To all the Moms out there, hats off to you. Never forget every Mom is a working mom.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Happy Mother's Day...
‘All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother’ --Abraham Lincoln
To all the Moms out there, hats off to you. Never forget every Mom is a working mom.
To all the Moms out there, hats off to you. Never forget every Mom is a working mom.
Friday, May 11, 2012
10 Things...for teen girls, and motherhood 101
I found this website and loved her advice to teen girls and moms. http://kateelizabethconner.com/ten-things-i-want-to-tell-teenage-girls/. At the bottom is there is a link to ten things for teen boys written by her husband, and the Motherhood 101. I thought I would post only the girl and mom portion here for those not wanting to search out the information.
1. If you choose to wear shirts that show off your boobs, you will attract boys. To be more specific, you will attract the kind of boys that like to look down girls’ shirts. If you want to date a guy who likes to look at other girls’ boobs and chase skirts, then great job; keep it up. If you don’t want to date a guy who ogles at the breasts of other women, then maybe you should stop offering your own breasts up for the ogling. All attention is not equal. You think you want attention, but you don’t. You want respect. All attention is not equal.
2. Don’t go to the tanning bed. You’ll thank me when you go to your high school reunion and you look like you’ve been airbrushed and then photoshopped compared to the tanning bed train wrecks formerly known as classmates – well, at least next to the ones that haven’t died from skin cancer.
3. When you talk about your friends “anonymously” on Facebook, we know exactly who you’re talking about. People are smarter than you think they are. Stop posting passive-aggressive statuses about the myriad of ways your friends disappoint you.
4. Newsflash: the number of times you say “I hate drama” is a pretty good indicator of how much you love drama. Non-dramatic people don’t feel the need to discuss all the drama they didn’t start and aren’t involved in.
5. “Follow your heart” is probably the worst advice ever.
6. Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior because you are an emotional being. Emotion is good; it is nothing to be ashamed of. Emotion makes us better – so long as it remains in it’s proper place: subject to truth and reason.
7. Smoking is not cool.
8. Stop saying things like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” First of all, that’s not true. And second of all, if it is true, you need a perspective shift. Your reputation matters – greatly. You should care what people think of you.
9. Don’t play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention. Don’t pretend something is too heavy so that a boy will carry it for you. Don’t play dumb to stroke someone’s ego. Don’t bat your eyelashes in exchange for attention and expect to be taken seriously, ever. You can’t have it both ways. Either you show the world that you have a brain and passions and skills, or you don’t. There are no damsels in distress managing corporations, running countries, or managing households. The minute you start batting eyelashes, eyelashes is all you’ve got.
10. You are beautiful. You are enough. The world we live in is twisted and broken and for your entire life you will be subjected to all kinds of lies that tell you that you are not enough. You are not thin enough. You are not tan enough. You are not smooth, soft, shiny, firm, tight, fit, silky, blonde, hairless enough. Your teeth are not white enough. Your legs are not long enough. Your clothes are not stylish enough. You are not educated enough. You don’t have enough experience. You are not creative enough. There is a beauty industry, a fashion industry, a television industry, (and most unfortunately) a pornography industry: and all of these have unique ways of communicating to bright young women: you are not beautiful, sexy, smart or valuable enough. You must have the clarity and common sense to know that none of that is true. None of it. You were created for a purpose, exactly so. You have innate value. You are loved more than you could ever comprehend; it is mind-boggling how much you are adored. There has never been, and there will never be another you. Therefore, you have unique thoughts to offer the world. They are only yours, and we all lose out if you are too fearful to share them. You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough.
***********************
2. Don’t “save” the cute clothes. They grow so fast. Put them in your favorite outfit as often as you can – because before you know it you’ll be an weepy mess, sniffling as you put it in the attic, regretting every time you “saved it” and went with something that was “okay to get dirty.”
3. When your brand new little one starts crying in the grocery store (or in church, or at a funeral), don’t worry. It’s not nearly as loud as you think. You will be so worried about being “that mom” with the screaming kid that you’ll get stressed and sweaty over what sounds like, to everyone else, an innocent, raspy little newborn cry. Wait ’til they’re 2. Then they are as loud as you think.
4. It is much easier to take the whole mattress out of the crib to put new sheets on it – then just plop it back in. You’ll break a sweat, pull six muscles, and curse trying to cram your hands between the mattress and the crib slats.
5. Your body has done a nearly impossible thing – give it some grace. It might not ever look like it did when you were 19 (a moment of silence, please), but it grew, accomodated, nurtured, and birthed another human being. Anatomically, it’s staggering and nothing short of miraculous. So rest assured, soft is beautiful. Motherhood is beautiful. Your body stepped up to the plate and did the most important thing when it mattered. Give your body some grace. (And with some hard work and a year or so’s time, you can get back to a slightly softer version of normal – new normal.)
