All Aboard!

So we've lived here in Gibsonia for 5 years now, and we've never been to visit the local Western PA Model Railroad Museum - which is literally 4 miles from our house. Last night we decided to go for something to do. Connor loves trains, so this was right up his alley. He enjoyed seeing all the trains going by in the miniature towns (which were very realistic models of their real counterparts). He was especially amused by the places where he could see them going underneath the model set to loop back around again.


And of course no trip to the museum is complete without playing with the train sets they have on the first floor for kids. The museum guide suggested we start upstairs for that very reason. And he was a wise man. :)

If you've never been there, it's worth the trip. Here is their website if you want more information: http://www.wpmrm.org/

First snow!

We woke up to quite a surprise this morning - SNOW! Isaak had just said last night that he wanted some snow, and God must have heard him, because we woke up to see this!

It didn't last long, though, and it didn't stick, but it was still pretty to see!
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything; the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing."

~Hannah Whitall Smith

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cats, cooking and dumb deliveries...

It's been an interesting day. Connor and I attempted to make no-bake cookies. No matter how many times I make them, or how well I follow the recipe, the darn things NEVER SET. They are mushy and gross. But we still ate them. :)

Our new mailman (who is a woman) doesn't appear to be any better at mail delivery than the last one. He wasn't able to deliver anything to the right address. The new lady has been OK with that, but she seems to have no common sense when it comes to what will actually fit in the mailbox. The above package was a Christmas gift that is somewhat fragile. The box is marked "FRAGILE." So what does she do? Cram the box -- which is bigger than my actual mailbox opening -- in there anyway. I had to cut the front of the box, remove the item inside, and then pull at the box until I got it out. She's darn lucky the item inside survived, or I'd have been more than a little bit scroogey with her.


And lastly, my cats, Gabe and Zorro. They are still touch and go with each other. Sometimes they tolerate one another and other times, it's a cat free-for-all wrestling match, complete with hair pulling and paw batting. They actually managed to eat in the same room without bloodshed, so I considered that a small victory.

Connor Berg, future civil engineer.....

There are many engineers on the Berg side of the family. In fact, my long-running joke is if they all got together and started their own engineering firm, they'd have every discipline of engineering covered. :)

Connor loves his trains. That's no surprise. He is constantly setting up his tracks in new and exciting ways that leave me saying "how on earth did he come up with that one?" Today, I walked into the livingroom and was shocked to see what he had done with the box that one of his trains came in. If you look at the second picture, you can see it. He opened it at each end, inserted his tracks, and made his own covered bridge. Now, I admittedly would never have thought to do that, and am shocked that a 4 year old mind would come up with that idea. I guess Connor might follow in the Berg family footsteps. Can anyone say "Connor Berg, future civil engineer?" :)

Farmer Connor......

Connor spent the weekend with my parents again, being spoiled and having fun. :)

One of the things they did was to visit a farm. My mom and dad know the people who run it, and they agreed to let Connor come check out the animals. They had (among other things) a young calf who would let you ride it, a young colt, chickens (which Connor loved and is now telling me that he'd like to have) and some cats and dogs. As you can see from the photos, he had a great time.

Giving thanks every day.....

An old schoolmate of mine (whom I correspond with on Facebook regularly) challenged me the other day to post something on Facebook every day I was thankful for until Thanksgiving Day. Sounds easy enough, until you actually try it. It has to be something different every day and no repeating.


In this day and age, it's so hard to keep focused on being grateful for what we have when the world seems to be going to - pardon my French - hell in a hand basket. The economy has been down and doesn't seem to be rebounding, and a lot of families are suffering right now. Some people have been separated in order to make ends meet, and others are still struggling to find ways to get by.


It's easy to focus on the negative and forget about the things we should be thankful for instead. So every day, I am posting on my Facebook page one thing I am grateful for that day. I challenge you to do the same. If you don't have a Facebook, then just make yourself a list, hang it where you'll see it, and add something new every day. In no time at all, it'll have you thinking positive.

"The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything, the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing...."

~Hannah Whitall Smith

What a weekend!

Well, on Friday I turned 36. I don't feel 36 yet. But I suppose sooner or later, I will.

Later that night, Isaak came home from Minnesota for a visit. He had a really nice birthday present for me, too. He bought a pair of tan cords, a really nice white knit sweater and some boots. I was shocked. I didn't think he had such good taste in clothes! Thanks, honey!

Today, my parents are celebrating their 47th wedding anniversary. I can only hope Isaak and I are lucky enough to make it to 47 years (and still like each other)! :)

And this morning, I got to see Bucky -- this is one of our two bucks who hang out in our neighborhood. He has a really nice rack on him. We have another one, but he's much smaller. It's rutting season, so we're staying far away from them right now. They are aggressive and crazy and only have one thing on their deer minds. :)

Dear God......

A few days ago, one of the cute squirrels that lives in our yard got hit on the road. It always bums me out when this happens, because I like to watch our squirrels and rather enjoy having them around.

However, this was an opportunity to drive home a lesson to my son, who has, as of late, been running from our yard right out into the street without so much as a pause. People do not drive slowly in our neighborhood, and I was afraid it was just a matter of time before he got hit by a car.

So, my mom showed him the squirrel and told him that the squirrel didn't look both ways before crossing and now he was dead. I'm not entirely sure my son understands the concept of being dead yet, as he's only 4. But when I explained that the squirrel couldn't eat, play or sleep anymore, and that his squirrel mommy and daddy were very sad, he seemed to sort of get it.

Last night, as we were saying our bedtime prayers, he insisted on saying a prayer for the squirrel. It went like this: "Dear Jesus, please make sure the squirrel is in squirrel heaven and help his mommy and daddy not to be sad." Pretty profound for a 4 year old.......

Thanks, dad!

My dad spent nearly six hours in my yard yesterday, cleaning up leaves and grass with his commercial lawn mower. Nearly all of our leaves were down, so it was quite a mess. I think he did a spectacular job! As much fun as it is to rake leaves and jump into them, it's a lot of hard work to clean up a yard the size of ours, and I dread doing it every year.

THANKS DAD!