I am so excited today!

My sweet little girl, Flower, is almost home!!

Barb Wire Man, Little Man and I drove her down to Dallas the first part of June to fly out to South Carolina with her step-mom to visit her Dad.  While we were there, we were able to visit with Barb Wire Man's brother and his family!  I finally got to hold my adorable new nephew!

Anyhow, today, my mom and I are driving back down to Dallas to pick her up from the airport!  I'm beyond excited to get to put my arms around my baby again!  I'm also looking forward to the trip down there.  My mom and I are very close, and I could talk with her for hours.  We will be spending 6 hours in the car together, so we will have ample opportunity to chat.  It doesn't matter how old I am, how "ok" my life is, or how hard and tough I act, I still need my Mama.

Flower is so much like my mom and I.  She is incredibly close to my mom.  Flower and I also have a deep relationship.   The three of us know that when we can't talk to anyone else, we can go to each other.  The drive home is going to be full of some interesting conversation, I expect!

Back to Flower.  I know that when she is with her Dad and his family, she has a great time.  I know that she is cared for just as wonderfully as she would be at home.  Flower is blessed with a step-mom who truly loves her.  I'm very thankful that I can rest knowing that her step-mom loves and cares for her just as she does for her own daughters, and, really, considers Flower as her own.

That doesn't make me miss her any less, though!  I never feel quite right when all members of my family aren't home!  If Barb Wire Man has to spend the night in his semi, I lay awake and worry about him.  When Flower is gone, I worry about her.  I cannot wait to wrap my arms around her and get her home!

And I cannot wait to see the look on her face when she sees her newly redecorated bedroom!!  She is going to be so excited!

Having a split family like this is hard, in so many ways, on both the parents and the kids.  But, like always, we all do the best we can.  Do you send your kids to visit family for the summer?

Be blessed today!

Bananas, Bananas Everywhere!

By now, you know I am a cheapskate.  I really dislike spending money, even on things we need!  So the other day I ran to the store and found bananas on sale for super cheap (30 cents per pound!), so I bought about 7 pounds.  I really should have gotten more -I don't know why I didn't! I knew there was no way my family would eat that many bananas before they went bad, but I bought them with the intention of dehydrating them.

Flower loves banana chips.  I have to make her stop eating them, but, at least they are healthy!  Little Man likes them occasionally.  Barb Wire Man doesn't love them, but I still like to keep them around.  When I make him trail mix to take in the semi, I can toss a few in there.  I can at least try to get him to eat healthy!

Early Saturday morning, Little Man and I started getting them ready.  He really doesn't care for fresh bananas as a snack, he just loves to peel them, so that was his job.  Who would have thought that giving a little boy 7 pounds of bananas to peel would keep him entertain for an hour?!  I sliced them up and put them on the dehydrator racks, sprinkled them with cinnamon, then turned on the machine.

I figured they would be finished by bedtime.

Here is is, nearly 9:00 in the morning on Sunday, and they are still not finished.  Good grief...what's the deal with these bananas!?  I still have 4 pounds of apples to turn into apple chips!

At least the house smells delicious!  What is your favorite thing to do make with bananas?

 Be blessed today

Just Another Day in Summer

I haven't written in forever, because I typically steer clear of political posts.  But, I also generally write about the things I see and hear going on around me.  As a result, I have just kept my mouth shut lately!  That's quite a feat for me, indeed.

Flower has spent most of the summer at her dad's house out in South Carolina, but thankfully she will be home in less than a week!  I know she is having fun, but, I prefer having all my little chicks in my coop.  It has given me the opportunity to completely redo her room the way she has been begging for it to be done.  Hot pink, black, white, and music.  Barb Wire Man isn't too keen on the hot pink, but such is the life when you have a 10 year old daughter!

I've been putting a ton of energy into my garden this year, too.  If you've read much of this blog, you know that I'm cheap.  I'm cheap, and I like to make sure I have lots of food in my home all the time.  And it looks like I may be canning a ton of food soon.  This year, I have squash (which is putting out faster than a rabbit), jalapenos, radishes, carrots, beets, okra, cherry tomatoes, large tomatoes, onions, strawberries, green beans, rhubarb, and okra.  Closer to the end of summer I will also put some lettuce in.  Hopefully I'm going to be able to make lots of spaghetti sauce, salsa, some pickles, and some strawberry jam!

I know it is still a ways off, but Barb Wire Man and I are also planning our 10th anniversary!  We have about 2 years, but are planning a vow renewal ceremony.  I'm sure I will write a post on it later, but the long and short of it is, we came to the conclusion that we must spend more time focusing on us.  

