Polish Pottery

Above is the plates I bought. I have matching saucers and bowls as well. I bought a setting of 6 of these. My friend Linda over at: http://http://fifenhorn.blogspot.com/, has the same exact set, and told me where to get it! :) Thanks Linda! I plan on getting another set of 6, not sure if I'm going to stick with this green flowered pattern or go with the blue one or there's also a really pretty butterfly one, that you'll see I got a piece of below! I'll decide on my next trip to Poland! :)




This is my pitcher, definately the "closest" piece of typical Polish Pottery that I bought on Tuesday. I really like it and although it's busy, it's definately not near as busy as so many other pieces they had!! It seems to tie in well with the rest of the pottery I bought!



I love this ladel and spoon rest and if I could have found plates, etc to match these exactly I would have gotten them.




This is the butterfly dish I got. It's really beautiful and 100% different from typical Polish Pottery.



Definately one of my favorite pieces, with the lid off, the inside of the roaster has the same flower design that goes on the edge of the outside as well. I can't wait to use it!

I'm looking forward to my next trip to Poland, but it's not a trip I'll be making in the very near future, if nothing else than I had way too much fun spending money and it's just so easy to do that! I bought a few other things as well. A trivet that matches my dishes, except that it doesn't have the green flowers, but has dark blue, light blue, brown and cream/peach colored flowers with green leaves mixed in, but the flowers are the same pattern as the plates! I also got a beautiful windchime. I got my brother's daughter's tea sets, which will be part of their birthday gifts in September. I also got my best friend and sister in law a gift, initially the gift for my sil was going to another friend, but I remembered my SIL's birthday is coming up next month and I felt horrible that I didn't get her something. I can always get my other friend something later and she wasn't expecting anything it was just one of those last minute things. My best friend has the link to this blog so I can't say what I got them! :) Once she has it, I'll post a picture of it here! I also got my mom a Coffee filter holder, I'll have to take a picture of it and post it up tomorrow along with the tea sets!

I told my mom when her and my dad come over next year, we're going to Poland! I know that the typical pottery will not be what she likes, but she definately likes my plates and was excited to hear they come in blue, so I have a feeling. She liked the butterflies too! I have a feeling she'll find she likes a lot of things! My dad may end up not so happy with me for showing this to her! ROFL! My dad's very easy going so it's not that big of a deal!

Well, I'm off I can't believe it's already 10 pm! Where did the day go?

Playmobil Fun Park

Here's Jackson in front of the Playmobil man outside of the castle. The boys loved playing in here!



















Jack still deciding how wet he wants to get.
He ended up completely wet, head to toe!



















Jacob playing in the water at Playmobil! He loved it and can't wait to go back!


















Jacob and Jack....they've been very naughty to end up here! LOL They both thought this was a hoot! Jacob could actually get his feet in place, but Jack couldn't and us still see his head!













Jacob with the Playmobil knight outside the castle!
He said this was one of the funnest places he's ever been! LOL We can't wait to go back in a week or two and explore parts of the park that we didn't get to see!

This is the boys yesterday. Jacob picked up the toys him and Jack had pulled out into the entry way and then asked me to take a picture of him on the bench I keep in the entry way (it's got the American Flag painted on it). Jack insisted on jumping into the picture! Jack's at that full blown smile phase and Jacob's at that awkward smile phase (unless I can get him to laugh). They both love having their pictures taken though!

Today we went to the track, walked for a while then walked over to the PX and Commissary with the friend and her kids. I needed to get things for Chad to send off in his carepackage. Of course I planned to mail him an item I already had at home stuck it in my purse and then forgot to put it in the box! I will mail it to him on Monday. I just need to get a little box, I may go through and see what else I can find to toss in there. I don't feel like I send him enough care packages. Ok I got side tracked! LOL So anyways, my friend and I went into the PX and we got these storage carts, which is intended for tools, but of course are PERFECT for all our scrapbook items and a lot cheaper than most things intended to be for scrapbook supplies! We each bought two of them! The top opens up and has a fairly deep space, then you open up the next section which has 3 drawers, all different depths, then the bottom I have put all my paper and carstock in! It also has the wonderful metal bracket that you can put there in the front so when wheeling it around the drawers don't open up!! :)



Hopefully with this organization I'll feel more relaxed to actually get some pages done now. I'm not an organized person by nature, although I like organization...it's just something that I have to work hard at. I don't constantly strive to be organized. If it happens it's great, but it's just not worth stressing over. There are far more important things in life going on to worry about something that in the end isn't going to matter anyways. There are little boys to take out to the park, get nice and sandy/dirty, and completely worn out. There are good books to read, scrapbook pages to do, friends and loved ones to talk to, and time to spend with GOD. Worrying about something that just seems to over all elude me is just not worth it!