6. A long time ago, I was visiting with my Grandma Harness and we were watching my cousin Daniel. He was just a tiny infant at the time and throwing quite a fit. After patiently changing him, feeding him, swaddling him, burping him, and singing to him, he was still in a tizzy. Grandma laid him lovingly in his bouncer, looked at me and said, “Isn’t he so adorable?” I looked at screamy, red-faced Daniel and just laughed nervously, to which Grandma replied, “You know, Kate, sometimes babies just cry.” This from a nurse, and a woman who raised five healthy, happy, successful children (incidentally baby Daniel was my aunt’s fifth child, too). My gentle Grandma’s words helped me so many times to look at Madeline affectionately instead of desperately, lovingly instead of angrily.
7. I overheard my mother encouraging a tired new mom, and I never forgot, “Don’t waste a minute worrying about whether or not you’re ‘doing it wrong.’ You can’t. However you hold him is “how mom holds him.” Your baby knows your method of doing things. You cannot change him wrong or soothe him wrong. The ultimate comfort is mommy – and you’re it.”
8. Don’t let anyone lead you to believe that motherhood is easy, that infants are easy. That is BULL. HOCKEY. There will be moms of elementary school kids, perpetually irritated moms of apathetic teenagers, and sweet elderly ladies that will coo over your baby and say things like, “I remember when mine were that little.” “Enjoy it while it lasts.” “I wish I could go back.” It is all very sweet – but they only say it because they’ve forgotten what it feels like to sleep in 40-minute-intervals for 6 months. Women who look at two-year-olds and sigh dreamily have TOTALLY forgotten what it’s like to live with a two-year-old 24 hours a day. There are mommy bloggers out there who write enthusiastic, chipper posts about cloth diapering and the magic of breastfeeding, and they are all liars – at least liars by omission. Breastfeeding is magical, but it ain’t for sissies. It hurts like the dickens for a while, it’s exhausting, it’s enormously inconvenient. You will hear people say that babies are blessings, a heritage from the Lord. While this is absolutely true, don’t for ONE SECOND think that you’re a terrible person for wanting to set your “blessing” out on the front porch for the night because he just. won’t. stop. crying. Don’t let the glowing mothers psych you out. Know that they, too, are just trying to put their best foot forward. They’re trying to encourage you – give you some perspective and some hope. But let’s be straight for two seconds: Motherhood is the most precious, wonderful thing I’ve done with my life to date. It’s also the hardest.
9. Advocate for your baby. Just like before you were a mom, you will be obligated to attend work, school, church, and social functions. You will have people counting on you to be somewhere, like a wedding or a funeral or some other once-in-a-lifetime thing. And there WILL BE times when these expectations clash with the needs of your baby. Trying to find an achievable balance feels treacherous, and like a lose-lose situation. You either disappoint people you care about, miss out on special occasions, risk being misunderstood and possibly whispered about – or you suffer the agony of knowing you didn’t do what was best for your baby. I remember the tightrope feeling well, as Madeline was born just before Christmas. Relatives whom we wouldn’t see again for a full year “needed” to hold her. I “needed” to be at a variety of church, community, and family functions. I remember Madeline being passed around the room from one adoring person to the next – and when she started to cry, each person would take a turn trying to comfort her. I only got a turn when Madeline was SO worked up and miserable that she’d become totally inconsoleable – then it was time to pass her to mom. I remember sitting in a back bedroom with my hot, over-stimulated newborn, nursing her and whispering to her that I was so, so sorry. That it wasn’t fair – that it was simply too much and I didn’t speak up for her. I’ve been bummed about missing the occasional wedding or party, but that’s the kind of thing you bounce back from pretty quickly – c’est la vie. I’ve deeply regretted it, on the other hand, every time I didn’t advocate for my baby. I’m not saying be a shrew and hole yourself up in your house until your kid is 6 – but you’ll know when it’s too much. You’ll know because you’ll feel like you’re about to die. You will know when being home in your baby’s safe, familiar place is more important than anything else going on that day. Your baby cannot speak up for herself – so you must advocate for her. It’s okay to look all the expectations and obligations, disappointment and disapproval in the face and say, “No. We need to go home now.”
10. And finally, rest assured that every other mother’s house has been as dirty as yours is, probably worse. I’ve recited the last stanza of a poem called “Song for a Fifth Child” by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton to myself a thousand times. It calms down my racing mind long enough to make me sit still – and be fully present for my daughter. …The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, For children grow up, I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep. And that’s all I got. Except for pray a lot and take all the help you can get. Veteran moms, what would you add? New moms in the trenches of 1st year, what have I forgotten?
