I am going to be an aunt!!!!!

Friday night I got a phone call from my sister, Michelle, wondering if I was home and if she and my brother-in-law could stop in. I always welcome visits from my family, and I knew everyone was heading east for my grandparents' farm equipment auction the next day. I had NO IDEA that she was going to tell me they are going to be parents!!!!!! They have been married just about as long as Mike and I, so my parents have been getting extremely restless for grandbabies and my sister, Brittany, has been aching to be an aunt, so our whole family is quite excited for the arrival of this baby in early Sept. Thanks, Mike & Michelle, for taking the pressure off of the rest of us! :)

So, with this news, and after a conversation with a friend I have had forever (literally, I've known her my whole life), I have decided.......

*drum roll, please....

I am going to give in and join the Facebook ranks, BUT not until April 14. On that date, I will have had this blog for a year (hard to believe), but more importantly, I will be completely finished with my graduate work. Until then, I cannot allow myself to get sucked in! :) I will want to see pictures of my new nephew (or niece, but we all think it's a boy), and since we do not live close to each other, I know that will be the best way to keep in contact.

However, I hope that I will still feel motivated to continue here as well, but we shall see: my shutterfly page has grown cobwebs since I started this blog!

Well, to end I have some pictures from the sale. It was a great day for a sale as the weather was great - and wonderful for taking pictures! I usually am quite annoyed by people who take pictures of the Amish, but I had to be hypocritical yesterday because there were just too many perfect picture opportunities. None of my generation ever knew of this, but supposedly, the Amish and conservative Mennonites play this game called "mush ball" or "corner ball" at farm sales. We couldn't quite figure out the rules, but basically there is a guy in each corner and he throws the ball across the space to a guy in another corner while trying to hit 1 of 2 guys in the middle (supposedly, my great-grandpa was quite good at this game). The only downside of the day? My Mike couldn't be there: he has been sick since Thursday evening. :(

Anyway, enjoy the pics! Until next time...

I couldn't help myself!

Again, thanks to Courtney, I have something to write about today.

(from an e-mail)

Homework: Draw a picture of what you want to be when you grow up


(Here's what the teacher received the next day)

Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith


(I decided that since I have spent over 6 hours working today on my research question - yes, just the question - I deserved the 5 minutes it took to make you smile today!)