Once Upon a Farm

The Purge of 2012

2012-01-03T09:49:00.001-06:00

This post is going to come across as such a 'downer'. But my truth is that each detail of this post has been evaluated, analyzed, nitpicked, and just when I was absolutely sure of how to proceed.... I would find another point to nit and pick, snicker.

Rarely do we have all the things we need or want, right? I have always wanted to live 'outside' the city. I love the perfect placement of our farm... the feeling of being in the country... but the reality of being just a few short minutes from any amenity or store we could need. But HANDS DOWN the single most challenging obstacle of moving to the farm has been the loss of high speed internet. YEP. Funny how we moved out here to get away from the hustle and bustle of neighborhoods, traffic, noise... but we still want those modern conveniences like internet and Marco's Pizza delivery, snicker. Can you believe that people that live over the river bridge in the most isolated places of the next county have high speed internet but yet we... technically still having a Huntsville zip code... DO NOT? The nearest high speed internet stops short of us by .9 miles. Are you laughing at me?! I used to be able to laugh at me too, but several things 'added' to my life/schedule have now caused me to plainly look at my current situation... and I can't squeeze out a laugh, not even a giggle.

This is what my daily life consists of right now. We homeschool using primarily an online program. 3 kids, doing different lessons involving at times learning videos/youtube, etc. One resolution to our internet problem has been to send the older two kids to Shawn's office some days after seminary to do their school. There are other ways to homeschool but our current program is working wonderfully for us as far as curriculum and lesson planning, etc... all but that darn internet speed.

The kids have been begging for facebook for years! Facebook would singlehandedly bring our internet capabilities to its knees... or better to say take it straight to the coffin.

I love to blog but it has become an absolute frustration. To do anything with photos is hours worth of work and waiting. I was able to do ONE blogbook as a journal but the last several years since then, our internet has not allowed me to do it, whimper.

I started my little antique business last year. I grin that I told myself if I lost money that I would stop. I have made a profit every month, yippee! But a big part of my success was blogging and an even larger part of my success was using Craigslist to advertise my items. I do not exaggerate in saying it can take over an hour just to list ONE item. My creative outlet has now become such a frustration that I have been brought to tears more than joy.

And the daily draining of our satellite internet has caused yet one more BIG issue. Due to my husband's career... he get calls during off hours from those that need him. In the evenings or weekends, the process of him needing to gain patient information, etc, in order to help them is greatly hindered by how much internet we (the rest of the family) have used that 24 hour period. Ugh!! Sometimes he has to go into his office just accomplish what is necessary to help his patients. Then to do the simplest things on the computer for his callings for church are such a frustration that it has become an overwhelming angst!

I guess I have typed all this simply for MY need to see it all in type. Things have got to be edited. Ironically, the things needing editing, once gave me such joy, but the process of deleting them has become so much easier due to them recently becoming anything but joyful. I can see these very things being added back over time if we were to ever be included in the realm of those people worthy of highspeed internet. But for now, it is time for me to deal with how things currently are!

So, for 2012, I will be closing my Antique Business. I feel strongly that doing something like this booth will 'reappear' sometime in my future... but for now I am at peace with the fact that it was a whole lot of work, work made more frustrating by our circumstances, and that there are many more things in our lives that deserve that time and effort.

And I will cease blogging too. Truth is I spend a whole lot of time with the laptop just trying to do the simplest post. Truth is that outside of homeschooling, I am the family member that uses the majority of our internet time. Not to mention the time I spent 'surfing' other blogs... and Pinterest is my other addiction. Hee-hee... what am I going to do with all my time now?!! It will be fun to refocus. Free up some much needed internet space for those more important things. The mood should be MUCH lighter in our home, and I sure welcome that improvement. I guess I wanted to move to no man's land but not have any consequences/sacrifices. It took several years of stubborness, but I still feel the benefits of our life out weigh the major drawback of lost conveniences. I am officially off to simplify, edit, and PURGE. This will be a good thing!

Highlights of our Christmas Week!

2011-12-26T10:50:00.007-06:00

I love Christmas Week. We get done with school for the rest of the year and have time for special projects. This year was our 2nd Annual Cousin Gift Swap. Each cousin draws the name of another cousin and then makes them a handmade gift to receive after our Christmas Dinner. This tradition was started by our sil Kim and it quickly become the thing I look forward to the most on Christmas.

So, earlier this week, our 3 kids were busy putting finishing touches on their gifts. Ty had Carden this year. Carden loves to cook and loves to hostess little parties with her friends. Ty wanted to make Carden an apron. A lofty project for a 9 year old boy who has never used a sewing machine, snicker. But he was sure that was what he wanted to make so he earned some money, we went to Hobby Lobby, he picked out the fabric, ribbon, and every detail needed included the color and size of the buttons. And a shocking fact for me to admit, he was amazing at having the patience and stubbornness to learn how to use a sewing machine. He only had one bad needle poke... at which time I not so gently yelled, "don't bleed on the apron!" He was not adoring his mom nor her lack of compassion at that moment ;[

We didn't use a pattern. We just used one of my dress forms, and a drawing Ty had made of how he wanted the end product to look. In the end, Ty was thrilled with the apron(s) and he was so excited for Carden to see.

I love this flower detail that Ty added. The button was the only thing that was handstitched on and after that he decided he was a sewing machine sewer only, snicker.

There was a small strip of the striped fabric and a tiny scrap of the polka dot fabric left over from the large apron. Since Ty spent his only money on the fabrics he wanted to use every little piece... funny how important things become when kids spend their own money on them. So we squeeeeezed out a little half apron out of the remaining fabrics. We thought Carden would enjoy this apron to wear while hostessing her little parties.

He added another flower embellishment on this apron too. This was the very button that the 'Massive Needle Poke of 2011' occured. OUCH! He was done, Done, DONE at this point. I am so proud of all his work for Carden's gift!

I didn't get pictures but... Savannah had Taylor for the gift swap. Taylor loves to dance. Savannah made her some ribbon rings, and jingle bell tamberines, and chachas to dance with. Savannah was sure to use all shades of purple and the more sparkles the BETTER! Christian had Bella for the gift swap. He made her a little fishing game. He even found a small plastic container that looked like a little tackle box, then made a fishing pole out of bamboo with a long cord and magnet. He copied little fish, lobsters, oysters, etc onto fun cardstock... laminated and added magnetic washers. It turned out really cute!

We also spent the week making some baked goodies for friends and neighbors. This was our gift to our neighbors... which we ADORE! They have 9 kiddos so there is always fun to be had next door! Living next to them constantly gives me fond memories of the blessing it was and is to have grown up with tons of siblings. SO, I found this book at Anthropology and flipped through it and thought it would be fun to create a gift 'basket' around...

We baked up 2 batches of two different recipes from the book... Oatmeal-Raisin and Chewy Chocolate Chip... and added them to the gift...

Together with the cookbook and cookies... I added 12 of the old Amish milk glasses I found recently, added some fun Christmas straws... tossed it all into an old Enamelware bowl. It made me smile, and I hope it made them smile too!

Ty made a card for his best friend next door, J. It really is a blessing when your children are blessed with good friends that live on the farm right next to yours. Wonderful!

While I was busy preparing food in preparation for Christmas dinner... Shawn was busy checking things off a 'honey do' list. I finished the buffet and he was cutting the baseboards so it would fit. Love this guy!!

And finally all the preparation was done and time was spent in just enjoying time together. A quick pic of Christmas Eve PJs.

Christmas morning brought tons of new legos for Ty, Cash (boring teenager wishlist) and clothes for Christian, and a new cell phone and clothes money for Savannah.

After presents we had Breakfast Burritos... YUM!! We were blessed enough to actually get to go to church on this Christmas Day and enjoyed sweet messages and gorgeous music. When we returned home, we had few hours of cooking and prep until the whole Family arrived for Dinner!

I went a little whimsical this year. I found these plates weeks ago at Party City and thought they would be fun! The centerpieces were from jars, silver, and candles collected from around the house. Berries, pinecones, and greenery from the farm... easy!

The 'littles' table is simply strewn with jingle bells and the kiddos kept wanting to know who the present was for... snicker... they found me quite cruel when I said it was empty and just for pretty's sake.

Everyone was able to make it for Dinner... even our newest little family addition, Grey. There were 36 of us all squeezed into our kitchen for a sit down dinner... Cozy at it BEST! Love this!

On the Menu:

Pork Roast

Ham and Swiss Sliders (huge hit)

Mashed Potatoes and Corn on the Cob

Cinnamon Apples and Deviled Eggs

Breads Galore

Pasta and Green Salads

After dinner... the actual HIGHLIGHT of the whole night... the cousin gift swap! We pack ourselves into the TV room. We pick a cousin to start and they give their gift to their cousin and it goes from there. Emma had Ty and made him this Tshirt. Ty is the classic 'LEGO HEAD'... the boy is a creative genius with these things, and please note that Emma put 'TYGER' on the sleeve in the Lego Brand Font too! So Brilliant! Noah made Savannah some beautiful earrings, hair pins, and necklaces... I shall be bumming some of them! And little Miss Ava made Christian a wooden Christmas Ornament, precious! Every gift was amazing... so perfectly suited for the cousin receiving the gift.

After the gift swap, we pile back into the kitchen/family room for dessert. I don't know how we find the room for more food but we do....

Cookies,

Creme Puffs with Mississippi Mud Fondue

Peanut Butter Pies

Peach Praline Pie

Pecan Pie

Red Velvet Cupcakes

and Turtle Pound Cake!

After dessert, we let the kiddos play, play, play. The rest of us just relax and d.i.g.e.s.t! I personally sat in the TV room and played with my little nieces as they danced with the ribbon rings. Lo and Behold, some time later as family started to leave and the house became quiet... I walk into the kitchen and my incredible groom has the entire kitchen cleaned, all 3 dishwashers loaded and hummin', counters wiped, trash taken out, etc. WHEW! In less than 15 more minutes, the kids and I had the tables undecorated, chairs and tables taken to garage, and the 5 of us gathered together in our bedroom for nightly prayer. Does it get any better than this? Truly? Nothing makes me happier than family. Nothing. Merry Christmas.

Our Family Room and Kitchen

2011-12-22T07:51:00.000-06:00

These rooms are usually the FIRST to get decorated, but this year I have been taking my sweet time, grin. I've enjoyed clipping fresh greenery from outside... pine, cedar, and junipers. I also have discovered a wealth of winter berries that have made it into many containers.

I don't have a real game plan for decorating for our HUGE Christmas dinner, except that I plan on doing it FREE... Mother Nature provided. I hope to get photos of Dinner prep if I have time.

For now, here are a few pics of the 'main' rooms in out house. I'll say now... sorry for so many crooked photos, snicker.

I painted a new silhouette this year. This time of a little girl. Really pleased with her.

Have I shown this blue door yet? I got it in Destin at the end of the summer. It is the perfect shade of greyblue. In fact I am working on a raggamuffin old buffet that I hope to finish by Christmas dinner for added serving space, and I had it color matched to a paint chip from this door... I think it will be a pretty close match. Hope.

I had to take this photo at night because of the glare I kept getting during the day. Every year thus far I have hung these vine wreaths in all the windows at the back of the house. I brought in these clipping and put them in my copper watering can. I smile everytime I look at it. Looks a tad wild and out of control, snicker.

I finished this large dresser end of summer for this space. It had mismatched drawers and its veneer is in bad shape, but imperfection is what I am drawn too, thankfully. I did several layers of a dark umber/charcoal glaze and now all the finishes match. I have a broken piece of hardware, sigh, that I am still trying to remedy, but I love the top porcelain knobs. I love the height of this dresser and the storage in this, the most cluttered room of the house, is phenomenal!

I've been told these berries are Ilex branches. Can anyone confirm that? I found what looks like an oversized bush outside one of the pasture gates and it is covered in these berries... Great Find after living here all these years!

That concludes my decorations 'tour'. I hope to capture some photos of Christmas Dinner and the set up for that... tons of fun! But if I don't make it back on the blog by then... I hope everyone has an incredible Holiday!!!

Missi

2011-12-12T14:57:00.000-06:00

Every morning... between the hours of 8-10... this is where you can find our gal. Her and Missi are forming quite a relationship. Because Missi is so young and had never been ridden before, we had her professionally trained and since we got her back on the farm Savannah is on her every day. So thankful Savannah could see this dream of hers come true!

We own Missi's mom, Bre, too, but due to special circumstances she is not safe to ride. But every morning she stands at the fence and watches Savannah and Missi... Maybe her nickname should be 'ole mother hen'. Bre is the prettiest horse I have ever seen. Love everything about her. She is a very gentle and mild horse and serves as our most gorgeous lawn mower and lawn ornament ;)

Our cowgirl and her horse

Our Christmas Hub

2011-12-10T17:32:00.000-06:00

The classroom is a very central part to our Christmas. It is where we have our main tree... our jiblet tree as I call it, because it has every little ornament as a family we have made or collected along our way. Here is where we gather on Christmas Eve to read about our Savior's Birth, open Christmas PJs, and gather on Christmas morning to do stockings and open presents... always with a fire burning in the fireplace. I had big dreams for this room, even before it was built. It has delivered!

I have no budget for additional decorations this year, so I worked with what I already had to do this room. A wreath, log, pine branches and mercury glass... DONE!

I made these antique sheet music wreaths for my business. I loved them so much I kept one aside for me! I hung it directly over a barn print that is always on this mantle.

I found this little radio flyer trike at an estate sale months ago. I love to collect old toys like this and the little skis on the porch.

And the 3 stuffed animals that our children each had when they were small next to our little trough awaiting out little baby boy Jesus.

So there is a little glimpse into our classroom, aka our Christmas hub. I am now sitting in the chair next to the fireplace in this very room. There is Christmas music booming through the whole house and my dear husband is building our first fire of this season. There is nothing I don't love about our wood burning fireplace... the sound, the smell, the flickering light from the fire. I am so happy in this moment!

Today...

2011-12-08T14:48:00.003-06:00

Today... I went out first thing this morning to open up the coop and let the chickens out for the day. It was very cold, so I had my coat on. I checked the nests and found 4 eggs, SCORE! I quickly slipped the eggs into my coat pockets. I gave the hens feed and scurried back to the house before I froze solid. Once inside... I began imitating, to the kids, one of the hens running to the feed... and SPLAT... I flapped my 'wings' too theatrically and smashed 3 of the 4 eggs I still had in my coat pockets. UGH! Note to self: remove fresh eggs from coat pockets BEFORE dramatic impersonations of hens!

the lone survivor.

Today... the sun is out and b.r.i.g.h.t.l.y. shining, but that hasn't changed the temperatures much, brrrr!

Today... I ventured outside again to clip some pine branches and gathered some berries to decorate the classroom.

Just can't beat natural... and the free part ain't bad either ;)

Today... Ty's cat, Cotton, showed up on the back porch. Cotton tends to spend more time away then at the house. Cotton's timing could not have been more opportune... I had just cooked a turkey breast and Ty hurriedly gave him the 'leftovers' and the most gigantic bowl of milk.

Today... Ty finished school early and I gave him an Art project. His assignment was to create a collage of something he dreams of.

He presented this masterpiece to me a short time later. Ty dreams of being a builder or architect. He used an old Lego magazine to create his collage. Can you see the lego pieces? Love this!

Our Front Porch and Entry... and a tid bit on Market Monday

2011-12-05T12:25:00.006-06:00

We had such gorgeous weather this weekend!