Well, it's late and I need to do my devotion, spend time with GOD in prayer, and maybe get some reading done. I think my book is due tomorrow and I'm not done so I'm going to have to extend the check out time, so that means a trip to the library tomorrow, the boys will love that! Maybe get a movie and of course a couple books for each of them! I do love libraries! When Chad gets home one thing I want to do is go to the library once a week and just read in the quiet of it. It's one of those things I just love doing, sitting in a big comfy chair and not have anyone disturb you and just let you read.

Tomorrow I'll post about our trip to Playmobil and the pictures from it!

Myspace Layouts

Yes it's summer and it's getting hot and today I've just really felt it and felt miserable. I admit that I want my a/c during the summer and today I've thought many times about if I should just bite the bullet so to speak and buy us an a/c. They are portable so I could have it in the living room during the day and then at night move it to my bedroom....it's just really hard to justify spending about $400.00 on one that I'll probably only use for a month, maybe two the next two years! I'm going to keep my eyes out and see if any of those who are PCS'ing had one and are selling theirs, if so then I'll probably get one that way, but new just hard to justify since Germany's summer's are not as long.

It's finally raining! Oh I love the rain, it cools it down and I love the smell of rain. It smells so refreshing. Of course it's thundering now so I'm going to get off of here since normally if there's thunder lightening isn't too far away from showing up.

Tomorrow we're going to playmobil, I am looking forward to getting wet possibly! Even if it's just through the boys coming and hugging me when they're dripping wet! LOL

Father's Day

This is my husband with our daughter, Jordyn...this was taken 3 months before she died. We knew she was dying so we were blessed enough to have a friend get us an apt with another family friend who's a professional photographer. Jordyn made Chad not only a Father, but showed him he could be a Daddy.

His bio-dad left when he was 6 months old. He had a grandfather in his life steadily, but he's not my husband's dad and he never tried to be (which no one felt he needed to be). His mom married his step dad when he was 13-14 yrs old and Chad moved out when he was 18 and joined the Army.

Chad's proof that just because a man does not have a perfect influence of a father. To be a good dad, is a CHOICE. The man just has to step up and do the job. It's of course challenging, but I see it everyday I see my husband with our children to know that just because a man does not have a father figure in his life, he can still be a great dad himself. If a man is not a good father, it's because he's lazy or just making the choice and making excuses. I could not ask for a better husband, and definately couldn't ask for a better DADDY for my children.

Chad with our boys. I think it's obvious that all 3 adore each other. I LOVE this picture. It was taken on Easter this year, while Chad was home for R&R.

Happy Father's Day to my husband! I love you!

Just An Ordinary Day :)

This is Jacob one day at the park doing one of his favorite things....making "sand angels" rofl! I love this picture. The first time he ever did this, I "almost" flipped. I thought he'd lost his mind, then I remembered he's 5! LOL Yes his head was full of sand, but he had fun. Sand goes down the drain just like dirt does.
We normally go out everyday to the park, either this one which is just right across the street or one of the others near us. It wears the boys out. If they're really full of sand to the point that it's falling off of them even after I wipe it off, I'll rinse them off in the shower, but before bath they get a nice warm bath, which settles them down right before bed.

Darn I just uploaded the picture of Jack, hoping it'd be down here, and it popped up there beside's Jacob. Oh well. I know how to do it so I can get them right, but I messed up. Live and learn:) My boys happiest times I think are outside, playing, running, getting dirty, and just being boys! I know I always feel better after being outside. A lot of times when we go to the park, they will want me to play with them, then they go off and do their own thing. I don't shadow them. I can always see them where ever they're at and I just let them play. Jacob's new thing is jumping from structures. It makes me nervous, yet I know it's just this natural desire! I can remember being his age and jumping from much higher places. Amazingly I've never broken a single bone and as much as my brother managed to hurt himself, he never broke a bone either! LOL The structure he likes to jump from is about 5 feet tall, so it's not really that high, it's just I'm a Momma. Yet he jumps and laughs and giggles. I think there's that freedom of almost flying when you jump. Thankfully Jack's not much of a jumper, yet. He likes to jump out of the van when we get to where we're going, of course he likes to be able to hold my hand when he does this. He's not as brave as his big brother, YET!

