grade English three times!) What is her dream job? Writing or  Acting What shoe size does she wear? Size 7½ What is her favorite book genre? Fiction What super power would she choose? Invisibility or Flying What is her favorite movie? Lord of the Rings How many musical instruments can she play?  

"The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves.  The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience.  No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions, and you were expected to pose questions of your own. You were also required to perform physical tasks now and then, such as lifting the professor's head to a comfortable spot on the pillow or placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Kissing him good-bye earned you extra credit.  No books were required, yet many topics were covered, including love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and, finally, death. The last lecture was brief, only a few words.  A funeral was held in lieu of graduation.  Although no final exam was given, you were expected to produce one long p

It's no secret that most of my friends growing up were boys....  I have only had two extremely close girlfriends in my life.... Carla and Suzie - one when I was younger and one as a young adult, - the rest were all guys.  I'm not sure if I liked hanging out with the guys more than girls because I was a tomboy myself, or because most girls are just too much drama, and drama has always stressed me out!  While I could name off a whole list of guys that I considered my friends over the years... there have been three guys who not only were my best friends at the time, but whom I also loved.... I came across the following article the other day and while it may not be true for everyone, it is definitely true for me..... It’s been said that we really only fall in love with three people in our lifetime.  Often our first love (his name was Joshua and I really thought we'd be together forever!) is when we are young. It’s the idealistic love—the one that seems lik

Talking With God By: Adam Weber 5 Stars I love, love, love this book!!! The style of writing, the simple truths, the practical lessons, the humor, the realness. It's a great book! Prayer seems like it should be so simple. Yet, when it comes to actually praying, often it feels awkward and complicated. I mean... what should you actually pray about? What do you say? Is there anything I should or shouldn’t say? Do you have to speak out loud? Then comes the craziness which is life. Between work, changing diapers, walking the dog, unread emails, trying to keep up with our neighbors... and the laundry, who has time to pray? The truth is, prayer is simple. It’s like talking. Talking with a good friend. And the best part? Our God can’t wait to talk with us. I have always loved South Dakota ... the Badlands are one of my most favorite places, and we've also been to Sioux Falls, Falls Park and the Corn Palace in Mitchell.... if I'm ever in South Dakota a

I grew up as the middle kid out of seven. There are 6 yrs between my oldest sibling and me, and 9 yrs between my youngest sibling and me. There were 2 boys and 5 girls.  I have very fond memories when I was little.  I remember our family trips.... I loved playing the car game with Dad at night while everyone else was asleep..... it was my favorite part of traveling.  I loved going to the auction barn with dad -especially if we come home with a baby lamb or other animals. I loved the wintertime when Mom would read stories, with all of us kids piled up beside her on the sofa. We spent a lot of Sundays at G'pa Stumps house- playing games and eating popcorn and ice cream. I loved spending the night at my G'pa Fricks... G'pa had two nicknames for me... 'Goldilocks' and 'woodchuck'. I loved going to church, singing at the nursing home, and bible study- because it meant that I would spend time with my best friend- she was great. I love

We have taken a few family trips with our kids.... and I have found, if you have some fun things to keep kids occupied with, the trip will be much more enjoyable for everyone!  Here is a list of idea's that my kids love....  1. Camera - I give each kid (I started doing this when my youngest was 3 yrs old.) a camera. Make sure it is charged or has fresh batteries (take the charger along with your overnight bag and charge while your sleeping so it will be ready to go the following day.) I let my kids take pictures of anything that interest's them. When we get home, I delete the fuzzy or blurry pictures and use some of their good pictures, along with some of mine, to make a keepsake book for them to look through to remember the trip by.  2.  Silly Putty  - All kids, all ages love silly putty! You can also buy different colored silly putty. Just keep it off of clothing!  3.   Bingo Car Game  - this works great for middle school kids that know

When we are traveling - I like to take our snacks with us. It cuts down on stops and on the cost of buying snacks at convenience stores or gas stations. I try to pack a mixture of sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, healthy and not so healthy snacks..... I want snacks that are easy and that don't make a huge mess!  I try to get snacks that my kids don't have on a regular basis - it gives them something to look forward too and makes the trip more fun!  Here we go! Nuts - honey roasted peanuts, cashews, and roasted and salted almonds are our family favorites! Fruit Snacks or Fruit Roll Ups Shaklee Snack Bars  - choose from crunchy peanut butter, cherry and almond, chocolate and coconut, or toffee and chocolate crunch. Snack Crisps   - my personal favorite is the barbecue flavored ones. Beef Jerky Trail Mix Raisins - little individual boxes work great! Starburst Minis - my kids love these and there are no paper wrappers to deal with! Gr