I need a good night of sleep......

I am still awake, tho' somewhat tired. I had a horrid night of sleep last night. I was wide awake for and hour and a half in the middle of the night. The really bad kind of awake, where you are dwelling on any and everything that could possibly cause tension......... " Why didn't we save more money? Should I look for a job? How will the Chrysler bankruptcy affect us? Why haven't I gone to the dentist? Will I ever stop eating and get on to the diet for good?" Get the picture? Bad dwelling. I woke up this morning early (of course!) and the first thing I did was to check on the canaries. The tiny little guy I have been worrying about, was dead in the nest. Sad start to the day. I haven't told Jackie yet. My day was pretty busy. I cleaned the house and worked at Jackie's school. Min and Scott went to a meeting tonight, so it was just Jackie and I for dinner and homework. She is asleep and I have just finished working on my Bible Study for tomorrow. I am trying to unwind and slow down to induce a good night of sleep. Greg just got home and told me he talked to his brother, Jeff today. He has been promoted to Chief of Police on Catalina Island. It is a 2 year stint, after which he will return to the mainland with the rank of Captain. He will receive a housing allowance, so that will allow him to keep his house in Yorba Linda. They plan to come back home every other weekend. This is just the kind of story that will help me relax and get right to sleep, I just know it.............

Happy Birthday Queen!

35 years ago today the world changed forever for me. Michelle Laurie Donahue was born and my life would never be the same again! To go from a young, naive, and yes, somewhat selfish woman to becoming a mother was remarkable to say the least. Only someone who has made the transition can ever know the impact it has.

From her her very first moments, she has brought me a joy I never knew existed. She was a sweet and very good baby. Some of the most treasured moments of my life were those I spent sitting in the rocking chair in the middle of the night, staring into my precious baby's face. I could not believe I was so lucky! Michelle could nap through anything. I could literally vacuum under her crib and she would never wake up. All during her first summers, I would take her with me to the beach. She actually had a suntan in her 1 year old picture! She has always loved the beach and swimming.

As she grew, so did my love for her. She was an adorable toddler who loved the park and being outside in general. It was during this time that Joey was with us every day and their bond grew from cousin to brother and sister. When John came along she was only two and a half, and he joined their close knit club. It is a wonderous blessing that she has had so many cousins to share her life with.

Michelle's sense of humor has always been a big part of her personality. She can always find the humor in a situation. This is a trait that has been a joy for all around her. So many times over the years the sound of Michelle's infectious laugh has lightened many a tough moment. She can find something funny about almost anything and you find yourself laughing along with her.

I have so many memories of Michelle thru the years. School days, scouting, dance classes, ceramics, swimming lessons, cooking class, ballroom dancing, summer camp, the list could go on and on........ Watching her thru all the phases has been absolutely wonderful! As she experienced the moments, so did I as her biggest cheerleader. Last summer as she and Scott were married, I truly felt things had come full circle. Greg and I love watching her in the role of parent and wife. I am thrilled for her that she will soon have another sweet baby to hold in her arms and share all the love and joy that she has given to so many.

Michelle, I am so proud of you. Knowing that you are walking with the Lord is the biggest blessing of all for me. I know I am the woman I am today, because God gave me the most wonderful daughter in the world. I love you more than words could ever say!

More Arrivals!

This picture shows the size differnce

one day can make!

This picture is one of my very favorites. Patches is sitting on her newly hatched babies. She was making a little twittering sound which is her signal to Handsome that she wants him to feed her. He frantically jumps around the cage eating and then rushes to her side to feed her. The whole time he is feeding her she is fluttering her wings. It is such a sweet thing to watch. I love it!

You can see in this picture how they have downy like fuzz on their bodies and big black circles covering their still closed eyes. The dark on their necks is their little crops getting filled with food.

This picture shows the difference in their coloring. The oldest three are dark skinned and the youngest two are pinkish skinned.

