25 Random Things About Me

I was tagged on Facebook with this and thought I would include it here too.

1. I'm the youngest of 5 children.
2. I have a very keen sense of smell. It can be a blessing or a curse.
3. A day doesn't go by that I don't miss my Dad. It will be 5 years on Memorial Day that he's been gone.
4. One of my pet peeves is that some people never send thank-you notes for gifts received.
5. Another pet peeve is when people park in spots that are not parking spots.
6. My first job, beside babysitting, was cleaning motel rooms in Niagara Falls. It was a pretty gross job!
7. I was almost 35 when Dirk and I got married. He had just turned 36 the week before. I like to tease him and say he's much older than I.
8. I love snuggling with my children. I'll miss that when they outgrow it. Maybe they never will. :)
9. Dirk and I first met at Lighthouse Christian Camp when we were 13 or 14.
10. I love the smell of coffee beans but don't drink coffee.
11. I got my first white hair at the age of 22. Although my mom has beautiful white hair, as did her mother, I'm fighting it! I think it's a losing battle though.
12. I have donated my hair 2 times to Locks of Love.
13. Several of our friends sent their firstborn off to college this past fall. We sent our firstborn to Kindergarten.
14. I have several cousins that I have never met and probably never will.
15. All of my siblings live or work within a 2 mile radius of my house.
16. I never had a cavity until I was a month shy of turning 40. What's up with that?
17. I don't think my children even look like siblings, yet they're from the same gene pool.
18. I am very good at recalling dates of people's birthdays, events, etc.
19. I love to fly.
20. My kids talk about my Dad as if they remember him. Renee wasn't even born when he died so I guess I'm doing a good job at keeping his memory alive.
21. Some of my favorite places are Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Morainne Lake in the Canadian Rockies and Lighthouse Christian Camp.
22. I used to love to waterski. I haven't done it for over 10 years. Would I still be able to get up?
23. I received both my BS and MEd. from Roberts Wesleyan College.
24. I really admire single parents. Parenting is hard enough but when you have to do it by yourself....yikes.
25. I want my girls to accept Jesus Christ as their savior at a young age.

Ziegler Family Christmas

Here's the whole crew, with the exception of Aaron and Christine. They had already been here for a week and were at Christine's parents on Long Island.

This year we rented the new lodge at Union Station Park, right behind Ginny's house. It was smaller and didn't have a fireplace but had an oven and the acoustics were better.

Mom and her children


The grandchildren and their spouses. What's with the thumbs up John and Ben?

The granddaughters. There's only 6 of them so they have to stick together. It cracks me up that Dana's kids are the same age as mine.

4 generations.

Grandma and her great grandchildren. I love Gabe's "smile". It makes me smile!


The white elephant gift exchange is always hilarious. This year it was no different. Mom even participated....must have figured the kids shouldn't have all the fun.

The year of the carved candle.


Is Brett practicing for "The Bachelor"? Will you accept this rose?

How are those toe socks feeling Jay? Bet they're keeping your toes nice and toasty.

Christmas Update Part 2

Mom turned 82 on Dec. 18 so the family got together for a celebration. We got a lot of snow that day so not everybody could make it but it was fun to be together.


Kaitlyn's teacher made her hat. Everyone in the class got one.


The toothfairy made an appearance to our house on the 23rd. Good thing it was that day and not one day later. Someone would have been busy being Santa and the toothfairy. Renee actually knocked it out, but not on purpose. One minute they were just fooling around in the kitchen and it got bumped. The next thing I knew Kaitlyn was crying and the tooth was on the floor.

On Christmas Eve we went to a family dinner at Legacy with my mom and Ginny and Harold. It was a very nice time and the price was perfect......free. The girls enjoyed the springrolls. After that we went to the candlelighting service at our church. They had battery-operated candles for the children 6 and under. Kaitlyn opted for the battery one, after a few minutes of wavering back and forth. I was pleased with her decision. I love looking around the sanctuary when the candles are all lit. It's so beautiful!




The girls were excited opening presents. They really got into picking out gifts for each other this year and couldn't wait for the other to open the gift they picked out. They were pretty pleased with the end results. Lots of loot. They each got Leapsters.....Kaitlyn was thrilled, Renee was mildly excited. But if Santa hadn't brought her one too, she would have protest so in the long run I'd rather have her mildly excited.

Christmas 2008

I have a little bit of free time so I thought I would post about our Christmas. We got our Christmas tree on Sat. the 13th. of December. If we get it too early it's dead by Christmas Eve. We have a very dry house.

That's right, our tree came in a box. We decided to go artificial....we got a pre-lit, pre-shaped one and it's gorgeous!

The girls were big helpers when it was cookie-baking time. Both helped with a few different kinds.


Earlier in the month Santa made a guest appearance at dance class.



They also went to a Breakfast with Santa at The Legacy with Grandma Ziegler.

Renee enjoyed her Christmas party at school. Dirk wasn't able to come this year so it was just me. But that didn't bother Renee. Here she is singing with her 2 friends, Allie and Lilianna.





We celebrated with Grandma Ann early this year, as she was going to be out of town on the actual day. "Aunt" Barb was there but Uncle Marc had an emergency so wasn't able to come. Barb had a ball buying frilly things for the girls and they loved them. She got them beads to make necklaces/bracelets and pink and purple pj's to go under little tutus with feather stolls.


The biggest hit was the fleece robe Grandma made for each of the girls: Tinkerbell and Cinderella. She also made matching pillows with some extra fabric. Kaitlyn screamed when she opened hers.




We went to Dirk's work party/dinner with Santa. This was the first time EVER that Kaitlyn would sit on his lap. Renee still said no but at least she got close to him.





I will post some more from our actual Christmas morning and the Ziegler Family Christmas.