Congratulations Becky
Friday, May 29, 2009

Congratulations to our beautiful, brilliant, and talented daughter Becky who graduated with her Master's Degree in Rhetoric from the University of Saskatchewan.

We are so proud of you babe! I know how hard it is to work, be a mom of a two year old, as well as a wife, home maker, friend, and wonderful daughter.

We look forward to celebrating with you, Jerry, and Emma in New York in just a few short days. We love this picture of you both and wish we could have been there to see you walk across the stage to receive your diploma. We would have stood, clapped and cheered for you as you across the stage.

Sending you lots of virtual love till we see you in person!

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 12:16 AM | 3 comments
My Canadians will soon be in flight
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Well the day I've been dreading is finally here. My Canadians head home this afternoon and so begins a long dry spell of being empty- nesters again. Our little nest has been bursting at the seams for the last month and we will miss the baby chatter, laughter and most of all the open mouth kisses from one little girl and the heart melting smiles as she runs to your arms.

We have been blessed to watch her grow in front of our eyes! I've loved going shopping with my girls, cooking and cleaning together, playing dominoes, actually being able to baby sit. We've enjoyed lots of strawberries, Chick-fil-a, the Bronx Zoo, and most of all the thrill of just being together.

We were able to go and have formal pictures made yesterday afternoon that were amazing. We ordered a bizillion so guess what everyone is getting for the next major holiday? I will be looking over pictures and reliving the moment for a very long time.

I'm sure there is a balance here some where. I love the extended time together created by the distance...but I hate the distance that keeps us apart for holidays and birthdays.

We leave this afternoon to take them to the airport. Keep them in your prayers as they fly back today. I'll be by to visit with you tomorrow.

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 7:34 AM | 3 comments
Monday Memories.....Ragdolls
Monday, April 28, 2008

Rag dolls have had an big role in the lives of our girls. Baby Becky's first birthday cake was in the shape of Raggedy Ann. Several Christmas' later I made both girls a set of Raggedy Anns and Andy's (which they still have!)

The first time Baby Becky had the flu she was just as limp as a rag doll. She would lay on the couch so I could watch her and help her when she started to vomit. We really had a hard time getting any fluids down her and would literally give her fluids with a teaspoon as that was the only way she could keep any down.

The doctor told us not to feed her since she wasn't able to keep anything down. As parents we felt really bad watching our baby that was normally so lively and energetic just lying on the sofa like a little rag doll.


I had fixed dinner for Mr. Wonderful and myself. After we finished eating, before I could clear the plates off the table I saw Becky licking our empty plates because she was so hungry. It broke my heart.

Now our sweet Emma is having similar symptoms and it is even harder being this far away . Poor Beck is experiencing the same things all mothers go through watching their babies when they are sick. It never gets any easier does it?

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 7:09 PM | 4 comments
Wordless Wednesday...Hoppy Easter Girls
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Becky and Emma....note Emma's two new teeth!

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 8:20 PM | 8 comments
Monday Memory....the balloon that grew!
Monday, February 18, 2008

When we lived in North Dakota, "Happy Joe's" Pizza Palor was a favorite of our children. They made a good pizza and it was definitely a kid friendly environment. They also gave each of the children their very own helium filled balloon on a string. The balloons would be secured on the back of their chairs untill it was time to go home and then I would tie them on each child's wrist as we headed to the car and home.



Becky was 6 and very independent. She declared that she was old enough to hold the string by herself and didn't need it tied on "like a baby". Suzy, who wanted to do everything her big sister did, also decided that she didn't want her balloon tied on. Not wanting to make a scene, I told her ok, but warned her if she let go of the string the balloon would float away.


Sure enough, we had barely made it out of the door before Suzy's balloon slipped out of her hand, passed Mr. Wonderful and into the North Dakota sky. Immediately salty tears poured out from Suzy's eyes and she began to cry.


Mr. Wonderful picked up Suzy and held her closer to the sky and said, "Don't cry Suzy, your balloon is going on a trip......I bet it's on the way to Texas for our family reunion. It's small so it needs to get a head start. Wave it goodbye and tell it have a good trip!"


This seemed like a perfectly logical thing for a balloon to do and so Suzy started waving and shouting to the balloon. "See you soon! Bye Balloon!"


A day or so later Suzy asked her Daddy, "Where's my Balloon now?"


