A Week of Spring-Breakin,’ Dessert-Makin’ and Photo-Takin’

March 13, 2017

Here are a few moments and memories from Sarah’s spring break–over way too soon!

I caught this photo of Sarah and Steve praying over their lunch as I was heading out the door one day last week. Treasurable times!

 

Last night the two of them spend some time finishing up her taxes. (Just so you know, Steve is not–in actuality–asleep.)

I think it’s hilarious that I caught him with his eyes closed in two pictures.  Maybe it’s because he thinks taxes are so easy you can do them with your eyes closed!

When the taxing task of doing her taxes was finally finished, the two of them shared a big hug and smile.  (At this point in the process, Steve did opt to open his eyes.)

(Please note that Sarah NEVER asks me to help her with her taxes.  If I were to attempt to fill out any of those forms, I could conceivably shut down the federal government for the next 15 years while they tried to figure out whatever inscrutable scribblings I had managed to conjure up for their cipherin’ puzzlements.)

Sarah made me a lovely birthday dessert . . .

and bought a few of my favorite things to unwrap.

In fine Smith Women Form, she found a pair of earrings at the thrift store, which I loved. I had also asked for a closing lid for my new drinking cup and she since she knows I love Golden Graham bars, she added one of those.

Steve gave me a lovely pair of earrings.  He has such good taste in jewelry.

A friend gave me a $10 gift and I found these three items at a thrift store.  (The total was $10.17. Not too bad, huh?)

    

The Wednesday night class I teach at church rustled up some guacamole, chips and cupcakes to help me celebrate the fifty-fifth anniversary of my day of birth.

Saturday afternoon Sarah and I were suddenly hit by the mutual realization that we hadn’t done much of anything fun during her visit since it was kind of crazy, stressful week for Steve and me.  

We started off with the amazingly fun experience of going to the ATM machine at her bank.  Are we wild party gals, or what?

Then we took ourselves off to Sonic restaurant for a small lunch. We happened to be there during the time when drinks and slushies were half off.  There are no happier words than “half off” . . .

for the two of us to hear.

 

We then went to a local thrift store where we both spent massive quantities of money.  ( About $4 each.)

On our way out of the store, we passed by this mysterious item. After staring at it for quite a while, we gave up in complete puzzlement as to its purpose.  Ideas, anyone?

   

Last night, Sarah started her Goodbye Kissy Routine with Summer, whom she will miss greatly.

  

  

This morning she was up early to get ready for her trip back to Regent.

While she loaded up the back-end of the car . . .

Steve did his mysterious front-end-of the car tasks.

My invaluable contribution was to walk around in my fuzzy socks and screech about how “stinkin’ freezin’ cold it is out here!”  I’m quite certain my family could not possibly run smoothly without all the invaluable encouragement and assistance I so unselfishly offer.    

Bottom line?

Sarah is gone. Again.  

As I watched her go, I got to wondering how many hellos and goodbyes I will eventually witness in that doorway with all her comings and goings in addition to Nathan, Meagan, and the grandkids’ travels hither and yon.

But as long as they all remember that the door is always open to their knock; as long as they never forget that they CAN come home again, I am a happy, contented mama living out all my moments here in this precious house of spring-breakin’,  dessert-makin,’  and photo-takin’.

 

 

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31 comments so far.

31 responses to “A Week of Spring-Breakin,’ Dessert-Makin’ and Photo-Takin’”

  1. Kari says:

    So nice you got to have Sarah home for her break, will she be home at Easter? Love the cherry limeade from Sonic!

    Ugh, taxes, I did ours up until several years ago. Hubby got so antsy about them because I would put them off for so long, but, they were never late! Now he takes them to a center and they are done through AARP at no cost whereas it would otherwise cost about 60.00 for the software and additional for filing online.

    • Becky says:

      Kari,

      Sarah will definitely come home around Easter time to see the Easter drama and she’ll probably in and out a few other times as well.