We started off with the first 3 hatching on Monday. Then Tuesday morning, the fourth hatched and the fifth hatched on Tuesday afternoon. You have to keep in mind that these birds grow from the size of the top of your thumb to full grown birds in less than 3 weeks. That means that a day and a half behind in hatching is a lot. I was really afraid that the two smallest might get lost in the pile when heads come up for food. Last night I stood there forever watching and I never saw the tiniest one at all. I was trying to prepare Jackie for the worst, but she was having none of it. She ran back in my room and got up on the chair to watch them. Sure enough, after a few minutes, she came running out yelling she had seen the fifth head. I ran back with her and there was the little guy! Yeah!!!

Baby Birds!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to have had 3 babies hatch today! I was not even sure if they had ever mated so this was a perky surprise. Jackie was up on a chair watching the mother and dad feed their tiny babies. It is soooooo cute to see them! If you look very close under Patches throat you can see the tiny baby head coming up.

I felt like a professional photographer today. I probably took 50 shots to get this one picture. I was rearranging lights and contorting into all kinds of positions to get this shot. I was fiddling around with the camera and I actually got this picture right thru the bars. I knew there was a way to focus and have the bars look like they disappear and after many attempts I figured it out! I was quite proud of myself!

Budgie Buddies

Here are our new baby budgies on their little play area.

Here is the "Reading Corner" in my room. Notice the bird play area on the table.

Here is Jackie standing next to my new birdcage in my room. I spent several hours rearranging today to get this look.

Canary Fun

As most of you know, I have a love of birds. The ones I have enjoyed the most over the years are canaries. At one point, Danae, Dean and I could have practically had a canary ranch going! It is an incredibly fun hobby to have and it can also be profitable. Since Danae has been off of work, she has gotten the ball rolling again. I ended up buying a pair last week and the fun has begun again...... The difference is that this time I don't have as much room for cages, so I will have to enjoy on a limited basis. There is something so interesting about watching the whole process. The couple (who are hopefully compatible) check each other out. If he likes the feel of her, he will sing to her and feed her. Then she will begin frantically building a nest. Hopefully, somewhere during all of these steps they will be mating. Once the nest is built, she will start laying within a couple of days. My female (named Patches by Jackie) started laying last Saturday and layed each day for 5 days. The male, Handsome, (also a Jackie name) has been singing to her and feeding her while she is on the nest. If all goes well in two weeks baby birds should hatch. I never actually saw them mate, so there is a distinct possibility that her eggs are not fertile. It is a major hit and miss process, but when everything clicks it is wonderful!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

34 years ago today Greg and I were married. To look at that number it seems unbelievable that we have been together for that long. I am sitting here waiting for him to get up so we can start off our day by going to the lake to fish. We had thought long and hard about how we would like to spend the day and we both agreed that fishing would be perfect. Some of the most enjoyable times we have had together as a couple have been spent doing just that. Our very first family vacation, when Michelle was only 2 years old, was spent fishing in the Sierra's. We have spent innumerable summer vacations in the exact same way. We are planning to go again this summer with Michelle and her family. Every year when Michelle was little we would take her picture on the horse swing by June Lake. We are all looking forward to taking Jackie's picture on that swing this summer.



I have been thinking back over the years and all that we have been thru together. The ups and downs of life have truly brought us closer together. Soooo many events have occurred during these years. It makes me think of a movie Deb and I saw years ago. A mother is talking to her son and daughter-in-law, who are on the brink of divorce. They are all at a wedding reception and she is pointing out various family members. She then tells some wild, war story of what they have gone thru in their marriages and then finishes it off with, "and they're still together!" We are one of the lucky couples who can say the same thing!



I am blessed beyond belief to have spent my life with Greg. We have been thru so many things both good and bad. We have a beautiful daughter who has made our life complete. She is by far our shining moment! Now we have her, our wonderful son-in-law and our beautiful grandchildren to bless the rest of our lives. I thank God on my anniversary for all He has given me ........