Kids..... ain't they sweet!

Happy Holidays!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The season is upon us ALREADY!

This past year has totally flown by.

My baby has completed basic and AIT and is now preparing to go to Iraq. He also went got himself engaged to a lovely young lady. He is grown up and moving on with life.

My middle son is at the end of education journey (for now) and will be getting his graduate degree. He is wanting to join the Peace Corps.

My daughter and eldest, mother of my 2 granddaughters, has moved up through the corporate ladder and now manages her own store.

I am very proud of my children. They are the greatest blessing of my life.

We have gone through some trials with my mom's health. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring and had surgery in August. She has had a particularly difficult time with the chemo this fall. (She was hospitalized twice.) And she will have to undergo a second surgery and radiation in January. It has been difficult to be so far from her. We talk on a daily basis. I guess I will have to be satisfied with that.

The homestead has gone through some evolution. Chickens were added. The were so fun to watch grow up. Now they are laying eggs. I have enough egg lovers at work to take care of the excess. The aquaponics system is up and running. We have harvested lettuce and spinach. We have onions and cilantro growing in there now. We have experimented with some ground cover crops. The clover, millet and sorghum grew and the chickens loved the extra addition to their diet. We had an excellent garlic harvest. The sweet potatoes are fantastic. The corn and tomatoes had a rough time this year. Strawberries and collard were fantastic. I was so glad to put up lots of jam. The bread machine we added is fantastic. We make all our breads. Next year we are looking to purchase our own land and add some pigs and possibly a cow to the menagerie. We enjoy growing and eating our own food.

I changed jobs and am in a much better position. I ditched the glasses and got contacts. My sweetie would like contacts for Christmas. So another vanity convert! We were able to spend more time than usual with the kids this year. I do love having them around. I meet a lovely woman this summer. It was like we had known each other forever. It is great to have a best friend. She did move away, onto a better place for her. I am glad that I was able to play a part in helping her reach her goals. We are still in daily contact.

I visit my internet friends on a weekly basis. I just seemed to run out of time. I enjoy reading your blogs and miss stopping by on a daily basis. To some of my special friends, John at Potpolotics.com, Barb at A Cowboy's Wife, Robbyn at The Back Forty, Lacy at Razor Family Farms (who has her family now! YIPPY!) Julie at Julie's Journal, Breezie at Forum Finder, Mel at SlogBite.com..... Just to mention a very, very small part of you. Thank you all for your continued support and friendship.

To Everyone Everywhere...
Have safe and joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year!

Stumble It!

Have you done something good today?

Here is a project for all you kind hearted people out there. Not a lot of time involve. Not a lot of money. Just a lot of love.

Shelly at This Eclectic Life has challenge (my word not hers) to help out the children attending Camp Sanguinity next summer. These are are children being treated for cancer and blood disorders and siblings of children being treated for cancer and blood disorders.

Where did I hear of this? From my good friend W.O.W at A Cowboy's Wife. She always finds good stuff.

This project involves making "medicine bags" and finding "lucky charms". If you are interested in helping out in this project visit Shelly HERE. And make a child's day brighter and happier. I am.

Stumble It!

Remember when?

.... you were small and you got your first grown up doll.

A Barbie. I do. I remember sitting and playing forever with my Barbies. I remember getting desperately upset when a shoe or a hat or piece of clothing went missing. I remember begging to sew new clothes for my Barbie. I remember my uncle building me a special "closet" with sliding doors for my Barbies and their friends and all their stuff! I remember going to my cousins house and her Barbie had a convertible! I remember getting older and becoming more interested in friends and boys and clothes and makeup. I remember that old closet being covered by a scarf and becoming my night table. I remember my Barbies and things being boxed up and taken to the storage unit. I remember many years later wondering what happened to them.

Meet 1959 Barbie. We were made in the same year! (above)


Now meet Barbie 49 years later!

I do believe she has evolved and grown and changed over the nearly 5 decades of existence. She and I have definitely developed a few wrinkles and a few grey hairs!



Why worry about Barbie today? What is so special about Barbie?



Nothing, no reason. Barbie is just one of many memories over the past 49 years. Today is a day of remembering and reflecting on these past 49 years. Today is my birthday!

Other things I remember ...

learning how to cook by my grandmother's side
going to "help" Daddy on Saturday at the dairy
picking strawberries all summer to earn the money for a swing set
learning to ride a bike
Christmas with aunts and uncle and cousins and grandparents
summers doing rain dances
climbing grandpa's tree
picking wild mushrooms at the farm
hunting squirrels
building snow men
sitting by my mom in church




having my babies
visiting other countries
teaching my daughter to ride a bike
being my son's cub scout leader
watching my son charm adults as youngster
seeing my children grow and develop into wonderful adults




seeing my grandchildren come into the world
watching my mother grow old
meeting my soul mate, sweetie and bff
there are so many memories
nearly a half century of them
to many to name



To myself, today you have permission to remember and reflect!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISTINA!

Stumble It!

Army Boy Returns!

I was able to spend the weekend with my youngest son. It had been nearly four months....He completed Basic Training and his AIT and is glad to leave Fort Leonard Wood! He returned a little leaner, a little stronger, and a little more grown up. I am sooooo proud of him. His dad would be proud too. Kyle.... I love you to infinity and beyond!

Children and Coffee

Good Morning! Here I am (yes, with my cup of coffee), thinking about my kids. My 2nd child, oldest son, turned 25 this week. This has been somewhat tramatic for me. I now have 2 children over the quarter century mark. OH MY! I am feeling extremely aged. He is in grad school in Florida. I really missed being able to celebrate with him. My oldest, my baby girl, and her family are finally (I think and hope) going to move near me this summer. I am so excited (they have teased me with this idea before--this time seems different!) And then, my baby, my youngest son, is off to boot camp in Fort Leonard Wood, MO. I got in trouble for sending him contraband! He wrote and asked me to send chapstick. I did. I just added some KitKat bars..... big MISTAKE! I thought I was being a good mom! Oh, well. I guess the drill sargents enjoyed the candy. Time to go fill the coffee cup!

Bon Fires and Family

The holidays have come to an end. As always it is a bittersweet conclusion. My children have packed up and gone back to their lives.... being full time working parents --far away, being a full time grad student -- again far away, and off to basic training --so very far away. I tend to ponder (with my cup of coffee nearby) quite often about my children and grandchildren, about their lives and the choices they have made. I see my daughter trying to balance being a wife, mother and working professional and wish that I was closer so that I could ease that burden, but as I look from far away, I realize that I have given her the skills to successfully manage these roles. She is doing an admirable job. I see my son struggling to find his path in life, then I realize we all have to find our paths in our own time. He focuses on his studies, wants to make the world a better, greener, more sustainable place to live for all peoples. My baby, rudely thrust into manhood by his father's premature passing, trying to be like his dad, do what his dad did- make the world a safer place. Soldiers have a big burden, I am proud that my son is willing to take on this burden - for his family, his home, his country. So, I sit ( with that perpetual cup of coffee), and smile. I look forward to the gathering of my children and the Christmas Eve Bon Fires of the future.