3balecotton

Blogging

2010-10-28T08:36:00.000-05:00

So I was reading The Pioneer Woman this morning and thoroughly enjoying her post from this week about her cat playing with her dogs tail, when it occurred to me I haven't posted on my blog in over a year. I began to ponder why. First of all I am completely upstaged by blogs like the Pioneer Woman, or my sister, or my friends that actually seem to have different things happen to them day after day. I mean I could say I am sitting here in my flannel pajamas and writing this, but on day 17 you would be going, "Again? Sheesh, doesn't she have a house to clean and kids to teach or something..?"

Then there is the name of my blog. It no longer applies. We are in high cotton around here people, it should be 4 bale cotton. We've added to the fam! But you already knew that. See, my blog is already behind it's time.

So, I could tell you that we are on Lesson 48 today in Phonics (not that I'm counting). That Ethan has learned to get up on his hands and knees and is contemplating mobility (Heaven help me), or that Mae took a permanent marker to my dry erase board yesterday (at least it's white), and that Calvin (the schnauzer) took off running down the street with screams of "NO COME BACK!" behind him (the lucky sucker).

But, that's just what everybody else is doing....right?

Happy Thursday.

2009-07-06T09:27:00.004-05:00

FOR TODAY July 7, 2009...
Outside My Window...the sun is shining and there is a breeze...

I am thinking...of living victoriously in Christ!

I am thankful for...the 4 day weekend we enjoyed with my husband!

From the learning rooms...M is going try potty training again today, and we are going to start our summer reading today....

From the kitchen...I am wishing baking didn't heat the house so....

I am wearing...comfy clothes today, we have nowhere to be!!!

I am creating...nothing...

I am going...nowhere!

I am hoping...to enjoy a quiet week...

I am hearing...the girls play happily with their kitchen set....

Around the house...going to tidy up and enjoy the clean house!

One of my favorite things...my schnauzer's new haircut....

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
Relax, enjoy and maybe weed my flower beds!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing:

~FREE Rug Giveaway!~

2009-07-01T07:31:00.001-05:00

The gals at Econobusters are doing a rug giveaway! I love this blog! I also need a rug or 2 to cover all of this beautiful but noisy laminate flooring...
so:

~FREE Rug Giveaway!~

Shared via AddThis

Summer Is Here!

2009-06-19T21:36:00.002-05:00

Well, I certainly planned to write on here more often than I have! We have had a nutty couple of months out here on the caprock! Let's see, both R & E turned 6 and 5 respectively. Just as we were adjusting to having a 6-year-old she announced on the night before her birthday she had a loose tooth! That was a blow! I pulled her first tooth a week later. It's tough, you work so hard getting those teeth in those tiny fussy mouths and then a blink in time later, they fall out. Sigh....

E is loving being 5 and can't wait to start school! We got our textbooks in a week or two ago and she loved looking through them. I am looking forward to this year too, we get to do some "real" subjects like history and science. I am just wondering how it's going to work keeping M busy! She may be reading by the end of the year too! =]

Tom has been busy with wheat season, and the girls and I just finished Bible school and have one more week of swimming lessons. This summer is threatening to fly by, I am desperately grabbing at it trying to savor a few moments!

Well, I will try to update this blog more often! It really is fun to write here when I get a chance!

OK Folks....

2009-04-09T15:48:00.003-05:00

Hey!
Sorry it has been so long, I have not been playing that game all this time, just for the record. =]
I have been attempting to find a new favorite season since Spring in the West appears to be um, rather windy. (we have had sustained winds of 35mph and gusts in the 50's)

I couldn't let this pass, I just caught a video of Rick Warren on Larry King.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/04/07/rick_warren_i_am_not_anti-gay_marriage.html

I must admit to having a heavy heart. Are we going to stand for anything anymore? Are we going to stick with having taken a stand? Since when do we refer to Easter as "Our biggest week of the year"? What are we an appliance store?

Think believers. Think.

In case your looking for me.....

2009-01-19T20:16:00.001-06:00

I am here, playing this game......

Procrastination

2009-01-10T10:23:00.003-06:00

It's 10:30am on a Saturday.... I really wish I wasn't even up. I can't help but daydream on mornings like this about going on a weekend retreat with my hubby and not having responsibilities other than getting breakfast before it stops being served. So, in rebellion to my life I am sitting here in pumpkin pajamas (I am aware that it is January) and typing. I need to go do ironing, I don't think Tom has any more shirts left, I need to organize school, we start back on Monday. At some point I should brush my teeth...or I could just keep sitting here. The thermometer says it is 36 degrees outside, which means I am not going out there -- it also explains why Sallie keeps staring hard through the back door....
Well, now the kids are getting dressed and M just brought me a wipey from her diaper bag for me to wipe her nose with, so cute. So I guess I will go start ironing and organizing.... Should make this day count for something......at least until nap time.

Crate Trained.

2008-12-30T10:05:00.003-06:00

New Years resolution #1. Blog more....

I have never been what I would describe as a "homebody". Don't get me wrong, I like home, always have, but I love going places and seeing things and shopping. But, I think I am now crate trained. Just to explain, when you crate train a dog it goes something like this: for the first few days (sometimes longer) when you put the puppy in the crate it whines, and cries and howls. Then, for the next few weeks it will fight like crazy to keep from being put in there, grabbing the door frame, struggling throwing itself on you, but then becomes calm inside the crate after you win. Then in stage 3 the pup will willing go into the crate when told, but won't go voluntarily. Then comes the wonderful stage 4 (where we are now with our 6 1/2 year old Golden Ret.) you can leave the crate door open, she will go in there when she wants, sleeps in there on her own and considers it her own personal den. Some dogs collect treasures to keep in their crate to chew on or enjoy....

I have finally reached stage 4. After the holidays and craziness I couldn't wait to get home to my "crate". Drug home all of my treasures, my kiddos and Tom. Granted, I am looking forward to going out again for treasure hunts and visits with loved ones, but I am definitely enjoying being home!