      Happy for you that tax-doing is no longer on your list!

  2. Heather E says:

    Happy Birthday Becky!! The dessert looks awesome and pretty earrings! I hope Sarah is feeling better. I’m 45 and I still love going to my parent’s house- they never moved from the house I grew up in, and it is always home to me.

    • Becky says:

      Heather,

      You are so fortunate to still be able to go to the house you grew up in. That is such a rare thing these days with people moving a lot more than they used to.

      I know you are thankful every single time you walk through that beloved, familiar door.

  3. mrs pam says:

    the thingy looks sorta homemade… I can imagine the spout as a nose, and the mystery features as eyes. but, why?

    so grateful for folks who understand tax forms… absolutely beyond my intellect, that’s for sure!

    • Becky says:

      Mrs. Pam,

      I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets just slightly overwhelmed at the thought of dealing with a tax form. People who do it for a living are amazing!

  4. Elizabeth Bowen says:

    Did they two cylindrical thingies have metal spikes in the bottom? If so, it might be used to arrange flowers. Otherwise, I have NO idea! Glad you had a lovely visit with Sarah!

    • Becky says:

      Elizabeth,

      No, no spikes on the “mystery object.”

      And yes, time with Sarah is always a treat. Ever so thankful she is close enough to drive home pretty often.

  5. Jodi says:

    Sounds like you had an amazing birthday! You are surely loved! Glad Sarah made it home for a visit! Hopefully, she wasn’t down too long and nobody else took ill. As for unintentionally shutting down the federal government……..hmmmmm? I used to do my own taxes until I went on disability (but continued doing my brothers until he passed)! I now itemize since more than 10% of my income goes towards medical expenses. For the minimal amount my CPA charges me for what probably takes her less than 20 minutes to complete, it’s worth every cent to know it’s being done right. After T cleaned up the (HAUNTINGY COSTLY) mess my previous CPA caused (thankfully the
    IRS put me on a payment plan and it didn’t affect my credit score), I knew I could count on her. Becky, if you guys itemize, you’d be shocked what you can legally and legitmately write off (I was happily shocked)! If you want more (any) specifics please ask. Just two quick examples; mileage to/from doc visits (don’t you drive almost three hours to one of them) & the cost of parking if applicable? I only have one doc that I pay to park and although, it was only $18.75 for 2016, why not?

    ? Jodi

    • Becky says:

      Jodi,

      It sounds like you have made some smart choices with the way you do your taxes.

      I agree it’s worth every penny of having a CPA do your taxes because you know for sure they are done right. Lots of peace of mind. We have a CPA do ours, as well, although Steve still has to spend quite a few hours getting everything gathered up to send off.

  6. Dale Tousley says:

    Happy Belated Birthday Becky, so glad Sarah was able to spend it with you and what beautiful, thoughtful gifts……I know what you mean about hello and good bye, I never lived apart from my kids, and then we moved to North Carolina almost y years ago and both stayed behind in Kansas to finish school, my daughter eventually moved to NC to be with us (yay) but my son has chosen to stay in KC permanently, meaning we see him 3 times a year at most….I find it very difficult and sad, and always tear up, seeing his car pull out of your driveway.many people, including my husband, say just deal with it, kids move away, but I feel like I am missing out on so much of his life. My Mom lived in her home town in NJ her WHOLE life, I lived at the most, 45 minutes away from her until we moved to KC, which was very hard on her. Now I know how she felt! Sorry to be so depressing, but it is a cold, rainy day here in NC and I am feeling a bit melancholy…..

    • Dale Tousley says:

      That should have read almost 4 years ago!

    • Becky says:

      Dale,

      Being melencholy is a perfectly okay way to feel; it just makes the cheery days that much better!

      And not seeing our adult kids as often as we would like sure does help us appreciate those visits when they come, doesn’t it?

      We have several missionary friends who are 10,000 miles from their families. I try to remember them when I rue the distance between here and Florida. 🙂

      The sun will come out tomorrow . . .