I tweaked the front porch to look more Merry. I moved a huge bench to the front porch for Fall decor and I've loved it being there, so it stayed. It now serves as the perfect space to store firewood that is dry and ready to go inside. No worries of bugs, grin, because this wood never stays here for longer than a few days.

I found these child's skis months ago. And this blue tool box has quickly become one of my favorite possessions. The pop of color is perfect even in this very natural arrangement.

The child's sleigh at the bottom of this photo has been in my Holiday arsenal of decorations for years. It is a favorite with its bright red rails.

Love it! Time well spent on Saturday.

Does anyone else actually add to, subtract from, and tweak their Christmas decor throughout the whole month? I most definitely do. As I type, neither mantle in my study or family room has a lick of holiday yumminess on them yet. It will evolve over the weeks.

But at least my entry is in a good resting state... at least for the moment ;)

I found this antique French door while we were in Destin this fall. It is magnificent. I don't know if this is its 'final resting place' in our home but for now it looks great leaning here on this small wall with a little wreath hanging from it. This is the view directly in front of you as you would enter our house.

To the left is a full scale set of skis and my favorite old sleigh.

To the right is my entry table... I added some jingle bells, beaded ornaments, and pinecones to the crocks I have here year round. I added a small tree, cloche, and a few presents to the shelf. Done... I think!

This is BY FAR the hardest space for me to decorate... any day of the year, not just for the Holidays. Have I bored you with the details of this before?! Probably. But here I go again. The original staircase for this houseplan was outdated. It in no way met codes. So we had to get real creative with the new staircase to still get the open view to the upstairs, not lose the open gallery hallway upstairs, AND to get the stairs to land in the entry properly and widen like I dreamed. All those wants were met... but left us with this weird little angled ceiling and a little kickback on the wall to the left of the small wall. See it?

I originally wanted to have planked walls on the downstairs... it was axed early on in the building process due to costs but I am adamant that it will still be done in the future, but probably WAY in the future, snicker. I think the planked walls will help the angled ceiling look more in place, kind of like an angled attic ceiling. But this little space still stumps me. I have had artwork hung and leaned here. Seemed too sparse. I have had an antique chair and miscellaneous items with it... too disjointed. And then, this fall I found this caned settee. I was in Florida when I found it, had no measurements for this space... but took a chance it would fit. It did. I think I like it here. Think. It fills the space well. It adds softness with the cushion and pillows (I want to slipcover the cushion in something soft and yummy). And I even like the large antique basket placed next to it in the weird kicked back wall space... maybe with a large fiddleleaf fig in the basket other times of the year? I just need to fill the space left above the settee with something. Canvas of kids? Artwork? Suggestions?! Anyone?

Shawn bought me this pillow cover from PotteryBarn. He actually didn't KNOW he was buying me this pillow cover, but I let him in on the purchase after he got home from work that day, snicker. I gave him a big kiss for being so thoughtful, wink.

For now, I have a little faux tree in the basket... surrounded by pinecones and mercury glass ornaments. The presents are from a festival we helped decorate for last year and the tags actually have silhouettes of the manger animals from the Nativity. And so there it is... a glimpse of what you'd see if you came to our house today... cause remember? It could all change tomorrow ;)

** UPDATE **

Market Mondays are getting an adjustment. There is a very long, drawn out explanation of some necessary changes I must make to balance needs and wants in my life right now. Go to my Market Blog if you would like to read the novel and see pics. From now on, my Market Blog will be the only place I post regularly about the incoming/delivered items to my Booth. You can become a follower or add my Market Blog to your list if you want to know when I post there. Thanks!

{30} Thankful...

2011-11-30T11:38:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for the time spent with my family bringing out the Christmas Cheer. My sweetheart found where I had stashed the Christmas CDs (why, oh why, do I not have a good system for where I put those each year), the tree and all the decorations were brought from the attic, and the unorganized... but wonderful... task of decorating the tree began. I will be adding to and tweaking for the next whole month because I love to fiddle with everything, grin. I am so thankful for this time of year! There are no words to adequately describe my gratitude for the birth of my Savior. I hope everything in December 2011 is truly Merry and Bright!!

{29} Thankful...

2011-11-29T22:00:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for the change in seasons. I took the kids to seminary this morning and sat in the car in total silence (Ty was snoozing in the back seat) and just watched the snow coming down. A few of the youth couldn't help themselves but to come out of the church and run around in the first snow of the season. Having the temperatures drop so low makes me feel more in the spirit for the upcoming Holiday. Can't wait to welcome in December.

{28} Thankful...

2011-11-28T20:38:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for dinner in town with my family. And Christian actually turned his phone off for a whole hour... shocking... and made the rest of us feel so important, snicker.

{27} Thankful...

2011-11-28T16:02:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for quiet time. It rarely 'just happens'. Today I found it for quite a while on my back porch. We had just returned from town, and I was still bundled up in my coat and had just let the chickens out of their coop. I plopped down on a chair on the porch and let my mind drift off for awhile. We took last week off of school and so today meant we needed to jump back into school. I just needed a bit of quiet time before officially starting our school week. Quiet time does a world of good. Thankful!

{26} Thankful...

2011-11-27T10:15:00.000-06:00

I am thankful that I have all I need. Ohhh, those 'wants' can sure crowd out the picture, distort things, cause my vision to go blurry... but I know I have all I need. I truly do.

{25} Thankful...

2011-11-25T22:21:00.000-06:00

I am thankful that today I was able to get a ton of my Christmas shopping done. I didn't dare venture out on Black Friday... but I did go online. I had some wonderful discount/free shipping codes and it was a joy to have a bulk of the gifts ordered and on their way. I normally have 99% of the shopping done well before now, but that just wasn't possible this year. So today was the beginning and I hope to finish by next weekend. I'm optimistic. The detailed list is made, older kids are party poopers and are asking for cash and some gift cards (boo!, but I guess that comes with their age), so I shall be on the hunt and hope all ends well and I am victorious. I love to snuggle in by early December, decor done, presents wrapped, fire roaring, hot cocoa... and very few reasons to ever leave home. I love being a December hermit with my family. Hurray!

{24} Thankful...

2011-11-24T19:48:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for my brother, Nate, and my sil, Alisha. Each year, they invite family and friends over for Thanksgiving. Crazy. I think there were over 40 folks there today. It is always incredibly yummy and fun! So much work is involved in such a huge undertaking. Thankful!

{23} Thankful...

2011-11-24T10:30:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for my 'fellas' and their willingness to work on my studio. The studio will be solely for me. It serves no purpose for anyone else in the house. It has taken many years for me to get the gumption to even suggest that I have a space all to myself... to create. And then when I didn't face any opposition on my very selfish exile space, I ran with said gumption and sketched a few ideas and asked them to create it for me... pushing my luck, grin. But they HAVE worked away on it. Little by little, any spare moment. It is going slow, but when it is done it will be just what I envisioned! I love them so much and this means so much to me.

I wanted a 'planked' wall look but didn't want to spend the money on actual boards, so then we got this thin material that requires an extra step to be cut into strips. Big ole pain. But CHEAP!

And here is how it looks so far..

All the walls and ceiling will be painted out white. The floors will get the same treatment but with a wider strip... not sure what color I will then paint it. We will then build built in storage on one short wall and also a forever long work surface, and, and, and..... it will be amazing!

And this right here may just be the reason the fellas are so willing to get this space completed. I have piles upon piles of 'stuff' in every nook and cranny of the house. I try to keep it neat. But the fact is that piled stuff just looks messy. Soon it will be all behind closed doors. That will be an exciting day.

Thankful. My fellas.

{22} Thankful...

2011-11-23T14:19:00.002-06:00

I am thankful for creative thinking, snicker. Case in point: I asked Christian and Ty to please take the pumpkins and gourds from the front porch and give them to the chickens. That would have probably been carried out in a very boring uneventful way. But when I added... "bust 'em up a bit so they can get to the innards"... well, that was where I got them to thinkin'. Savannah was kind enough to document the very precise, articulate way they carried out my parental command.

I threw my 'mommy RED penalty card' on the use of the hatchet. There was mumbling but eventual obedience... the hatchet was removed from their artillery.

Plan B:

Ummmm. son? If you bat the pumpkin clear to the back pasture, I don't think the chickens are going to benefit from that. Please. Do not splat pumpkins guts on the carriage house! What was I thinking sending them out to do this without very strict parameters. Sometimes I'm not completely on top of my mommy game.

The chickens have been a'cacklin' ever sense. I think they approve of the methods used to make their job much easier to devour some grub!

{21} Thankful...

2011-11-21T21:52:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for trials. There. I said it. I am really struggling with a trial that I desperately want to fix. I want to make it all better. I want to take it and shake it and convince it that it does not have to be this hard. I can't. It will be a difficult lesson learned. I must sit back and let it be. I can not control it. I won't make promises that I can keep my eyes open, a smile on my face, or not have the terrible urge to plop myself down in what could be termed a tantrum. I have so much to learn about enduring trials gracefully. The Lord promises growth. I will hold on.

We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us;

we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.

C.S. Lewis

{20} Thankful...

2011-11-20T20:03:00.000-06:00

I am so incredibly thankful for the upcoming week. No school. Shawn is only working Monday and Tuesday. The Christmas tree and decorations will officially be brought down from the attic. We get to spend time with family for Thanksgiving. Eat leftovers all weekend. Pick and choose what projects we want to work on or maybe even boycott all things productive and be lazy. The possibilities are endless. And this little hiatus from all things normal and necessary has come just in time. The past two weeks have been packed to the rim with 'gotta getter doneness' and I so need this week to rejuvenate and sleep in! Yippee!! So excited about getting this week started that I think I will go to bed early... I am quite the party gal.

{19} Thankful...

2011-11-20T10:56:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for running water. Because when I don't have it for an entire day I get irritable. I'm sure my family would state their gratitude for running water also since they were actually the ones that had to put up with me when I had to get ready for a girls night out and could not shower. Forced to use water storage bottles from the garage did not make a happy girl out of me. Spoiled? Yes. Thankful the water is back running? You betcha!

{18} Thankful...

2011-11-18T20:58:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for promises kept. Finally. Clear back at the beginning of the summer, Ty and I had a plan to turn all of his baseball jerseys/uniform tops into pillows. Honestly, I'm not trying to blame the kid in this duo... but I thought this was a project that we would do together. But whenever I suggested that we work on it, he was less than enthusiastic. I thought I was forcing this whole idea on him. But last week he mentioned the incomplete pillows again. He finally helped me understand that he had hoped that I would do them for him... frankly, he had no desire to sew. Ohhhhhhhh. So, today after we finished school, I pulled out the tshirts once again and gathered any miscellaneous pillow inserts I had because I needed this to be a free project, and got to sewing. I have never sewed tshirt knits and whatever the slick fabric is for his allstar tops. The pillows aren't perfect, far from it in fact. But they are all done and my youngest guy is ecstatic. He plopped them up on his window seat. I need to make a long cushion for the seat too because he loves to sit up there and the views are amazing. Now if I can only stay on top of converting his tshirts into pillows as the upcoming seasons come and go then I will be a hero. I sure love my baseball fanatic of a son and I am glad he loves his lumpy/less than perfect pillows.

{17} Thankful...

2011-11-17T22:53:00.005-06:00

I am thankful for the moments at the end of a l.o.n.g. day, sitting on the couch talking to Shawn alone. Discussing the challenges and successes of the day. Burdens shared and celebrations doubled, these talks rank as huge blessings to me. It is comforting. Thankful. Marriage.

The cream of marriage... the nightly turning out of the days pocketful of memories,

habitual sharing of two pairs of eyes, two pairs of ears...

in a sense, it gives you the benefit of living two lives.

Anonymous.

{16} Thankful...

2011-11-16T19:20:00.002-06:00

I am thankful for my daughter. Tonight is Savannah's Young Women in Excellence Program and I am home missing it. Migraine. Yet, before she left she showed me what she had done as her assignment for the program so that I would not miss her part completely. She is such a busy gal right now. Exciting age and time for her. She is learning what her priorities are and shuffling less important things around. I love her honesty when she has thought long and hard about something and needs to propose a different way of doing things. I am so proud of her. I love her. I'm so thankful that she loves me too... even on my grouchy days!

{15} Thankful...

2011-11-16T01:23:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for the rain, my love for rain is well documented. Granted, I was able to stay home all day and didn't have to be out and about in it but I just love the sound, the smell, and look of the farm getting a good soaking. It calmed my nerves as Ty and I struggled through a long lesson on decimals, grin. It helped for us both to be able to take a break and sit on the back porch and just veg. Thankful. Rain.

{14} Thankful...

2011-11-14T20:13:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for an exhausting Monday. Yep. I should sleep like a rock. Well, once my daughter gets home from a friend's home that is, cause I can't r.e.a.l.l.y zonk until all my 'not so' littles are all accounted for. But THEN I am out like a light. ahhhhhh.

Market Monday

2011-11-14T15:45:00.001-06:00

I'm sneaking in here between my Thankful Posts to make note that its Market Monday and I went in this morning and rearranged and restocked... introduced a few new items and added more of my best sellers over the weekend. You can go to my Market Blog if you want to see more.

And now I will return to my regularly scheduled thankful posts... grin.

{13} Thankful...

2011-11-14T09:08:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for my recent sense of 'the now'. While life often demands us to focus on the future, goals, preparation, etc... I feel for one of the first times in my life that I am embracing each day. I'm sure this is due to my knowledge that life for our little family of 5 will be changing drastically in the next few years. Savannah is about to turn 17, she has a job, loves to be with friends... and in less than 2 years will be off to college. Christian is turning 16 in just a few weeks! And will be leaving on his mission in 3 years.

Gone are the days of 2 babies, 1 year 2 weeks apart. The days that I sometimes wished away because of the monotony and the sheer lack of sleep. I really do credit this 'living in the now' transition to homeschooling. I have so much more of the kids. I have their days! I hear about seminary minutes after they get home from it. I know immediately if they have a frustration with a class or paper. I eat lunch with them. All those very important topics and discussions that we had to rush through during dinner just a few years ago because there was homework or bedtimes to do. Understandably homeschooling is not for everyone or every family... but I am so glad we attempted it and then loved it. It has slowed down these past few years and I would welcome the next few years to c.r.a.w.l by too. Grin. Of course, my want to go at a snail's pace does not prevent my teenagers from wanting to go forward at break neck speeds. That's normal though and I am more thankful that they look forward to moving on and finding new adventures than the alternative of never wanting to have any new experiences.

So last night, as I sat on the couch, Shawn in his usual chair, and the kids all spread out around us as we had family counsel... I am indeed grateful for living in those moments, each moment, everyday. I finally have got that right. And before it was too late. Whew. Thankful. Now!

{12} Thankful...

2011-11-12T09:32:00.003-06:00

I am thankful for service. Service has a sure fire way of taking you by the shoulders and giving you a good shake out of your self-absorbed state. Service can affect me in so many ways. I am changed by doing service myself, receiving service from others, and watching others serve and watching the process 3rd person. It is a powerful thing to behold.

Today, our kids are at the church cleaning the grounds and building. 8am on a Saturday and they were off doing good... love that. And the fact that there will be other teenagers there doing the same thing makes it more fun and more powerful!

