Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween Cuties




Here is my cute boys dressed up for Halloween. They are "Thing 1 and Thing 2" If you don't know who that is, it is naughty little characters
in the Cat in the Hat book. Their little personalities fit the part perfectly because in the book they are naughty when mom is out of the house. Yep, that is them.

Then there is little missy as a lady bug with an attitude. Cute cute cute. We live too far out of town. We don't ever get trick-or-treaters. I always buy candy tho just in case. Of course I buy my favorite kind so I can eat it. Our tradition is to make batches of carmel popcorn and pumpkin fudge and take it to our neighbors. I am glad it is Halloween today cuz tomorrow I don't want to see anything sweet in this house. Have a bootiful day.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Beaded Bag




In August Mindy and Louis got married and they recieved so many awesome gifts from people. There was one gift that I really want to tell you about. This is a hand crocheted, beaded bag. It is absolutely awesome. Inside the bag was $50 and a hand written card. The card says:



"I try to carefully count while I string the beads so that each loop has 31 days in it. This bag has 50 years worth of loops. May you see as many days together as there are beads. Know the discolored days are as important as the beautiful crystal clear days are. As it takes both to make a wonderful marriage. May you both be blessed with understanding of each other, and in the fullness of age fully understand what this bag means and pass it to your children on their wedding day."



The bag is beautiful and the message is even more beautiful. The sad thing is that the card was not signed. We have been going crazy trying to figure out who it came from. We would love to thank the person that made this amazing gift for Mindy and Louis. So if you made it or if you know who did, please tell us.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Cell Phones


I remember over 20 years ago when we got our first cell phone. It was actually as big as a desk phone only in a bag that you plugged into your cigerette lighter in the pickup. I thought, wow, we are so important to have a cell phone. Jay loved to talk on the phone and it was an important piece of equipment. Over the years the phones got smaller and more necessary. He used his all the time. I, on the other hand didn't really need one until much later. Most of the time mine was in my purse and only used when I wanted to contact someone, not so much for business. During harvest time Jay would have his phone clipped to the neck of his sweatshirt so that he would always be able to hear it ring. With the helicopter, bailer and elevators going it was noisy and you couldn't miss a call. My phone was always with me but I didn't always need it. Now with Jay not here and harvest upon us, I carry my phone and his. They both ring often and I must be able to hear them. Every night I plug them in so that they are charged and ready to go. Years ago the kids showed us how to program ring tones so that the person calling you would be identified by a certain song playing instead of a ring tone. So , when Jay would call my phone it would play "I just called to say I love you." Now sometimes I use his phone to call my phone just to hear it ring. On his phone is actually his voice answering his voicemail. Sometimes I call his phone just to hear his voice. Then I can leave him a message. "I just called to say I love you."

Friday, October 17, 2008

Harvest time


With Christmas tree harvest just around the corner we are trying to be organized and ready. I got a phone call from one of our buyers a couple of days ago and he asked if we could have 6000 trees cut, bailed and loaded NEXT WEEK???? It's not even November yet!! He said they are going in a refridgerated container and shipped to Japan. After a minute of what felt like butterfly's jumping on a trampoline in my stomach, I said sure. That will be that many trees closer to being done, right? He hasn't called yet to confirm that yet but still I know it will all start very soon. One of my blogging friends, Sharon, said that she had been reading about David and Goliath. She said,"Be brave." So I read the story myself and it says: God will use the unique skills He's already placed in your hands. Just be yourself and use the familiar gifts and talents God has given you. He will work miracles through you. If we look at giant problems and impossible situations from God's perspective, we see more clearly and we can fight more effectively. Well, I am ready to start this harvest and with my kids and the awesome guys that work for us, I know that we can get it done. Bring it on.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Saving up some strength and courage.


Last week my brother called and said that he had lots of concord grapes in his yard and no time to do anything with them. So, we loaded up in the pickup and went over and picked them. There was LOTS of grapes! We brought them home and got out the juicer and made grape juice. We put the juice in the jars, screwed on the lids tight and put it on the shelf in the pantry for later. That got me thinking. It is really nice to be able to take something you have too much of and preserve it in a jar to have at another time. It would be really nice if you could do that with things like strength and courage. I never saw myself as a strong person or a couragous one. But in the last few months God has given me so much strength. And I know I have to have courage to get thru this. If only I could put some in a jar and get it out when I need some later on.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Homecoming Dinner




Last night was the Homecoming Dance at Taylor's highschool. Some of his friends came out to our house for dinner. It was fun decorating and making it special for them. There were 11 of them. We had bbq steak, twice baked potatoes, green beans, rolls and green salad. And for dessert they had hot fudge brownie sundays. Yum. Taylor told the kids they were going to the "Out House" for dinner. He said it was a cross between the Road House and the Out Back. Real funny Taylor.






I was laughing at the difference between the boys and the girls. The girls spend all day having their nails done and their hair done. They wear pretty dresses and cute shoes. Taylor tho, was hunting most of the day. It was almost time for dinner and he was still hunting. When he came in and showered, he put on some nice jeans and a nice shirt. No slacks? No dress shirt and tie? I asked him if he felt bad that he wasn't dressed as nice as his friends and he said "no, I feel bad for those guys cuz their moms made them dress like that." Too funny. He still looked cute and that is just Taylor. Take it or leave it, he hates to dress up.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Happy Birthday Mama


Today is my mom's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is but I will tell you that she turned 40 just before I got married and in November I will have been married 30 years. I say "will "because I " will " always be married.

I'm not sure what the plan is for her today , but I am sure that they will do something special for her. All my brothers and sister are there with her today. I wish I was there too.

I guess that I will just wish her a wonderful day and tell her that I think she is an awesome mom. I hope to be just like her when I grow up. Happy Birthday Mama. This picture is of my mom and her sisters and their mom, my sweet grandma. My mom is on the far right.

Monday, October 6, 2008

The professional wedding pictures are here!


Kelly Miller Photography was who we chose to capture the most beautiful pictures for Mindy and Louis's wedding. She did an amaZing job. See for yourself. Go to Miller Photography then click on client gallery. There are two sites to look at. First is the album she put together for us. Look at the beautiful details. The pictures in the back ground are so cool. They are all so super cute. Then you can go to Mindy & Louis, pick a catagory and view all. LoVe THem aLL!!! Don't you think they look happy? We have some very gorgous kids. Tell me what you think.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Staying busy for a reason

I know that I have a million reasons to be busy but I realize that the main reason is to not think about how much I miss Jay. Sundays were always days that we would hang out all day. When we would wake up I would say if you go get the paper, I will fix you a nice breakfast. So out the door he would go. I would start cooking, I would eat, I would read the whole paper and he would still be on the sports page. Then he would hurry and eat, catch a quick shower and we would go to church. It takes all of us to manage Connor and Caleb and Kenzi in the back of church. Three little ones and five big people:) After church we would usually go get donuts or have a early lunch at the cafe. Then later I would fix a big dinner and all the kids would be here to eat with us. I love Sundays. Today I fixed breakfast for Taylor and his two buddies. Kenzi stayed the night with me so we had to snuggle a while before we got dressed for church. I had to get the paper, read it myself and no one to go get donuts with. It's really quiet. All the kids are gone somewhere today. I don't like quiet. I don't like alone. I bet if I fix a really good dinner they will all come and eat with me. I better get busy. Happy Sunday to you all.