We took our usual tour this Christmas covering over half of Texas, across Arkansas to Tennessee. Thankfully, Tom's parents live in West Tennessee! It was wonderful to visit with family. I got to spend a lot of time with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. Got to meet Bonnie & Scott's new addition "Murry" the jack russell terrier. I think we bonded.
We got to see all of R, E, & M's cousins in Tennessee, it gets nutty with 9 children! Ages, 9, 7, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 17months, and 13months!!! 7 girls, 2 boys! Busy, but fun.

Well, I am off to finish unpacking, downloading pictures, getting my Christmas cards out, finally, and cleaning house -- time to fire up the crock pot! ;-)

Hope all is Merry and Bright with everyone!

Happy Reformation Day!!!!

2008-10-31T10:05:00.001-05:00

I am currently taking care of sick kids. :( But, I am still out here and will be posting soon!

Dust Bunnies

2008-10-21T19:39:00.002-05:00

I would have posted sooner, but I have been buried under a pile of laundry/housework! It seems to never end and our house is tough to clean all in one day (especially when you keep having to stop and change diapers fix meals and hang up on recorded messages), so by the time I finally finish the last room it is time to start over!

We took a trip to the fire department (which the girls insist on calling the fire hydrant for some incredibly annoying reason =), it was fun! Between me and two other ladies we took 10 kids ranging in ages from 10 months to 5 years. Whew! They liked getting into the fire truck (which was huge) and getting to see all of the hoses and wear the chief's hat in a picture. I think the Mom's were just as impressed as the kids at all the stuff they have! We live in a small town, but a huge county some 1500 square miles -- mind you there are only 14,500 people in the whole county. But, there are tons of grasslands, and oil rigs to keep the fire department ready for any emergency. Interestingly, he said that the occurrence of structure fires had dropped since they started doing fire safety programs in the schools!

We also took the girls on their first fishing trip Saturday, which they thoroughly enjoyed. We have met another family here that has 3 girls also aged 2, 3 1/2 and 5. We joined them on their fishing trip. The girls caught impossibly small perch, but had so much fun!

Well, I am off to put girlies to bed, take care out there!

Fuzzy Headed

2008-10-13T07:52:00.003-05:00

Well, it was a busy week! Tom's Mom was here from Sunday to Sunday, to visit with us and the girls. M finally is trying to walk, she cracked Gan up walking on her knees around the living room (sigh), but by the end of the week she was walking from furniture to furniture. Last night Tom and I had her walking across her room! I thought this day would never come, 15 months has been a little long for Mom. R & E had lots of fun and Mom and Dad got away for our anniversary date, it's a month early, but we will gratefully take the opportunity!

We also cleared all of the book boxes out of the front foyer! It now looks like we are moved in! I had been to the bottom of all of the boxes but had to repack books because we have no bookshelves. We moved the boxes and I got a friend to "store" her bookshelf at our house. So it is now a lovely sit and read area!

Well I am off to start the day, today is Columbus Day so we have the day off of school but we are taking a tour of the fire station today with some friends!
Have a great Columbus Day!

Jumping ship and miles of nothing...

2008-10-03T08:05:00.003-05:00

Ok, so due to some difficult circumstances with my grandparents the girl's and I trekked across the massive state we live in to see Mom and Dad and offer our support in helping my grandparents. It was fun to see Granddaddy (my Dad) preach and go with "Honey" (that is what the girl's call my Mom) to get a fresh gingerbread man and pumpkin cookies! It is amazing to realize that my kids have my parents as grandparents, it is hard to believe that life is moving that fast!

It was also nice to see trees. I certainly used to take those for granted! =]

We drove for 9 hours on the way there and 8 1/2 on the way back, and both times when we finally got there, R would happily announce, "That didn't take too long at all!" That's optimism for you! Tom had the entire house to himself for almost a week (I am so jealous of all that time alone to get things done). I think the more chaos there is around here, the more lonely and quiet the house gets! He was certainly glad to see us come home!

Well, Tom's Mom is coming Sunday to stay for a week! So, I have got to go clean and get ready for her visit. Hopefully, this will be a fun week, I have cookies planned, a girl's lunch, and catching up on family stuff.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Being outdoorsy....

2008-09-22T08:16:00.004-05:00

This was a fun weekend! For starters on Thursday night we taught the girls how to play kickball! That was a lot of fun, it seems R has a pretty competitive streak (no idea where she got that)! She picked up on the rules pretty quick once she learned to run the bases in order! By the end of the game she had learned how to steal bases! (again, no idea how she learns this stuff :)

E's big breakthrough was she stuck with us! She is not a game-player and generally clams up at Cubbies (AWANA) and won't even play "duck-duck-cubbie". But we are working with her so she learns how to play so she will have fun (she hates it when everybody shouts orders in the heat of battle....seems like I have some other family members that hate that too.... :-).

Then on Friday Tom constructed a backyard campout! Complete with 6-man tent and smoldering fire! We live next door to a county fireman so Tom made me happy by asking before we finished off our stump in the backyard! We managed enough hot dogs to justify s'mores! It was great!

Cheap Entertainment.

2008-09-18T15:32:00.003-05:00

Ok, it has been shamefully long since I last posted. No doubt, I have lost my viewing audience. Too bad, you'll have to waste time some other way now!
Let's see, I ended with a book review last time and have since blown through "The Devil Wears Prada". Other than reading is better for your mind that television, it was "fluff". It is amazing how I can take months to go through an uplifting worthwhile book, but then can put my life on hold to read something completly entertaining.... It's not a bad book, but, in my opinion, the movie was better.