Last night, Christian carried on a tradition of service that my mom started many years ago:

When I was 13, and had started babysitting, my mom came to me and made a suggestion. She asked me to consider babysitting for free on the occasions when the parents of the family I was asked to 'sit for was doing something church related... for example if they were attending the temple or going to a church meeting. My mom felt by my doing this it would allow me a service opportunity on a regular basis. It would also allow certain families that had struggled to participate at certain church events due to tight finances, to then have an opportunity they may have missed otherwise. I decided to do it. Looking back, I'm so thankful that my mom handled it the way that she did. The suggestion was made to me, not forced upon me, and I embraced it and it was a blessing for those families that I served but it made a lasting impression on me also.

So when Savannah started babysitting, I made the same suggestion to her. She embraced it, NOT SURPRISINGLY, because that sort of thing comes naturally for her. Now that she is working at Shawn's office, and driving and her social calendar is more full, she has edited her babysitting jobs. She has one very special family that she has always babysat for from the beginning and I can't see her ever not babysitting for them, but overall she is not babysitting much anymore. So a family called to see if she could babysit last night but she was busy. She thought maybe Christian would be interested, and he was. So it was arranged that Christian would babysit for them instead. This family was going to the temple so it would be a 'free' job. I asked Christian if he was going to carry on the tradition... he had babysat for free one time in the past but we had not talked specifically about if he was going to 'formally' take on the tradition. He said, 'of course'. He babysat 4 kids for 6 hours and came home around 9:30pm. He had a blast! The kids were great and the father shared some of the experiences he had at the temple while he drove Christian home.

Now, I know I am biased here. I look at my 15 year old son and think he is the funniest, good looking, wise cracker I know. The boy is down right entertaining and our house is happier because he is in it... also much messier. But this guy just spent 6 hours on a Friday night with 4 kids, 9 years old and younger, and didn't get a dime for it... and "had a blast!" Thankful. A tradition of service continues.

{11} Thankful...

2011-11-11T09:59:00.003-06:00

I am thankful for the genuine and freely offered compliment. I often THINK kind things about another person and their efforts, BUT I rarely voice those thoughts. I have always pointed out to my children efforts of others on their behalves... but I need to take it one step further and have them voice that gratitude so they won't be so 'mute' like their mother. I know I need to voice my compliments more... simply because of the way I feel when complimented.

Yesterday, I spend hours at my Antique Booth preparing for the Open House this weekend. Vendors were everywhere sprucing up their own booths. Poor customers that picked yesterday to shop could not have had a great experiences as the aisles were high traffic and the back loading doors were open and quite chaotic. Yet, as mom and I worked away... customers and other vendors strolled by and were so generous with their compliments. IT MADE MY DAY!! A simple compliment is hugely validating. Yet, after I got home I wanted to pinch myself. I stayed at the back of Packards all day working away on my little space. I didn't take the time when I was done to stroll around and meet and compliment the other vendors as they had done me. Grrrrr. I want to do better at that. Open my mouth and return the gift of a compliment. I think I may have stumbled upon part of my New Year's Resolution! Thankful. Compliments!!

I don't want to 'taint' my thankful post, but I promised I would make note.... you can go to my Market Blog and see what my booth looked like after completely adding new furniture and lots of sparkle for the Open House lasting all weekend. I've been told to be prepared to redo the booth on Monday as this Open House will probably clean me out... I can only hope it goes that well, grin.

{10} Thankful...

2011-11-10T19:48:00.003-06:00

I am thankful (sweetheart... this one is for you, wink) for my new to me car (sounds so much better than used car, right?). Sometimes it feels odd to be so thankful for such 'material' things. But I am trying not to judge my gratitude here, it truly is a huge blessing.

My first car was a red 4door that actually belonged to my parents and I was allowed to use it. I don't remember the make or model, it was passed on to me after my brother used it before me. Mom? Didn't it have to be junked because the whole bottom of the car was found to be rusted beyond safe driving standards, grin. It was a heap. But it got me from point A to point B. And I was thankful for it. After that rusty deathtrap, I drove my Dad's Rabbit. No power steering. Nuf said.

My second car was a silver 4door. I know it was a Spectrum, not sure who made it. Can you tell that I'm a true car encyclopedia?! I bought it myself. I was a dental assistant at the time and it was MY car... well until I went to college and was too broke to make the payments so Dad got it sold for me.

Years after being at college without a car and having to bum rides to work and anywhere else I needed to go, I bought a Dodge Colt (i think thats what it was, my lack of memory is proving embarrassing) from my boyfriend's friend. It was a 2door... I'm a 4door kind of gal, painfully practical that way. But the price was cheap and I was desperate. I actually transferred out to the University of Utah shortly thereafter and with my sister, Misty, and my Dad we trekked cross country in this little crackerbox of a car. Painful. I was driving this car when I met Shawn. He fell in love with me inspite of my sad little car.

Shortly after getting married, I was driving to work and someone drove up next to me honking and screaming at me. I thought he was a lunatic. I need to mention that it was 4:45 IN THE MORNING and I was a tad spooked... not many cars on the rode when I would go to work each morning. I finally rolled down my window to hear this Good Samaritan yell at me that the rear of my car was ON FIRE. So I calmly.not and levelheadedly.not pulled off the road. Ummm... into a gas station parking lot. Yep. I was a blooming genius. Because everyone knows you should pull right into a gas station with a car that is on fire!! I am lucky I didn't blow up half of Salt Lake. A trucker was also parked at the gas station and proceeded to berate me and my less than logical decision to blow up half of Salt Lake with my ball of flames car. I screamed right back at him. Don't ask me how I knew this, but I DID know that truckers are required to have fire extinguishers in their cabs, so I not so calmly said to him, "Are you going to continue to curse me and DIE with me or do you want to SHUT UP and help me put out my car!" Oh yes I did. Those words are burned into my psyche because I am a mouse when talking to strangers, under ANY circumstances. Well, any circumstance except standing at a gas station at 4:45am next to a car on fire. So, the car was extinguished. It was sold for parts. We only had liability on the Colt and it was a big loss. I became a 'bus gal' after that.

We made a terrible purchase of a used Volvo after the car o' flames. We had it weeks when it broke down and the parts alone would have sunk us. Shawn's dad went to a junk yard and found what we needed, saved our poor butts, and we sold the Volvo weeks later. Whew. Lessons learned. I was returned to bus gal status.

Later, Shawn and I bought a 4door red Mirage. We loved this car. It was used but in great shape. We were pregnant and Shawn wanted to have a good car for me and the future baby, awwww. We pulled that car behind a Uhaul all the way to Alabama to finish our undergraduate work. Then drove it to Nebraska for dental school. It also got us to Utah and Alabama every summer for family visits. It was a great little car, dream. Then we finished graduate school and sold the car to my mom and dad and it took a nose dive into lemon car. Sorry mom and dad. I think it loved us so dearly that its heart broke when we so swiftly snubbed it for a BRAND NEW Dodge Durango. Such snobs we were.

And so, from that little Mirage til now, we have been so blessed with such good and dependable cars. Having all those years of metal death traps or no car at all, a good car is indeed something to be thankful for. Over the years, I have created my car 'bells and whistles' list. I will not list these items because you would mock me. I do not care about fancy GPS systems, and fancy DVD players, blah, blah, blah. I really just need a few key things for my sanity. And so while my 'new to me' car is not NEW, it was chosen for all the specific bells and whistles that I want/need in a cute little adorable 4door package. Content Sigh. Oh and the fact that we had to have Quad middle row seats that move back all the way to the back row, because if Christian is not driving he can not make his thigh bones bend in half to fit in otherwise. So thank you honey! I love the vehicle. I love that I have always had the newer, nicest car in our family because I am always hauling our kiddos. I love that you really don't mind driving a truck as your 'car' because we can not NOT have a truck and own a farm... so your vehicle kills two birds with one stone. I love that you searched high and low for this perfect car for me and all my necessary bells and whistles. I love you. Thankful. New to me Car.

{9} Thankful...

2011-11-10T09:14:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for our land and the views out our back windows. I spend so much time at the back portion of the house. Ty and I do school at the kitchen table or on the couch in the family room. When altering the original houseplans before building... I knew the kitchen/family room would be where I would hang out. So I squeezed in as many windows as the space and budget would allow. Right now, I see our baby donkey... who is not so happy at the moment because we are weening him and he thinks we are so very cruel keeping him in a different pasture from his mom. I can also see both our horses. While I have no desire to ride them, they sure are beautiful lawn ornaments, wink. The mist has cleared from the early morning and the sky is a magnificent turquoise. We are so blessed to live here. Thankful. Our land.

{8} Thankful...

2011-11-09T09:31:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for a New Day. Move on. Move forward.

Yesterday was a rough day. The to do list was overwhelming but honestly doable. But I just did not have it in me. Nope. I hit the bed last night in tears. Exhausted. Huge list of the 'undone' mocking me. Interesting how nighttime can make the 'incomplete' seem much more ominous than it truly is.

Then I wake up this morning... and guess what, as you may have noticed the world did not end because I failed. Drama gone. I think daylight just naturally improves my optimism. Will I get everything done today including what didn't get done yesterday? No way. But the absolute truth about the matter is this: no one outside of me even saw my 'to do' list yesterday!! No one would have even known what did not get done, if it weren't for my very theatrical melt down. I'm feeling a tad silly about myself in this light of a new day. And if you could see my to do list for today... you would notice some 'arrows' drawn from several items listed yesterday... now pointing those 'to dos' to today. And you know what? I think the arrows are cute. The undone to dos are not forgotten, afterall they really do need to get done. How silly do I feel about my tears of last night? Very. So everything did not get done on Tuesday, but instead, as the cute arrows now indicate, they will get done on Wednesday. And there was no rioting, tantrums, or earth shattering. Simple.

When all our kids were little I taught them a precious little tid bit. And that very tid bit has knocked me upside the head today. When they made a wrong choice, and they came to me in remorse and regret, I would talk with them about it and when all was said and a new game plan was made to move forward, I would ask them this sweet little question: "Do you want a 'do over'?" They would leap into my arms, relieved. "YES!!!" The 'do over' was never denied. I wanted them to understand that the 'do over' could not always fix the mistake completely, but that the do over was permission to leave that mistake behind (repaired to the best of their ability) and they could try again to do better. And now that the kids are older, the 'do over' is still alive and well in the Callahan household. Fact is, I am known to request a needed do over too! An Eternal Concept to be sure!! How it must thrill Our Father to offer and then see us gratefully grasp the do over... aka repentance/forgiveness. Thankful. New Day.

{7} Thankful...

2011-11-07T21:59:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for Shawn. I really admire him. Right now at 9:39pm, after a long day at work and an evening of trading in our old truck to pick up my newer vehicle... he is in the garage figuring out a 'problem' piece that I was hoping to fix and have ready to go into my Holiday Booth this weekend. I threw in the towel on it, and yet he is determined to 'conquer' the stubborn thing because I have already spent so much time ~~saying ugly words~~ sweet talking it into non-submission. He can be persistent and his success rate at figuring things out is very high, I can be quite the quitter. UPDATE: He indeed solved the problem. So when I swoon over a specific item in my Friday post about my Holiday Booth, he will get all the credit for it looking so magnificent... but my paint job on this piece is quite perfect too, wink.

I love his eyes.
I am thankful for his strength, both physically AND spiritually.
His ambition is one of his most attractive traits... seriously one of the top 3 reasons I just HAD to marry him!
He forgives me, always.
He loves me in spite of me deserving it. I can really be a grouch.
When he laughs at movies in the TV room, I can be in a totally different room of the house and I can't help but smile at his laughter. He laughs freely and with no inhibition. I admire that.
He is the oldest brother of 4 boys and he loves his brothers immeasurably and prays about them and their families constantly.
He is a great dad. He regularly spends separate time with each child doing what they love to do.
He loves to watch movies and play board games. I do not. All 3 of our children love to do these things too, so he fills a 'nitch' that I don't. Love that.
He cooks an amazing Spanish Tortilla.
He kisses me every night and every morning, with out fail.
I love him. So very, very thankful for him.

{6} Thankful...

2011-11-06T22:43:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for Sundays. I know I have shared my love of Sundays many times before. But I really do love this day. Although today had some twists and turns. We had an extra large crowd in our Nursery Class. At one point we thought the kids were going to RIOT, snort. We weren't sure if the Nursery room was so hot because the heater was on full blast or whether it was that when you have THAT many little bodies in one space... the temps go sky high. Anyway, us teachers laughed our way through the time slots and in the end, all was well and I bet lots of littles fell asleep on their way home from church.
Then we had pizza calzones for lunch, huge hit.
We read scriptures.
Shawn and Christian went home teaching.
We had family counsel when they returned. Our counsels can be hysterical some weeks... seriously! Coordinating all the to dos, school, we get our new to us car this week, campouts, paintball parties, and, and, and... whew. And yet week after week we get most of our things done and we regroup and do it again.
And so now I am cuddled in with my sweetheart.
Three kids in bed already zonked. I am soon to follow.
Content Sigh.
Sundays.

{5} Thankful...

2011-11-05T16:42:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for our Ward Family. Especially those that serve with our children. This morning at 7am Christian met with other Scouts/friends in our Ward and his Young Men Leaders to go on a hike. To go on a 20 MILE hike!! And Christian's leaders hike it right along with the boys! I appreciate that my son has these leaders in his life that care for him enough to serve him in this manner and give their time on a Saturday, 8+ hours, so that he can be one step closer to obtaining his Eagle. Thankful. Ward Family.

{4} Thankful...

2011-11-04T17:38:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for extended family. Ty is off tonight camping with Nate, Alisha, and kiddos. He was packed AND dressed to go early this morning... literally before 8am... and I didn't take him to their house until 3PM!! He even put his shoes on (HUGE, cause he rarely wears shoes even OUTSIDE) and clomped around the house all day so he was ready to go the split second I gave the signal to load up. He was a tad excited. Ty is painful reserved and shy, and extended family/cousins have always been a safe place for him to be, so grateful. It is Emma's (cousin) birthday... he asked to go to Target to get her something. He marched back to the toys and chose a StarWars Lego set!? Huh!!?? I asked him if he was sure. He stated that she always loves to play with his StarWars lego sets when she comes over. So I sure HOPE Emma digs her present, snicker. Ty even chose the gift bag... he said it had to be 'cool'. So he found one... not too girly... not for a boy... but bright colors and fun. Sounds like Emma to me! The weather is amazing for camping. Ty was threatened that if he didn't bundle up, I had tattletailers/informants that would tell me. He is my hot blooded child, but even with that understanding... the boy has to be TOLD to wear reasonable warm clothes when it is cold... grrrrr. I love knowing he is going to have a great weekend with my brother's family. Thankful. Extended Family.

{3} Thankful...

2011-11-03T12:40:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for the voices of my children, right now playing a game together since they all 3 finished school today in record time.

Over 18 years ago, I was a newlywed living in Utah. Shawn and I had been married for almost a year and had already been trying to have a baby. I went in for a physical... and my world crashed in around me. I had some complications. Any ONE of these complications would probably not be able to prevent me from having a baby... but the combination of them did not leave my doctor very optimistic. I was at this follow-up appointment from my physical by myself. I did not have any indication that I was to receive sad news. I drove home in a daze. Shawn was in class, and it was the days before everyone had cellphones. So I called my mom. I sobbed.

