The Aquarium

For my birthday, I wanted fish. I was going to buy a cheap fish bowl/tank, maybe 5 gallons, and get a few fish.

Steve told me to get exactly what I wanted and quit worrying about the money. So, my perfect aquarium was a 15 gallon column tank. It sits perfectly on top of the entertainment center. It is like a slice of a big aquarium, and I love it.

Then, we got (fake) plants and the gravel, as well as the necessities: bubbler, heater, & filter. We came home and set it up and let it sit for three days.

Today, we went back and got some more decorations (castle/fairy tale theme: a treasure chest bubbler with a dragon to guard it, 2 castles, a tower and a dragon to sit on top, and then, for Michael, Sponge Bob.)

We also got 7 fish. Four mollies (2 creamsicles, 1 marble, 1 gold-dust) and three platies (bumblebee, panda, gold twin-bar).

We all LOVE the aquarium! Michael thought the treasure chest bubbler was hilarious! And Steve has loved watching the fish. I love watching the two of them in addition to the aquarium itself.

It is perfect ♥

♥ Melody

Happy Birthday to me!

Steve took a personal day off and we babysat Brynly during the day, so he, Michael, Brynny and I spent the day together on my birthday. Then, Amber came to pick up Bryn, Karen & Aiden, Ben, and Millie came by and we lit the candles and they all sang to me. ♥ (Matt had to work & Josh's van is broken down, so neither of them - nor the grandkiddos at Josh's - were there.)

Whenever I know that my picture is going to be taken, I get serious and posed. I love that Steve just kept flashing. The pics tell a story all by themselves, but I'll still tell you what's going on.


Posed and ready for a pic.


I noticed that a couple of candles had gone out.




Aiden is our family photo-bomber; I love having him in the pic. ♥ Most of my birthday pics have had this cute guy in them.


I realized that I didn't know what I was going to wish for... thinking....





Amber had made the comment right before that she was waiting to see how many flames there'd be to see how many boyfriends I had... they all went right out! What about Steve?!





Unposed. Loving my birthday, my life, and my family. ♥

Steve took my pics. He's getting good at this photography stuff! (Thanks, Love.)

This was a very good day.
♥ Melody

AA "church"

The first time I took my kids to go celebrate a relative's getting a chip at AA on a Sunday, they each said that they loved "AA church," to which we all chuckled, related to, but knew AA wasn't *really* a church.

After so many years with a loved one in program, I don't see much of a difference anymore. 

We are all sinners. We all need our Higher Power's help. We need community to help us and to help. 

When I first went to The Episcopal Church, one of the things that I loved most was reciting the general confession - we all said it in unison. We all know that we ourselves are sinners. We all know that the person sitting next to us is, too. Then, afterward, we shake hands and offer the peace of God to all - to make amends with those we've had hard feelings against, and to hug those that we love, as well.

The simpler we can keep God, the better. 

♥ Melody

P.S. This is the confession that I spoke of (The Book of Common Prayer; pg 360)

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Pixelating Patch's Picture

What I really wanted to do it is make it look like a tapestry, but this is as close as I could get it. I'll keep searching....

(Updated)
I think I like this one best:

♥ Melody

Our Cats ♥

A couple of weeks before Bethie died, I found an abandoned kitty in the attic of our garage. At first, I was going to give him to a pet store to be sold, but when Beth died, we decided to keep him.

This is Patch. I guestimate that he was born around August 2017, so that would make him 5 months old now. He is a royal pain in the neck! And we all dearly love him.

Our other cat, Tilly, is getting up there in years. He was also a rescue from the garage attic. He was left behind with 2 siblings (the story can be found here), and he and Black Jack survived. 

Black Jack was sent outside to live after he peed on my bed (repeatedly!) several years ago, but Tilly has been a wonderful cat. I can't believe that he'll be 9 this year.

There are lots of pics of Til throughout this blog, but this one from 2010 has got to be my favorite:

I also dearly love that kiddo in the pic with him. ♥

Have a wonderful day! 

♥ Melody

52 Photo Project 2018 - 2/52

These two love each other, and I couldn't be happier about that. ♥

♥ Melody

52 Photo Project 2018 1/52

Technically, it's probably cheating to use a picture on Christmas as the first picture in the 2018 52 Photo Project... oh well. Better late than never!

Michael loves this shirt. Whenever I read "This guy is on the nice list!" he does a thumbs up like on the shirt and says, "Thumbs up!" He is pretty frickin' adorable. ♥

♥ Melody