Fall seems to have found us, and I have been working through getting out the fall clothes for 2 weeks now -- mind you, we don't have that many clothes, it just seems to take me that long to do any project these days. Which brings me to home school. That is going good, R is really coming along on some things, but she would much rather know everything rather than go through the process of learning it! Tom and I both know she came by that honestly, but that doesn't make it any easier to keep my patience on some days! We only know 1 other home school family in town and their daughter is our babysitter. It is difficult to feel alone in doing this, so I will still be calling my distant homeschool buddies to get some advice!

We are working hard to adjust to small town life, the entire town revolves around the local school and football is definitely king out here! We are friends with about half of the coaching staff (there are 15 coaches working in the football program right now), so we are learing about the ups and downs of coaching!

A picture is worth a thousand words so I will close with our "friend" who wandered into our backyard today. It was fun watching him try to sneak off on the girls when they forgot to watch him!!!

Book Review

2008-08-10T22:57:00.002-05:00

Ok, a while back I auspiciously mentioned a whole list of books I was going to read and let you know if I liked. Yeah, um, here I am months later finally almost through with the first one. Ok, "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God". I really like this book. It is pretty convicting when they talk about dying to yourself, living for God and selflessly serving your children and husband. They are a little more extreme in some things than I personally am, but most controversial subjects (i.e. amount of children to have) they have left to your own personal convictions. They do go into how much our society, and even the Christians, have been influenced by the feminist movement. We are all subject to swallowing something that appeals to our selfish nature, when we know what the Bible says about selfishness:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:3-8)

Whew, I always feel terribly convicted whenever I come across this passage. It takes away all of my "but I's". But I am wasting my college degree. But I am just not getting my "me" time. But I am tired. But I worked hard all morning and I deserve for these kids to take naps! Etc., etc. All of these were running through my head as I was reading some of the passages in this book.
I recommend "Passionate Housewives...." But, as always, remember there is only one Bible.

Caffeine Buzz

2008-08-07T23:00:00.002-05:00

I think I should stop drinking caffeine. It has affected me weird since I was expecting Mae. Like tonight, I had a Coke Zero with supper and now here I am typing away when I should be sleeping! Oh, well.

Let's see to update, M's birthday bash was a success. All relatives arrived safely, seemed to enjoy themselves and got safely home. Tom smoked a brisket for the main meal and it was delicious. M loved her birthday cake it was white cake with red letters and strawberries. She very methodically crammed her piece of cake in her mouth and loved every morsel! -- Shameless plug, I love Blue Bell's Strawberries and Homemade Vanilla ice cream. It is the official 1st birthday ice cream of our family!

After the birthday excitement abated we decided to take a "mini-vacation" to one of our local hub-towns last weekend. We got a two-room suite at one of those extended stay places. It was great to have a microwave and a refrigerator in a kitchenette for feeding M. R asked at one point why we weren't cooking in the room and I said we were on vacation. She said, "Oh, so we have to eat out?!?" Exactly. We enjoyed plenty of Chick-fil-A and Pei Wei and had a good time. Although, I must say that R caught a cold on the day we arrived and M wasn't sleeping good due to either getting shots, or teething molars or just being a one-year-old, take your pick. So, I describe the trip as "Fun, but not relaxing". =)

Ah, yes, we are a 2 guinea pig family now with the addition of Shy, "Dottie's sister". She looks just like Dottie in the face so we couldn't just leave her there, now could we? So far she lives up to her name, even after being here for a week and a half now she still dives into her box whenever we walk into the room. I decided "Shy" was a better name than "Terrified". :)

So, never a dull moment around here! I am signing off to play freecell until the sandman finally shows up!

It's a Jungle...In Here?

2008-07-14T07:22:00.006-05:00

Ok, so as part of "M's Birthday Prep Week, Part 2" we are starting redoing R & E's room. The people who lived in this house had a boy, so the girl's room was covered on two walls with glued brown paper sacks that looked like this:

That is essentially brown paper sacks, and Elmer's glue, lots and lots of glue. Good news was if we got it wet, it would start to peel off! 2 walls had this on it and 2 walls looked like this:

Do you remember that scene on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" where she said the neighbors could check out their subtle tribute to the Greek flag, then it pans up and their garage is painted to look exactly like a greek flag? Yeah, that came to mind when I saw this room! Check out the star, it is a window shade!
Ok, so we peeled paper and peeled paper and under the first wall we found this:

That is khaki and those are stenciled animal prints around the closet door (BTW the closet door was red to go with the Texas theme.
And then under the next wall we found this:

Giraffe, Leopard, Tiger and Zebra? What? Keep in mind as I took this picture, the walls to my right and behind me, still look like the Texas flag! Wild! The girls though this was funny, but, mind you, continued to ask when we could get to the pink paint!
Needless to say we are priming the walls!
This is what happens when you buy a house with lots of history!!!

Back to the land of the living!

2008-07-09T14:59:00.002-05:00

So, sorry for no correspondence with anyone the last week or two, our computer went kaplooey. It was anticipated, but as always, ill-timed since we are waiting on the insurance adjuster to give us the verdict on our roof. You know, the hail storm..... Anywho, I am overhauling the house in anticipation for M's 1st birthday party next weekend. All grandparents will be coming so I am working on getting the girl's rooms rearranged and ready. It will be lots of fun when everyone is here, but right now I have an overwhelming todo list! I finished the back flower beds today though!

I totally finished the study so I will post pictures of that when we get the computer box out! Woohoo! Another room bites the dust!

Tom got an unheard of 4-day weekend for the 4th so we got to see all of my family! That was great, and a major blessing to get to see Bonnie and Scott before they head out this next weekend! :-( Their moving is giving us an excuse to plan a field trip to Pennsylvania! Independence Hall here we come!!!!

Well, I am off to enjoy the rest that naptime brings to Mommies before the evening commences!

