A few more snow pictures!

I have a few other snow pictures to post that are worth posting. Hope you enjoy them!



This is Mark's dog, Trooper, in the snow. He was so frisky that day and he ate a lot of snow that day too! After he ate some snow, he was shivering so hard that we felt sorry for him and let him come inside until he warmed up.





These are some pictures I took of a cardinal in our yard. Not as pretty as the cardinals in Grandma's snowy yard in IL, but it was still pretty!



This was a block of ice that had frozen in a bucket. We turned it upside down to get the ice out and it looked like a trash can made out of ice!



A snowball to the head!

Snow in Texas?

February 4th, 2011 was an amazing day! We woke up to snow covering our land with a blanket of white! The most fun thing to me is seeing how the kids react to it. Sarah ran to get the camera so she could take pictures of it before anyone stepped in it.



They were all upset when our neighbor drove his truck up the road and messed up the road with his tire tracks.



Mark walked up the hill in the tire tracks so as not to mess the snow up anymore than was necessary. They were just enjoying it and soaking it all in. Later in the day I saw Ben walking around and he told me, "I just feel like I have to walk everywhere and see it all before it melts." I just thought that was so sweet to see him enjoying it.



Our other neighbor tried going up the hill a few times but didn't make it out until later in the day, so everyone had fun watching various people drive up the hill. Our neighbor said he was going to the store to get kitty litter and we thought that was pretty unusual.

In the morning it was too powdery for it to stick together to make snowballs. Mark and I walked up to the top of the hill to see how much snow was there and then we went back to the house. We were analyzing all the animal tracks as we walked on the road. Mark even "made" his own mysterious tracks. Very funny! Can you guess who made the following tracks?











Everyone went back up the hill, but this time we brought some big tree buckets to try sliding down in. They were big enough for Jim and I to get in too. It was fun, but someone had to pretty much push you all the way down the hill or you would stop pretty soon once they stopped pushing. But I think the kids had a lot of fun anyway! Jim went with us but you could tell he was cold!







Tom and I made a snowman, but it was mostly me. Tom made the middle of the snowman and I made the top and the bottom part. He came out and I told him if he wanted to help me, then he needed to put on some shoes because he had been walking around everywhere without his shoes and no mittens. So, he told me, "Well, I guess I'm going inside then." So off he went into the house. I guess he cared more about being barefoot than about being with me. Oh well! At that moment it was Tom's way or the highway! Some of the kids came out and helped me decorate the snowman. Notice he is making the longhorn symbol!



I was planning on taking some pictures of the kids with the snowman, but after I took 2 pictures of the snowman he unexpectedly fell forward and that was the end of him! He had a clean snow veneer that I had put on the front because underneath he was really a mixture of snow, dirt, grass and leaves! So, when he fell over, he lost his clean veneer for the pictures! LOL (Oh, and I gave up on Tom with his shoes and mittens because he walked around all day like that. It was go outside and get cold to the point of red hands and feet, then come inside by the fire and get warm, outside, inside, etc.) But later, Tom and I made a tiny snowman and decorated him with cedar tree berries, a little piece of pointy carrot that I carved, a wreath made from morning glory vines, a little feathery grass top, and some twigs with berries on them. It turned out really cute. He helped me walk around and collect stuff for it and he made it from clean snow that he had collected. So we still made a snowman together, just a small one!





The kids had fun throwing snowballs at each other.









Regressing back to the morning, the kids took John outside in his footy pajamas. I don't think it was a good experience because he got really cold and started crying. I told them to take him inside and we would get him officially dressed, along with shoes and his coat. So, we get him dressed and I try to put on his mittens and he just starts crying like he realizes that he is going outside and he doesn't want to. It was so funny! I just wanted to take some pictures of him outside in the snow and he is mad and doesn't even want to look at me!







We are definitely not outfitted for snow. No wool socks, no good snow mittens, etc. So, I got my pictures and we went inside. He seemed to enjoy looking outside at it from the inside though.



He calls it "snowf" so it sounds really cute. Even today he is saying "snowf gone". He is starting to put two words together at a time. My little baby is growing up! Sniff, sniff!

I forgot to tell you that they saved all the snow on the trampoline and then they jumped on it at one time. By the time they got done, they were just covered with snow! Looks like fun. I kept thinking someone was going to hit their head or something like that, but everyone survived! I tried to upload the trampoline video but it does not want to load, so I will have to try some other way for you to see it. It is 2 1/2 minutes, so maybe it is too long to load. Frustrating! I might add a few more random pictures at some point that are pretty interesting.

Love all of you,

Darlene

Unnatural Fear?