So Mr. Wonderful would get out a map and show her where we were, where the family reunion was to be held and all the states in between. Then he would say, "The weatherman said, it was windy today so I'm sure Balloon didn't get very far . I think it's probably in South Dakota by now." That seemed to satisfy her curosity so off she'd go.


Every night before she would jump in bed she would have to say her prayers. She "God Blessed" everyone she knew and she always ended with, " and God help my balloon help make it to Texas."


A few days later the grandparents arrived and the house was busy with activities in preparation for our long car trip to Texas to the family reunion. In all the activites the balloon was soon forgotten and we didn't bring up the subject again.


Imagine our surprise and Suzy's delight one morning when we were eating breakfast at a restaurant and looked out of the window to see a huge hot air balloon that looked very similiar to Suzy's "Happy Joe's" balloon. "Oh look Daddy," Suzy said excitedly, "Look how big my balloon got! It's here, just like you said it would be." "How did it get so big?" she asked.



"Well," said Mr. Wonderful, as if he were expecting this question all along. "The balloon had to get bigger to make the long journey. Every time you prayed God made the balloon bigger."


Again, this sounded perfectly logical to Suzy and she was satisfied with the explanation. Becky, ever the skeptic , looked at her Dad and said matter of factly, "Aren't you glad she stopped praying when she did?"


The Faith of a child is so pure!

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 11:56 AM | 6 comments
Monday Memories....Shopping with a toddler
Monday, February 04, 2008

Since our oldest just had a birthday, my thoughts seem to be directed to her lately. We try to send "surprise" boxes to all of our kids from time to time. The last box we sent to Canada had a play mat that fits into the basket seat of the grocery cart and protects the child from the germs of other children that have sat in the basket. It also has items that are sewn in to entertain the child so mom can shop.

We didn't have such luxuries when our children were growing up. We lived in Montana when the girls were born. It always took us at least 30 minutes to get into to town to shop. So we tried to group all our shopping together when we went. One day Becky and I went grocery shopping. She was sitting in the cart and I was preoccupied with trying to get everything I needed on the list. Becky loved to talk, to babble, to sing and make noises so I really wasn't paying any attention to her. She loved being able to see all the items on the shelves and I would occasionally find items in the cart that I didn't put there. I had learned to keep the cart in the middle of the aisle so she couldn't reach the items she desired. Just because she couldn't reach the item didn't make her desire go away. She would beg for cookies, or sugary cereal or other items that weren't on the list or in our rather strict budget.


We went down aisle after aisle and Becky was delighted by all the colors and pictures. She would say the names of everything she saw and was perfectly entertained. Somewhere between the produce aisle and the cookie aisle she began to speak to me directly....."Mom?"

Me: no response, too busy shopping.


Becky: "Mom?"


Me: no response....continued to walk down aisle.


Becky: "Momma?"...now louder and more insistent.


Me: checking list , still not paying attention.


Becky: "DAISY!!" said, in a loud, truly disgusted voice.


That definitely got my attention. Who knew that she knew my first name? I still laugh about it after all these years. My daughter is not a person to be ignored (not then nor now!) Funny how their personalities are formed so quickly. I wonder what little Emma will do to get her momma's attention? I'm sure it will make for a good story, don't you?

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 3:09 PM | 5 comments
Happy Brithday Beeks!
Friday, February 01, 2008

Happy 30th Birthday to my "Brown-Eyed Girl!"

It hardly seems possible that you have grown from precocious child to a mother of a precocious child. I love this picture of you as it reminds me of Miss Emma.

You were the first...the experimental child. You took two very green inexperienced people and shaped us into a family. You were very demanding and insistent on our complete obedience to your every need. Yet you were also very quick to reward our feeble attempts to please you.


We treated you as the "center of the universe" because indeed, you were the center of our universe. We were enthralled by each new skill you learned and by every syllable you uttered.


You turned your sweet kindhearted, Daddy into "Rambo" at the thought of anyone hurting you. Even now after all these years he will still think of you as the "little girl who slept under his handkerchief" and gets misty at the thought.

You were always inventive.....creating wonderful stories to entertain your brother and sister, or coming up with games that you always won because you made up the rules as you went along. You were the instigator, the promoter, the all wise Oz . You might have tormented your siblings, but you would not tolerate anyone else picking on them.

