My Mom

My mother is a strong woman with broad shoulders to carry the weight of her life. She is a loving and unselfish woman. Protector, Provider, Caregiver, Companion, Servant, Encourager, Prayer warrior, Friend, Saved by Grace and though many do not realize it is keeper of our family.


Currently she is everyone of those listed above to one man. A man that is her husband and a father to all her children. At different times she is many to all that has connection with her, even to her own mother.

What credit my father receives has been partially due to my mothers work on the front line and behind the scene. Has done the dirty work while the glory goes elsewhere. The ole saying. "Behind every man is a wonderful woman" She asks for no credit for what she has provided everyone in her lifetime yet she deserves more than we all together can give her.


God is extending the life of my father for a purpose. God has a plan for you. "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans for good, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (nlt) And she alone is his constant. It is our choice to live God's plan or not but He will use all things for His glory.


When my father was working and providing financially. She worked outside the home and took care of all the duties a family, children and home demand.


When my father could no longer work because of diabetes and its affects on ones health she continued to work and provide for her family, children and home.


None of this discounts the role my father continues to play in all our lives but this blog is for my Mom. Who had no sons to be Mamma's Boy :) and give her her due credit. :)


From infancy to now our family has had pillars. One of which carries many titles but I call her MOM

Back to School Chaos

Yay! School is back in session and we can get back to our somewhat normal routines. I say some what normal because, as I am sure with most of you, it is never NORMAL.

First day of school was a success. Everyone up, dressed, breakfast eaten, lunches made and out the door on time. :) The day went by pretty uneventful.....for me anyway.

The kids were glad to be back to school.

Jake on the other hand...not so much. He on the first day started to get sick. He never gets sick....I mean really sick....like toss your cookies sick. Very RARELY anyway. He was so tired and worn out that he didnt even remember to tell me about being selected for Safety Patrol.

My poor buddyman missed the next two days of school. He was so anxious to get back because he had made Safety Patrol. He was so proud of being a S.P

He could not keep anything in his stomach. Poor guy, then has to be shuffled to his dad's then back home. In the evening he was feeling better and he decided it would be ok for him to have Dr. Pepper and a brownie. Geesh! Um....It didnt stay in his belly too long. ....go figure (eye roll)...

Still feeling weak Wed. morning I kept him home so I could get something to stay in his stomach. He was so hungry and was glad when he could finally eat something more than crackers. He was careful to take it slow. He couldnt resis telling us that Dr. Pepper and brownie was the best thing to throw-up though. EEEEEWWWWW GROSSSSSSSS!!!!TMI exclaimed his sister. Ugh, what boys will say to make their sisters queasy and their moms cringe. :)

ParkerDude has done real well. Homework has not started for him yet. He will get into that routine when he comes back his next week.

Brianna got to see and visit her friends the first day. Then she was off to Miami Children's Hospital for surgery. She came through just fine :)"Praise the Lord and thank you for blessing sweet Brianna once again" She will be home bound schooled at the hospital and her mom's for a good month or so. :( We all already miss her and cant wait till we can visit.

Peyton....Oh the spirit she has. So peppy and unbridled. We tend not to get many words in until her excitement has wained alittle. :) She is fun to listen to, if you can keep attention for long periods of time. She gives you blow by blow(one of the many things I love about her)...not a summary. She has missed my ride a couple times. Soon she will have to pay a fare if it continues. She is well aware of this, as last year she provided me with coffee money :) (oh, coffee...I need coffee....)

So this week I will consider...getting back into the swing of things. Next week should flow better. I sure do hope so anyway.

Family in the Hills

June 13, 2010 Sunday

Sunday was the day we reunited with family I had not seen for 20 years or more. We also got to meet their kids, grand-kids and spouses.
They are cousins on my Dad's side. We had cousins galore :) I'm used to my dad being an only child so having this much family in one place was WAY TOO MUCH FUN!

This entry will be mostly pictures. Pictures say a thousand words ;) (more than I can write)

......................Everyone getting acquianted........................

.............................Playing on the hill...........................

.............playing marbles............chillin on the porch.......

.....................Back Porch Jam Session......................

.................Good Times......Good Times...........

Vacation - Arrival

June 12, 2010 Saturday
(dates on photo's are wrong and vacation blogs are a little delayed)

After the long yet fun ride to our destination. We finally arrive. :) "Where are we?" asked Parker. "In the middle of the mountains of NC" Matt responded. As we open the gate to the driveway to our new home (for the week anyway) everyone is anticipating what will it look like.

