it HUFFED, and it PUFFED...

And the 70mph winds BLEW the huge cedar tree DOWN!!

Have I mentioned today how much I love this property?
I love the 'sound' of this land, the birds, the rustling leaves... but I must say... yesterday during 70 mph winds and rain, I did NOT like the sounds I heard outside.
But we were so VERY blessed!

Look how close this cedar came to crushing our well-loved silo!

Looks like Christian has a hefty job ahead of him with his ax, giggle!
I laugh because Christian LOVES, truly, a good project.
This should keep him busy for a while!

It came so very close to the silo... whew!!

I have this beautiful antique tennis bench, it didn't fair so well.
It will be some time before I can see what the real damage is, but again...
my sweet little silo is safe and sound, this time!

lucky 3

This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones.

Silver Lining...

I don't have strep...
got tested because I had a awful sore throat, and with the way my health record has been going... I assumed that strep was the next logical step in my puny immune system protocol, grrrr!
But some good news finally!
I actually felt well enough to go get my poor family some groceries, we had a yummy dinner last night where all the dishes actually 'went' together, unlike the mismash combos I've been throwing together recently from whatever is in the freezer, giggle.
Today, I'm feeling noticeably better, YAY, and it is supposed to be 70 outside so I shall go outside to play!

Trying to picture 'IT'

So Ty woke up feeling great the other morning and was so relieved to be rid of the crud that has blanketed our household. He announced gladly, "I finally got rid of the Callahan cooties!" Then without missing a beat he turned to me and asked, "Do cooties have 1 eye or 2 eyes?"
I found it hilarious that while sick, he was picturing an ACTUAL cootie making him sick.
So I asked myself... what in this world must the cootie look like that has gripped me for almost 3 weeks now. I started with a nasty stomack yucka... then felt human again for 2 days... then got severe flu symptoms, thought I had survived the worst of that... and now I have a horrible sore throat that causes me to revert back to a 2 yr old and whimper everytime I swallow, if I knew how to spit, I WOULD, to not have to swallow... but I literally cannot spit, its a phenomenon I have never possessed!
I literally laid in my front yard yesterday hoping the sun would 'zap' my cooties out of me.
I even built veggie garden beds with Shawn and ignored how awful I felt thinking I could WILL myself better.
Nope, no such luck! So now I sit here in bed trying to picture my cootie. I think mine has 2 eyes, is green and orange, and has a mischieveous grin! I don't know how this cootie can hold up shop inside me with how hard I cough... so it must be a stubborn little fella too.
Whimper.

Seven...

This is a #7 photo tag.... 7th folder, 7th photo.
Shawn and Christian took a father/son trip last summer.
They went river rafting, swimming, fishing, and hiking.
Christian took this self photo on the road to his fun weekend with Dad.
Can you tell Christian is my jokester?!

I don't think I posted about this trip, so here are more photos from that trip, Enjoy!
ps - he isn't really asleep, giggle.

At this little swimming hole, there were rocks with holes all the way through them.

There are several photos like this one... now I wanna go!!

Does it get any better than this????

Ty says, "NOPE!"
Case in point...
He turned 7 years old on Sunday.
He was able to trade in a front tooth for some loot!
He got an Indiana Jones Lego Airplane, 625 piece set... cause I have learned that it is ALL about how many pieces it has as to the rate of 'coolness' a lego kit contains!!
AND, he spent last night at Chuck E Cheese with his cousins, 2 of which also had birthdays... Kena turned 1, and Gavin is turning 6!!
And Ty scored his biggest bundle of goods yet at Chuck E Cheese... and THIS my dear friends, is a very happy mom, another successful birthday DONE, hee-hee.

As way of information... the Callahan gang has ALL 5 of their birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. We call it our 'Whirlwind Weeks'! Savannah's bday is January 22, Ty and I's bday is February 1st, Shawn's bday is February 2nd... Groundhogs ROCK!!, and Christian's bday is February 5th. Whew! I'm exhausted just typing that all out. So one more big bday bash this Friday for Christian and we are all done for 2009. Whoohoooooooo.

oOOoohs and AaaaAahs

Just can't get enough of those some days, huh?! Thanks to all of you that came out and went shopping. So very fun to see you all again AND to actually meet face to face some that I have stalked via blogs but not formally met.
It was a huge success, the money is filed safely away and I hope to actually get some furniture for the TV room, which currently only has a TV and rug, grin.
And the tours of our new house went well, I felt NO judgement whatsoever for my barren walls, no window treatments, echoey rooms... you were so kind to see the homes potential!
Now I must stay vigilant and keep to one of my NewYears Resolution and keep inviting friends/family out so they can see the slow transformations, because they are sure to be r.e...a.l..... slow!
It was a fun day, thanks to you all!