Hi!

Hey there! Hi there!

Have lots of fun!

Love ya,
Donna

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

2010.
Turkey Trax.



Have a wonderful time giving thanks!


XOXO
Donna

Happy Anniversary Honey

Thirty-three years ago tonight we were married.



I wrote the following for the blog eight years ago.
It's pretty good.


*****



You never met a more naive girl in your life than the girl I was 25 years ago today.
I knew nothing of sacrifice.
Nothing about forgiveness.
Nothing about giving.
Nothing about self-control.
Nothing about trusting God.
Nothing about love.

I was so unprepared for marriage.

And yet...here we are.

I had a dream. A dream of a husband and children.
That dream has come true.

That dream has come true because of you, dear husband.






Yeah...Sappy Shania Twain song...

I say it's our song.

Patrick isn't the type to pick a song, to be our song.
And I'm sure it wouldn't be a Shania Twain song...
he is more an Eagles or Rolling Stones kinda guy.

We may be about as different as two people can be...

But, what we do have in common is a deep sense of commitment, ability to forgive, love of our children, and abiding love for one another.

And laughter. 

God has held us up and shown us the way. 
At least that's the way I look at it :o)

And I think we are getting the hang of it.

Love seems the swiftest but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century. ~Mark Twain

Never feel remorse for what you have thought about your wife; she has thought much worse things about you. ~Jean Rostand, Le Mariage, 1927

Twenty-five years later I am not naive anymore.
I know something about sacrifice.
and forgiveness.
and giving.
and self-control.
and trusting God.
and love.








True Love takes on a much less naive and romantic bent when one looks up the word for 'true'.


Consistent with fact or reality; not false or erroneous.
Truthful. 
Real; genuine. See Synonyms at authentic. 
Reliable; accurate. 
Faithful, as to a friend, vow, or cause; loyal. 
Sincerely felt or expressed; unfeigned: true grief. 

Love forever true.
Donna

Turn that frown upside down

This is how my morning started.


When I got home I opened my email.  Jep sent a link to a beautiful set of portraits.

Bill Gekas

lovelovelove

And then Stephie posted this video to her Facebook page.



That Stephen Colbert is too funny.

How does he know this song?
Those dance moves are impressive and ridiculous at the same time.


Sure to turn those frowns upside down.


Happy Monday Everyone!

Donna

fall, fall, quiet and pretty

I have been looking for this song for almost 40 years.

I had a college suite mate who sang it.
She only stayed for 1/2 a year and she was a voice major.
But I remember her singing this and teaching it to me.

This morning I found the lyrics in a blog post by googling.
Now that I have the real words I may be able to find more about it.





Snow, Snow, Snow Snow
Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow

Men: 
Continue Snow, Snow…..
Women:
Snow Snow When Are You Falling
Snow Snow None Of Your Stalling

Both:
Autumn’s Gone And Winter’s Here
It’s Just About The Time Of The Year
You Know….
For A Beautiful Snow

Men: Snow, Snow….
Women:
Fall Fall Quiet And Pretty
Fall All Over The City

Both:
Cover Every Country Lane
A Month Ago You Might Have Been Rain
But Oh, Be A Beautiful Snow

I’ve Got A Lot Of Jingle Bells
From Last Summer’s Carousels
And I’ve Got A Friend Who’ll Lend Me A Sleigh
All That I Need Is A Blanket Of White
Baby And I Will Go Riding Tonight
Cuddling, Huddling, Keeping The Frost Away

Men: 
Continue Snow, Snow…..
Women:
Snow Snow When Are You Falling
Snow Snow None Of Your Stalling

Both:
No One’s Going To Mind The Cold
And Everywhere The Young And The Old
Will Know, For Your Heavenly Show
Come On And Snow Snow, Beautiful Wonderful Snow

Ohhh

There’s A Chill In The Air Tonight
And The Snow Will Be Soft And White

......

Will Go For Your Heavenly Show
Come On And Snow Snow
Snow Snow
Now Is The Time For A Beautiful Wonderful
Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, Snooow Snooooooowwww!