  7. Ann Martin says:

    So many memories. Glad you had several celebrations for your birthday.

  8. Wendy says:

    Happy belated Birthday! What a fun week you had celebrating 🙂 So happy Sarah was able to be home on Spring break to spend time with you both and to just plain relax too! Steve checking over her car before she leaves again reminds me of my dad, who did just that each time we would take off somewhere more than an hour away, Gotta love those dads who loved us so much they took the time to check over the car stuff.

    • Becky says:

      Wendy,

      I was grateful spring break just happened to take place over my birthday week. That was the BEST present!

      Yes, I agree, car-checking dads are the best. Such a practical way to show their love.

  9. LeeAnne says:

    Oh gosh…I’m wondering how I didn’t know that your birthday had arrived? And gone? Happy belated birthday Becky!!
    I have NO idea what that thingy at the thrift store is. My only guess would be candle holder but the spout has me stumped. Lol! 😀

    • Becky says:

      LeeAnne,

      Yeah, that spout stumped us, too. Very strange item.

      Well, birthdays do have a way of sliding by, don’t they? I think the older you get, the faster they come and go!

  10. Stefanie says:

    Is that mystery item a double beer-butt chicken cooker??? Haha.

    Glad you had a wonderful, frugal birthday and that Sarah got to spend some quality time at home. 🙂

    • Becky says:

      Stefanie,

      Now THAT’S quite a suggestion about the thrift store object. “-)

      It truly is a mystery. I am hoping that someone may eventually come up with an answer!

      • Stefanie says:

        Actually, I’ve just been Googling and I do believe that’s what it is. I used various search terms, but “double chicken roaster” lands on a stainless version, and there are several ceramic ones for single chickens. 🙂

        • Becky says:

          Stefanie,

          I do believe you have hit the jackpot with your explanation. I would never in 4 billion years have been able to come up with that answer but after looking at Google photos, it makes perfect sense.

          Thank you for being such a great research assistant and solving the mystery so I can sleep at night! 🙂

  11. Mary says:

    A happy belated birthday! Blessings galore!

  12. Diane Pombier says:

    Very nice post. Beautiful jewelry and loved the ending about all of the hellos and goodbyes you will see in the doorway and the door always being open. That’s all we can do when our kids grow up. Let them know the door is always open to their knock.
    I can’t imagine what the mysterious item is. My only guess was a candle holder. And I love the purple bush by your garage. Do you know the name? Wondered ii it had a fragrance. Beautiful.

    • Becky says:

      Diane,

      That myserious item seems to be stumping everyone! It truly is strange.

      I’m afraid you are asking the wrong person when it comes to the name of that bush; I know absolutely nothing about plants; I do agree it very lovely, though!

      As far as a scent goes, I am not aware of anything when I walk by so if it there is a scent, it must be very mild.

  13. Lesley says:

    At first I thought that mysterious item was a candle holder, however why/how would one pour the hardened wax out of the bottom? So I stared at the photo for far too long.

    • Becky says:

      Lesley,

      Yeah, the spout flummoxed me, as well. The item is obviously made for something liquidy but I can’t imagine what.

  14. Sharyn McDonald says:

    Well, late Happy Birthday. Didn’t see the HB hat, but am assuming it was around somewhere. Oh, my, your trip to the thrift store was fantastic. Who would ever think that those shoes and necklaces were from there. Especially love those shoes and now you’ll have to let us see the outfit you will come up with wearing those items. So glad that Sarah is close by (sorta) so she could come home more often. How are her hearing aids working out? Sometimes folks have them turned down in such a way that they don’t want to hear the background noise and then miss out on conversations. Am assuming she has adjusted so she has no problems with them.

    • Becky says:

      Sharyn,

      Yes, I always love my thrift store finds. Such fun to see what is around the next corner!

      Sarah has adjusted well to her hearing aids; I know it’s not an easy process for a lot of people but they are such a help once that adjustment period is over.

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