"WOW! So cool" they exclaim and couldn't get out of the van fast enough to go explore.

Peyton snapping pics of every inch of the place and the boys run down to the lower level to the game room. "SO Cool" you would hear every now and again. Yes, it was a beautiful "Home" for the week. Soon the rest of the family will arrive so lets get unpacked. My poor hubby also needed his sleep. He was very much sleep deprived.

Our cabin "River Raves" sat on a gentle slope leading to the New River. Ah, the sound of the river..... sitting on the porch swing was so relaxing. (who needs Calgon when you have this? :)

Mom, Dad, my sister, and Buttons arrived around 6pm. Stories of getting lost using the GPS named "Gloria" were all to tell. (more about Gloria to come,hahaha)

After a little rest the ladies found the Wal-Mart a couple of towns over. We had to buy supplies for at least the next couple of days. It is a trek to say the least and with NO cell signal on the mountain, better take a list ;)

Well by the time we were done and it being late and no one has eaten since lunch time we got a couple pizzas to bake real quick when we got home. (LOL, Nothing is real quick...just sayin )

After all the groceries were all in. Matt stated..."you only bought enough for tomorrow didn't ya" He laughed and followed that with "yeh, Kathryn shops for 1 and I shop for 30" It is true I usually fall short in the grocery dept. I just haven't shopped for a large family, ever. LOL, needless to say Matt made the grocery runs from then on :)

Vacation Begins

Packing and trying to leave town is always pretty stressful. Xanex please...jk....(lol, thats what I forgot).....fast forwarding to the good stuff =)
Wow! We r just entering SC and the trip is great =) Im co-piloting (sleeping,really) only 1 poty break- while we got gas....imagine that =) Mixologist Matt made me a non-CircleK PCOC =) Rockn out to Big Hair Bands of the 80's (aah....the memories)

kids made tent city in the van (awesome tentmaker Peyton) (if ya look close, you can see each kids in their tent space.)

.......and I dont have to "turn this car around!"
I am blogging from my cell phone =) how cool is that!
Awwww Man! WHO FARTED?? {rolling windows down }

Old/New

So you CAN teach an old dog new tricks :)

So at this ole age of mine

(undisclosed)

I am learning to play the banjo.

Go figure.

Who woulda thunk it :)

Well it all started with my dear sweet Honey (Matt)

No, not the Matt in the photo...his name is Bass Matt

:) Bass Matt is the Bass player in the praise band at church.

Hence Bass Matt

Ok, so my Honey Matt :D is very musical

and has

proceeded to have everyone

in the family

learn to play an instrument.

We have discontinued TV until

everyone

can play 10 songs.

Sounds good, right?

Until I figured out I was part of that equation :)

HA

HA,HA

ME!?

I am so not coordinated, talented, inclined etc etc.

My step son chose the electric guitar (1 song)

My daughter chose keyboard and guitar

(she, the naturally gifted, has already written, played, sang and recorded a song)

My son :) the bowed psaltery (smart kid) (1 song)

I tried to get away with

the spoons or the jaw harp.

To no avail.

AAHH, alas

the

Banjo

(to date NO songs)

:)

Laundry Day.....Ugh Week

Laundry Day :)

Ugh....Week.....:/

..OOHHHH....

IT Never Ends!!!!! :(

Laundry! Laundry! Laundry!

I am up to my e y e b a l l s in laundry !

Sort, pile, wash, dry, lay out (so they dont get wrinkled)

{slump shoulders}

.......awe.....do I hafta....

{whine}

hang, fold and put away

{kicks foot}

Owwha.....ok.....

{Sigh}

:/

It's like magic...

NO

A ....CURSE!

anndd wwee aa

Sort, pile, wash, dry..............

What's all the BUZZ

Ahhh, my sweet bees are what's all the buzz

"How do I know they are my bees?" you ask.

"Well, Who elses would they be :)"

I walk to my van and hear the hummmming, hummmmming :)

So under the canopy of my trees

I stand still

Listen

and

Enjoy

Hundreds of my sweet Bees working

We did have a visitor :) a couple lady bugs, butterflies and dragonflies too.