Dottie a.k.a. Guinea Pig #2

2008-06-24T00:03:00.003-05:00

Ok, so when you enter the world of small pets you have be always steeled for the worst. In our case poor Pokey only made it a week. She seemed to have come with some sort of respiratory condition. So, we now have "Dottie". Dottie is currently running at full speed around her cage so she seems to be in good condition (right now anyway ;-). We have had Dottie now a week and a half and she is funny, squeaky and cute. So here are her pictures! E is doing good keeping her fed, watered and petted!

Ice From the Sky

2008-06-18T16:56:00.006-05:00

As if our life this week wasn't nutty enough running R & E around going to Bible School and to swimming lessons, we had a rip-roaring hail storm last night! Tom and I got the girls in bed and decided to stay up late and watch Fool's Gold on our pay-per-view. It was entertaining, but so very silly! ;-)
Anywho, right after it was over, we were checking doors and turning off computer etc., we checked the radar and hail was headed our way! So, our later night turned into a late late night! We moved the girls to our bed away from windows and such. We started with pea sized hail and ended up with tons of large marble sized and golf ball size and eventually some tennis ball sized! I made matters more dramatic in the midst of everything by knocking over the ironing board and making a tremendous crash, we were just sure things were coming through the roof!

Our yard looks like a war zone, Sallie dutifully brought me 2 dead birds to the back door this morning, and I think we are the only people on our street who haven't cleaned up the mess yet! Lazy bums that we are! So, here are the pictures, these Tom picked up after they had been rained on for about 10minutes -- mind you, it isn't wise to run out there while this stuff is still falling..... ;-)
Oh, please excuse the state of my tennis ball for "scale" when you have a golden retriever, your tennis balls look like this!

Oh, and I had to include this last one, you can really see the layers, isn't God cool!?!?

Pokey and Holly

2008-06-09T16:31:00.003-05:00

I found the camera!!! It was in plain sight as usual....

The girls were so funny today, we went to Target and as we are walking in R commented that she was wondering what Pokey and Holly were doing while we were gone. She said she figured Pokey was probably napping in her house and so forth. E listened a minute and then said, "Quit worrying about my guinea pig, I am sure she is just fine!" She sounded so much like Tom it was hilarious!

Here are some pics of our new family members:

This is Holly.

Sorry the picture isn't great, parakeets are not the easiest thing in the world to photograph! ;-)

This is Pokey.

As Time Goes By....

2008-06-08T20:56:00.002-05:00

I would apologize for not blogging lately, but nobody else that I know seems to be updating their blogs either.....

We had a great, but all too short visit from Mom and Dad this weekend, it was fun and relaxed. They brought "Hobbes the Poodle" with them and he behaved like a model house guest he is welcome back, next time he can bring "Emmy Lou the bird dog". ;-)

Per R and E's fabulous performance on their chore list Mom and Dad's birthday gifts were a parakeet and guinea pig respectively. So we now have Holly (or affectionately known as Mr. Holly to everyone except R) and Pokey. I will post pictures as soon as I find the camera, it is MIA! I had an interesting conversation with R after she was informed that "Holly" is a boy. She insisted that it was a girl because she wanted it to be a girl. Nope. It doesn't work that way, that's God's department. She frumped, but is slowly coming around. He is a cool green and yellow color, a color very difficult to find on a girl parakeet! I just don't know when R will realize the world can't be changed just because she isn't happy....

Things around here are hot and dry. I have just about finished redoing my study, I will also post pics of that soon too. I am thrilled to have an organized place to pay bills (and blog). ;-)

Hope everyone is having a fun beginning to summer, we start Bible school and swim lessons next week and celebrate E's 4th birthday Saturday! Fun stuff!

I guess my nap is over.....

2008-05-20T16:36:00.003-05:00

Ok, I somehow managed to fall asleep this afternoon, it was wonderful and badly needed but I was rudely awakened by my oldest child banging her feet on the wall. She is supposed to be quietly napping too. Sigh. So, now I am awake.

Let's see, we did do other things in the past weeks than just find a hound a home! Tom and I attended the Home School Book fair last week. It was fantastic to get our feet wet in the homeschool scene. There were a ton of curriculum publishers there and some other book publishers. I bought some books from Vision Forum that I have been eyeing for some time. One is called Home Making, then there is Raising Maidens of Virtue and Passionate Housewives Desperate for God.
We also bought Clay & Sally Clarkson's Educating to WholeHearted Child, which I am hoping will also be good and helpful. I liked Sally's books The Ministry of Motherhood and The Mission of Motherhood, I highly recommend them. They were helpful to me in remembering in the tough moments why I do what I do (like when they wake you up from a nap ;-).

I am just now getting started on Home Making I'll have to let you know how it is. So far it is really good and very thought provoking on the importance of making a Godly home and family life. The first chapter about marriage has been worth the book! I have been convicted lately on the importance of making home a place of peace and working together for that goal. I have been pretty tense lately trying to get everything and everyone taken care of! But we have known 2 different families in the last couple of months that broke up. It is sobering to us and a reminder to work at making home strong in God. He is the only thing that holds it all together! Before I start thinking there are ways to make our marriage stronger or to make our home peaceful or any of these things I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 3:5. It has to be God that makes all things peaceful and harmonious!

So, now I am really awake, I think I'll go thaw some turkey burger for spaghetti! Yum!

2008-05-13T17:02:00.002-05:00

Ok, I jinxed myself by saying I had a lady that helps me clean, she called this afternoon and quit! So, I'll be catching up with the cleaning tomorrow!!!

Sigh, so close to sanity, yet so far away....

A Dull Ache....

2008-05-13T14:05:00.003-05:00

Have you ever made a decision that you knew was best for all parties involved, but it wasn't easy at all? Well, I had to make one yesterday. After much prayer and debate we decided to pursue looking for a new home for General Lee. After a nasty bout of postpartum depression this last fall and winter, being completely overwhelmed as a mother of 3, not to mention a busier husband, gas prices making the budget tight, a bigger house etc, etc. It became clear that I am thoroughly overwhelmed with all there is to do. I have had to start looking for ways to make things easier and smoother. And ways to keep me from being so edgy all of the time!