Life was not always easy or kind for you but you overcame each problem with determination, skill and just plain stubbornness . You would not let anyone undermine or devalue you . You have always been able to stand up for yourself and for the rights of others.

You are our adventurer. The one to challenge all the rules. The first to leave the nest, the first to break your mother's heart and the first to understand what agony mother's go through watching their babies grow and become more and more independent.

My prayer for you is that you will always be a role model for your daughter and that you will allow her the opportunity to smooth out the rough edges of your personality just as you did for your mother.

I miss you so much! I pray for you daily, live to hear your voice and laugh with delight at new pictures of our baby. Happy Birthday Beeks....I love you!

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 10:40 AM | 3 comments
Monday Memory....Lets not go to work today.
Monday, January 07, 2008

My darling daughter Becky is back to work after a year's maternity leave. Her transition back to work and Emma to day care has gone quite smoothly but it did bring back memories of having to go to work while my children were still small.

Six weeks after boy wonder was born I started a new job at the area hospital. Because I was a new employee, I had to work full time for the first six weeks on the day shift. Finding day care for a newborn, 2 year old and 4 year old was quite a challenge as we only had one car at that time. We finally found a sweet young girl who agreed to care for the children in her home for the six weeks orientation.

I had to be at the hospital at 6:45 so it meant getting up at 5 am to shower, dress and gather up the clothing, shoes, diaper bag, cereal and lunches for the children. We would put the sleeping children in the car and take off to the babysitter. Then there was the transfer of children followed by Mr. Wonderful dropping me off for the day shift. He would go on to work and take a late lunch to go pick me up from work.

I would drive him back to work while he ate his lunch in the car and then go after the children. By the time I had transferred everyone back into the car seats and strapped everyone in, it would be time to go pick up Mr. Wonderful from work. It was hard on all of us but the only way we could juggle our commitments.

The children were grumpy when we transfered them from their nice warm bed into the cold car. One day I forgot to pack their shoes so the girls were very upset with me as they had to stay inside all day. Children adjust so quickly that I really thought they didn't mind all the shuffling around we were having to do. They liked the babysitter and although I felt stressed trying to nurse the baby, work, keep up with the home front I really thought that the girls handle the transition better than I did.

One morning as we began the "into the car shuffle" very sleepy Becky looked up at me in her pink footed pajamas and in the wisdom of a veteran 4 year old said, "Let's not go to work today, OK Mom?" That's when it dawned on me....they felt they were working too.

Those six weeks were some of the longest days of my life but it helped to know we were all working together.

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 4:09 PM | 5 comments
What's Christmas without family!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Star of our Christmas Tree!

Christmas Eve in the Big Apple

Suzy, Tim and Andy in New York

Our New York Kids

Our Canadians !
Christmas in November!

Me and my mom

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 10:31 AM | 6 comments
The Ghosts of Christmas Past....Monday Memory
Monday, December 10, 2007

Christmas is very quiet at our house now that the kids are grown and are on their own. I love Christmas and love to decorate but it hardly seems worth the effort with just Mr. Wonderful and myself here.

I got a scanner for my birthday and have had a great time looking at old pictures . This picture is baby Suzy's first Christmas. She was also baby Jesus that year in the nativity play as she was the only baby in our small church. Big Sister Becky (almost 2) was the littlest angel.


The following year the girls were more interested in decorating themselves than decorating the tree. This was the year that we started doing an Advent Calendar for them. They had no concept of time so on Thanksgiving afternoon we made a paper chain and made a link for each day till Christmas. The Christmas link was made from shiny paper and very distinct from the other links. They cut one link every day so they had an idea of "how long till Christmas". As they grew older we would write an activity on the link such as "Watch a Christmas movie", "make Christmas Cards", "sing jingle bells and go on a sled ride", "make Christmas cookies"....etc. I think I looked forward to the activity more than the girls did.

Did you have any family traditions that you did with your kids when they were growing up?

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 8:42 AM | 7 comments
All the Chicks in the Nest!
Monday, November 26, 2007

Here they are! All my babies home at one time except for SIL Jerry (husband and father to Emma still in Canada.)



Boy Wonder had not been home in three years so of course we had to kill the fatted pizza at his return. Suzy and Tim join us Tuesday afternoon after a brief visit with friends in Tennessee.



