25 Years ago today Doug and I stood at the altar of Our Lady of Good Counsel church in Verona, New York and promised to love honor and cherish each other until death do us part.  The little church where I attended Mass every Sunday since I was eight years old.  The little church where we went to Mass together during our courtship.  Tonight after a Mass of thanksgiving celebrated by the same priest who married us we renewed those same vows.

Those vows that mean more to us now because we know what they truly mean.  We know what it means to love each other in sickness and in health, in wealth and in want, for richer and for poorer.  We know the good times and the bad.  I think that for both of us our vows were said with more conviction because of the experience of the last 25 years and the anticipation of the years to come, however many they may be.

Thanks be to God for the years that are behind and for the time that is to come.

Thank you to my beloved for the lovely 25 roses that he sent to me that represent all of the years that we have spent together.  The answer is a most emphatic Yes!!!! I would indeed do it over again.

Outside My Window:  The sun is shining. The temperature is 78 degrees and the birds are singing.  What a lovely and WARM!!!!!! day it is finally. 

I Am Thinking:  Maybe I will finally warm up enough to take off a few layers and look like a human being and not an eskimo.  I am also thinking that we are so blessed to have such a beautiful place to live.

I Am Thankful For:  The news that my son is in the USA and not Afghanistan.  That everyone is healthy and strong.  That God has given us each other and so many blessings that we cannot count them all.

From The Kitchen:  There is a peach pie for dessert tonight, spaghetti sauce on the stove (or pasta gravy as my good friend Mrs. Amelia calls it) and meat-a-balls for supper tonight.

I Am Creating:  A loving home and a warm friendly environment, I hope for my family.  I love you all and I want you to know it each time you are home.

I Am Going: To finish the garments that are on the sewing machine this week.  The make the ironing pile disappear.  Make the floors of this house cleaner this week.

I Am Wearing:  Pajama shirt and pajama pants because I just came home from the hospital and having  the last shot in my back today.  I have to rest this afternoon but tomorrow I am back to normal again. (I hope and pray)

I Am Reading:  Shattered Faith by Sheila Kennedy and C. S. Lewis A Biography by Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper  (I can never read one book at a time)

I Am Hoping:  That these shots do the trick and that my doctor doesn't say "you need an operation"

I Am Hearing:  My husband installing my daughters air conditioner in her room (before the heat wave hits) and my daughter listening to her music and cleaning out the tv cabinet downstairs.

Around The House:  There is so much to do but I am learning to not let the work interfere with my family.

One Of My Favorite Things:  My family around me and hearing and seeing them while they work and play.  (I think that I was always meant to be a mother)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:  Celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary with my husband.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you:

Ian's corn that he planted is up.  About a week ago it had frosted over night and he called in the morning wanting to know if the corn was up.  He sounded rather dejected.  I was happy to report that the corn was not up yet.  He is a farmer through and through.  Always has been.  I am very proud of him.  This is his first big crop ever.  I pray that it is successful.

This afternoon my husband had to work so he took MK and Matthew with him to help.  I was asleep on the couch when they left so I got to spend the afternoon home alone.  In the past this would have been something that I would have viewed with a bit of anticipation.  Now, however, it is something that happens far too often. 

When the children were younger an afternoon alone would have been seen as an opportunity to get things done.  I would rush around the house cleaning and straightening up things and generally making the house liveable.  I would do laundry and dishes and do as much as I could before the children came home from where ever.  I had no thought for what I wanted to do only for what needed to be done.  Of course the time flew by so quickly that not everything got done but I was always greatful for what I was able to do while I had time alone.

Now, however, I have far too many afternoon, mornings, evenings, you name it when they are gone.  The house doesn't get that messy and so there is really no need to rush around sweeping and cleaning and doing laundry.  It's funny, laundry used to rule around here.  Dishes were such a plague that Doug finally bought a dishwasher when Ian was about eight years old.  Now I only do laundry two days a week.  I rarely use the dryer or the dishwasher.  When Matthew and Mary-Kate are gone for the day it often takes me a half hour or more to decide what to do with myself.  Things are so caught up here it is frightening.  Sometimes the silence around here is deafening.