She let me sob. Me and my mom, too many states between us to count, no words spoken for quite some time... just me crying. Then when complete emotional exhaustion took me over, she calmly spoke. She reminded me of a promise I had received in a Father's Blessing many years before. I know my very humbled, exhausted state was what allowed me to hear her, to stop my logical thinking and start thinking spiritually. I immediately remembered the specific blessing which she was reminding me of. I could even hear the words that were spoken to me then, a mere teenager that had simply gone to her father for a blessing about some teenage drama I was facing at the time... but then was given inspiration from a Heavenly Father that wanted my perspective at that time to be broadened... and gave me a glimpse into my future. And so many years later, having had all the medical reasons given to me as to why I most definitely could not have children, I knew I indeed would.

Several years later we had a perfect little girl. It was a rough pregnancy. Many complications. A delivery that terrified Shawn and I both. But the beginning.

Never dreaming that we could get pregnant with out much effort and help... 1 year 2 weeks after Savannah was born, we had a baby boy. Again, more ups and downs than I care to document here, but two children. Miracles. Gifts.

One hard fought for daughter, and our little 'surprise' of a son. I had no idea what to expect for the next baby. Cause see?? I wanted many, many more. We had proved the doctors wrong. Full speed ahead.

Six long years later. We are in the Air Force. Graduate School done! Dental residency in California done! Stationed in Mississippi, and only 3 hours from my family. The dream of more children was... dare I say... gone. We tried to be content. We know that there is a plan and that this family of 4 must be complete. And then I get sick. I feel awful for days. I decide I must go see the doctor on Monday. But I figure out too soon why I am sick. I have a midterm miscarriage at home. I did not even know I was pregnant, due to the very complications that are reasons for me not being able to GET pregnant in the first place. Shocked. Devastated. Painful recovery for something that I did not even have the chance to first be happy about.

But then a switch very soon afterward went off inside me. I WAS pregnant. It is STILL possible, I had long since assumed it wasn't. And just a few months later... I am desperately sick again. My neighbor and all her kids had just had the flu, I had tried to help them as much as possible. I assumed I now had the flu. I went in to see my doctor at the base hospital. He ordered some tests. Later he announces to Shawn and I that we are pregnant. Funny part, I was feeling so desperately sick that my reaction to the news was weird because as I sat there in his office... I was very much needing to go 'get sick'. Great news though... I am already practically into my second trimester.

And as is 'normal' for me... a 3rd and very troubling pregnancy. Ambulance visits to the ER. Surgery at 6months pregnant. Early labor that was thankfully haulted. But the final result was a baby boy... cannot express the adjustment it was for me to think of our family as 5 instead of 4. Seriously life altering. And thankfully (I choose this word carefully) because my Heavenly Father knows me well and knows I would always want more children, complications from Ty's pregnancy and delivery made our family of perfectly FIVE absolute! Literally because of that 'absolute' of 'no more children', my contentment with my 3 very hard fought for children was enough. I stopped wanting, and started thanking. My dreams of many children were released so I could grasp on to the miracle that is our family of 5. Thankful. The splendid voices of my children.

{2} Thankful...

2011-11-02T13:21:00.003-05:00

I am thankful for the talents I DON'T have. Confusing? Make any sense?

I often see others that because their talents and/or interests do not personally fall into a certain subject... then they have no use or need for that subject. Not I. Others' talents. So Grateful.

I have no talent for music in any shape or form. My mom fought the fight. I took piano lessons. I stopped the second I was allowed. No regrets really. I had no interest. But OH how I love to hear someone play the piano or any other musical instrument. And also to hear someone sing a melody that brings amazing tears to my eyes. So very, VERY thankful that there are others that their hearts lie in the very center of beautiful music. I love words... and when words, aka lyrics, are then added to an amazing tune... I pause. One must respect the talent to combine the two. And yet you can find me, in Sacrament Meeting each Sunday, singing my heart out... within the safe surrounding of many, many others. Others whom voices mix with mine and the blending of the two is bearable.

Public speaking is a terrifying thing for me personally. My vision blurs... tunnel vision is always a follow up symptom. My heart beat thunders in my ears. And then there are those that seem so at peace at a podium. Those that when they speak, draw others to them. It is a true talent. I pray those with this talent show gratitude for it as much as I am in turn thankful that they have that gift. It would be a woeful world if everyone near passed out when speaking in public.

We are told to be thankful for our talents. I am. I see my strengths. I thrill when asked to do something I feel I have a gift for. And yet I find myself on a very frequent basis... thankful for others' talents too. Their talents fill me in a way that I could not fill myself. I would go lacking... without them and their talents. And I must try harder to not tarnish the precious gift of talent they share by comparing, conveting, envying. Nope. Just enjoy them. Take the gift given. So uncomplicated. Others' talents.

{1} Thankful...

2011-11-01T23:04:00.001-05:00

Last year I did 'thankful posts' for the whole month of November. I loved it. It challenged me. I learned that while I can be quite aware of my BIGGIE blessings... blogging daily of my 'thankfuls' caused me to see daily, simple, sometimes little, blessings that otherwise I look past. So here I go again....

I am thankful for all my responsibilities. Yep. Some days all those responsibilities can really weigh on me. But I know I have a purpose. I am needed. I do good things. I sometimes do very dumb things. I am loved. I love. And I DO... a lot in a day. I am blessed that, at the end of each day, I know that the things I do and those I do them for MATTER.

Today was laundry day... got it ALL done, folded, hung, & put away. I homeschooled...learned Saturn has at least 17 moons, diagrammed sentences, rounded decimals, studied Norman Rockwell, read 5 chapter in Lyddie, and learned about the original colony at Jamestown, VA. I did dishes. I paid bills and planned on balancing checkbook, but failed. I called in my VT report. I made lunch for Ty and I. I showered, worth noting, not always a given on a Tuesday. I painted some furniture. I cooked dinner, never mind that I set the smoke detector off... in my defense I used our stovetop grill and the stove fan just couldn't keep up. I did more dishes. I read scriptures with my family and we had family prayer. Etc. Etc. All mundane, every Tuesday kind of stuff. I wouldn't change it for the world. Responsibilities.

Market Monday... Moving Day!

2011-10-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

The MOVE to my larger space is thankfully complete! The whole process made for a very long Friday. Tired but very thankful for the vendors that agreed to be moved so I could have a larger space.

The new space is sparse... in preparation for tons of ~~old~~ ~~crusty~~ ~~antique~~ new items to be loaded in for the Holiday Open House next Friday.

Be sure and come by and see my new space at the Open House... K?!

Packard's Antiques Holiday Open House

November 11th and 12th

My new location is on the 2nd aisle from far right... last booth on the left!

You can go to my Market Blog to see a few before and afters of the space.

And, I will be posting tons of photos next FRIDAY instead of Monday... since it will be the first day of the Open House!

Halloween Fun

2011-10-30T18:55:00.002-05:00

Our week began with pumpkin guts shed all over our kitchen table.

Let the carving marathon begin. I call it a marathon because a quick Jack-O-Lantern face just does not cut it any more in this house. So that equals frustration, whimpers, toothpicks to repair any miscuts... hours later, the arteeeeests deem them finished and I finally get to take a picture of them lit on the porch.

Ty's Bat

Christian's Vampire

Savannah's Wolf

On Wednesday night, our Ward joined with Winchester Ward to throw a Trunk or Treat. So the kids got to dress up for the first time in the week.

On Friday, the Mayfield Clan had a Cousins Halloween Party. The Mayfield moms used to do Halloween parties for the kids in the past, but THIS year was different. The 'older' cousins got together months ago for a 'planning meeting'. It had been decided that they would throw a Halloween Carnival for the younger cousins. Brilliant! The older cousins planned little activities like 'pin the leg on the spider' and 'fishing pond' and decorating sugar cookies, etc. They also planned dinner for the whole family. Whew! Big undertaking and it was a big success. I was totally touched by the older cousins being willing to plan this whole night for their younger cousins. The older cousins all dressed up as Alice in Wonderland characters. Savannah was Alice, Christian was Mad Hatter, there was a Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum, Cheshire Cat, and the Red Queen.

Ty (still in the younger cousin ranking) went as a Jawa from Star Wars.

Here they are... ready for a night with family.

I injured my back earlier in the day so I did not make it to the festivities, and did not get to photograph all the fun ;(. My sweetheart stayed home with me and provided dinner and a movie. Having a daughter that can drive now is sure a perk, grin.

Market Monday... the p.m. addition

2011-10-24T21:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it is almost 10pm but still officially Monday, right? I will be moving into my new larger booth THIS Friday, so excited... or at least I will be excited once all the work is done.
I posted some sneak peak pics over on my Market Blog if you want to go over and take a look. Be sure and mark your calendar for
Packard's Holiday Open House on November 11th & 12th.

I'll post next week with pics of my new LARGER space and plan to give more sneak peaks leading up to the Open House. Have a great week!!

Yesterday & Today

2011-10-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday... I woke up with the knowledge that everything on the 'to do' list involved family, and I sure liked that! Selfish? Maybe. Needed? Yes... time well spent and not a second regretted.

Yesterday... Shawn and I took Ty to an exotic animal drive-through zoo down the road. It was a blast. We had a stalker emu follow us through the entire park. The zebra kept licking Shawn's car window. The yak rubbed his nose all over Shawn's window. I forgot the camera, classic. I wanted to take home a little spotted deer. Ty loved the 14' snake in the reptile house. The llamas had us all thinking of 'The Emperor's New Groove".

Yesterday... Shawn found me a new... acutally NEW to me... car. Yippee!

Yesterday... I worked on a few items for my Holiday Open House Booth. I am way behind schedule. Such is my life right now. And the knowledge of 'way behindness' did not deter me from sitting down and having lunch with my sweetheart or helping my daughter pick an outfit for her dance, etc,... so the schedule is just going to have to wait.

Yesterday... Shawn moved 8 hydrangea bushes for me for my belated Mother's Day gift. Snort. To his defense, I asked for this huge task to be done as my MD gift and then we got so crazy busy that it got too late to safely transplant... so he completed the task a few months late. And when done, he busted into the house shouting 'Happy Mother's Day'... and for the 117th millionth time since I've known and loved him... I thought, He is so darn cute!

Yesterday... Savannah and Christian visited a friend that had surgery, went to lunch with each other, and went to a Youth Dance. I like that they have always been such good friends.

Last night... Shawn, Ty, and I went to Party City to find some face paint for his Halloween Costume. We went out to eat at LongHorn Steak House. We grabbed groceries for Sunday dinner and headed back home.

Last night... Shawn and Ty hung out together while I snuggled in bed. But the truth is that I couldn't fall asleep, so I was awake when Savannah and Christian returned from the dance. They both had a blast! I love that my kids have fun at these Youth Activities. I would be so sad if they found fault or drama instead of simple enjoyment. I pray my kids will always see the efforts others make on their behalves and never need to be 'entertained'.

Today... is Sunday. We have our annual Primary Program during Sacrament Meeting. Our Nursery children have been invited to sing a song for the Program. I should be nervous. Cause at the ages of 18months through 3years old... there is no way to know who, if any, will want to participate when the time comes. But I can't keep thinking that at this age, whether 18 or 2 participate, all they have to do is just stand there and they are cute. So whether it is just me and my assistants singing or whether a few or more kiddos actually sing along... all will be well, SNICKER!

Today... we are having 'Papa' beans. While I grew up, we had a huge pot of pinto beans for dinner on a regular bases. It was cheap and we all loved it! My dad would often smash his beans and add a dab of butter. I later found out, that he was in essence making refried beans. Our kids love when I make beans and they smash them like dad always did and they call them 'Papa beans'. And to go along with the beans we will have tacos (my sil Alisha's way) and chips with queso. Yum.

Today... I will follow my lead from yesterday. Focus on today. Do not think of the trillion gazillion things that are on the LIST for next week. Nope. Just Today. Digging in my heels, flipping my stubborn switch, and living today!

Oh, to be a pumpkin farmer...

2011-10-15T14:29:00.002-05:00

So... in addition to wanting to be an Innkeeper, and owning my own Antique Market Shop, and wanting to have weddings, receptions, fishing derbies, etc here on the farm....

did you know I want to be a pumpkin farmer too? I have always wanted to grow pumpkins.

Now my dreams are not so grand that I want to compete with the fantastic Pumpkins Farms with their hayrides, corn bins, and mazes. Nope. Just a little pumpkin patch that people could come and find some little 'kins in all shapes and sizes. A little Pumpkin Market, that I could then have fun building displays like these (images found on Pinterest)...

of course... I MUST have an old truck. Hoping Shawn will gift me one some day, snicker.

But for now... I trek down to the Farmer's Market and gather my pumpkins and gourds. They have really been providing a great selection the past few years and I tend to love the non-traditional colors, but I always add classic oranges too...

Not sure why, but I rarely decorate much inside for Fall. I have tiny hints here and there.

But where I go a tad overboard is on the front porch. I really should have someone supervise me, I cannot be trusted to know when to stop.

Here is how our front porch looks from early Spring til Fall...

And here it is now that I have dumped my loot from the Farmer's Market...

Love it!

Growing Pains

2011-10-13T13:42:00.000-05:00

Some of the saddest days of my life have been the 3 different days that each of my children have decided on their own that they are now too big to call me 'mommy'. Sigh. Now I'm 'mom', and if I have made a very unpopular decision, very distinct syllables are added... 'moo.oo.oooom!'

But a wonderful phenomenon has happened with Ty. While he has forgone 'mommy' for the most part... if he is hurt, panicked, extremely happy, or feeling extra cuddly... there IT is. My heart about explodes. Mommy.

This time in life finds Ty and I very entangled. We homeschool every day together. Savannah and Christian do the majority of their work/studies independently and need my help minimally. Ty and I spend several hours every day sitting next to each other tackling fractions, pronouns, and the Milky Way Galaxy. Somedays are wonderful, some... not. He gets a whole heap load of 'mom time' and some days he has had his fill and vice versa. He still needs me to take him places, has to ask my permission for 95% of what he wants to do, still fights me every night at the dinner table because his favorite food list is quite minimal, etc.

So I try to take 'inventory' periodically and when we have had a stretch of angst between us... it is time for the adult, that would be me even if I don't feel like it, to carve out some time to just bond.

Yesterday I needed to take Shawn and Christian clear across down and drop them off. Savannah was at work. It would be just Ty and I for several hours. So finding ourselves on the opposite side of town, I made a list of things/stores that we don't get to do very often. Ty likes JoAnns craft store because of a specific type of models that they carry. So first stop... JoAnns. I stood in the same aisle with him for almost an hour. an HOUR, whew. Boy has staying power! He didn't even choose a model to purchase, but he left with a good wishlist for me for Christmas. Then we went to Steak and Shake. My boys loves skinny fries and this is his favorite eating joint. We sat across from each other, did the mazes and puzzles on the kids menu, he got to order a chocolate milk AND a shake with his meal, and he assembled the paper car. And probably overlooked by him but not by ME... we talked and talked and talked the whole time. This is rare for Ty. He is my stoic, quiet fella. Then we went to the library. This is a BIGGIE because this isn't our normal library location. Meaning, going to a different library means a whole different range of movie selections to rent. Huge, biggie, GIGANTIC brownie points on this pitstop. He was able to find 5 movies to rent ALL for himself. To say my boy was happy is an understatement. Then it was time for me to take him to our church building for Cub Scout meetings. I had to stay because I was the only one that could get him home just one hour later. So I sat in the lobby, visited with friends, and waited for Ty. He ran out of Scouts after making clouds... very exciting! He stood next to me as I sat in a chair and finished a conversation with a friend, and he had his arm casually thrown around my shoulder. Yep. He was showing me public affection in public. Score.