I wish they could grow up with that sense of freedom I got to when I was their age. We lived in a tiny town, we knew how far we could ride our bike, etc....when we moved out to the country, we were the only house on the road (we rented this house) and we'd ride up and down that dirt road, ride our horses, run, and run and run. When my parents bought land and built their house, we had woods and a creek to explore. I was in 5th grade before we moved there, but it's hard to imagine now compared to not so long ago of when I was young running around for hours like we did. The world appeared to be safer. We lived out in the country nearly all my life, we knew our neighbors....they were our best friends and we'd spend our summers going from our house to theirs all day long, and to the pool in town. One or the other's mom would call when dinner was done and send the other home, unless we ate at their house.

I want my boys to have some of that carefree life I had as a child. That feeling of security. I know that's what most parents want for their children. I had for the most part a happy childhood. I have those "I wish" things too of course, but over all I was happy.

I hope my boys will look back at their childhood and say "I had a happy childhood".

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Another Day At the Park

Jacob and Scotty on the teeter totter
Jack, Scotty,and Linda
Jackson and Hannah


On Monday we went to the park and friends came over and played at "our" park with us. This is Hannah and Scotty, their mom is Linda from http://fifenhorn.blogspot.com/. The kids had a great time. The boys were good and sweaty, full of sand, and ready for lunch and a nap when we came inside. The MacDonald Clan will be moving to our old stomping grounds, to Kansas. "Home". I was born and raised in Kansas. Chad came there via the US Army and we met one night in Aggieville...which is the local bar scene in Manhattan (Kansas State University). When we leave Germany our plan right now is to return to Kansas, buy a house not too far from Fort Riley, and then retire in the area. Our home church is there. I'm sure Linda and her family will enjoy it. It's the midwest, so it's not going to have all the things that say Atlanta offers or DC...but it has it charms. I'm a Kansas Girl through and through. I do miss seeing my wheat fields. I truly love them. They give me a peace, just by looking at them. When I was in high school my best friend and I would walk the country square mile, around a wheat field. Her and I loved doing this. There's no beauty like seeing the sun shining or setting on a wheat field. The fresh air, the hot humid summers, the cool falls. I LOVE living in Germany, but I love my Kansas too. It's home and always will be. :)

I know 2 posts in one day! I found this over at Erin's Family Circus: http://haloscan.com/tb/familycircus/114861534940526821

ABC Meme:
ACCENT:None..I'm from Kansas and we don't have one!
BIBLE BOOK I LIKE: I love Psalms, although my favorite verse is Isaiah: 40:11
CHORE I DON'T CARE FOR: laundry
DOG or CAT: both
ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS:computer
FAVORITE COLOGNE: My hubby's natural smell! :)
GOLD or SILVER: Gold
HANDBAG I CARRY MOST OFTEN: INSOMNIA: My no name purse
JOB TITLE: Stay At Home Mom
KIDS: Three: Jordyn forever 2, although would be 8 if she were alive;Jacob 5;Jack 2
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Apartment in Germany with my family
MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT: Honesty
NAUGHTIEST CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR: We'll just say my teenage years and leave it at that.
OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: Surgery when I was 4 or 5, on my wrist. C-section's in '98, 01, 03. Also stayed over night for gall bladder attack's in late '00 and early '01
PHOBIAS: clastophic in some situations
QUOTE: "I could run to Texas and back, but my daughter can't, she never could" Sally Fields in Steel Magnolia's
RELIGION: Christian. Christ follower.
SIBLINGS: 1 brother, younger
TIME I WAKE UP: when ever my boys wake up
UNUSUAL TALENTS OR SKILLS: I'm a mom and manage to stay sane! :)
VEGETABLE I REFUSE TO EAT: none so far
WORST HABIT: late night eating :(
XRAYS: less than 10
YUMMY STUFF I COOK: everything, I'm a good cook
ZOO ANIMALS I LIKE MOST:Giraffe's

I.....

I AM: A child of God first, a wife, a mother, a friend, etc
I Want: To feel the arms of my husband around me
I Have:More than I deserve
I Wish: More people knew Jesus, that children didn't get cancer, that people didn't smoke
I Hate: Smoking and people who lie
I Miss:Jordyn and Chad
I Hear:Jacob talking to our cat
I Wonder: What life will be like when Chad retires and "we're" no longer in the Army
I Regret: That I didn't save myself for my husband.
I AM Not: patient as much as I need to be;one who needs to see or actually talk to people daily
I Dance: With my boys :)
I Sing: All the time
I Cry: At the drop of a hat! LOL (I'm an emotional girl)
I AM NOT ALWAYS: As kind as I should be
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: Scrapbook pages;love:via hugs
I WRITE: Not nearly as often as I should with my hands, and I actually love to do it!
I CONFUSE: Some
I NEED: Jesus and my family
I SHOULD: Excercise right now and do laundry!
I START: My day with a prayer
I FINISH: With praises to God

Come Home Soon

I am really missing my husband right now. We're over half way through our deployment and well I'm ready for him to be home in my arms, next to me in bed, holding me, playing with our boys....being together as a family. I'm as patriotic as they come. I support this war, I support our President, most of all I support my husband. If I were against this war, I would not be supporting him. That's how he feels, how I feel,and how many of our friends feel (other soldiers). The Army is their job, their job is this war...that's why we HAVE the military...they are doing exactly what they train for.