I now have a lady that comes and helps me clean the house (there is something to all that dust that blows out here), I am trying to get us a workable schedule and 82 lb. Lee took a lot of my time caring for his needs and cleaning up his messes.

This being said, I love him dearly, and wanted to find the best home possible and we love the gal that took him! He gets to live on a farm, be her constant companion and stay in the house! He will love it! He will get better treatment than I was able to give him!

So, no more pictures of Lee's antics. Sallie is an only dog now. I prayed for a good home that I would feel comfortable sending him to, and I thank God that is what I found!

Hope your weeks are going good! I will get those tree pictures posted soon!

Everyday Dramas...

2008-05-05T16:32:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I am a much better blog reader than blogger! There hasn't been much going on around here, at least not to me, but I always enjoy reading my friends blogs about their normal everydays.

Let's see, after way too much research and debate we finally planted a tree in our front yard. We chose a bur oak, which is said to grow well in our soil, take a long time to grow, but live a long time too! It was a total compromise as I wanted an oak, and Tom wanted a mulberry. These oaks are actually native to Mississippi (mesquite is all that is native to here), and Tom thinks they're cool. It was amusing to be out planting our budget tree, I am holding it and Tom filling the hole with dirt literally while our neighbor was having a tree planted in his front yard that required a huge truck with a pulley!

We are going to have to replace our mulberry in the front since it is about to split down the middle. Tom is slowly eliminating limbs -- and, as everyone knows, we can't live in a house without cutting down trees! Maybe Neil and Doug will come our for the tree cutting! ;-)

We also bought a globe willow for the back which is waiting to be planted. I still don't know how we didn't get that done this weekend, but it didn't happen.

The girls are thoroughly enjoying our backyard! They love playing in our sandy soil and digging in the holes the dogs dug, who needs a sandbox? We had some high drama the other day when Sallie, the golden retriever caught a baby bird. I was in the kitchen with the window open, and I heard R screaming at Sallie, "GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!!!". I looked out and saw Sallie laying flat on her back with the girls on top of her trying to pry her mouth open! Unfortunately, the birdy didn't make it (or mercifully, depending on how you look at it). While I was tying the dog up R tried to bury the bird in a dog hole and E just kept mournfully saying, "Now the Mommy and Daddy bird will be lonely." It was a gut wrenching, lesson in life (and in what dogs are really like).

Have a blessed week!

A Great Weekend!

2008-04-20T12:26:00.001-05:00

After weeks of trying the garage sale finally happened!!! I was going to take more pictures but the camera battery konked out right after I took this one! It was great, we made enough money to get a filing cabinet, so I can finally organize my study, and it was a beautiful weekend!

Oh, and an update on the "Wilderness" this is the view that greeted me this morning out of my bedroom window! We have made some progress! I have a pair of robins who are keeping the earthworm population in check. I am calling them Eleanor and Edward. They are so bold they came and hunted while Tom and I sat out there yesterday evening!

Here is the mystery flower that finally bloomed, it looks like an amaryllis although I will be doing more research to be sure......

Ah! And this beautiful bearded iris, is representing the 3 beautiful blooms I have right now! I also have a bunch of barely yellow dutch iris too! It is great to inherit mystery plants!

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Maybe, Just Maybe....

2008-04-12T19:57:00.002-05:00

I think we are feeling better.... Tom finally succumbed on Thursday to what I am now calling the flu. It is the only explanation I can come up with for it taking so long to get better and making us all feel awful. We did get flu shots, months ago, maybe it helped make it a lighter case. Who knows.

So, I forayed into the hour drive it takes to get to the grocery store today. And I bought plants for the yard. Yes, we have two grocery stores in town, but after finding untold amounts of expired food and this week I found an earwig in our bread --eeewww-- I prefer to drive an hour to a more, um, acceptable, store.

So, if I have not answered emails, not made sense on the phone, or coughed in your ear in the last 2 weeks, I apologize. Please pray we don't have another round, I am dying for "normal" life!!!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Requiem for a Garage Sale

2008-04-03T20:10:00.002-05:00

Too sick, to sell;
Too tired, to care.
It would have been fun, to watch the plunder.
To have a little cash to go out to dine,
But, alas, tonight I sing bass,
And pay tribute to another April day.
After a time has passed we will try again,
This time they will come and buy and sell.
But tonight it's TV and Benadryl.....

Cough, cough, sneeze, cough

2008-04-02T14:19:00.002-05:00

In case you didn't figure it out already, we are down with the crud, the cold the whatever....

But, I am still planning to have that garage sale, I am hoping to feel good enough to thoroughly Spring clean next week too (the girls will be thrilled). So I just thought I would send the word out! Congratulations to D., H. & R. on their new baby girl/sister. I wish I was close enough to hold her!!!

Oh, and by the way, I am losing the tournament big time, the Irish failed me this year (the luck that is, not Notre Dame). So, I guess maybe I should pay more attention this next year! ;-) Oh, and be happy for Tom's win -- Nah, I think he is happy enough for both of us! ;-}

Ok, I am off to take more dissolvable vitamins and start pricing junk!

"...a prettyish kind of little wilderness..."

2008-03-24T19:38:00.002-05:00

I have this little corner of the yard that I have high hopes for. It is an old flower garden that has fallen into neglect. There are tons of mystery bulbs coming up this year and I am in the process of learning what they are and how to care for them. I can't wait for things to grow and bloom so I can bring my coffee out here in the mornings and sip coffee and look at the plants. I love flowers and gardening. I desperately miss a few plants I had in my old yard. I hope they are doing well!

So here are the before pics. All I have done is started the clean-up efforts:

See my cosy spot to sit and reflect?
Here are some of the bulbs, I know I have iris, cannas, and maybe some hollyhocks....
I am going to reset the stepping stones and my wonderful hubby put up that wooden picket fence for me to keep the dogs out -- They're thrilled.