And as soon as we got home, he raced to the TV room to watch a quick library movie before bedtime. I was exhausted and crawled into bed, and fell asleep to the sound of my youngest boy laughing out loud (he rarely laughs out loud, he gets that from me) at his movie. I slept so good.

And so this morning when I arose bright and early to start another day of school with Ty... THIS is what was taped to the archway immediately outside my bedroom door... a sure spot to post something that he would not want me to miss...

Please, oh please... notice the 'mommy'. And yes... I shed a tear.

And so we started our school day with a spelling review and quiz.

Embrace... one of Ty's spelling word for this week. I asked him to orally tell me a sentence using each of this spelling words. When he got to the 4th word on his list he said, "I love to embrace my mommy." Please note that I got to be in a spelling sentence (never happens) and that he called me mommy.

I love this guy. I think overall he will be my toughest child to raise. He is so very complex. Heavenly Father blessed me with the calm first couple years with this guy because he was a super easy baby and toddler. But now the real work begins. Thankfully days like today give me the strength to keep at it... and days like yesterday show me his is worth every ounce of time and effort. I love him.

And on a totally unrelated topic and because I just am having the best day... look at the view Ty and I had all day while doing school. The sky is every shade of blue all at the same time and the clouds are magnificent. I love my life! I love our farm!

Market Monday

2011-10-10T16:51:00.004-05:00

Things are moving forward... I move into my double booth space on the 28th.

Tons of vendors at Packards are having sales, and today... I joined in.

You can go to my Market Blog to see photos of almost everything that is for sale...
nothing is exempt!
The more that sells now...the less I have to move, making more room for new items for the

Holiday Open House
held in November! I'll give more information in upcoming weeks plus sneak peaks at incoming merchandise.

So have you been wanting something? Hope this makes it possible for you to take it home ;)

Ordinary...

2011-10-09T10:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was such a wonderful day:

... my youngest son was joined at my hip... which is saying a lot since we homeschool all through the week and sometimes by the weekend he keeps his distance from me, grin;

... i thought on many, many occasions throughout the day, "oooh, how much i love my husband!";

... our daughter chose to spend from 9am to 5pm (on a Saturday) at a special meeting at church, and then went on and on and on about how grateful she was that she went... lots learned and testimony strengthened;

... shawn, christian, ty, and I went to friends' property and with many others, helped them winterize since they have had a recent health emergency and could not do if for themselves;

... shawn worked several hours on my studio, which made his wife love him so much!;

... our family all met at casablanca for dinner, it had been too long since we had mexican. we laughed, and talked, and shared our day with each other;

... after dinner we discussed our fast for today, deciding on a purpose;

... shawn and the boys went over to dad's to watch the au game but ended up watching the ne game and I hear the second choice of game viewing ended better;

... savannah went on to babysit for two of her favorite kiddos;

... i went home to a blissfully quiet home, read, 'surfed', and went to bed early...aaaaaah.

I often climb into bed and 'replay' the day just lived. I want to have a BIG item to recall as completed or conquered. I want a huge bright spot to stand out and make me content with my time spent that day. But last night I realized, after reading this quote... it is the little things, the time spent in good endeavors, the ordinary moments used in service and with family that I need to focus on! Successful Ordinary Day!

Noah and Eden

2011-10-07T18:26:00.003-05:00

Noah and Eden spent the day on the farm today.

There was very serious games of Sonic the Hedgehog played...

and not so serious, snicker.

We did the necessary trek to the barn, there are chores to be done... and if you want to visit the farm then ya gotta carry your own weight ;)

Notice Ty's clever solution to getting them to follow him... bag of Cheetos. Brilliant. Noah and Eden know to look for two very important things and avoid them at all costs... big piles of poo and fire ants.

I don't think I ever showed anymore photos of the baby donkey, Romeo.

Romeo was both terrified yet curious of the two new noise makers.

And when I say noisemakers... here they are in very loud form! Never mind that I plan on asking Shawn to recycle this tin roof for coverage at the shed for firewood. Ummm, a few footprint dents shouldn't hurt.

Two facts about Ty... he rarely wears shoes, and if there is a tree nearby... he feels the need to climb it.

Eden asked Uncle Shawn to lift her up, then immediately bossed him and said, 'move yours hands!' And proceeded to hang for quite a long time all by herself. I think by that smirk she is quite impressed with herself.

Well, Noah didn't tell Uncle Shawn to 'move his hands' and was NOT happy about hanging alone. Look of fear!

While the littles were swinging/hanging from trees and making tons of rackit... Savannah was saddling up Missi. Isn't Missi gorgeous?!

Giddy up cowgirl!

Not to be shown up by little sis...

Now comes the part where these raggamuffins earn their keep, aka juice and cheetos!

OK, Eden... turn on the spigot. You need to fill up the whole water trough!

Ummmm, I may have failed to mention that the water actually has to be aimed INSIDE of the trough to filler 'er up. And seems there was a very dirty leaf that Noah was sure needed a good washing. Priorities!

Aunt Disclaimer... I told them not to drink from the hose. I did.

This is how things go every time Eden comes to the farm: she is sure every animal secretly wants to eat her whole; she wants to pet them all so bad but because she knows of the secret plot to eat her for dinner she keeps her distance; but the longer she stays, she realizes that the urge to squeeze them and kiss them is stronger that the fear of being eaten alive.

Eden dear... I think this embrace is technically called a strangle hold. This may be the reason little kitty bolted as soon as he had the chance. Just sayin'.

Market Monday

2011-10-03T16:23:00.002-05:00

Delivered tons of new items to the booth this morning. The owner gave me GREAT news too, so I have had a huge smile on my face all day.

Go to my Market Blog if you want more pictures and details.

Time Perfectly Spent...

2011-10-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend was General Conference weekend for us. I can't wait for all the talks and sessions to arrive 'in print' very soon so I can read and reread and REREAD again some of my favorite talks of all time. I think I came prepared better for this Conference than I have in the past. I am a slow learning. And for me, it started with the RS Session that actually took place last Saturday... it has stuck with me all this week. Ironically I think because I was worn down, feeling very humbled, and needed good counsel... I was in the very place the Lord needed me to truly hear what would touch and help me most. Thankful!! You can go HERE if you would like to follow the talks from last Saturday (the one I cried through... the Spirit took me by the shoulders and gave me a firm but loving shake... was the talk by Pres. Uchtdorf of the RS Session) and there are also the links for the sessions from yesterday and today. Its going to be a great week!!

Today...

2011-09-28T19:59:00.002-05:00

Today... the weather was so gorgeous, I sat on the front porch this afternoon and daydreamed. No book to read, no kids to entertain me, just zoned...

Today... I have come to the realization that a simple sinus infection that has plagued me for over a week has morphed. Antibiotics make me so sick, I just let these things run their course and all is usually well. But I am convinced that this si is mocking me... we shall see what the doc says in the morning, whimper.

Today... I am so glad that there were not many witnesses to my attempt to catch 3 escapee donkeys and the border collie that was 'failing' to herd them. Me, wheezing due to illness, running from the front of the property all the way to back... I'm sure I was a sight! Savannah was at work, and the boys were next door. Thankfully my pleas for help sent Christian and Ty to my rescue and it took them 10 minutes to do what I had spent the past hour attempting. The donkeys are safely back in the pasture and the naughty pup is in time out. Me? I should sleep like a rock tonight.

Today... I did not make it to the grocery store as planned. The consolation was Lawlers for dinner.

Today... I sat down and planned my weekend. I have not had a weekend to do what I want to do in a long time. I think I shall paint some furniture, some for our home, and some for the booth. It will feel good to be productive. Surely I will feel better, it is time.

Tonight... I am sitting in a quiet, peaceful home. I love our home. It is such a work in progress, but I adore the process. My sweethearts are all at church. I am so proud of them. My three handsome men in their scout uniforms and my sweet daughter ready to go visit some of the older couples in our ward and take them treats.

Tonight... I am going to snuggle in with a large bowl of Rocky Road icecream and a good book and wait for my favorite sound... the folks I love most driving back up in the trucks so we can say prayers and ALL snuggle in. Good night.

Market Monday

2011-09-26T14:31:00.000-05:00

well, Well, WELL...

That was officially my longest hiatus from blogging, and I missed it! We've been on vacation, then recovering from vacation, settling into a new homeschooling year, and much more. Whew!

I hope to do catch up posts on our vacation, etc... but I figured I better start with a Market Monday. I am still begging for a larger space at Packards. It would require some shuffling around of other vendors, so its not a quick and easy process, BUT I hope they will help me expand. But until then... I shall continue to pack my little single booth to the rafters, grin.

You can go to my Market Blog to see more pictures of some of the items I dropped off this morning. Hope to be back soon with more posts ;)

Market Monday and MY series of unfortunate events...

2011-08-29T18:07:00.001-05:00

well... umm... it is indeed ~~MANIC~~ Monday.

Mine involved avalanches, bruises, shattered McCoys, and a broken camera. How about yours?

In the end... I DID deliver several items to the booth, that goal met at least, grin!

You can go to my Market Blog if you would like to see more photos...

Yesterday... and some resulting thoughts

2011-08-27T10:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday... I was sick. And truth is today I don't feel much better, but I have resolved to try and ignore it. If I ignore it, it'll just go away. Right?! That's my game plan anyway. My optimism is lacking though.

Yesterday... I had planned a trip to the lake to go boating. I did not get to go. Whimper. Shawn was a super dad and still took all the kids and they had a blast.

Yesterday... I found this little note under by bedroom door from Ty. He was sad I could not join them on the boat. He is so good at writing me notes... I sure love him!

Yesterday... I got tired of being inside, so I sat on the front porch. I counted 7, SEVEN, of these green guys/gals on our front porch. And everyone of them was nicely suction cupped to a porch column with half opened eyes... lazy day.

Yesterday... I strolled the woods outside our kitchen window and gathered these itsy bitsy pinecones. I'm not sure what type of pinetree drops these little cones, but I love them! I have the kids out today gathering our larger cones from around our silo. They sure were whiney about it... the kids... not the pinecones!

Yesterday... my sweetheart was very soft and patient with me. He even drove to the next town to pick up two very HUGE cement urns I found on craigslist. I hoped they would be large, the seller had them in storage and could not give me exact measurement... and I was not disappointed. And was so glad that I wasn't the one that had to heave-hoooo them into the back of the truck and bring them home. Thank you Shawn... ps, I love you tons!

Yesterday... I visited our coop. Well, actually, Savannah told me she was 'socializing' the 3 remaining chicks with the old hens and I had to go take a look. This process can be volatile... the pecking order is alive and well in our chicken coop!

...thankfully though, an old hen has 'adopted' the 3 chicks and is mothering them. This has kept the other hens from feeling the need to harass them the normal amount.

Yesterday... I decided to go ahead and name the 3 lone survivors. These are 'top hatter' chickens and I can't help but think of BIG 80s hair when I see them. We think two are males because of the size of their 'hats'... and one lone female.

We'll call this guy... Ozzy.

And this fella is... Bowie.

And this little beauty is... Lauper

Oh how I loved me some Cyndi back in the day. Truth is I loved her best in combo red and yellow hair, grin.

Yesterday... evening, Shawn and Christian gathered with friends for a 'friendly' game of Settlers
of Catan. AND Chrisitan did not win. I state this because Christian is the most frustrating person to play board games with because the boy never loses. But alas... he met his match(es). And I am glad to report that my boy is a good sport about losing... no moping, whining, or tantrums were reported.

Last night, not sure I can actually call it 'night', I crawled into bed at 5:45pm. I was thinking I would take some meds and catch up on blog reading... while I waited to fall alseep. I did not even stay awake long enough to fully boot up the computer. Nope. I don't remember a thing. Literally head hit the pillow and lids slammed shut.

This morning I have been thinking on some words of wisdom:

"Sometimes we get so worn out with being useful, that we get useless."

"People who cannot find time for recreation, are obliged - sooner or later - to find time to be sick."

"Time wasted is not always a waste of time."

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards."

Spanish Proverb

And so I grimace thinking how absolutely 'packed' my September calendar is... and that month has not even begun. I've got to edit somehow. Else I fear I shall find myself 'useless' again ;) Balance sure is not a way of life that I have mastered as of yet...

Sisters, Inc

2011-08-25T11:43:00.000-05:00

Every Thursday, us Mayfield gals gather together to hang out and let the kiddos play.

Sometimes we are productive, like creating a photo wall in Alisha's living room, or doing a service project of some sort... but often we just enjoy each others company.

Over the summer we had a field trip to the Train Depot.

I had never been here. It was a burning hot day... so we were thankful that there were fun indoor activities too.

Mayfield cousins are never short on goofiness... the dress-up clothes were a big hit!

I do not have a regular 'slot' in the rotation, since I can not make it every week during the school year... due to homeschooling. So I love to have Sisters,Inc here at the farm when I can during the summer months.

We always serve lunch... and can I just tell ya, we can put out a spread! Depending on what hostess is in charge... we have mexican, hotdogs, homemade pizzas, sandwiches, etc.

Ty sure loves the summer Sisters, Inc the best because the older cousins are there too. But truth be told, when we attend throughout the year Ty quite enjoys the 'rockstar' status with the younger cousins too... he has his own little groupies!

Today, Ty and I should be at Cari's for SI, whimper. I am not feeling well so we had to miss. So at least I could post these pics and grin.

Market Monday

2011-08-22T15:47:00.001-05:00

I went toe to ~~toe~~ drawer, this week, with the most stubborn piece of furniture I have ever worked on. I was thrilled and relieved with the end results. Whew. I was reduced to name calling and fit throwing but all is forgotten... the final piece is wonderful! Please go to my Market Blog... here... if you want to see some of the items delivered to my booth today!

I am THAT lady...

2011-08-20T12:56:00.000-05:00

Most Friday and Saturday mornings, you will find me out shopping Estate and Garage Sales. First and foremost, honestly, and selfishly... I want to find treasures for ME! Yep!

But now I have the added fun twist of finding items for my booth too... so I truly don't whine when the alarm clock goes off at 5:30 am on the weekends.

So yesterday morning I was having tons of fun, out and about. Finding several things for my own personal uses and collections. I stopped at one particular sale and spotted this little round ottoman.

I am looking for a small round ottoman to use in my entry. I examined it. Put it down. Shopped around... then came back to it. Meanwhile, the garage sale 'hostess', an adorable old woman, kept giggling. I was the only shopper at that time. I was a tad unnerved, truthfully. I put the ottoman down again and the giggling stopped. I looked at the sale items one more time, making final decisions on what to buy... and I once again picked up the ottoman. The vinyl was a gorgeous aqua... but too far damaged to patch in any way. So then I thought... a cute aqua linen slipcover would give this little 'gal' new life.

Sold for ONE whole dollar.

The old woman, again giggling at me, screamed into the house for her husband, Job, and told him to come on out and bring the camera. I was ready at this point to drop my 'loot' and just leave, unsettled to say the very least. So Job came out of the front door with camera in hand and said, "You have got to be kidding me!" I stood smiling awkwardly at them both... ready to bolt. Then the woman reached out and tapped my arm (probably because she saw the weird expression on my face) and explained....