Let me know if you have heard this or sung it.
The tune goes thru my head every time it snows.

Especially when it is quiet and pretty.








LOOK what Jep found!!





Love
Donna

#TBT

Throwback Thursday.
















Yesterday I wrote the Anne Lamott quotes and then I went looking for a good picture to go with the words.  I am not kidding when I say it took nearly an hour to find a picture I thought was right.

It is a dangerous thing to go looking through my photostream.





dangerous
funny
sweet
pretty




XO
Donna

Wisdom from Anne Lamott

“If I were going to begin practicing the presence of God for the first time today, it would help to begin by admitting the three most terrible truths of our existence: that we are so ruined, and so loved, and in charge of so little.”

"Love falls to earth, rises from the ground, pools around the afflicted. Love pulls people back to their feet. Bodies and souls are fed. Bones and lives heal. New blades of grass grow from charred soil. The sun rises.” 

“I pray not to be such a whiny, self-obsessed baby, and give thanks that I am not quite as bad as I used to be (talk about miracles). Then something comes up, and I overreact and blame and sulk, and it feels like I haven't made any progress at all. But it turns out I'm less of a brat than before, and I hit the reset button much sooner, shake it off, and get my sense if humor back.”

“And as it turns out, if one person is praying for you, buckle up. Things can happen.” 



All quotes from Anne Lamott's book, Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers


I just got home from my small faith group.  That's what Sister Theresa likes to call it.
Many prayer requests were offered.

I send love and peace to those who are overwhelmed with heavy burdens.

Keep swimming.






Love
Donna

The word of the year is Selfie.

No charge for the giant dog hair on my sweater.
This is my dear husband's new thing.
His grumpy face.

It's hilarious.

If you know him.

He is being silly and downright true to himself.












I love selfies...especially when I am in them with my dears.






I wonder if photo bomb is in the dictionary yet?


That's next :o)


Encourage one another and take a picture of yourself today!
Donna

Just like that.

Yesterday I watched an episode of Call the Midwife...or two.
I love it.


 In the East End I found grace and faith and hope hidden in the darkest corners. I found tenderness and squalor and laughter amid filth. I found a purpose and a path, and I worked with a passion for the best reason of all - I did it for love. 
~Jenny Lee



"It was a Christmas as unique as any other. For every year the mystery unfolds itself anew. And late in life, I came to see that faith, like hope, is a rope and anchor in a shifting world. Faith cannot be questioned, only lived. And if I could not grasp it then, I felt its heartbeat, which was love."



I wrote about Call the Midwife here.

****


And last night was the finale of a new Masterpiece theater show called The Paradise.
It was wonderful.

Let me recommend The Paradise to you.
See if you can still watch it on the internet on Masterpiece or BBC or what not.


Watch ONLINE!!

This show is very Jane Austen meets Dickens.
Lovely dovely, upstairs downstairs like Jane with a few creepy characters like Dickens.

The music is wonderful and will remind you of Downton Abby.

Highly highly recommended.


****

Katie was cold and was about to put her coat on in the house....and I said.  NO!  Wear a nice warm sweater.  Cause you know.  Coats are for outside.  Just like pajamas are for INSIDE....your house and not the store.

So I took Katie upstairs and forced her into a sweater I knit thirty years ago.  I made it out of wool and angora.  I picked a pastel color because that was just me.  I used angora because I have a thing for soft. Back then alpaca was not really the popular fiber that it is now.  So I sneezed and puffed as I knit with the angora and I struggled as I carried that yarn as you do with a pattern like this.  It was hard and I did not try this method again until I made my Esther mittens a few years back.



But back to the sweater.  Katie was NOT at all interested in wearing it.  She thought it felt funny with a shirt under it and she did not like the pink checks with the sweater.  But I forced her because sometimes I know best.  She wanted to be warm.  Wasn't that the issue?  Is there anything warmer than wool?  No.

Hours later I asked her if she was warm.  She said yes.  She said, 'I was about to take it off....  but I just couldn't."


