Apple Blossoms and Sunshine: Catching up...

Haven't really posted much lately, except the photos from our trip to San Francisco.. So here's a blog to sort of play "catch-up"

Updates about our kids - First our sons ---

Our oldest son Steven has been busy, He recently built this very cool little bitty arcade game..

Stevens Tiny Arcade

It's been posted in several articles around the internet..
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=69&doc_id=1321607&_mc=sm_eet

http://www.viralnova.com/mini-arcade-game/

http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2014/03/28/this-tiny-arcade-machine-holds-a-raspberry-pi-raspberry_pi-piday-raspberrypi/comment-page-1/#comment-166754

Needless to say I am one VERY proud mama :)

He started a new job a few months back, and seems to be very happy. He is living about 3o minutes away, but still comes over very frequently for our Sunday Family dinners.. I am so happy he does. I love seeing him regularly!

Michael came home in December from spending several months in New Orleans helping to care for his grandpa, his grandpas girlfriend, and another member of their extended family. He gave them all the love and care he had, I am sure his grandpa really appreciated it.. (Daryl's father passed away the end of December)
For now, Michael is still unemployed. Spending a lot of time on his computer, he is very creative and smart.

Daryl, his dad, and Michael - at a family wedding last September. Michael had been taking care of his grandpa for a little over 2 months at this time.. and he stayed until mid December.

And our beautiful daughters --

Becca has been at Texas Tech since last August. She is finishing up her sophomore year. Majoring in BioChemistry. She's a smart girl. She has made some really great friends there, and has had a VERY active social life. She never really dated while in high school, always had the same boyfriend from the beginning. But she is single now for almost a year, and has been enjoying it. I love getting the phone calls hearing about the fun she is having, but I always make sure to ask how school is going. She is keeping her grades up, while working part time, and still finding time to go out with friends.. She is becoming so mature and hopefully making all the good choices we want for her.. She was home for spring break a couple of weeks ago, and will be home for the summer the end of May. But in August, she and her friends are moving into their own apartment in Lubbock. So she will have her own "home", instead of just a dorm room.

one of her "selfies" she sent in a text to me

My girls when we picked Jessica up at the airport last month.

Jessica has been the one constant in our life.. even when Michael was in New Orleans, and Becca off at school, Jessie was still here. She and her dad have become a lot closer since I started working full time at American Airlines last fall. They have their time together to watch TV, they have their "inside jokes", and I am really glad they have bonded so much more. Jessie turned 17 in February. She now has a learners permit, and is getting ready for her license. In March, she traveled with the Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir on tour to Great Britain. They visited and performed in London, Scotland, and Wales. She had a wonderful time.

Jessie and some of her friends in England on the bell choir tour.

Our Granddaughter - our beautiful Raylen, has been super busy with girl scouts, school, losing a couple of teeth, and being amazingly awesome :)

Daryl and I have been doing well. Health issues here and there getting us, but we keep on going.
He's been busy with work, and keeping things fixed around here, and at his mothers. He is such a good son, taking care of her, and being there for her when she needs or wants him.

I started my new job at American Airlines last fall. It is going very well. I love what I do, and enjoy talking to people while setting up their reservations. I worked days at first, and the last shift bid I got a night shift. It's a lot different. Very slow compared to day shift, but I enjoyed them both. Not sure what I will choose next time around.

With my job we have the privilege of non-revenue, space available travel. - which means we can travel standby.

Last November my dear friend Marianne and I flew for the day to Chicago, it was a lot of fun.

We left VERY early on a Saturday morning, and got home very late that night. But we managed to squeeze a LOT into our one day there. Did a little bit of the "Ferris Bueller" thing.. Went to the Aquarium, Sears Tower - Now called Willis Tower, visited The Art Institute, rode the top of a double decker tour bus.. and generally had a lot of fun.

It was cold on top of the double decker bus.. but we had fun.

Becca has used her non-rev privileges to fly home a couple of times from school - But we haven't really used them much in the 6 months I have been working there. Daryl and I did go to San Francisco last month, and we want to go other places, but it's just finding time, and extra $$ for the hotels, rental car, etc.

Nothing else very exciting going on.. just the general busyness of our lives. Jess still has a little over a year left of homeschool high school. Then she wants to go to college to be an archaeologist. So we are investigating what she needs for that now. Getting her to start studying and bringing her math scores up so she can take SATS in the fall. Math is her weakest subject, she really REALLY dislikes it. But I know she will do ok, as long as she is as determined as she appears to be.

We lost Tom, Jessica's cat a week and a half ago. He was old, and his body just gave out. He was a very good pet for our Jessie. She got him when she was 2, she used to push him around in her doll buggy, carry him like a baby, and he never seemed to object.