Ten Things I Want To Tell Teenage
Girls
1. If you choose to wear shirts that show off your boobs, you will attract boys. To be more specific, you will attract the kind of boys that like to look down girls’ shirts. If you want to date a guy who likes to look at other girls’ boobs and chase skirts, then great job; keep it up. If you don’t want to date a guy who ogles at the breasts of other women, then maybe you should stop offering your own breasts up for the ogling. All attention is not equal. You think you want attention, but you don’t. You want respect. All attention is not equal.
2. Don’t go to the tanning bed. You’ll thank me when you go to your high school reunion and you look like you’ve been airbrushed and then photoshopped compared to the tanning bed train wrecks formerly known as classmates – well, at least next to the ones that haven’t died from skin cancer.
3. When you talk about your friends “anonymously” on Facebook, we know exactly who you’re talking about. People are smarter than you think they are. Stop posting passive-aggressive statuses about the myriad of ways your friends disappoint you.
4. Newsflash: the number of times you say “I hate drama” is a pretty good indicator of how much you love drama. Non-dramatic people don’t feel the need to discuss all the drama they didn’t start and aren’t involved in.
5. “Follow your heart” is probably the worst advice ever.
6. Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior because you are an emotional being. Emotion is good; it is nothing to be ashamed of. Emotion makes us better – so long as it remains in it’s proper place: subject to truth and reason.
7. Smoking is not cool.
8. Stop saying things like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” First of all, that’s not true. And second of all, if it is true, you need a perspective shift. Your reputation matters – greatly. You should care what people think of you.
9. Don’t play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention. Don’t pretend something is too heavy so that a boy will carry it for you. Don’t play dumb to stroke someone’s ego. Don’t bat your eyelashes in exchange for attention and expect to be taken seriously, ever. You can’t have it both ways. Either you show the world that you have a brain and passions and skills, or you don’t. There are no damsels in distress managing corporations, running countries, or managing households. The minute you start batting eyelashes, eyelashes is all you’ve got.
10. You are beautiful. You are enough. The world we live in is twisted and broken and for your entire life you will be subjected to all kinds of lies that tell you that you are not enough. You are not thin enough. You are not tan enough. You are not smooth, soft, shiny, firm, tight, fit, silky, blonde, hairless enough. Your teeth are not white enough. Your legs are not long enough. Your clothes are not stylish enough. You are not educated enough. You don’t have enough experience. You are not creative enough. There is a beauty industry, a fashion industry, a television industry, (and most unfortunately) a pornography industry: and all of these have unique ways of communicating to bright young women: you are not beautiful, sexy, smart or valuable enough. You must have the clarity and common sense to know that none of that is true. None of it. You were created for a purpose, exactly so. You have innate value. You are loved more than you could ever comprehend; it is mind-boggling how much you are adored. There has never been, and there will never be another you. Therefore, you have unique thoughts to offer the world. They are only yours, and we all lose out if you are too fearful to share them. You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough.
***********************
Motherhood 101: The First Year
The summer of babies is upon us. I thought I’d start compiling a list – for me to revisit and read when I’m in sleep-deprived psychosis, flying off the handle at every little thing, weeping over the dirt on my floor, and telling the cat that I’m going to sell him because he’s such an obnoxious freak of nature. And for the other new moms out there who are at this very moment yelling at their pets and spouses, wondering if they will ever feel normal again. I’ll start with the very practical. 1. Don’t be quiet when the baby is sleeping. Do not tiptoe or whisper or do anything equally stupid. Train that little bug to sleep through ANYTHING. Live your life at normal volume – vacuum, watch TV, talk on the phone, open and close doors. Just keep living.2. Don’t “save” the cute clothes. They grow so fast. Put them in your favorite outfit as often as you can – because before you know it you’ll be an weepy mess, sniffling as you put it in the attic, regretting every time you “saved it” and went with something that was “okay to get dirty.”
3. When your brand new little one starts crying in the grocery store (or in church, or at a funeral), don’t worry. It’s not nearly as loud as you think. You will be so worried about being “that mom” with the screaming kid that you’ll get stressed and sweaty over what sounds like, to everyone else, an innocent, raspy little newborn cry. Wait ’til they’re 2. Then they are as loud as you think.
4. It is much easier to take the whole mattress out of the crib to put new sheets on it – then just plop it back in. You’ll break a sweat, pull six muscles, and curse trying to cram your hands between the mattress and the crib slats.