Tuesday night we ate at Cracker Barrel (family favorite and not available in New York or Canada). Oldest daughter and Emma love that you can eat breakfast at any time of the day there. It's also fun to look around while you wait for a table. No one went away hungry!

We were able to borrow a pop-up camper from a friend so it made for an extra bedroom in our drive-way. It worked pretty well till the temperatures dropped and the heaters tripped the breaker. I had some cold kids the next morning!

All of caught a "bug" of some kind, at various times, so some were well when other were feeling bad. Becky and Tim with the help of good ole Dad came through with the Thanksgiving Feast. Mr. Wonderful did the bird and Tim and Becky did all the side dishes. It was a wonderful feast made better by having every one home.

Auntie Suzy made Emma an Indian outfit to celebrate the day. She even made a head dress with feathers and braids.
Emma seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and also got two board books for Thanksgiving. One us called the Five Silly Turkeys and the other was about The first Thanksgiving.

Uncle Andy had to leave Friday afternoon so immediately after
our Thanksgiving feast the house was decorated for Christmas. The girls and Tim put up the tress and some decorations to make the house look very festive. Christmas came early at our house. It was nice to share the celebration with family and Emma doesn't know one day from another right now.



This is one of Boy Wonder's gifts....."A Man, A Can and Microwave!" He tends to eat out most meals so this is a cook
book for men.



More later....all the chicks have left the nest except for Becky and Emma and they leave really early tomorrow morning. This will be one sad daisy after everyone has left the patch.

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 4:15 PM | 7 comments
Sunday Seven...Home from Canada
Saturday, September 15, 2007

Sunday Seven.....Home from Canada Edition


1. We are back from flying the friendly skies. Our free trip, thanks to Northwest Airlines was great. We had plenty of time between flights to get where we needed to be and Mr. Wonderful made sure that I didn't have to run to catch the next flight.

2. We enjoyed the much cooler weather, the fresh vegetables and baked goods at the Farmer's Markets and the first hint of leaves starting to change colors. It will be a month of more before we see that here in Virginia so it was a nice start to fall. There were even frost warning while we were there.

3. I got a deeper appreciation for how large Canada really is. We were in Saskatchewan (the prairies) right over North Dakota. I waved at my friend Pea in Ontario (1200 miles away) and also to my friend mompoet in Port Moody ( British Columbia equally as far in the other direction!)


4. I noticed that the Canada Geese were starting to head south while we were there. I love watching them fly in formation and hearing them honking over head. I knew when they started heading south we would be heading that way ourselves way too soon.

5. We especially enjoyed our little Emma that fit "just right" in her Poppa's strong arms. She always had a special smile for him and of course he always responded immediately. Even now, he'll say, "I wonder what our Emma is doing right now?" Can you say smitten?


6. We got our fill of Saskatoon berries and brought home enough syrup to keep Mr. Wonderful happy for a long time (not to mention a 5 pound jar of Saskatoon jelly!) The Saskatoon Berry Pie at the Berry Barn was totally delicious and tasted like more!

7. We were thrilled and amazed to see what a wonderful mother our daughter has become. She is making her own baby food for Emma and got some excellent bargains on adorable clothing for her. She also helped her dad polish up his presentation for the CEO position of a medical ministry. (Please continue to pray as we have just been told that they will be making their final choice between Mr. Wonderful and one other applicant!)



We had an amazing time in Canada and it was really hard to leave. We are excited that Emma and her mom are working on coming home for Thanksgiving. ( Now all I have to do is a little arm twisting on her brother and sister to come home too.) God is good all the time! Cue the music, dim the lights and exit thankfully for another week.

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 3:18 PM | 9 comments
More pictures!
Saturday, September 08, 2007

Here's a rare photo of Dad and daughter. Becky is so busy being a wife and mother that it is hard to get these two together for a photo. Of course I insisted and we all know "when Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." So here they are together in a very serene setting. I love this picture.





We are having so much fun with our Canadians that it seems like we've never been apart. It has been fun being a part of their life and sneaking a peek of their world.







Look at my Big Girl sitting in the grocery cart! She loved being eye level with all the colorful groceries. Poppa had to learn to keep the cart in the middle of the aisle so Emma couldn't add to the cart. She loved







Early this morning we went to the Farmer's Market for fresh produce and baked goods. The flower arrangement was bought for Becky's landlord who has generously let us sleep in her basement. It is nice being right downstairs and still close enough to be with Emma and her parents.