Memorial Weekend

OK, so now that I am over my tantrum of having to do what is best and keep my emotional mouth shut. Lol, that is hard for me to do now a days.


The good Lord restored my spirit :) and I tell ya ....I am a challenge ;)


So onto moving onto the Holiday Weekend.

My Hubby and I traveled to White Springs to attend the Annual Fl Folk Festival. This is our 2nd year going.

Our first, we were able to take my children along and were surprised they enjoyed it so much. My daughter didnt get past the youth fiddle contest. We sat for a llloooonnngg time listening to kids her age play a mean fiddle. She was ....I believe...inspired to pick up her guitar again. My son, shortly after attending, wanted to learn how to play an instrument....YAY!! The bowed psaltery. I am now the only one that doesn't play an instrument. I asked my Hubby " does a jaw harp count ;/?" Hmmmm, no.

This year we were able to catch some different artists and of course our FAV. The Back Porch Revival. They are friends of ours. And yes, they have jam nights on their back porch.







Billy Dean was at the FFF too. WOW!!! What a show! He brought up attending artist just to jam on stage with him. Very Cool!!



Of course I had to get some Festival Food: Homemade root-beer float, Gingerbeer (non-alcoholic) and of course a delicious overflowing bowl of Black Beans and Rice.





I PASSED ON THE GOAT!!! Thank you anyways :)


Picked up some Mayhaw Jelly, Tupelo Honey, a case for the Bowed Psaltery, and a neat bracelet for my daughter.



On our way home we stopped by a GINORMOUS antique mall. I need to make a trip back up there. I keep missing it cause we are either going to or coming from some where. But this time was different. {Proud Grin} Yep I had 30 whoppin minutes....

Ugh "30min till closing?" I better hunt fast. Scored 2 old coke crates. Yup, 1/2 off too. I'll post pics of those soon.

Sunday was a quiet day. Hubby was gettn some sleep before he went to work for the eve and the children were at their Dad's/Mom's. I....watched westerns {Shock}

Monday: Ahh!!! My babies are back with me. :D BuddyMan got a new Wii game. Chaotic-he's teaching me how to play. Then DD,BuddyMan and I watched Karate Kid II. Gotta catch the kids up to speed before the new one comes out with Jackie Chan.

Off to bed, giggle fest.....my DD can really be hilarious......ok now go to bed.......HAHAHAHA......funkey freaky stare........OMGosh....ROFL......HAHAHA..... Ok really, it's bed time.......HAHAHAHAH (wish I had a pic to post-those moments happen too fast to be captured by the always absent when you need one, camera :)

Quote "It's always a good night when you laugh before going to bed, good night" BuddyMan

SIMPLIFY

Word of the Year.

While surfing some wonderful blogs I came across many ideas that I am gonna borrow. I will start with:

Word of the Year.

One word, to help launch me into action, to BE better, to DO better, to accomplish things, to remember my strengths, to toss my weaknesses out of the way and never let them define "who I am"... all in a single word. I love this concept.

Though normal people would do this at the beginning of the year for let's say....New Years...I'm just gonna jump in right where I am at. I'm not gonna wait till next year to roll around, no sir.

Geez, one word? I have so many...... but focus on one I must.

Well my first WOTY is easy to choose. I have been trying unsuccessfully to de-clutter, de junk, just plain GET RID of stuff. Hard thing is, I like my stuff. Each thing I pick up I think, ooohh, I can re-use, re-purpose, re-gift, up-cycle etc etc. Memories attached to the physical things that if I get rid of, the memories will fade and be lost forever. But if a magic fairy came along and got rid of all my stuff and I just had the bare essentials, I would be ok. I just cant be there to say farewell.
Am I really the only one like this? Oh, well.

Thank Goodness I'm not Mother Hubbard

Yay! I have actually made a Two Week Menu Plan :) My first in a VERY long time. Turns out, my cupboard was not as empty as Mother Hubbard's. Actually organizing and checking to see what I already had...my grocery list kinda looks pathetic. Hmmm...makes a difference to keep our wants off of it and only list the needs. And the kids already know the restaurant has been shut down and the kitchen only features "The Special of the Evening"

Week 1

Monday: Meat Loaf

Mashed Potatoes

Candied Carrots

Tues: Spinach Tortellini

Chicken

Wed: Church Dinner

Thurs: Dinner at My Mom's

Fri: Hot Dog and Fries

Sat: Chili

Cornbread

Sun: Stew

Corn Muffin

My grocery bill was only 25$ WOW :D

Henny Penny Moment

I woke up this morning and had this over whelming feeling. The sky is falling! No, not the sky just my house. You see, I do have this habbit of making a mountain out of a mole hill.