I still miss him though. I love him and I'm proud of him, I miss him though. I look forward to him coming home and us being together again as a family. Here's lyrics to a song, that came out in 2003 not too long after the War broke out. It makes me cry everytime....

Come Home Soon lyrics: SHeDAISY lyrics.Album: Sweet Right Here.

I put away the groceries,And I take my daily bread.I dream of your arms around me,As I tuck the kids in bed.I don't know what you're doin',And I don't know where you are,But I look up at that great big sky,And I hope you're wishin' on that same bright star.

I wonder.I pray.And I sleep alone, an' I cry alone,An' it's so hard livin' here on my own.So please, come home soon.Come home soon.

I know that we're together,Even though we're far apart.And I'll wear our lucky penny,'Round my neck pressed to my heart.
An' I wonder.I pray.I sleep alone, I cry alone,An' it's so hard livin' here on my own.So please, come home soon.Come home soon.

I still imagine your touch:It's beautiful missing something that much.But sometimes, love needs a fighting chance,So I'll wait my turn until it's our turn to dance.
I wonder.I pray.I sleep alone, I cry alone.Without you this house is not a home,So please, come home soon.

I walk alone.I try alone,An' I'll wait for you; don't want to die alone.So please, come home soon.Come home soon.Come home soon.


Why choose Coquet-Shack.com?Lyrics are reproduced here for personal and educational use ONLY. Please read our disclaimer and guidelines.© 2006 John D. Lewis and Dawn M. Lewis.
Written by Krystin Osborne and John Shanks.(© Dylan Jackson Music / WB Music Corp.)From "Sweet Right Here", © 2004, Lyric Street.

Great Day

Today was one of those just great days! We got up this morning, hung out, the boys played and just had fun. I put a roast on for dinner, of course for the next week my hands will probably reak of garlic (actually lemon juice does do wonders and it's not too bad anymore!). Then the boys and I went to the park, we were there for about 2 or 3 hrs, came back for lunch and naptime...which they were both worn out from playing at the park so they went right down! They got up and I was working on dinner, they played. The playroom's been kind of messy so I turned on the timer for 10 minutes and Jacob went to town. That boy cleaned like a mad man! I will admit I was very proud of how hard he worked. It's not all done, but 3/4 the way. I told him in the morning before church we'd do it again and he was excited! Making it a game is the trick! :) Jack on the other hand wanted nothing to do with helping pick up (and he definately made a good portion if not most of the mess!), so I wasn't thrilled with that little mister. While I was making our plates, Jacob went to the living room and picked up the odds and ends for me. He knew I wanted to vacuum and so before any of us ate I actually did that really fast. I love having a vacuumed floor!

Because Jacob cleaned the playroom and did it so well and joyfully I told him he could pick out a movie that we could watch after dinner. He chose Little Mermaid 2. Not one of my favorites (although the 1st one is my favorite), but I admit that it was so nice to watch a movie with Jacob. Jack was sent to bed early after being a grouchy little guy, he refused to eat dinner (normally he scarfs down roast) he was yelling, crying, and just being a very unpleasant little boy..he was tired! So off to bed he went. He cried for maybe 10 minutes over all, but not bad considering the mood he was in! Jacob and I finished watching the movie and he brushed his teeth and off to bed he went and was out with in about 5 minutes!

Oh great..Jack's up and crying and making no sense! Being 2 is hard I tell you. He wanted a drink, got one, but didn't want to go back to bed! He's there, but crying! I shouldn't laugh, but if you have or ever have had a 2 yr old you know how they're so tired and make no sense and just don't even seem to know what they want, much less making it clear to you what they want! That's where he's at right now! :) He's quieting down so he'll probably be out in the next few minutes! Oh I was right...all is quiet now!

Tomorrow we have church in the morning and we'll come home, have lunch, naptime, then when they get up we'll be off to the park and a walk if it's not raining, which of course the forcast is calling for. Maybe we'll take a walk in the rain! :)