BAM!

Converted.

Mother knows best.




She mixed up some chocolate chip cookies.



She posed for her bossy mom.




It all made me very happy.



I'm old.  I know things.
The wise one.

Home.

~donna boucher


I read this yesterday on Anne Lamott's Facebook page.
Anne was responding to woman who asked her "what's it all about?"

Even tho this quote it terribly simple and doesn't express the depth of my beliefs (where 'home' is for example).

But truly...this simple sentence and idea touched my heart to the core.

With love,
Donna

Quotes found on Pinterest

I sure like pinning quotes on my Pinterest board.  It is one of my favorite uses for Pinterest.

It is a pleasure for my eyes and for my heart.

This quote made me chuckle and say..."Yeah."

This one made me say..."whoa."

This one made me say..."Alrighty then."

This one made me think...."Does Anna know Steph and me?"

And well...this one is just so important to remember.  

Lots of love,

Donna

Birdie

Dust of Snow
Robert Frost


The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Muffin Recipe. Link. Yum.

The important thing about muffins is that they are delicious.
They are small and easy.  They are made with ingredients you have in your cupboard.
They are sweet and moist and perfect to bite.
But the important thing about muffins
is that they are delicious.






Link to the muffin recipe.


XOXO
Miz Boobaladobala do.

That's my new name.
Like it?

'round here

It snowed.

Guess we better put that umbrella away until next spring.
It snowed in May on my way to Malachi's birth.  Big scary snowstorm on highway 80 in Iowa.

Six months with snow. Six months without.

And so it goes.



Our girl Ginny is so pretty.
She messes up the pillows on the couch so I take them off.

The snow made Ginny act naughty and disobedient.
(She would not come in and was belligerent.)
We've discussed it and she is now on the right track.



Katie bought this cute cat ear ring over the weekend.
She LOVES it.

It is already misplaced.

Perhaps this will be THE thing that makes her more careful about her possessions.
Losing school papers and coats and shoes and books...not enough impact.
This ring.

Please.  Let it be.



Happy Tuesday from the land of the running furnace and snowflakes.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Veterans Day Post

Another video?  I just can't help it.  CBS Sunday morning is the most inspiring show.
This one is very special.






Veterans.

You Rock.

God bless the Vets and the helpers.

With love and gratitude,
Donna

sweet songs

Thank you for sharing your sweet memories and songs!

I sang You Are my Sunshine to my babies also....and a song from the Great Gatsby called What'll I do.

And then I sang all day long.  I tease the kids that I know a song for every word.
I am also the kind of person who hears a song and can tell you when it was popular and where I was when I heard it.

Such a close connection: Songs and Memories.



This year for my birthday...Emma gave me this perfect sign!
She also wrote me the best letter.  I am so thankful for her.







This I sang to little Katie.
She loved it.

(I just learned this is Irving Berlin)

******


Last night Emma posted this picture to her instagram.





I can't tell you how much I love this picture.
It's just perfect.

I see humor and art and people I love.


Wishing you a fantastic weekend filled with loads of music and love,
Donna

Beautiful morning. Friends Forever.

I was looking for a song that had to do with morning....
but then I looked to see if the following song was on Youtube.

And there it was.

Soon after little Patrick was born,  big Patrick moved up to his home town to start working for his mother in preparation for buying Boucher's Bakery.

I stayed behind in Clarendon Hills, Illinois with baby Patrick to sell the townhouse.

This sitcom was on during that time and I learned this song and sang it to my sweet baby boy.
How fitting that his lullaby was a sitcom theme song.

It's precious.
You will see.





Encourage one another,
Donna

p.s.  Did you sing something unusual to your babies?

LOL

Hailing...Haleing....Haling....hum....

And the winner is....

Hailing a cab in the land of yellow leaves.






Lots of Laughs
Laugh out Loud
Lots of Love

You pick.

I pick.

All three.




Do you like my mustache?


XO
Miz Boo

Be always coming home.