'the day before, her husband and two daughter were helping her sort and price items for the garage sale. When she asked their opinions on what to price the little aqua ottoman... the hubby and daughters were all in agreement that it was too far gone and that she should just throw it in the garbage. The woman disagreed. She felt it was worth at least something! That was when the husband stated that there was not one lady in the whole city crazy enough to pay one CENT for the ottoman. And the daughters chimed in and said... if there was a lady crazy enough to pay money for the ottoman, then they wanted their dad to take a picture of her!'

And there you have it... yep... I was the crazy lady! And yes, for documentation purposes... I indeed stood there holding my cute aqua ottoman smiling for the camera. Knowing full well that the whole family was going to be enjoying a huge laugh at my expense... but it is all in good fun.

And I stick to my instincts that this ottoman is going to be cute, CUTE, when I get done with it. But the joke may be on me in the end because it is a tad small for the space I wanted it for, but if so, off to the booth it will go and I am convinced someone beside 'the crazy lady' will love it dearly, snicker!

Beside the Twilight Zone feeling experience with the ottoman, I found incredible items throughout the day! Over 5 years ago, I found these little cobbler shoe forms at an antique store in Destin. They were not an actual 'pair' but I loved them instantly.

For several years this little set sat in my entry looking darling.

Then I thought how much they reminded me of Ty, my child that never wants to wear shoes... who if I told him to go grab shoes to wear he deliberately grabbed mismatched shoes to make the point that he did not want to wear them anyway. These became 'Ty's shoes'.

So somewhat subconsciously I started to keep my eye out for cobbler forms for each member of our family.

Two years ago I found these... they reminded me of Savannah. Perfect match. Neatly strung together, higher on the ankles... because even when she was little she preferred little boots. Not surprised now that she prefers to wear cowboy boots to flip flops.

About 6 months after that I found these. Christian's forms. They too are strung together with a cord. I used to have to tie Christian's shoes together by the laces when we took them off else somehow one shoe would be under the couch and the other in his closet?!? Oh to have the time back we spent trying to find both of Christian's shoes when he was young. Before I started tying the laces together when they were taken off.

This Spring when Shawn and I went to the Blue Ridge Mountains for our anniversary... I found this pair. I had never seen a painted pair of forms. The white paint instantly made these seem feminine. Most women shoe forms are very arched so that a high heel could be added later. But I am a flip flop gal and rarely wear heels.... so I thought these were perfect to represent ME.

All that to say... yesterday, I found this pair at an Estate Sale. Shawn's. They are very different from the other forms but I loved them instantly. I feared they would be too long to fit on the stair step where I want to display the forms. But I bought them and they fit perfectly!

So here 'we' all are. Ty at the top and in order of age going down. I love them. Collection complete!

A few weeks ago, I confessed to taking the Joy of Cooking Cookbook (pictured on the far right) to my booth only to bring it back home later... I loved it and decided I could not sell it. Well, yesterday I found another one. It is a slightly different shade of blue and title font. Precious!

Now to my last amazing find of my Friday... the one that made me pull over and text my sister and sil, because I was so beyond happy and had to share. First... just this past Thursday I was mentioned to Cari and Alisha that there was an old dressform at an antique store that I wanted so bad. It is called a 'chain link' dressform and so unique. But the price was HUGE... like $290 HUGE. I stated that i just wish it would sell so I could quit drooling over something I would never spend that much money on. Sigh.

So less than 24 hours later... I am driving home from hitting sales and ready to be home. It was 10am and that is actually late for me to still be out. I was driving down a street and saw and Estate Sale sign... stating the sale had begun at 7am and was ending at 11am. Surely there wasn't anything good left. But I decided to take a quick peek. I almost forgot to put my truck in park and pull out the key because I saw 'her' standing on the porch.

I walked up and did not even attempt casual conversation..."IS IT STILL FOR SALE???!!?"

Yes! Then the woman started to state all the dress forms imperfections, her broken snaps, her wobbly base, it belonged to her grandmother and had been in the attic since her death.... I do not overstate that I was a tad dizzy at this point. I was so afraid to ask how much she was selling for. I knew the price tag of the dressform at the antique store and I was convinced this would be out of my league too. But I had to ask, bracing myself for the answer. Funny thing is that I asked and then my ears immediately started to 'buzz'. Self protection perhaps? Not hearing the answer I asked again... how much?

$25.

I immediately dug into my purse... paying for her with 5 $5s, and could not get her snatched off that porch fast enough. I think I left the Estate Lady dumbfounded... not an ounce of haggling, no contemplation, I even forgot to see what else might have been left for sale... I just lifted the form up and put her in the truck.

I sat in the truck only long enough to text my sister and sil about my 'find' and then to let my dizziness pass. Snort. And I drove home so pleased with all my treasures.

And I love the form more today then I did yesterday. I have inspected her many 'faults'. She has only a single snap intact on the front. She needs some serious reshaping. She is wobbly.

BUT I think a gorgeous 3" thick velvet or satin turquoise sash around her waist would be smashing and then I shall leave her as is. Perfect!

A Day Late... and growing pains!

2011-08-16T16:55:00.000-05:00

Growing Pains...

I find myself knee deep in 'em!

Go here if you want to see the new items added to the booth today. And if you feel up to suffering through my break down of 'pains', grin, its all there too. Thank you!

Today...

2011-08-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

Today was our Ward Conference. I adore Ward Conference!

Today I had such a tender heart. I was a goner with the opening song at church... then the Sacrament song had me all emotional... and then lo and behold, the choir sang one of my favorite songs. Whew! Sometimes the tears must flow, and in the end it feels good and right!

Today I found myself watching Christian as he passed the Sacrament. I love him, of course. Even more than that I love who he is, the ways he is like me, the ways he is better than me, the ways he is like his father, the ways he is very much his own person and loves life. He was a tough kid to 'mother' when younger... sure enjoying him now. Rewards. Heavenly Father sure can pile on the rewards!

Today we only had 13 children in Nursery. But before I could fully enjoy the newness of having so few children... I instantly missed the children that were absent. Truth is I love the wonderful chaos when ALL our littles are present... I love the divas, the ALL BOYS, the snugglers, the gigglers, the ones with broken 'volume' buttons, the squirmers, the timids, the dancers... I could not love them more. Nope.

Today I bent down to scoop up a Nursery babe to tickle him... but the joke was on me cause I popped a button on my skirt. That wasn't a boost to my self-esteem, but it did not save the babe from a thorough tickling nonetheless!

Today I fixed mozzarella paninis and a HUGE salad for dinner. It was Yum!

Tonight I still am feeling a tad tender hearted. My Sweetheart and Christian just got home from their Priesthood Meetings and I love that they get to go together.

Tonight I am once again thankful for a gorgeous Sabbath Day. I love Sundays!

Market Monday

2011-08-08T20:06:00.000-05:00

It wasn't easy... but I DID manage to deliver my new items to my booth today. I was soaked to the bone after running in and out to get it all delivered... but it is all safely there now. Hopefully you are home and safe and can go HERE if you would like to see some of the items that are now in my booth!

Summer Heat Advisory!

2011-08-02T19:35:00.001-05:00

Seems that most days while the cousins were living at the farm, came with a heat advisory. So if the outside play didn't involve water, that meant the kids had to stay inside during the day. One evening we waited for the temps to finally go down and then we headed out for dinner.

A classic hot dog and marshmallow roast... with all the necessary fixins and supplies, note the bug spray!

Kena found the absolutely best roasting stick e.v.e.r.... she was quite proud of her find....

Ummmmm, that is until she broke it. OoOoops. She was determined to put it back together. Adamant!

Truth be told the hotdogs were still a tad frozen when I brought them out. Required diligence to get it heated all the way through. I think the kids much preferred the instant gratification of the marshmallows. Although NateDogg's marshmallow roasting skills were brought into question. He managed to get pine needles and all kinds of debris in his 'mallow. He kept on trying though....

Its worth mentioning here that this guy can be a tad shy. Yep. Timid. Reserved. All around Camera Shy!

Seems Kena was the 'one' to cuddle this night. Everytime I tried to take her picture... someone had to squeeze or kiss her. Its a hard life..

It was a fantastic evening. Alisha and I even hung out in the adirondaks long after the kids went in... and just when I dared mention the bugs weren't half bad... they got me good.

Good Night!

Market Monday

2011-08-01T15:48:00.001-05:00

Today marks my 3 month anniversary in my booth. I had lots of goals set for myself for this first quarter and I have thankfully met them. I did not foresee how quickly it would grow! The next 3 months' goals are sure to include more organization and balance, so this can be a long-term venture for me. The staff at Packards are so patient and kind. Their compliments and suggestions have been so appreciated. Today as I was restocking, I heard 3 different people enter Packards and ask specifically for Once Upon a Farm Booth. I later found out that pictures of my booth were featured on Packards Facebook Page. Grateful. So once again, go HERE... for a look at some items added to booth as of this morning.

The Blessing of Protection

2011-07-31T11:26:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, Shawn got home from work and decided to do some weedeating around the farm. He stores his lawn equipment in our Carriage House. After he finished working he walked back into the Carriage House and could smell smoke. He knocked on Misty's Loft door (she rents our loft that is above the Carriage House garages). He thought maybe she had burnt her dinner or something. No. She also had smelt something burning but assumed we were burning something in our burnpile in the back pasture. And so goes the next series of events:

These are a picture of our garage door openers in the Carriage House. Notice the plastic covers on the front... they house the light bulbs that come on when you open the doors.

Misty and Shawn started investigating where the burning smell could have been coming from. They immediately found THIS. The wood we had stored on the floor that we are using to panel the new studio. It was actually in flames when they found it. Shawn put the flames out and came and got me, I was in the main house.

We were so perplexed. How could this wood just up and catch on fire. But then I looked closer and I thought I saw splatters of wax.

Nope. It was plastic... causing us to look UP!! This is what we saw... simultaneously gasping. Now look again at the above picture. That is a scorched bird's nest.

We have come to realize that the plastic cover on these garage door openers is actually OPEN on the top, I assume to prevent the light bulb from getting too hot. BUT this allows birds to then build nests inside the cover, right on top of the light bulb! Which one did. Then when Shawn opened the garage door that day, the light bulb turned on, and the bulb caught the nest on fire... causing this fire.

We all stood there trembling to realize that there were gas cans, a 4wheeler full of gas, AND a lawnmower full of gas sitting under this garage door opener. Not to mention that the ceiling was burned but did not actually catch fire. This could have escalated so quickly had Shawn not entered the garage right at the time that he did after weedeating.

I have shed many tears over the 'might have beens'. I insisted that ALL garage door openers (because we have the same in our house garage too) be purged from the property. Pretty much picture me ranting, raving, full blown ugly crying, and over all freaking out... I do it well!

But finally I calmed. I was sure to drop to my knees and give thanks for the protection received that day... most importantly for Misty, and a far second... our property. Now on Shawn's urgent 'to do' list is to put screen over the openings of the bulb covers on the garage openers to prevent future nest immediately on the bulbs.

I know we have trials to strengthen us. I am so thankful that Misty in any way being harmed was not a trial we had to face that day. And while we had gotten a tad robotic in our prayers asking for His kind protection on our family and loved ones... that same protection is NOW being asked for in a much more meaningful, sincere context... and with daily gratitude too!!

Kenadie

2011-07-29T19:59:00.003-05:00

aka: Kena, Kenne, Kena Pooh, Princess Cutie Bootie (she's gonna be mad about that one later in life), and the list goes on and on. Little Miss Kenadie was the youngest kiddo, out of 7 siblings and cousins, living on the farm for 4 weeks. She sure made things sweeter around here. I will never tire of her little voice. She 'held her own' and ran with the big kids, taking VERY few naps... much to the exhaustion of her mom ;) She... ate lots of oatmeal and cereal, played in the mud, road 4wheelers, conquered the huge hammock, played Wii and ipads, was a puzzle maniac (I hear this gene comes from her Nuna), ate her dinner with bribes to get milkshakes for dessert, slip 'n slided, waterballoon battled, played with chicks, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and MUCH more.

But what I could not wait for each day from Miss Kena... was the first glimpse of her bed head.

Oh dear, this little diva could rock her sleepy 'do. Not many people could still be termed cute with this swirling on top of their noggin', but she could.

And the true phenomenon to this whole hair thing is... while the rest of us wake up and 'tame' our tresses for the day, then step out into the humidity for 2.2 seconds only to see it frizz out to disastrous proportions... NOT Kena! She wakes with bed head fro and steps outside into the humidity and her hair curls up into the sweetest, softest, little ringlets. Case in point...

It needs to be stated that their was some serious cousin loves exchanged between these two. I don't know who was smitten more, but Christian and Kenadie sure loved to hang out!

And this mom sure loves her teenage son and that he slowed down long enough to give this sweet cousin of his all the time in the world. Afterall, it couldn't have been ALL fun and games for her not being in her own bed, having her own toys, being able to run freely in her own backyard... but Christian sure helped ease the upheaval of all that is normal to her. Hero!

Miss seeing her DAILY. Those giggles, her polka dot PJs, her chocolatey smile, her painted masterpieces... HER!

Market Monday

2011-07-25T18:04:00.000-05:00

Got my booth restocked this week. Sorry if you visited over this weekend... the numbered dresser sold and when I arrived today, the booth was in total disarray. Whew! I did some flip flopping of big pieces so I could squeeze in some more furniture and it is packed FULL. Hope you Enjoy the pics this week.... here. Thanks!!!

ONE happy farm...

2011-07-24T21:28:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had 90+ friends and family on the farm to celebrate Pioneer Day. Our Primary children, ages 18months to 11 years, along with Primary leaders and teachers all came to participate in activities to help us remember what the early Pioneers did to bless our lives today. Our Primary Presidency is brilliant. The whole day was an absolute success and joy to see.

This adorable covered wagon welcomed all the 'Pioneers' to the farm.

Each child was given the name of an actual pioneer child that crossed the plains so many years ago. The children were given handmade bonnets, aprons, and vests. They spent several hours re-enacting events, trials, and visiting 'locations' that the early pioneers would have experienced.

They visited Chimney Rock, Fort Bridger, crossed the Platte River... and many other sites.

They learned about handcarts and how they could only hold the bare essentials.

It was quite a challenge to maneuver the handcart over the bridge...

over the rocky terrain, and through the woods... WHEW!!

So many skills learned in one morning. Everywhere I looked one of my littles from Nursery was working hard and I just did not think my heart could keep from bursting. Oh how I love them!

Savannah brought several of the animals to the front pasture for the children to see, pet, and hold.

Children that were a tad intimidated by the larger animals at first... slowly would gain courage and trust and pet and feed the horse and donkeys.

Jed brought his Angus from his farm a few properties down from ours. I think cows are so gorgeous!

Willow, our little goat, was a crowd pleaser. Most of the children had met her when Savannah took her to the Christmas party in a diaper... she was just weeks old then. She is a smoozer, the children obviously like a good smoozer.

After all the activities, the children were thoroughly hot and exhausted... the leaders brilliantly pulled out the yummy snacks and water. Earlier the children made homemade butter and this was then spread on homemade bread... add to that dried fruits and you have happy kiddos!!

The children spent the rest of the time on the hammock, running around, jumping off logs, and resting in the adirondacks.

Shawn gave a few of the children a little spin around the farm on the 4-wheeler. So much for handcarts and roughing it...

