Catching Up

 This sweet little girl begged me for my old doll. 

I gave in and took her out for her.

This is Michelle.  I've had her since I was in 1st grade.

(I'm 45 folks)

I love her still.

I even kiss her when I take her out of the box I have her in.

Over the years, I've let each girl play with her for a while

(until I find her on the floor, then she goes back in my box)

 She promised me she would take really good care of Michelle.

And so far, she has.

I don't have much from my childhood, 

 Just her and 2 other dolls that my 10 year old claimed,

a little white stuffed kitty, with patched/stitched eyes,

and a few yearbooks.

 I do remember my very first doll though, 

it was Mrs Beasley.

I have no idea why they called a doll "Mrs"

or why I had her or why I even liked her.

She'd not that cute.

I remember her though. 

 My mom and dad's birthdays were this week!

My mom's is the 24th and dad's is the 27th

 They are 66 and 68 now!

 My mom photo copied this picture for me, it is of my great grandma.

My dad's grandma.

She's my grandma's mother.

They were not clear on her name, 

it was either:

Susan Eleanor

or

Eleanor Susan

Either way, she was called "Nora"

My mom asked me who I thought looked like her,

and I knew instantly.

 This daughter has the exact same expressions as my great grandma!!

We tried to re-enact the picture, but could not do it.

Oh, well, really, though, she does have that same expression, those same cheeks

and eyes.  

Kind of fun and amazing how God works, isn't it?

That a person can actually look like their great-great grandmother, on their mother's father's mother's side. 

Follow me?

For my 45th birthday, we had smoothies and popcorn for supper and watched this:

 Awesome movie!!!

They left it pretty open for another one, and I can't wait!

 A few weeks ago, my husband and I watched this movie, 

and liked it so much, we let our oldest daughter watch it too.

I cried through the whole dang thing, but really, it was so good.

It has a happy ending of course and has several stars in it.

I'm not going to give anything away, just trust me, it's a great movie.

And if you watch any of those extras,  you'll get to see the real-life people

that the movie was based on.

(I love it when they do that)

 This has always been one of my favorite books!

After baking 4 loaves of pumpkin bread and giving away 3 this week, 

and hearing the kids beg to keep one for ourselves, 

I realized I am not like the Little Red Hen.

 And that the story actually has 2 morals

You know how the story goes, right?

She asks for help at every step of baking bread

and not one animal helps her!

 But when she asks who will help her EAT the bread, well, they all come running!

 And this is what she says.

 And she goes to bed alone. Like a sad old chicken. 

SO, I think the first moral is:

Be helpful!

and the 2nd moral is:

Share everything you have!

Pumpkin Bread

(the best ever, I promise)

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1tsp soda

2 tsp baking powder

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup canola oil

1 can pumpkin

4 eggs

I put the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl first, then the dry and mix.

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans

Bake 350 degrees for 55 minutes

 Oh, I love these kids!

Look how the littles hug each other!  

They love each other so much!

I read a great article on strengthening your relationship with your children

HERE

It's always a struggle to make sure I have time for each child.

I want them to all feel loved and cherished.

I don't want them to get lost in the family.

What do you do?

Well, I've done movie reviews and book reviews, given you my 

favorite fall recipe and reminisced about old dolls and old people!

(sorry mom and dad!)

Time to Shake it all Off!!

Gosh, I love this song, and this video,

 I think Taylor Swift is sweet as can be!

(except for the rap, I don't care for the rap part)

Hoping to catch up more soon...

Have a great weekend!