OMGosh! After a long rain yesterday I found a small puddle like on my front porch. Well it was no where near a drainspout, so I followed it to is source. Arrh, the corner of my front door and some drips I noticed hanging on a piece of siding. It must be a leak in the roof line!!! OMGosh Im gonna have to replace the roof!!! I wont mention the SINK HOLE in my front yard. So the roof is going to cave in, we will die from mold or get swallowed by the black hole that looms under the house.

Gee Wiz! After paying for that, now there is gonna be NO : Wedding (yes, I'll still get married), Honeymoon, Scottland, John Campbell. Booohhhhoooooohhooooo. Ok, so now I am ROFC. (rolling on floor crying, people, ok that's what that acronym stands for)

OK, scene 1 = in walks my most wonderful fiance and comforts me. " sweetie, everything will be just fine. All that can still happen" Hugs wimpering, soon to be wife - Kisses her passionately

Scene2 = in walks Foxy Loxy and eats all of Henny Penny's friends. Henny Penny runs away SCREAMING "THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING!"

For all of those sadly mistaken Chicken Little Fans, Henny Penny was the original chicken to claim "The sky is falling!" Her friends were Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky (not so lucky, he was eaten by Foxy Loxy), Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey and a poser named Foxy Loxy. No wonder why I had nightmares when I was little. Old nursery rhymes, bedtime story, and lullabyes were AWEFUL!

Ring! Ring! It's a New Year!

Ok, NO i didn't stay up to ring in the New Year. Thats predictable about me. I am not an owl. After the 2 hr ride from picking up my BG I was pretty much done for the eve. Of course I planned to stay up! I did..... but my insides were painfully kicking my butt again, and was having no part of it.:( I informed the kids what the expectations were. *Everyone get along *No whining *No complaining *No being selfish * Talk nice * Lift each other up * and lastly * No blowing up the house! Of course, I am available to be woken up every 30 min or so (Right) to be asked a question to verify that they were allowed to this or that. Last ? at 2:30am Punkin asked "ya want the boys to go to bed, cause I'm going to sleep and SD (stepduaghter) is already asleep?" "Yes" I respond. I think that was my response to all questions asked. Hmmm...I am just glad they dont ask me some wild question that I agree too. Like "Can I take the car to get some Velda milk" Come to think of it, they did ask something about fireworks. So the kids entertained themselves and each other and I woke up to a house fully entacted. Whew.."Thank you Lord for your protection" :D

My fiance came over at 8am with PCOC (Perfect Cup of Coffee) and we had a nice discussion about the upcoming year. Resolutions, concerns, goals and such. We had devotional time as well. 90%of married couples that pray together stay together.

I am my father's daughter. I am a list maker. (ooh, maybe I'll put that in my profile:) Umm.....works well for me...but others ..... well, seem less than thrilled for me to make lists for them...hehe

So here are some of my resolutions, goals, things to do, call it what ya like. I am entering it on my blog to help me with accountability. LOL, only 2 peeps follow but maybe that will change.

2010 my perpetual list begins:
#1 Conquer my biggest fear.....my fear of failing. It is quite shameful really, how bad that fear immobilizes me and to the magnitude the fear is. It is bit scarry to say that out loud. From using crafting material, (I might mess it up and I would of wasted my money) to hanging pictures (arrangment not being right and having holes that need to be patched and can't match the paint, ending up with a wall w/patch marks all over) ok moving on :)
*read the TRUTH - the Bible not books about it but IT
*loose weight - I have wedding pictures in 3months that I have to look good for.
*excersice - I want to be an active parent and eventually grandparent and enjoy my old age :)
*Free myself of clutter
*Actively plan for finacial security
*nurture relationships
*improve and developing this Blog - ooo, maybe have some more followers hehe
*allow God to mold me all over again :)

I did say this was perpetual so I am going to stop for now. More on planning on how to accomplish these said....whatever ya want to call them...goals, resolutions, etc.....later.
I look forward to the years to come and documenting them so when memories fade they can be refreshed again. :)

*cultivate and improve property