Sarah and I spent some time together today running errands. We went out to Miss Carol's mother's place to get some peacock feathers for Lacey Medina's wedding album. But we had to vote on the way there, go to the post office, drop something off for Celeste at the BPRC. We were laughing, because if it wasn't on my list of things to do, I had to write it on the paper and then cross it off. Well, Sarah mentioned that we should go out for lunch before I headed to AZ. I said, "Yeah, we should spend some time together before I die in a plane crash!" Of course, I'm half joking and the other half is seriously how I feel. As I have gotten older, I seem to think more about all the catastrophic scenarios that can happen along the way. I said, "I wonder what would happen if I got on the plane with a parachute on my back?" I mean I don't think anything will happen on this flight, but just in case. I would probably be arrested as a terrorist instead of the worried passenger that I am! But I learned that Rebekah and I are kindred spirits in the worrying department. I remember when we lived in FL, there was a particular bridge that we always had to cross over and I would always practice in my mind what I would do if the bridge were to collapse. I would unlock my seatbelt as the car was falling, then decide which one I would get out first. Of course, at THAT time I had 4 children under the age of 5.

Well back to our errands. After we got our peacock feathers and worrying about what if a mouthy horse would bite Sarah or if Red Cloud would somehow kick her as she steps into the stall, we went to Subway to eat. We met a cute older man that didn't go out to eat very much and he had one tooth on the top in the middle of his mouth. The lady was waiting on 4 of us at a time and she slopped the mayo and mustard in mostly just one place because she was in such a hurry. As she is wrapping it up, I see the mayo and mustard slopping out of the middle and towards the front of the sandwich. Then it was off to Wal-mart to buy butter, lettuce and gum (Although I ended up getting mints!). Then to BCOC to pick up the backpack that Benjamin and Elisabeth had forgotten there the day before. Then to the junkyard to get bolts for our van window that had fallen out. So, Sarah and I got a tour of the junkyard and got to walk all the way to the back of the junkyard to where the vans were where we found a very close model of our club wagon. I refrained from picking up every nut, bolt, screw, and washer that I saw like Jim has taught me. I did pick up one bolt! We went back to the shop and waited for our parts. He told me they would be $10, but I said how about $5, and he said that would be fine. Jim told me I did good when we got home, that I had brains and beauty all wrapped up into one! Sarah and I had a good time while we were out and then it was on to the packing for my trip.

I did realize one thing just now - I don't really worry about John being carried off by a coyote! But I don't know why?

Miscommunication Comedy

This is on the subject of John knowing how to unlock the doors by himself and get outside. Jim and I are concerned about the fact that he might get outside without our knowledge and get hurt. So, one day last week we were discussing what kind of lock we were going to put on the door to keep him from opening it and going outside by himself. There were several different opinions and then Daniel said, "I have an idea." So Jim says, "See, Daniel probably has a different idea." Then, Daniel says sarcastically, "I think we should have no lock on the door." So then Jim starts telling us a story about a little boy that gets carried off by a coyote and how we are doing this for John's safety - I don't remember the whole story correctly. Well, then several of us start smiling and kind of chuckling which sets Jim off on a spiel about how he doesn't think it is funny that John could get carried off by a coyote. Well, when he started saying this again, I just couldn't hold it in anymore and went from a smile to a full burst of laughter! Poor Jim! I told him I could explain why I was laughing and he said he would really like to hear it because he would like to know why I thought it was funny that John could get carried off by a coyote. Hearing that again just started me off again into this unstoppable burst of laughter and I couldn't even talk anymore about it. I actually asked him if I could go spend the day with Rebekah, so I went and did that, all the while trying to think about how I could explain why I was laughing and how I still loved my little son! :o) I left the house around 1:30 and I got home around 8 p.m. So, when I got home I was able to explain to him why I was laughing. It was obviously not the fact that I didn't love my son or that I thought the lock was a bad idea, in fact, I was on board with putting the lock on the door. I told him that when I think of something happening to John, him getting carried off by a coyote is probably way down on the list of possibilities and it seemed so unlikely, that that was why I was laughing. Plus, when he kept saying this thing that seemed unlikely to happen, it just set off my funny bone. I told him that when I thought of the dangers, I thought of him wandering off and getting lost, going down the driveway and into the road and getting hit by a car, stepping into an ant pile. getting stung by bees, climbing up the steep stairs and falling out of the tree house, finding a snake, etc. But I never really thought of John being carried off by a coyote. I guess I was thinking of the things that could happen during the day. Not that it couldn't happen, it just wasn't on my radar. But I guess it would be more likely to happen if he got out at night. So, he said he understood and we had a good laugh about it! But for the first few days, every time I thought about him saying that statement, I would just start laughing out loud!

We have affectionately named it the "coyote lock"!



There could be a coyote on the other side of that thar door!