Yawn.....

2008-03-19T07:01:00.002-05:00

Ok, it's 7am. I have decided if Tom and I both get up early maybe we will both go to bed at a decent hour at night. This time change has messed us up royally! First of all, it is still light outside at 8:00 when we put the kids to bed, and then we talk, internet, mess with our basketball brackets, and watch mindless television until way too late. So, here I am in the pitch dark (well, outside it's pitch dark) at 7am. Yawn.

I have been going through the rest of the boxes and making a massive garage sale pile. The house is so messy right now with all of the boxes but the girls have a "hotel" made of empty wardrobe boxes that Tom taped together with strategically placed windows doors and rooms. It is so cool I wish I could play in it, and I almost had to cut Tom out of it!!! ;-) So if the wind doesn't blow, and it doesn't rain (rain? what's that?). We are having a massive post-moving sale the first weekend in April. Good-bye junk. Hello cash. I'll try to remember to photograph the carnage to show you.

March madness always adds pizazz around here. When we first married, we decided not to have television for our first year of marriage. We married in November. In March, Tom decided to hook our TV up to a random cord from our attic, hooked up an antennae and watched basketball for a month! Interesting. After that every year in March he would be glued to the tv watching basketball.....hmmmm. So, I decided I could gripe. I could fuss. Or, I could... start loving it too! So, every year we pick a bracket to pit against one another. Tom picks his based upon actual basketball knowledge, and I pick mine with the good ole luck 'o the Irish. Sometimes he wins, sometimes I win, but it is great fun! And, it's the only time of the year I actually try to navigate ESPN's website, I think it must be made by men! :-]

Off to sort through more junk!

I've Been Tagged!

2008-03-10T22:53:00.002-05:00

Robin tagged me, so here goes! ;-)

If I were a shoe, I'd be a little sandal with toe marks.
If I were a city, I'd be Dallas.
If I were a season, I'd be Spring.
If I were a car, I’d be a pick-up with a dog crate in the back.
If I were a vegetable, I’d be broccoli.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a sweet red strawberry.
If I were a color, I’d be olive green.
If I were furniture, I’d be a comfy couch.
If I were a country, I’d be USA.
If I were a beverage, I'd be Coca-cola.
If I were clothing, I'd be Jeans.
If I were weather, I'd be hot and sunny.
If I were a dessert, I’d be chocolate ice cream.
If I were a plant, I’d be a daisy.

I know, I know....

2008-03-10T22:45:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's been, like, forever, since I posted. I honestly didn't intend to take my last post so literally in the blog sense! ;-) In my defense, Tom refers to February as "the month of sickness" starting with me getting a whopping case of food poisoning and ending with the baby cutting two teeth, getting a cold and getting shots all in a 5 day period! With lots of yuck in between. Let me just say, taking your husband to the doctor praying the entire way that it isn't pneumonia (praise God it wasn't) is incredibly stressful.

We also made a sobering impromptu trip to Tennessee to pay a final good-bye to Tom's wonderful Granddaddy. He passed away last weekend and will be greatly missed. It was snowing here when we left and all but snowing there when we headed home. Weird for a Southern March, but hey, snow is cool no matter when! (If only we could have snow, but it be warm too....)

So, we are still around. And I will hopefully be a better blogger!

Rest.

2008-02-08T19:49:00.000-06:00

On a tip from my Mom who was driving all day yesterday upon leaving our house, I listened to Insight for Living (Chuck Swindoll). The sermon for yesterday was very helpful for me at this time. I must admit that the cares of life have about pulled me under. Call it postpartum depression, call it too many new things at once, or call it sheer spiritual low point I have become obsessed with things. Things like keeping the house absolutely perfect, freaking out about not being the perfect mother, etc., etc. This has led to me finding it very difficult to find the good purpose in anything. So, back to the sermon.

It was based upon Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." This verse is so comforting in itself, and the point that stuck out to me in the sermon was that we think rest is going on a relaxing vacation, or snoozing through Sunday afternoon football, when Jesus is telling us here that true rest comes from Him alone. All the sleep in the world won't help, but that if we come to Him with our troubles He will take them and give us true rest. I also read the entire passage and was struck by the verses above it: "At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father for this was Your good pleasure." (Matt. 11:25-26) This just reminded me how God views earthly accomplishments. All these things that I deem so important ~ important enough to ruin my days and time with my family over ~ are of no importance, faith like a little child, simple and unassuming is what brings Him pleasure. So, I am going to try to let Jesus take my burdens. Remember I am as a little child, and to keep the things of this world in perspective. To do my work for Him and remember what is truly important, to enjoy resting in Him...

A little giggle...

2008-02-01T11:18:00.000-06:00

I just plunked my weary self into this chair to, well, I don't know what I was going to do, but I somehow wound up reading Yahoo news. Click this link and read just the first sentence of this article. It cracked me up! ;-) Dr. Dobson has been telling us about strong-willed children for years. And from personal experience I will tell you they are a handful! But, I thought the article throwing their hands in the air was funny. You don't have to bother with the rest of the article if you don't want to, it was just the world trying to deal, yet again, with a spiritual/God needing issue with money and programs....

Have a great day! I am off to continue raising my kids with no help from Big Brother! Yeah!!!!

This is for you, Bonnie....

2008-01-22T19:35:00.000-06:00

Just so my poor sister won't have a boring morning, I am posting a new blog post. I haven't felt especially bloggy lately. Maybe it is the ever-present piles of laundry. Maybe I have been too obsessed with watching weatherunderground change the entire week's forecast based on the current outside temperature (note: today's high this morning was supposed to be 48. When it only reached 34 out there they said tomorrow would only be 55 and that we now have a 50% chance of snow Thursday.) Exciting.

I did make soup, bake bread and make baby food, did 3 loads of laundry and let the dog out, let the dog in, let the other dog out, went out into the cold and drug the dog back in so the other dog could go out feel the cold and howl at the back door until I let him back in.