Here's Emma and her Poppa! What a pair! It is so much fun to see a grown man so protective of his little grandchild. Becky teased him about being over protective.....he grumpily stated " Nothing is going to happen to her on my watch!"


More shopping later this afternoon!

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 11:42 AM | 8 comments
Sunday Seven...Waiting Edition
Saturday, September 01, 2007


Sunday Seven.....Things that I've been waiting for forever.


1. I don't know about you but I am not a good wait-er. I was really laughing when I found this book with the title "Waiting for daisy". Poor Mr. Wonderful has spent a lifetime doing the same thing. I'm never early and he believes that if you are not 15 minutes early you are already 30 minutes late. You can imagine the tension that goes on at the Daisy Patch.



2. I've been waiting for Vacation Time forever! ( Well at least all summer!) Mr. Wonderful is officially off till September 14th. We've already been to the library and he has lots of books that he is really excited about reading. He's on the front porch swing now reading a Clive Cussler book.


3. I've been waiting to go to Canada to see my kids and grand baby . I'm looking forward to the cooler temperatures, fall colors, friends and of course spoiling one special little blue eyed girl (and her brown eyed momma!)


4. I'm looking forward to taking tons of pictures with family and friends and especially a nice one with us with Emma and her parents. We took some great shots in May and Emma is growing so quickly we need to get more.



5. I'm looking forward to cooking for my family. It's a lot more fun than just cooking for the two of us and is always well received and appreciated. I hear that Emma is a really good eater now.



6. I'm looking to spending some quality time with this little one who has grown whiskers waiting for her Diva and Poppa to come! Come on now folks, who could resist this face?




7. I'm waiting to take a plane to Canada. We leave on Tuesday and this girl is already packed. Can you say excitement ? These are the free tickets we got in December when we volunteered to give up our seats.

Well that's all from the Daisy Patch this week. One excited Daisy getting ready to leave for Canada and one very tired Mr. Wonderful ready for a relaxing break. Cue the music (Oh Canada...) dim the lights, check on the water and food for the kitties, make sure the doors are locked and you'll have to run to catch up with me next week in Saskatoon!

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 1:38 PM | 13 comments
Monday Memories...kid planned vacation
Monday, August 13, 2007

Two of my three children have birthday's this week and I'm feeling very sentimental. The picture on the side occurred the summer Mr. Wonderful and I decided to let the kids plan our Summer Vacation.

I was homeschooling the children so we made it a class project. They decided they wanted to go to Atlanta and North Georgia so the first thing they did was put together a jigsaw puzzle of the city of Atlanta. The puzzle had icons where various sightseeing sites were located. After the puzzle was completed they looked up the sites that intrigued them to see how far they were, the cost and how much time they wanted to spend at that location.

Before we left our home in Savannah, each child was given a camera, film, and a notebook to record their trip. Their itinerary was well thought out and of course had many sites of interest.

Our first day was spent entirely at 6 Flags Over Georgia. They rode every ride and we left the park exhausted. The second day we went to the Atlanta Zoo, Cyclorama, and Stone Mountain.
We stayed to see the lazer show that evening and went to our motel exhausted. The next day we went to Sci- Tech (a kid friendly, hands on museum of science and technology) Underground Atlanta, the World of Coca Cola, and the museum located in Atlanta's City Hall and that night we went to a Braves Game (their first major league game.) Again we were exhausted by the time we reach our motel.

The following day we headed for the North Georgia mountains and to the city of Dahlonega. Dahlonega was the place of the first gold rush in the Nation so naturally the kids wanted to try their hand at gold mining. They soon found out it was hard work so we toured the gold mine museum and other nearby sites including Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia (home of the Cabbage Patch Dolls) and Amicalola Falls State Park where this picture was taken.

Mr. Wonderful and I had to agree that it was a great vacation the children had planned. I'm wondering if that how Suzy's interest in planning unusual itineraries started. She is really good at finding interesting places to visit where ever they travel.

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 9:04 AM | 10 comments
Wordless Wednesday....My girls are coming!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
The countdown has begun. My girls will be here in one month.

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Posted by Lazy Daisy at 8:19 PM | 17 comments