A little Sunshine in the Winter

Some of my favorite pictures from our trip to Akumal Beach Resort in Mexico.

I'm so ready to go back again. Five more months and I'll get to use my limited Spanish

and snorkel in beautiful Akumal Bay!

 Snorkeling with the turtles

 So many turtles! One day we saw 10 during one swim.

 Dory! I think these were a type of Parrot fish. ??

One the many birds we saw fishing near the water.

Fishing boats in Akumal Bay

Swings at Moon Rise Bar. These were fun.

Mandy & Abby

So many beautiful views and so much beach & blue water! 

Some Christmas Crafts

I saw some interesting uses for wine corks on Pinterest and had to try my hand at a couple of my favorites. I made this wine cork Christmas tree and a letter Z. I love both of my creations. As soon as I find an easier way to cut the corks, I plan to make more neat things.





Baby Graham - December 22, 2011

Our long awaited first grandson has arrived. Graham Nelo Carson, 8lbs 8oz, 

born 12/22/2011 at Presbyterian Hospital in Rockwall Texas.

And the Proud Parents...

Mandy Zieleniewski & Barry Carson

And more Baby Graham...



The sweetest Christmas present ever!

Pierogi making with Anna

Our Christmas tradition of making Pierogi on Christmas Eve didn't happen this year. Mandy was expecting baby Graham and so we were a little distracted with baby happenings. Six days later, Anna finally talked me into at least making one flavor of Pierogi and so our Apple Pierogi happened. :) Yayee! My husband and Anna couldn't be happier. Why? I honestly have no idea why these Polish family members of mine love Pierogi so much, but love them they do.

Start of School

Yesterday was the first day of Anna's classes at The Zenith Academy. She's taking three classes; Computer Programming, Creative Writing and an Apologia Science class. She will only be going on Tuesday and Thursdays for instruction and labs. The rest of her subjects and class homework we'll be doing at home. I'm really excited for her. She's being brave and stepping out of her comfort zone to try new things this year. I hope this will be a fun and inspiring year for both of us as we tackle her first year of high school together.

I saw this somewhere on the internet, wish I could give it the proper credit it deserves. The person who created it and I are in total agreement. :) I am so glad I have and had the opportunity to homeschool all our our kids. What a gift it has been to spend the amount of time I did and still do with each of them. Yezzz... After all the hours together, I'm still crazy about ALL of them!

I do want to point out that I don't homeschool because of the badness of schools, although our particular school district (Quinlan ISD) IS bad. I think home is the greatest base for exploring the world we live in, spending time on personal interests and being able to be attentive to how each person learns. Homeschooling isn't always about learning everything at home. My job is also to delegate teaching to others, but it's always the path I feel is best, not the one someone else put together for the masses.

This mornings surprise!

This morning while I was about to water my thirsty yard, I heard the weirdest noise overhead. I looked up just in time to see a small flock of crane type birds circling overhead. They were looking for a spot to land on our neighbor's (the Kirby's) pond. They weren't birds I was familiar with and for sure I have never heard anything like them before. I grabbed my camera and quietly crept over to get a better look.

Click on the picture to get a better look.
Aren't they beautiful? They are Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. They really whistle too.

I haven't heard them quack at all. Is it a duck if it can't quack?  ;) 

Summer

Life is pretty good right now. Even with so many things feeling like a train wreck lately, I still feel God's peace when I focus on Him instead of me and the craziness of my life. And life has been crazy in the Z household this summer, so I need to work harder at focusing on Him!

Too much has happened this summer to give everything it's proper credit. Let's just say, my plans for the summer didn't happen. With some of my wrong decisions, interruptions, accidents and just plain ole, LIFE carrying on its merry ole way; the summer of 2011 has been hard. Hard is not my favorite thing to deal with. I'm better with things going my way. Somehow, I'm always reminded (by myself, Him & One of Max Lucado's books), that life isn't all about me, so suck it up and move on. I would really like to remind others of this piece of advice, but again I'm reminded... life isn't all about me.

On the brighter side, my daughter Mandy is expecting her first baby in December and making us first time grand parents. Abby moved back home, still going to college, working and getting the best tan of the summer (I'm jealous!). Jacob also moved back home, working and joined the Coast Guard and our Anna is still plugging along with her fun mom. We'll try to have a better rest of the summer little girl.