At least the baby food made for great dinner entertainment, Tom was cracking up at the gagging motions the baby made upon trying the said baby food...sigh...I try.

Weell, that's it. I guess I'll keep thinking about interesting life notes. If the baby ever gets a tooth in that will be blogworthy!!!! We are on our 3rd month of teething.

Have a great morning Bon. I gotta go let the dog out....

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

2008-01-19T21:50:00.000-06:00

Check this out! I just found out about this from one of the other blogs I read. We live way out in the middle of nowhere so I figure many have heard about this movie, but if you haven't check out this trailer!!!

Getting bigger and bigger!

2008-01-19T20:19:00.000-06:00

Thought I would post a picture of our "little pup" we acquired this October. Since he weighed about 31 pounds when we got him at a mere 3 months old, he is now six months old and weighs 62 pounds! Double the dog and he isn't finished growing yet!!! ....I must point out it took far more than 30 pounds of food to get him here though ;-}

A Pause....

2008-01-02T20:29:00.000-06:00

Just a pause to reflect...Why do they call it fast food if they make you pull forward and wait? When we were on our Christmas trip East, we pulled up to a Dairy Queen and the conversation went something like this:
Tom, "...and one fried chicken basket." Speaker dealy, "Fried chicken basket?" Tom, "Uh-huh." Speaker dealy, "It will be about 10 minutes on the gravy...." Tom, turns to me, "We don't need gravy do we?" I gave him an emphatic, "No!" Tom (to speaker dealy) "NO GRAVY!!!" Speaker Dealy, "No Gravy?" Tom, "No, just the chicken." So we drive up to the window, paid, they give us drinks and no food and tell us to pull forward. Ok.... We notice several other cars are waiting. Eventually an employee comes out brandishing a massive Blizzard at our window, we shake our heads, not ours. 10 minutes later they bring us our entire meal, including a chicken basket with gravy so hot it would scald you! ;-)

And then tonight Mickey D's did the same trick. Made me pull forward to wait -- I still don't know what for -- nothing I ordered was hot! So, my question is, why call it fast food? Why don't you actually listen to the customers? And why would anyone wait 10 minutes for hot powdered gravy?

I'll just send these answerless questions out into the void....

FOOD!!!

2007-12-19T08:55:00.001-06:00

Ok, it's the holidays, and my old love for cooking is back! I was throwing up my toenails in the early stages of pregnancy last year so cooking was the last thing on my mind! :-} On a funny note, I made peppermint bark last year for gifts and was so nauseous that it didn't sound good, look good or taste good to me. Those that had it said that it was really good. I didn't believe them. I made some for this year last weekend. Then I tasted it. It was wonderful! Melted in your mouth and didn't taste anything like what I remembered! Wow! I must have been really out of commission for chocolate to taste bad! (Please note, I mean no bragging about my peppermint bark, all it requires is melting almond bark and chocolate chips, and hardening it again. Not difficult or bragworthy ~ just tasty! ;-)

So I love this website for cooking. Her beans and rice are just like mine, and I am dying to try her olive cheese loaf! It's kinda fun to look at the pictures of her cooking stages, makes it kinda like a cheaper version of the FOOD network!

On another note, things around here are gearing up for Christmas. Just about finished wrapping presents. I think we have finally finished all of our shopping. And I think this is the first year we don't have to collect a couple more gifts when we get to our destination! Progress!

Everyone around here is growing (hmmm... maybe I should eat less peppermint bark). I finally found a pediatrician. The baby is a mere 13.8 lbs. tiny in our terms, but doing fine (she is in the 25th percentile in weight and the 95th in height). I almost laughed when I saw her growth chart. I personally think it is funny that doctors put one tiny point on a graph and make a guess at how tall and big your kid will be in 18 years!!! ;-)

The puppy, however, is 56 lbs.!!! This means he has gained approximately 2.5 lbs a week since we got him! I hope he slows down, at that rate he will weigh 131 lbs at a year! ;-) I'm kidding ~ it is highly unlikely he will get that big! I think his momma weighs around 80 lbs.

Have a Merry Christmas!!!!

I got nuthin'...

2007-12-07T15:34:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I realize it has been over a week since I posted. But there isn't anything happening. I took the baby to get her shots yesterday only to wait over an hour for them to tell me that the girl who gives shots was not there. So, I am now looking for a pediatrician, probably in a bigger town, enough with the small town Docs.

Um, it's about 78 degrees outside right now -- they gave us another chance for snow Tuesday night, so the girls and I played out and raked leaves this morning. I am convinced our neighbors are appalled at the state of our yard. We seem to have no time to work out there lately!

Yep, nuthin. I'll have to get back to you! ;-)

8 Things you probably don't know about me.....

2007-11-28T09:36:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Robin, I have been tagged ;-). I am not near as exciting as she is, but thanks to her I now have "Friends are Friends Forever" stuck in my head, actually I think it was more like "Foreva", if I remember correctly! ;-) Ok, so here it goes.....

1. I will spend hours on the internet reading sites about dogs.

2. I hate the way babies look in bibs, to the point I would rather clean spit-up clothes than put a bib on her. (this drives Tom crazy, by the way)

3. I love the mountains, would move there in a heartbeat, but have no desire to ski!

4. I love Oreos and milk so much I have actually eaten myself sick on them. Recently. ;-)

5. My own husband never reads my blog! (maybe he will now, haha)

6. Um, um, let me look at Robin's again and see if it sparks any thoughts.......

7. I won rabbit showmanship 2 years in a row in 4-H in high school (if that wasn't bad enough, the prize was a massive gold and silver belt buckle that I actually wore...often -- and I still like it, although I don't wear it).

8. I don't like artificially flavored peach, or grape. I love cherry flavoring!

Ok, I made it to 8! Well, OK I fudged on 6, but I am completely blank, and you want this to be over too I am sure!

