Three More Fabulous Moms!

And here's our next generation of Sarine/Dunlap moms.... Rebecca who's nearly due for the next baby...a brother or sister for Olivia and Gabe (no...not to be born in the birthmobile again!!!); Vicky who will have a little brother for Kira in September; and newly preggo Danielle who will become a first time mom in November. Three awesome women that will be and are awesome Moms! Three new grandkids in one banner year! How proud can we be?

Happy Mother's Day to our daughters! Whether by birth or by marriage we think you are the best Moms ever!

Holy Smokes.... It's already Mother's Day???

We simply don't know where time has gone since January...almost like someone ripped the months from the calendar and suddenly it's May and the eve of Mother's Day ....a time to remember and commemorate the great mothers who gave us life and nurtured us through childhood.

So here they are.... In pink is my mother-in-law, Helene Marie Trappen Sarine, Dick's lovely mom, and then mine...Frances Louise Staats Fenton (at the top in blue), ....both pictured at our wedding back in February of 1970.

My mother was raised in upstate New York. In addition to attending to the needs of us kids she loved studying and learning about life. She believed and instilled in us the power of positive thinking, a philosophy of life that was nearly unheard of in the 1950's. Marion, as she was called, was often found tending to her beautiful flower gardens or helping friends in the community.

Dick's mom was born in Michigan and at some point moved, married and lived in suburban Madison, New Jersey. I hardly ever remember seeing her dressed in anything other than a dress complete with an apron. She was a kind, generous; devoted to her family. I always say that if you want to know what Helene was like you have to look no further than at one of her children for she raised each and every one of them is a mirror image of her personalty.... patient, pleasant, personable and giving.

These two fine ladies lived lives that were worlds apart and yet they shared the fabulous badges of honor of being fine, fine mothers. They have been phsically gone from us for many years but we feel them with us still. Happy Mother's Day to our Moms!

Boxes & Boxes of Slides!

Dick and I finally purchased a slide scanner around Christmas time and our spare time since has been spent going through several hundred slides and converting them to digitals that could be downloaded for everyone to enjoy! Below you will see many pictures of what my parents called their "middle three"....my two brothers...Al & Bud and me...who was sandwiched age-wise between those two guys. My only sister Joan and my older brother Roger were already married when these were taken; and our youngest brother..Jim was not yet thought of!

And because I am still blog-illiterate and can never figure out how to space picture descriptions to coincide with the picture you will see some of the following people below: Al & Bud getting ready to cross-country ski across a frozen Lake Eaton to our camp; my favorite great-aunt "Aunt Sally" with my mother and me overlooking some Adirondack beach; Al at the guys hunting camp (I was always ticked as a kid that females were not allowed during the November Hunting Camp!); Me in a two-piece bathing suit where I am apparently losing my top!; Christmases where I got a doll carriage and another dish set. I think my first precious niece, Cindy is the baby in that picture; Some wonderful pictures of our horses...Blackie and then our mare Ginger with her brand-new foal, Star. There's only one of my brother Jim in this group...where he's riding his go-cart bike! More to come Jim!

As you can see we/I were blessed to lead an idealic childhood...one that has only been fully appreciated as an adult. Thanks Mom & Dad! Miss and love you more than you know!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

“May you be safe; May you be happy; May you be healthy; May you live your life with ease.” Buddhist Teaching

Yesterday was one of those days where I spent a great deal of time in the car going from one appointment to another. I sometimes change the XM radio channel from music to talk radio….particularly the Broads…they are hysterical & talk sometimes about things that are typically not discussed on the air waves. When they’re not on I might hit the Oprah Channel.

(Bear with me now ‘cause I am going someplace meaningful with this…) There are days when I could listen to XM talk radio and not hear a thing…nothing that hits me or is inspirational. But I must have had my ears on yesterday because every time I got in the car there was something on that made me want to stay right there…”Oh, dang!…I have to get out of the car to go into the client’s house??? You have to be kidding me…I’m going to miss this…and that??? “

Dr Oz was on Oprah's XM Channel 156 and was interviewing Marci Shimoff….someone whose name I didn’t know but believe that I have seen on TV several times. I’m certain that I have heard interviews with her before but never really HEARD her premise until yesterday. The snippets that I caught on the radio were enough to make me Google the Oprah XM channel when I got home to try figure what was on yesterday and to somehow find out who this person was.

I found it!!!! …. and then spent the bulk of last evening Googling ‘Marci Shimoff’…listening to her radio interviews, taking page upon page of notes, etc.

I believe that it has tremendous value for each of us in our business and in our personal lives. See if you don’t agree… click on www.cnbc.com/id/22672284

And if this site caught your attention the way it did mine here are two additional websites in the same vein that have additional information and will continue to inspire…. It’s a radio interview so you’ll need about ten minutes of peace & quiet to listen to it…. www.askliz.com/radio_mshimoff.html .... and a blog…www.inspiremetoday.com/gail/2009/04/blessings-to-you

Good information like this that has positive value needs to be passed on… and I have, probably to the dismay of some of you that get my emails and check out the various ways that we/I commun icate with the outside world. I put it on my Facebook page, sent it on to our wonderful SSI designers and now figured that our blog was a great place further broadcast what the world needs to hear today and everyday.

Hope your Saturday and your weekend is a great one!

What We've Been Doing for the Past Few Months...

Check out http://www.thechicchateau.blogspot.com/ if you wondering what we've been doing with our spare time in the last three months! Lots of pictures of The Chic Chateau!

Family Fun & Faces! Summer 2009

Amazing that so much time can pass so quickly since our last post! Our lives seem to get busier the older we get & one month rolls into the next! We took some time over July 4th to visit our summer camp in the Adirondacks on Lake Eaton...a secluded family haven that's provided a beautiful vacation spot for four generations of the Fenton side of the family. Many who know us are aware that there are no roads around to lake to reach our camp... the only mode of transportation to and from (other than by foot) is via boat.

Electricity is provided by solar panels and a 12 volt system. Telephone cables were dropped on the lake bottom only twenty years ago and indoor plumbing arrived about the same time.

Dick and I had not been to camp in about 15 years so this was not only a vacation but a journey back in time. As much as the 'outside' world has changed, the surrounding area in the Adirondacks remains pristine and virtually untouched! As you'll see there were many happy family moments!