Rosie

This is our sweet kitty, Rosie. She is the most loving cat ever and I have never seen anyone like her. When we come home from church on Sunday nights, she is sitting on the tree stump where the van usually is parked. Abby just loves Rosie and Rosie endures Abby. She has lived through people pulling her tail and dunking her in a bucket. Mind you, I don't condone any of this activity but I only have 2 eyes. She pretends to eat when she thinks you are going to put her outside, she hides when she knows we are leaving the house, she got a ride to church one time and pooped in our van to make her presence known, she follows us around outside, participates in picnics (especially when turkey sandwiches are involved), even comes when you call her sometimes, and talks to us. She is adorable!

A new blog after 5 months!

Wow, I haven't blogged in so long I had to hunt up my login and password and then figure out how to put a post on here again! Pretty sad!

I have missed blogging a lot. I have recently begun to listen to more music and I heard this song on the radio that just made me cry today. I'm at the gas station filling up with gas with red teary eyes!

Who am I? by Casting Crowns
(words are not in order)

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.

Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.

Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Whom shall I fear,
Whom shall I fear,
I am yours,
I am yours!

I remember when I was coming back from Houston to be with Sarah after she broke her leg, I kept passing all these broken down old barns and it just made me think how much I am like those buildings. I think I look pretty spiffy, but on the inside I am so broken and in need of repair. I think I put my trust in the Lord until something comes along and shakes my trust and I give in to fear. You know how us mothers are! I am the eternal optimistic pessimist (I am positive that the worst WILL happen!). I need the Lord to help my heart believe what my mind knows!

Oh God, give me a sure foundation that is based on Your Word. Fill me from the inside out! Make my roof strong so that it can withstand the storms and anything that would threaten to cave it in! I need the Master Builder!

The rest of the story . . . . . . . .

Well, I told you that I accidentally let 6 cows escape out of Rebekah's yard, but I didn't tell you the "rest of the story"!

I went on Tuesday to stain the wood floors for Rebekah and Travis. Since she is pregnant, it is not good for her to be breathing stain and paint fumes. Rebekah left the house with Eliana to go get a pregnancy massage. After Rebekah left, I got to work and realized there was still dust to deal with, so I called their neighbor and borrowed a shop vacuum cleaner from them to use. I went with Miriam to their house, we got the shop vac and she brought me back to R & T's house. I vacuumed the back room and then went to screw the pad on the end of the broom handle. So, I am standing there at the front door and I look out and see two cows walking out the gate and down the road. I see a little baby cow still in the yard, so I ran to shut the gate, hoping that the cows would stick around since the baby is still in the yard. I called Miriam and asked her if she had shut the gate. She said she did not and I had neglected to make sure that she shut the gate, I just assumed that she would shut it when she left. So, I asked her if she could come down and help me get the cows back into the yard. I just remember how I was just shaking, feeling terrible that I had just let these cows out of Rebekah's yard, and they are not even her cows! So, Miriam, Christian, and Phillip came down and they were pretty easy to shoo back into the yard. Boy, was that mama mad though when she got back in and I remember thinking she was going to run me over trying to get back to her baby! But all was well. I shut the gate and Christian told me if I needed their help again just to call. :o)





So, I am going about my merry work of staining. I decided to take a little break and I notice one of the cows is standing by the gate again. I can see it is still shut but I was wondering why she is there mooing. Well, beyond the gate, on the other side of the road, and behind a fence, there are about 5 other cows mooing back at her. I just thought how cute that was that they were talking to each other back and forth across the road! But that cow just stayed by the fenceline and finally laid down and just stayed there. I began to think that was strange and that maybe those were actually more of Rebekah's cows and that possibly I had only seen the tail end of the cows going out the gate. But we had looked for more cows and had not seen any, plus, there were no gates open down the road, and these cows were behind a fence.

When Rebekah got home, I told her the story and she told me that she saw those cows and in her mind she was thinking, "Those look like our cows!" She rode around the property on their 4-wheeler and could only find the two cows and the baby, so she was pretty sure that those were her cows. So, she called the cows' owners and the property owner and they were able to get the cows back onto Rebekah's property. It took them quite a while because they didn't want to leave because of the long green grass. I think Rebekah said that they used a horse, a tractor, a motorcycle, and someone on foot to get them out of the property and back into their rightful place! The man who owns the other property didn't own any cows. But this is what happened. He came home for lunch, opened his gate, had an hour for lunch, the cows walked in, he left after lunch and locked the gate, and didn't realize the cows had come in. That's why we didn't know how they got in! At least they were locked in and nothing happened to them. But it sure was a lot of trouble, and all over an unlocked gate!

Does anyone need me to come help them with anything? I'm available!!!!