Tag: Bonnie, Elisabeth & Allison

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Dreaming of a White.........Thanksgiving?

2007-11-23T10:31:00.000-06:00

The above photo is of our backyard at 7:30am Thanksgiving morning! The below photo is of our backyard at about 3:30 pm!!! We got about 6-8 inches of snow! It literally snowed all day, and it has snowed a little today, amazing! I think the last time I saw snow like this at my home was when I was about 6! Wow! The girls were amazed and loved playing in it! They also love having the dogs in the house! Ahh! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-19T08:48:00.000-06:00

Ok, the only problem with having a blog is that it means you think your life is exciting enough to post something new every so often. Well, mine isn't. I could go on and on about cooking, cleaning, laundry, diapers and the dog digging up the water pipe. But, I am not even that interested in all that, let alone my friends and family! ;-)

Anyways, we will be here at home for Thanksgiving this year. I am going to be attempting to cook the meal! I am excited to get to try with no pressure. Maybe someday we can host! The girls are excited and say they are going to help!

Tom's busy season should slow down soon (or at least that is what the rumor is...), so maybe we will make it to Christmas! That was our short-term goal, just survive until Christmas!

Congrats to Dad on his Big Buck this week! 9 points with 3 kickers/ringers (if you don't know what that means -- essentially 12 points to those of us who don't hunt :). All that sitting up in a tree paid off big! ;-)

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!!

Thanks for the good times!!!!!!

2007-11-09T07:37:00.000-06:00

Ok, I am tired today.
After a fun-filled week of visiting family and going to "The Big City" I'm tired. But, we had a great time! Christmas shopping is well under way, I have had my fix of Starbucks and real restaurants (and Mom's French toast). By the way, if you want the best French toast in the world, go to my Mom's house -- I am totally biased, but if you have it, you'll know, it is the best ever made! It's worth driving 8+ hours in a car with 3 kids 4 and under to get! ;-)

AND we saw trees! Ahhh.... It's nice every once in a while to see trees and hills!

Thanks B for letting us hang in your adorable apartment! And, for the movies we pilfered. ;-) It was great -- the girls loved the "Belle" movie I think we might rent that tonight! Uncle Scott & Aunt B are the coolest thing since sliced bread!

So, I am off to unpack, drink more coffee and be as quiet as possible so everyone will keep sleeping until I am ready to face today!!!!!

Happy Reformation Day!

2007-10-31T09:21:00.000-05:00

It's a beautiful day! I am here to challenge you today to do a little church history brush up! Today, October 31st, commemorates the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenburg Castle Church.

You can start here with the basic overview of the Protestant Reformation and then head here and read Martin Luther's 95 theses for yourself. If you consider yourself Protestant you need to know where your beliefs came from, if you are Catholic you need to understand your church's history too! My challenge today is, look it up and read for yourself! Choose your beliefs based in God and the Bible -- not on just what someone told you!

Hey! You might even decide to dress up like a monk today! ;-)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

In Case Your Having a Bad Day....

2007-10-18T14:26:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of our garage door today. Drink fell over when I stopped in the driveway. Took my foot off the brake -- must have thought it was in park, who knows. I was too busy making sure the drink didn't spill all over the van floor, when I heard, my oldest darling holler, "MOM, your hitting the garage!". Nice. It was a character building experience, and now it seems rather funny. The van is totally fine, Tom said the bugs all over the front of it kept it from scratching! Just thought I would share the real story of our lives!
Oh, and did I mention we just had this garage door put in a little over a month ago? ;-)

"General Lee"

2007-10-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our great friends in Mississippi, we now have a new family member! His name is General Lee and we call him Lee. Our other dog Sallie is elated to have a playmate once again since we lost Belle last winter. He is being a great puppy and living up to the lazy hound dog reputation -- except during his photo shoot this morning! ;-)

Attention Moms...

2007-10-16T08:41:00.001-05:00

I just found an interesting website for Moms of small kids. I found this out of a magazine and they say starting today they will have drawings for toys for Christmas gifts. All this may do is put you on every mailing list in the country, or it may actually get you a cool toy for free, who knows. I thought I would pass it along and you can decide for yourself! The site has some cool stuff on it anyway! ;-)

http://www.goodyblog.com/

Have fun! I will be posting pictures of our newest family member soon!

From the mouths of...oldest children.

2007-10-09T14:27:00.000-05:00

So we are sitting at supper last night and Tom is trying to teach the girls some basic math. He was using cookies ~ always an attention getter. Our oldest was working the if-I-yell-louder-then-it-must-be-right theory, and was doing pretty well. 2+2=4, 3+1=4, etc. Tom finally asked what does 1+1=? So, my mind starts wandering (it often does when math is involved) about how 1+1 in life equals 3. And how sweet the kids are and so forth when she yells, "1+1= "I". Hmmm....how true.

Laundry

2007-10-05T11:28:00.000-05:00

Wow! The move and subsequent birth of Mo has brought on an onslaught of laundry! And I haven't even started using cloth diapers yet! It seems Daddy's new job working outside, playing outside with Sallie, potty training, babyhood, and hard work, makes for tons of laundry! I think I have done 10 loads in the last 2 1/2 days! Ahhh!

So, the blog has to wait. Until I can get a handle on things! I only have approximately 2 more loads to do.... Then I can get to the housecleaning! Sigh....

Video

2007-10-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

I found this in a round-about way via the internet. I thought it was cute and touching! My disclaimer, however, is I have a very touchy relationship with YouTube as every time one of their videos is recommended, I cringe hoping that it will be appropriate for watching! Eeek! This one is great! All of you Moms and Dads will appreciate his predicament!
Enjoy!

Pachelbel Bedtime

2007-10-03T09:07:00.001-05:00

This is a test....

2007-09-26T13:01:00.000-05:00

This is a test, just to see if this blog is working....Further information to follow!