One word: BRAVO! This was such a fantastic day. The work and thought that was involved in pulling off such a large and successful event was so wonderful. And to go to church today and sit with our Nursery littles as they remembered the fun they had was just a delight. Thank you Primary Presidency!

the Canoooooe...

2011-07-20T09:41:00.000-05:00

I love old dough bowls. I am especially drawn to these large trough styles... the bigger the better. I use them all over the house. Some have decorative items in them, but most of them hold blankets and pillows for the convenience of grabbing and cuddling to watch a movie, etc.

The largest one I have is in the TV room. When I bought it in Destin and Shawn saw it... he asked sarcastically 'why I bought a canoe'. It is that huge. The nieces and nephews have found the canoe to be quite comfy. Each day there is a different kiddo lounging or playing in it.

Our resident GOOFBALL!!

All the kids played outside yesterday in the water and making MUD!!! Kena was plain ole tuckered out!

Looks like the Mayfield house will be liveable again by weeks end. Not finished by any means, but liveable. Insert selfish whimper here. What will we do with out precious tiny voices around the farm... and little feet running through the house?! I'm sure they will be thankful to settle into their home again and regain some sense of normal. We will miss them, yep.

Market Monday

2011-07-18T18:50:00.000-05:00

The accessories I have delivered to my booth this week are definitely some of my favorites thus far. Go here for a peak!

Market Monday... I have a good excuse...

2011-07-12T14:40:00.000-05:00

Ummm. I'm late again. Please go here to read about my ~~lame~~ very urgent and relevant excuse, snicker.

Whirlwind of fun and chaos

2011-07-06T20:50:00.004-05:00

This is my younger brother Nate, wife Alisha, and kiddos. Their home was hit by the tornadoes that came through our state 2 months ago. The major repairs needed to their home have made them temporarily homeless. I begged for them to just come and take an extended stay at the farm... and two Mondays ago they arrived. The farm has been tons more fun ever since!

Poor Nate is still holding down the home front while working during the day. He comes and stays here on the weekends. Not sure how long it will take to dismantle the damage and rebuild again, but honestly, us Callahans are in NO HURRY to see them leave. Activities during the days include workbooks (kids not so happy about that part, snicker), puzzles, hammock time, tons of games (we can be quite the competitive group), building forts, 4 wheelers, time with chicks and baby donkey, WII, chores, slip 'n slide, and general chaos making. Life is Good!

In other farm news... Christian's toe has chosen to remain a part of his body, whew! It was near impossible to keep him off his foot for longer than 48 hours. I threatened to sit on him but he laughed at me, rude. He seems to be in the clear and is just thankful that he will be able to go to Youth Conference next week. Huge Priority.

Ummmm, have I said how much I love my husband... yes?!... well, I do! He is such a patient man. Like when I tell him that I want 12foot wide steps on the shed, he simply grabs a pad of paper and sketches out what I want and makes a shopping list for Lowes. He didn't even ask why the steps need to be that wide. Fact is that the shed is right next to the firering where we hang out often and I can see lots of littles lined up on the steps with plates in their laps full of roasted hot doggies. Yep, wide steps = extra seating.

We now have a ramp at the double doors too. The shed is on very uneven ground, so to level it the installers had to use lots of blocks. Not the look I was going for so while Shawn was on a roll I asked him to come up with some kind of skirting. While I would have loved a stone skirting, I quickly returned from lala land and decided I was too cheap for that idea.

The wood skirting is ~~cheap~~ PERFECT! Now I am still trying to convince Shawn that the metal door needs to be 'skinned' in wood to feel more like the rustic shed I am dreaming of. Then a firewood lean to on the right side and then I can paint/white wash it. I won't bore you with visions of climbing roses and hydrangeas... yet. I'll save that blabber for a later post. You're welcome.

Monday we had our annual 4th of July barbecue. We had all the tables and chairs set up at the fire ring. I thought the rain was going to pass over. I was wrong. The gigantic clap of thunder that made all the adults, children, and dogs pee themselves helped us adjust plans quite quickly. And we soon found out that we can squeeze 50+ folks into our kitchen and back porch for burgers and hotdogs. It worked out great.

The kids had fun just being together with promises that we would head outside as soon as the storms passed. Just before sunset we were indeed able to ride 4wheelers and play lawn games. Fireworks were a blast and the holiday was yet another great memory.

Some sad news... a predator of some kind got into our chicken coop a few nights ago (a very sad 'someone' forgot to close the coop up for the night). We were left with only 4 chicks. To say those 4 chicks are getting lots of attention is an understatement. We are trying to come up with 4 perfect 80s hair band names for the survivors. They just getting funnier and funnier! Check out the 'dos.

And the last bit of news for this week is... Savannah ditched us all. It is Young Women's Camp this week and she is a Youth Camp Leader this year. She loves camp. Thankfully she has trained her cousin Carden to carry on with her farmgal 'duties' so I can can continue to enjoy the animals... but don't have to do the down and dirty work. Ahhhhhh. Gotta love delegation. Its a beautiful concept.

And anyone that truly knows Savannah is not surprised in the least that she is wearing her boots to camp. True to herself... Love that girl!

Market Monday... late.

2011-07-05T16:25:00.001-05:00

I am WAY behind on posts, so I will start with the post I am only ONE day late on and catch up from there. My booth is s.t.u.f.f.e.d! If you don't mind a very 'cozy' shopping experience, grin, please be sure and stop in this week. Go... here... if you want to see some highlights. Hope your 4th of July was incredible.

Market Monday

2011-06-27T15:07:00.001-05:00

As you can tell from reading my last two posts, I have had a very busy and interesting couple weeks. But I have finished tons of new pieces for my booth. It might be a tad over-stuffed but I am so happy with what I was able to get done. Little thank you toss out for my sweet extended family that came to my house to visit this weekend. They sat among all my projects in different stages of completion and were probably horrified at the condition of my house, but loved me anyway and kept me company while I worked. You can go... here... if you want to see some of the items I just delivered to my booth. Have a great week!

Ending with shots in the toe!

2011-06-26T23:33:00.002-05:00

Christian has been MIA in our household for the past two weeks. First he was off to Stake Scout High Adventure... caving, repelling, hiking, camping, bouldering, rafting... he was home for two days and then off again to Ward Scout High Adventure.

He was to be canoeing all week, camping in between. All his equipment had to fit in waterproof buckets. He is becoming quite genius in the art of packing an impossible amount of stuff in the smallest packs/containers!

He was dropped off to start his adventure at 3:30 am Monday morning.

In true Christian fashion... he arrived back home Friday and the house volume was cranked back up to very.high.levels but truth be told... we like it! But I noticed right away that Christian was limping. He just said he had a blister on his toe. K. I should have questioned further, his idea of a little blister and mine are two different things. By Friday night he was having a hard time walking at all. When I finally got him to show me his foot, his left little toe was swollen to at least 4 times its normal size. The odd thing was that I did not see any blister. I thought it may be broke it was so swollen. He elevated it and took some pain meds and went to bed. Saturday he woke up and was still limping but not one complaint. By late that night though... his facade was crumbling. More pain meds and soaking and elevating foot. Sunday morning, there was no more shrugging off the limp. He could not put any pressure on his foot. I used my mean mommy voice, which still can strike fear in the heart of my 15 year old son, and took a much closer look. It was horrid! His little toe was BLACK! He said, "it is excruciating!" I rushed him to the ER.

This is where I wanted to pinch my oldest son... hard. Cause when I helped him walk into the ER, him grimacing in pain the whole way, the nurse asked him to rate his pain on a scale of 0-10. Zero being no pain and Ten being unbearable pain. He said 4! 4?! FOUR?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The boy was literally sweating from the pain and he said a 4!

Before I could ring his neck for that answer, they had us back in an examination room. The doctor came in and took one look at his toe and was taken aback. She was convinced it was broken badly or at the very least had some object stuck in it. Xray. No break, no foreign objects. She needed to open the toe, the color and heat of the toe had the doctor very concerned. She couldn't hide her enthusiasm for this little mystery though... I'm sure Christian's case was making her Sunday at least an interesting one. They had to give him 3 shots right into the toe. I thought Christian was going to start throwing fists. He did not move, but the sweat poured. The shots did no good in the end, she couldn't get him numb and said she was going to have to open the toe anyway. The next 30 minutes were gruesome. I will spare you the details and how many gauze pads were used. The doctor determined that Christian must have indeed gotten an injury some time the first week at camp... either a puncture or blister. At some point thereafter the wound got infected... probably by the river water during canoeing. His body healed over the wound but not before infection had set in. The dreaded scenario of the body healing too quickly from the outside in. So the infection had gotten quite critical. The swelling cutting off circulation to the toe and busting blood vessels... it was a mess. So Christian now has a toe with a very large hole in it, that hole is uncomfortably packed with medicated dressing. He must stay off his foot, and keep it sterile. In two days we hope to be able to have the packing removed and start the process of a slow healing. Scary news though is that infections of this severity rarely heal the first go around. We have many symptoms we will be watching for in the next few day. Praying for no more complications. Whew!

In usual Christian fashion... he is still in high spirits, even after 4 hours in the ER. We made toe jokes all the way home. Pain meds help with the jovial mood, of course. Christian said he had only one regret... that we didn't get a good photo of the black toe, for his posterity.

Last Sunday I was up in the weeeee hours with Ty as he suffered the severe consequences of dehydration. This Sunday found me in the ER for 4 hours with Christian. I, WE, need a nice, quiet, simple, and uneventful Sabbath Sunday this next go around. I shall pray for that starting NOW!

Home Boy

2011-06-24T09:38:00.002-05:00

Ty, our little home boy... meaning he would be so content never to leave the farm. He loves our house, his room, the land, all the trees, the animals, etc. He is quite content to have others come here and hang out, rarely does he consider leaving the farm, to do anything, a good idea. Except for 2 things... scouts and baseball. He really loves weekly cub scouts and during baseball season he is so driven by his love of the game. This week, though, his two loves collided in a hectic way that I thought may do us BOTH in. Adding to the impending collision the fact that last weekend he was in the initial games of the AllStar tournament and he got dehydrated... tremendous headaches, dizziness, double vision, and a night of severe vomiting... whew, he survived the crazy schedule to enter this week... with an even more hectic schedule. Ty and I don't DO hectic schedules well, we much prefer slow paces in general. But THE week came nonetheless and we tackled it with all we had to give!

Beginning Monday morning with Cub Scout Day Camp. This is a Monday-Friday, 7 hours a day camp. Ty loves day camp, but after being sick with dehydration on Sunday... he was nervous to say the least. Thankfully he did fine, a credit to all the amazing scout moms that rally to pull off this HUGE event each year. I really love that when I drop Ty off in the morning I know there are tons of 'moms' and even a few dads that are there to be with him, so appreciate, truly.

I drop him off at 8am. Return to park at 2pm to sit in pickup line for an hours so I can be first in line to get Ty at 3pm pickup. I know this is a blurry picture but this is classic Ty when he barrels into the truck at 3.

On the very first day he leaps into the car all grins, exhausted but happy. Rattling off all the fun things he did that day... archery, bbguns, olympic games, chess... whew! But wait! "What happened to your leg?!" Huh? He looks at the scratches down his leg and seriously can't remember getting them. Boys!

We don't have time to ponder the flesh wound for long because Ty has to quickly change into his baseball uniform... go, go, go. Within 15 minutes of pickup from camp, his has changed clothes and is asleep. Yep. Out cold. This is a phenomenal that has been both a blessing and a curse with Ty. The boy falls asleep in minutes of being in a moving car. This week that has been a blessing because he is able to get 1 1/2 hours of sleep between camp and the beginning of his baseball game each night. Please note that this photo is taken in the parking lot of the ballpark and I have taken off his seatbelt and laid his dead asleep body on a pillow for more comfortable sleeping... didn't want grandparents to think I drive with him unbuckled, wink!

And at 4:45pm I simply whisper his name, and he shoots out of a dead sleep ready to PLAY BALL.

So lets get this straight.
Ty's schedule:
7am - wake up, get dressed for camp, eat breakfast.
7:20am - load into car for 40 minute trek across town to camp.
8am - arrive at camp and drop off.
8am-3pm - tons of fun, lunch, go, go, go.
3-3:15pm - happy ramblings about all the fun, me reminding him to hurry and get baseball uniform on, and Ty asleep in truck.
4:45-8pmish - Ty playing baseball.
8:30pm - he finally gets dinner, fact about Ty... he cannot eat right before a game else he gets "knots and cramps in his gut" or so he describes it :) So late dinner it is!
9:30pm - I am sending him to bed although he is CONVINCED he is not tired and wants to watch movies instead. I reassure him that he is only nine and that I know better and that I am much meaner and he better get in bed. And we repeat this process the very next day.

So please imagine with me... the relief when his team finishes the tournament on Wednesday, we lost and it was a tough loss... but the 3 week AllStar season (every night 2 1/2 hour practices or games) is done, regular season games and practices before that, and imagine my content sigh as I exhaustedly plopped onto our couch late, late, Wednesday night. And the phone rings. Late night phone calls are always startling.

Shawn answers and is nervously looking at me... afterall he knows how crazy my last few weeks have been especially THIS week. He hangs up the phone and gives me a sheepish grin. I am defenseless against my man's sheepish grin, dang it!

So the story goes like this... older AllStar team has lost 2 players with the possibility of another player out too... they always 'draft' extra players for AllStar team to have a deep lineup, but the potential loss of 3 players will cripple the team. So the Coach of that AllStar team asked to pull Ty up as an alternate for the older team. To be asked to 'play up' in an older league is an honor, Ty was asleep at this moment but I knew he would be so happy when he got the news in the morning. Their tournaments start this weekend, whimper, sigh, exhale. Ty may not actually have to play, but he is in the wings... and I am CONVINCED this is the baseball season that never will end, nope... I am doomed to have the ridges on those darn bleaches forever indented on my tush, yep. But this is not about me, right?! RIGHT! I shall pick him up yet again from camp at 3pm and we shall wait for the call to come to the field... and if it never comes, that would be great too, cause this has been a great, hectic, crazy, mom taxi driver, wonderful week and I wouldn't trade it for the world. But let it be noted... next week I may not leave the farm once, nope, hermit in training... I like the sound of that!

Market Monday

2011-06-20T09:49:00.001-05:00

I will be very busy this week finishing items to refill my booth... I had the best week since I have been open and lots of holes to fill, thank you!! Go to my Market blog... here... and see what I added now, and be sure to check back next week as I have some more larger items going in then!

Happy Dad's Day!

2011-06-19T19:51:00.001-05:00

We started celebrating early by heading to IHOP Saturday morning for a big 'Daddy's Breakfast'... never mind that it was noon! We make it a point not to go to IHOP too often because we do not show self control.

Ty may have eaten just one too many double chocolate pancakes.

Christian on the other hand could have kept going, this guy can eat a crazy amount of pancakes.

This morning Shawn got breakfast in bed. I made enough for me too, snicker, and we enjoyed a long lazy breakfast together.

For lunch we had philly cheesesteaks and for dessert... walnut brownies with coolwhip. Funny side note: the only thing Shawn asked for was some new cologne. So I headed to the store on Friday while he was out of town with Christian and decided to find a new favorite 'scent' for him. I sniffed and sniffed several samples. Problem was, and it took me til just that moment to realize, that I could NOT smell because I was battling a raging sinus infection. ugh! So instead my sweetheart got a gift card to go get some cologne, because his wife was smelling impaired.