That's it for today.  I'm sitting outside in 100 degree weather, watching Little Man play in the kiddie pool, and Barb Wire Man will be home soon.  I'm keeping cool with a delicious beer.  Maybe several delicious beers, but that is beside the point!

Be blessed today!

Summertime activities!

We are working on our second week of school being out for summer, and so far I haven't heard the words "I'm bored!!"  Around this house, my kids know not to say that...I can always find something for them to do, and it usually isn't anything they would consider fun.  They've learned to figure something out on their own!

But, I do have a whole list of things ready for them to tackle as soon as I hear those words.  In fact, if they don't get bored soon, I may have to go pull weeds myself!

I found a few deals I thought I'd share with everyone today, that might help your little one busy this summer!

If your kids love to read, you can get 4 Disney Wreck It Ralph books for 99 cents!  After that, you will get 3 new books each month.  These are a little young for Flower, but are perfect for my Little Man and the daycare kids!

If Dr. Seuss is more your style, you can get 5 books for $5.95!  After that, you get 3 new books a month.

I did the Dr. Suess book club way back when Flower was a little thing, and we still have all the books!  The look a little sad these days, but my goodness!  They are about 7 years old, and have gone through both of my kids and countless daycare kids!  I'd say it was totally worth it!  

What activities do you do with your kids to keep the busy and having fun during the summer?

Summer is Getting Closer!

Oh boy, have I been slacking on the blog front.  Big time.  Anytime I get busy, or overwhelmed, the blog is the first thing to get neglected.

I've also cut back a lot of expressing any type of opinion...mainly because I've just gotten tired of dealing with all the BS that comes along with it, and, because I just don't trust anyone much these days.

But, to get back on track, I thought I would post a few pictures of some of the neat things that have happened recently!

My little sister got married in May!  It was held in a beautiful garden on a gorgeous day!  My beautiful mom is on the left, my gorgeous sister and her new husband are next, and I'm standing next to my dashing daddy!

I'm quite proud of this little family here!  My handsome husband got dressed up nice just for the wedding!  Flower was the flower girl, and Little Man was quite the attention grabber as the ring bearer!  (And he knew just how cool he looked!)

As the Maid of Honor, I threw a lingerie shower for my sister.  Here is one of my new favorite pictures of my mom, sister and I.

Flower got to go on a trip to South Texas with Nana and Papa for her birthday!  They visited the state capitol, the Alamo, and lots of other historical places.  She had a blast!

Flower in a field of bluebonnets they found on the trip...I'll never get over how gorgeous she is!

I know it takes an eternity for me to get blog posts up, but hopefully over the summer I will be able to devote a little more time to writing!  I have been knitting some, and have quite a few things that I need to show off!  

The Winds of March Burn

I wrote this in memory of my grandma, who was killed by the horrible wildfires in Texas in 2006.  You can read the whole story here.

The Winds of March Burn

The winds of March in Texas burn.  The cold air stings your cheeks and whips your hair around your face.  The dirt from the barren fields blows across the sky, reminding all that the cold of winter hasn't loosened its grip.  

The winds of March in Texas burn.  All the plants are dead, and all hope of moisture is blown away.  The leaves scatter.  The trees fall.  The plants are blown up from their weakened roots.  

The winds of March in Texas burn.  They blow in mightily, fiercely.  When once they blew in the blessed rain, they now blow in the fire.  They blow the fire with vengeance, stripping the land of everything.  The winds care not for what is in the path.  

The winds of March in Texas burn.  They blow!  They sting!  They kill.  They hurt.  

The winds of March in Texas burn.  They burn into our memory.  They burn into the heart of who we are.  They burn, but we blow along with them.  We blow, and continue on our path the same.  But the winds of March in Texas continue to burn.

Friday is Close!

For a short work week, thanks to the blizzard, it sure has been long!  I don't know about you, but I'm pretty happy tomorrow is Friday!

I made a new Etsy Treasury today!  Won't you check it out?!  Every view, every click on one of the pictures, and every comment we get on the treasuries we make helps move the treasury up on pages.  The closer to page one we get, the better!  So please, if you can spare just a few minutes of time, check it out!  It helps my Etsy business, and the business of those included in the treasury!


Here are a few more pictures of our winter storm!  Enjoy!

Neither of them actually touched the ground!  There was still snow under their feet, and  Flower was afraid to stand up all the way!

Mattie wanted to take a picture of Mama in the snow!

Sitting inside with Mama, drinking hot chocolate, was far more enjoyable to my Little Man!

Look at the snowman we built!!

"HELP! I can't get off the mountain!!!"

"OH NO!  I AM FALLING!!!"