Life is too short and so are visits....
and so I let Katie stay home from school to hang out with her
big brother and me.

I just don't think there is anything in the world
that can beat time with loved ones.

It's fun, it's soul filling, it's how we have influence and how we are impacted.

Quality time.  Yes that's my love language.
Quality time makes me feel the most loved and and this is how I show it love.

It is getting harder as the family has spread out.  Those long car rides are getting harder on me and the pocketbook does not have enough coin for plane tickets.

But I long to be near them.  All of them.
The pull is strong.  I feel it in my chest.

So today I feel especially thankful that Patrick came to visit.  Thankful that he and Katie are getting to know one another a little bit more.  Katie who at three months went on college visits with Patrick.  

I would have loved that Katie came earlier and she would have had her siblings home with her longer.
But there is no doubt that she is a huge blessing to me.
Keeping her momma company as we wave so long to the big kids.

Katie and me.
We wave together.  We miss together.
We treasure every visit.

"Have fun storming the castle!"

Be always coming home.

"Just a quick picture before you go, please, I'll be quick."

Have I told you how much I love pictures?
I love them a lot.
Especially pictures of people that I love a lot.


Katie had a teacher that wrote the word(s) a lot on a large piece of paper, then he cut it apart and put 'a' in one corner of the room and 'lot' in another part of the room.

a


lot


so they would not forget that a lot is two words.

Good idea, huh?



But back to Little Patrick and Big Patrick.

Love them.

I treasure this picture.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Good Morning November.

My friend Bonnie sent me to this blog last week.  She knew I would love the knitting.
Well.  She was right!  Not only do I love the knitting...I am charmed by this lovely woman named Ginny and her beautiful pictures of her quiet life.


Small Things blog







This is my Ginny.

Oh dear.  I was making Patrick wave and so he was smiling and Katie was laughing and that is all I saw...until I looked at the picture.

Oh my goodness.  That is quite a pose GinGin.


Katie is at school wearing jeans and an Aaron Rodger jersey.  This makes for a fun day at school.  The school principal will be wearing her Bears jersey.  Let the trash talk and rivalry begin.


Patrick Jr. is still sleeping.
Ginny is napping.

I invited the local relatives over for dinner.  I made Mugs Up (loose meat sandwiches) and chocolate malts.

It was very casual and actually went very well...except I ran out of buns.
Next time. Buy more buns.


Emma face timed us.  This freaks me out...slightly.
Face time is when you make a phone call and you can see the person you are talking to...and they can see you.  It's very Jetsons.




I thought looking at this face was a very good way to start the week.
Dear Malachi,
May you always be will with such glee.
Love you baby boy.


****

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."-  Elizabeth Coatsworth

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

Little Patrick is coming home.

Little Patrick is coming home for a few days.  He lives far away in California.
We have Packer tickets for Monday night and Big Patrick and Little Patrick will head up to Green Bay for the game!

So fun.

That means I am cleaning and making a few treats...and then going to a volleyball game in a few minutes and then driving to Milwaukee to pick Jr. up at the airport.

That means....

I'm outta time.

Have a great weekend!
Enjoy that extra hour of sleep tomorrow morning and enjoy waking up to a slightly brighter sky.

I will not mention that it will be dark by 5:00.
I'll think about that tomorrow!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Saints

I read about Saints all the time.  Not the real, recognized, offical Saints.
But humble, ordinary people doing extraordinary things for others...day by day...

This morning I read the little school newsletter that comes home with Katie.  It included
these two quotes;

"The wonderful thing about saints is that they were human.  They lost their tempers, scolded God, were egotistical or testy or impatient in their turns, made mistakes, and regretted them.  Still they went on doggedly blundering toward heaven.
~Phyllis McGinley

"Why were the saints saints?
Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful,
patient when it was difficult to be patient, and because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, and kept silent when they wanted to talk,
and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable.
Because they challenged themselves and others to be more like Jesus.
That was all.
It was quite simple
 and
always will be."
~Unknown

Doggedly blundering....I can do THAT~
Donna