I missed church today, combination of sinuses and Ty not feeling well, but I sent these treats with Savannah for the Nursery children to color the tags and give to their dads. I hope they all loved their treat from their littles!

Warning... may give you a headache...

2011-06-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

So to catch up on our first week of Summer break (yes, we finally finished school last Friday)... funny that I feel the need to 'catch up' and it is only Wednesday of our first week. I digress. So here it is... feel free to take aspirin after this randomness:

Christian left on Monday for Scout High Adventure. I saw the agenda and was exhausted just from reading it. So this is what my house looked like in preparation. What? Do you think the tent clashes with my linen slipcovers?!

And all that was wrestled, man handled, and pretty much squished into this! And he was off!

The result of Christian's departure was two fold: 1. the house has become very quiet. 2. little brother was missing him terribly after 2.2 seconds and I was looking for a 'project' that would keep little bro semi-distracted for the next few days. So the solution was helping Ty find all his past baseball jerseys and promising to help him make them into pillows he can proudly display all over his room. He not so subtly draped each jersey on my ladder in the family room. What! Does he think I may forget about my promise to help him do this? Hopefully I can post by weeks end our FINISHED pillows.

Last night I arrived home from the ballfield with Ty. I entered with pizza, cheezy bread, and a smile. My husband entered the back door seconds later with THIS!

That, my non-plumbing friends, is a thingamajig that SHOULD be firmly attached to the main water pipes entering our house. Shawn was weedeating at the side of the house and the ground was saturated with water. He dug down and found the thingamajig busted off its pipe. Looks like it may have been leaking for quite some time and then finally threw up its hands and surrendered. So after quickly grabbing some pizza, my hubby has his priorities straight after all, he ran to Lowes moments before closing and grabbed all new replacement thingamajigs. By this morning... we could flush the toilets again. A great daddy hero moment! Woot, woot!

Now my front porch looks like this. Small price to pay for flushing toilets. Such a luxury. Afterall, toilets are just not as convenient when they don't flush, agreed?!

And somewhat along the same theme... Savannah has set up a 'triage' station in the laundry room. Seems this little guy had a bad case of 'pasty butt' (I'll just let you research that on your own if you want further details on that little ailment) and he seems to be on the mend. Pasty butt... we live glamorous lives.

And to follow the random pattern... I had husband... smack dab in the middle of plumbing emergency move this into my living room so it is obnoxiously in my way, while I decide if I love it or not... I think I do... more on that later... are you thoroughly sick and tired of my... dot dot dots!

I mentioned that I needed to get out and collect all my fallen pinecones... youngest son did it for me yesterday. Boy knows how to melt his mom's heart.

Oh and did I mention, the same evening of burst water pipe, Savannah had a friend over? Yep. Suffice it to say she was not amused by our non-flushing toilets either. But thankfully she is about as animal crazy as Savannah so we had some babes to distract her from our 'issues'.

Gotta love good kids, don't ya?!

PS and by the way, I am on a slipcover kick at the moment, I've decided to collect random chairs that need complicated upholstery work too just so I stay humble. This is a summer project I hope to complete and share later this summer. For now it is proudly displayed in my entry for all to see... and wonder... why would I have a ratty tat tat chair with holes in it and buttons barely holding on for dear life , on display right in my entry. I like to keep folks guessing.

And for your reading pleasure... I just finished the best book! I loved it dearly. Challenging read because of its subject matter but so beautifully written. I love creative metaphors... the realization of the title took my breath away. A must read in my opinion.

And I am now reading this one... I am a few pages in and my heart is already aching, but in a good way. We now press forward for the rest of this week... sure to be an adventure!

The yuckiest job...

2011-06-14T11:00:00.001-05:00

This weekend, Savannah had the joy of doing the absolutely nastiest job on the farm... cleaning the chicken coop! Lucky girl. Truth is, she is a 'getter done' kinda gal and just dives into tasks like this and it was me being dramatic about all.that.poop!

As she explains it... the task is rather straight forward: shovel out old nesting straw and wood chips, pressure wash from top to bottom, let it dry completely, and add fresh bedding. Done.

The coop gets the hose down once a year, at least, and this year we had some added incentive to get it done... quick! Cause we were expecting a call from the Post Office early Monday morning. "Come get your birds," the post man, not so happily, announces at 6:05a.m. I guess they see no charm in the constant chirping of baby chicks.

In the past, we have gotten chicks in the early, EARLY spring. A big pain to keep them warm until the natural temps heat up. So we took the easier route and waited till our temps were hanging out in the high 90s... humans don't like... but baby chicks do!

We also have a good core group of egg layers for now... so we wanted to get some chicks that were fun! So ugly their cute would be Savannah's description... I think she has a point. That little puff ball on the top of the little chicks head above is what is called a 'top hat'.

Common name for these chickens is Top Hatters (photo from catalog). I think they look like rock stars... see my point?!

We MUST name one of them 'Bowie' as a nod to the amazingly fun 80s! Ahhhhh, good times, bad hair.

So our plan is to keep them in a smaller cage right in the coop. Plenty hot enough out there. Savannah is introducing the new accommodations to the chicks by dipping their beaks into the sugar water... so important they drink TONS in first days of life... and make sure they are eating too.

My favorite coloring thus far is this little one below... love the shades of grey. So cute.

Market Monday

2011-06-13T10:56:00.001-05:00

Its Monday... go here.. to see some of the items I took to Market this week.

Formal introduction...

2011-06-09T13:16:00.002-05:00

So, the hot topic around the farm yesterday was the new baby donkey. We have determined that it is a... HE! Which we figured since we had a cute girl name already picked out and no boy name, tee-hee. We have such a love for the 'mom and dad' donkeys. They are such a sweet couple. Bart is gorgeously marked, very timid, and needs Jenne. If we ever have to separate them, Bart is so very pained and stands at the fence calling to her until they are reunited. When we first rescued them, we always knew if Jenne was struggling because Bart would call out repeatedly to let us know she had collapsed. He helped us save her that first winter. Jenne is just down right lovable, affectionate, and devoted to Bart. This photo is so 'them'. Bart in the background, painfully shy, but ever close to Jenne... who quite enjoys her photo ops! They both have a forever home with us, we are quite smitten with them!

We tend to labor over perfect names, we can be silly like that. We had several angles to come from for a name... his gray color, tiger striped legs, his ears ;) Grayson, JB (initals of Jenne and Bart), Ash (which we laughed at because originally I thought of the color of Ash... but as we tossed it around it sounded more and more like the 'biblical' name for donkey... a**). We liked them all... but then I took a new spin on the 'love' theme of Jenne and Bart. I tossed out a name... and it stuck!

Since he looks so much like his dad. Since he already is so tender to us and is so very loving like his mom. Since his dad has always been such a sweet partner for Jenne... we decided to name him...

Romeo.

Now we return you to your regularly scheduled lives as I am sure you have been waiting, breathless, for this very important matter to be decided.

THE cutest farm baby EVER!!!

2011-06-08T11:57:00.003-05:00

Two posts in one day must mean something spectacular has happened, right? RIGHT!! Savannah just ran back from the barn to tell us that our miniature donkey, Jenne, just had her baby. Funny thing is that we had our miniature Jack fixed but he managed to get our neighbors donkey and ours pregnant first... he made the most of his last fertile days, hee-hee!!

Not sure if its a boy or girl yet... it is still very skittish. If it is a girl... we will name her Grayce. We don't have a boy name yet... which means it is probably a boy... isn't that the way it always is? Any suggestions for a boy name? Hands down... I say this is the cutest babe we have had on the farm... I am smitten, completely!

Ty is usually able to easily get close to the babies. I guess because of his smaller size the babies tend to be drawn to him and not fearful. So when I told Ty to take a peak in the 'bottom area' to see if it was a boy or girl... Ty was a tad offended to say the least. I am dying to know though....

We rescued Jenne and her partner, Bart. Jenne almost did not make it through the first winter here on the farm because she was so sick. We got Bart fixed because we feared that if Jenne got pregnant it would harm/kill her. But all seems to have gone beautifully. Jenne is very happy with her little one... and so are we.

Yesterday...

2011-06-08T11:05:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I ate a whole bowl of watermelon... bowl provided by nature herself. Summer and Watermelon, ahhhhhhh.

Yesterday we found out that our newest little Mayfield is going to be a.. BOY!!! Yippee... congrats Dave and Jess!

Yesterday I followed through with my promise to obnoxiously fill every nook and cranny and vase in our home with hydrangea blooms.

Yesterday Ty finished school. One down... two more to go, and then summer break can officially begin... oh happy summer days!

Yesterday I had every fan we own ON... FULL BLAST!

Yesterday I was at the ballpark at 6pm with Ty and it was still 98degrees. Whew! Amazing thing is... he was dripping, sweaty wet after practice and didn't seem to mind a bit. I too was a sweaty mess from simply sitting on bleachers for 2 hours... but oh do I love to watch our boy do his favorite thing in the whole wide world... baseball!

Yesterday my mom thinned out her hostas and I was the blessed recipient of her 'overage'. Hostas are hands down my absolute favorite plant! Could have something to do with the fact that they are hardy, as all get out, and that they survive the farm with no pampering what so ever.

Yesterday I actually finished doing laundry. Fact is... I DO laundry every Tuesday. Fact is NOT that I actually get each piece washed, dried, and hung/folded each Tuesday. But yesterday I did, hurrayyyy!

And this photo is for Misty. She lives in our Carriage House Apartment and uses our laundry room and rarely... RARELY... does she come over to use the washer/dryer and actually find the dryer empty. Almost without fail I have my last load of towels sitting in the dryer... dry... but not unloaded. But YESTERDAY I was so awesome I even got the towels folded and put away, yep, gotta embrace my awesome moments when I can... few and far between... but not obsolete, snicker!

And Today is a new day... lunch date with my sweetheart, going by my booth to collect my statement/check for last month (so nervous but excited to see how my first month went), baseball practice again, grocery store, and, and, and...

Market Monday

2011-06-06T07:49:00.001-05:00

I did some moving around in the booth this weekend to fit in some new pieces. Go to my Market Blog... here... if you would like to see a few of the new additions and a couple before and after projects.

One Happy Boy...

2011-06-03T16:02:00.000-05:00

Ty received the phone call this afternoon....

he made AllStars for Baseball again this year. We are so happy for him.

He.... is beyond ecstatic. We'll give him until next week for his feet to touch the ground again. Afterall, he has his first practice for AllStars then and he should really have both feet on the ground for that, snicker!

Ready...

2011-06-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

Ready to be done with homeschool for this school year. We start a few weeks later than the public schools due to a late summer trip to the beach. So it makes these last few weeks of school ever so urgent to 'get er done already'!!

Ready to finish my studio... which we haven't technically started, snicker. My little business is making areas of our home a mess. Creative messes are always OK in my book of life but all the better if there are doors that can be shut sometimes to walk away, snicker.

Ready to go cut some annabelle hydrangeas from out at the barn and bring them inside to obnoxiously put in every container I own.

I just love this artist's work... here... on etsy.

Ready to call a 'truce on myself'! Have been struggling with a bad back. Been very ruthless with myself over it, things have had to go undone... kindness is sometimes forgotten in relation to myself.

Ready to go to the grocery store and load up our empty fridge and shelves. Kids are ready for me to do this too. May was one of those months that budget didn't quite make it to the last day of the month ;)

Ready to start my Thursday... never mind that it is already 10:57am, better late than never. Have a great Thursday too!!

Happy Memorial Day & Market Monday

2011-05-30T22:37:00.000-05:00

I hope your day was incredible... the weather here was amazing and our family spent the entire day at the lake. It was our first day this year out on the boat and I literally am exhausted from laughing and from too much sun :) CLASSIC!! We took our border collie, Cooper, along with us... not sure he was as big of a fan of the water as we are, but we hope he can be converted.

I wanted to add another Market Monday list, even though I am barely doing it on actual Monday. You can go to my Market site... here. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Girls Night Out

2011-05-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

The fellas in our family had a Father & Sons campout last night. So, us gals decided to have a girls night out. Off we went to Savannah's favorite store...

Savannah is just a few weeks away from having her youngest mare, Mississippi (aka Missi), old enough to have trained and she can start riding her. So excited. She needed to pick up a few things in anticipation of that fun event.

Then, off to dinner. Red Robin... yum. Funny thing is that they are known for their gourmet burgers but Savannah's favorite thing to order is their chicken salad and I always order a wrap. We're backwards girls :)

Brace yourselves, this is where we let loose and go wild...next stop...

Yep, Savannah and I are total bookworms. Truth is we could keep Barnes and Noble forever open with the books we would buy. Key word here... would buy. Truth is we just go in and spend hours perusing the selections, sometimes making a list of wanna reads, and then walk out empty handed. We are library free check out girls at heart. But it doesn't stop us from spending hours here, in the quiet, plopped in overstuffed chairs flipping pages. And oh I love to gather up a whole armful of magazines to look through too.

By this time... oldest party gal, that would be me... is ready to head home and snuggle into bed and read myself to sleep in 2.7 seconds flat. But party gal number 2 wants to snuggle in with a movie. So again, sparing no expense, snicker, we head to a Red Box so she can grab a movie.

(ummm, ewwww... note to self, wash my windshield, or better yet, get one of my young sons to do it for me!)

Fun night. I love having time just with Savannah and truth is, she has been giddy all week to hang with me too. Love that! We talked non-stop... farm, school, church, hair, trucks, college, boys, friends, big summer events, books... so thankful for my girl!

Blessed Beyond Measure!

2011-05-26T08:54:00.000-05:00

aGreenfieldPhotography

A few notes I don't want to forget about this photo session:

* taken just weeks after terrible tornadoes ripped through Alabama. The fact that several of our families' homes were hit but that we were all alive and well to gather for these photos,

* rain filled weekend and original location was a 'wash' and yet Alisha regrouped and still made this photo session happen... so thankful!,

* it literally did rain during the pictures but there were still giggles, silliness, and smiles!,

* the patience of a photographer to 'herd' this many people as a whole, and individuals, for 3 hours and still be smiling at the end,

* the sound of 18 cousins playing and just so excited to all be in one place,

* watching older cousins play 'keep away' from the younger cousins... but there was no ball... so they used a pair of flipflops,

* the astonishment that there is a lens capable of capturing 35 people at once, snicker.

Market Monday

2011-05-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

I just restocked my Market Booth and spotlighted a few of these items on my Market Blog... here.

Real love

2011-05-21T13:35:00.002-05:00

This boy loves baseball. Like really, REALLY, loves baseball. He is a Blue Jay this year. Just like moving up from middle school to high school... Ty is now in kid pitch. He has gone from being an AllStar last year to adjusting to the whole new game play of minor league. He loves it!

So far this year he has pitched in his first game, he has done well and pitched several times since. He had his first ever double play, in the opening game nonetheless. I guess he liked the way it felt because he has gotten a couple double plays since then. And he has earned 2 game balls... his head coach does not freely give game balls, so that is quite an honor.

I personally think Ty has a cute Assistant Coach. I think I want to marry him... oh, wait... I already did. SCORE!

It must be noted that our ball park has the best soft pretzels. Trust me... I've tried the pretzels at other parks... ours are the yummiest. No salt please, cheese on the side.

Ty is ever faithful to his park dog... plain... and the free soda for players. Great Day!