Beginning Guitar Lessons

Mary and I are so excited to start guitar lessons. We gave her a child's guitar for Christmas. I talked to her piano teacher about finding a guitar teacher.  Turns out that her son's major in college was guitar and he teaches.  So we set up lessons.  It took quite a few weeks to begin as working out a time, then being sick and then he was sick.  So all that to say we started lessons last week.  I was able to get a guitar and a really great close out price.  So we are learning together.  I also have a video of her playing.  She is using her teacher's guitar.  He took hers this week to put nylon strings on it and make it a little easier to play.  He is a great guy, has kids Mary's age and is a Christian.

  

 

Here is the link to the video: http://youtu.be/e7AoNiA7PnQ

 

 

Field Journal

Mary has fallen in love with the idea of making a field journal. She has been watching a Disney movie about the fairy, Tinker Bell, meeting a little 9 year old girl that loves fairies. With the help of Tinker Bell the little girl, Lizzy,  makes a field journal about fairies. It is a wonderful story of trust and friendship and love.  Such a great story. 

 

Mary made one entry of our visit to Lithia Park last Fall and then she made an entry of what she found in our back yard yesterday.  She was so pleased to find 2 ladybugs and some wild flowers already beginning to bloom.  Spring is just around the corner!

Valentine's Weekend

We had fun Valentine's weekend.  Rich worked Saturday morning, so I made a surprise Valentine's breakfast for Mary with heart shaped eggs and eggs in a nest.  She was thrilled.  That evening Rich came home with flowers, candy and cards for us.  He also brought a shrimp ring.  So we enjoyed the cup cakes she frosted and decorated and had shrimp and sparkling grape juice.  I got Rich the Hobbit music sound track CD and Mary got the musical, The Music Man.  So after our desserts and shrimp we watched the Music Man.  Today for lunch Rich and I went out to Roadhouse Grill and had a great Valentine's weekend special there.  Mary had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa and then she is spending the night and she is so excited!!

Harmonica Box

This afternoon I polished up this box that belonged to my uncle.  It was hand carved in India.  He got it when he was in WW2.  I fixed it up so Mary could store our harmonicas in it.

I have a lovely 75 year old harmonica that I inherited from another uncle.  It was made in Germany and I have the original box.

Mary will be starting guitar lessons next week.  She is so excited about the new (to her) harmonica box.  I don't think there is an instrument she doesn't like.  Maybe some day we will give her lessons on how to play a harmonica.  Until then she will have fun just experimenting.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

During the Christmas season we had a really fun Saturday. We went over to our friend's Jennifer and Raul's house and made tortilla chicken soup. Mel got the recipe from one of the cooks at Home Town Buffet. This soup is what kept Mel and Dan coming to Home Town Buffet on a regular basis because they used to serve it every Friday. When they started going regularly they began to meet some great friends there who came there for the soup too. Now Mary and I go with Dan and Mel and we have made some really great friends too. So here is the recipe and some pictures of our day.

 

Tortilla Soup

Step 1

2 Medium onions diced

2 Jalapenos minced

2 Tbls chopped garlic in oil

Saute above ingredients in about 2 Tbls cooking oil for about 5 minutes

 

Step 2

1 20 oz can diced tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro chopped2 7oz cans diced green chilies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

1 gallon water

6 cubes chicken bullion (or chicken stock)

2 lbs chicken breast diced and cooked

 

Add above ingredients to Step 1, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes

 

Julienne and deep fry 3 dozen corn tortillas or use corn chips

2 lbs of Jack cheese shredded

sour cream

 

Add these ingredients as a garnish on top of soup

 

 

 The kitchen crew

 

 All the yummy toppings and sides

 

This was an awesome soup. 

So yummy on a cold winter's day.  Friends to warm the heart and soup to warm the body.

 

 

Christmas 2014

Here is a recap of our Christmas season.  I finally got around to putting it together last night.  We sure had a lot of fun!

Here is the link: http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4e4445354e7a63344e7a593d0d0a&blogview=true

 

 

Personalize your own photo slideshow

Merry Christmas

We want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Mary would like to share a song with you.

Here is the link to the video: http://youtu.be/-k36TNx_v6M



Christmas Piano Recital

Mary had her Christmas piano recital.  She played Jingle Bells and a Spanish carol called Foom, Foom, Foom.  I played with her and it was such a joy!  She is doing so great and does so well on stage. 

 

 

 

Here is the video of us playing together.

 

 

Here is the link to the video: http://youtu.be/jBo4VsmdoNg

 

 

She loves her teacher, Mrs. Hetzel.  She is such a talented lady and such a great teacher.

Through the Eyes of a Child

Mary reminded me of the innocence of a child and how their little hearts are filled with wonder.  Lord I pray that each day that I have the heart of a child for Him that I be filled with the great wonder that He is to me.

Christmas Movie

We started a first of December tradition last year.  Last year we took Mary to her first theater movie.  We went to see Frozen and this year we took her to see Big Hero 6, her second theater movie.  We went on the Monday afternoon and had the theater to ourselves which was a real treat.  After the movie we decorated the tree.  It is so special now as Mary is big enough to appreciate all the stories behind the ornaments of snow flakes Grandma Yoder made, ornaments that were wedding presents, special ornaments to commemorate her birth and a set of bears we bought when I was pregnant with our first baby.  A lot of joys and sorrows in all the memories but each one of them very special.   We had a lovely day of being with each other and celebrating.