5. Your body has done a nearly impossible thing – give it some grace. It might not ever look like it did when you were 19 (a moment of silence, please), but it grew, accomodated, nurtured, and birthed another human being. Anatomically, it’s staggering and nothing short of miraculous. So rest assured, soft is beautiful. Motherhood is beautiful. Your body stepped up to the plate and did the most important thing when it mattered. Give your body some grace. (And with some hard work and a year or so’s time, you can get back to a slightly softer version of normal – new normal.)
6. A long time ago, I was visiting with my Grandma Harness and we were watching my cousin Daniel. He was just a tiny infant at the time and throwing quite a fit. After patiently changing him, feeding him, swaddling him, burping him, and singing to him, he was still in a tizzy. Grandma laid him lovingly in his bouncer, looked at me and said, “Isn’t he so adorable?” I looked at screamy, red-faced Daniel and just laughed nervously, to which Grandma replied, “You know, Kate, sometimes babies just cry.” This from a nurse, and a woman who raised five healthy, happy, successful children (incidentally baby Daniel was my aunt’s fifth child, too). My gentle Grandma’s words helped me so many times to look at Madeline affectionately instead of desperately, lovingly instead of angrily.
7. I overheard my mother encouraging a tired new mom, and I never forgot, “Don’t waste a minute worrying about whether or not you’re ‘doing it wrong.’ You can’t. However you hold him is “how mom holds him.” Your baby knows your method of doing things. You cannot change him wrong or soothe him wrong. The ultimate comfort is mommy – and you’re it.”
8. Don’t let anyone lead you to believe that motherhood is easy, that infants are easy. That is BULL. HOCKEY. There will be moms of elementary school kids, perpetually irritated moms of apathetic teenagers, and sweet elderly ladies that will coo over your baby and say things like, “I remember when mine were that little.” “Enjoy it while it lasts.” “I wish I could go back.” It is all very sweet – but they only say it because they’ve forgotten what it feels like to sleep in 40-minute-intervals for 6 months. Women who look at two-year-olds and sigh dreamily have TOTALLY forgotten what it’s like to live with a two-year-old 24 hours a day. There are mommy bloggers out there who write enthusiastic, chipper posts about cloth diapering and the magic of breastfeeding, and they are all liars – at least liars by omission. Breastfeeding is magical, but it ain’t for sissies. It hurts like the dickens for a while, it’s exhausting, it’s enormously inconvenient. You will hear people say that babies are blessings, a heritage from the Lord. While this is absolutely true, don’t for ONE SECOND think that you’re a terrible person for wanting to set your “blessing” out on the front porch for the night because he just. won’t. stop. crying. Don’t let the glowing mothers psych you out. Know that they, too, are just trying to put their best foot forward. They’re trying to encourage you – give you some perspective and some hope. But let’s be straight for two seconds: Motherhood is the most precious, wonderful thing I’ve done with my life to date. It’s also the hardest.
9. Advocate for your baby. Just like before you were a mom, you will be obligated to attend work, school, church, and social functions. You will have people counting on you to be somewhere, like a wedding or a funeral or some other once-in-a-lifetime thing. And there WILL BE times when these expectations clash with the needs of your baby. Trying to find an achievable balance feels treacherous, and like a lose-lose situation. You either disappoint people you care about, miss out on special occasions, risk being misunderstood and possibly whispered about – or you suffer the agony of knowing you didn’t do what was best for your baby. I remember the tightrope feeling well, as Madeline was born just before Christmas. Relatives whom we wouldn’t see again for a full year “needed” to hold her. I “needed” to be at a variety of church, community, and family functions. I remember Madeline being passed around the room from one adoring person to the next – and when she started to cry, each person would take a turn trying to comfort her. I only got a turn when Madeline was SO worked up and miserable that she’d become totally inconsoleable – then it was time to pass her to mom. I remember sitting in a back bedroom with my hot, over-stimulated newborn, nursing her and whispering to her that I was so, so sorry. That it wasn’t fair – that it was simply too much and I didn’t speak up for her. I’ve been bummed about missing the occasional wedding or party, but that’s the kind of thing you bounce back from pretty quickly – c’est la vie. I’ve deeply regretted it, on the other hand, every time I didn’t advocate for my baby. I’m not saying be a shrew and hole yourself up in your house until your kid is 6 – but you’ll know when it’s too much. You’ll know because you’ll feel like you’re about to die. You will know when being home in your baby’s safe, familiar place is more important than anything else going on that day. Your baby cannot speak up for herself – so you must advocate for her. It’s okay to look all the expectations and obligations, disappointment and disapproval in the face and say, “No. We need to go home now.”
10. And finally, rest assured that every other mother’s house has been as dirty as yours is, probably worse. I’ve recited the last stanza of a poem called “Song for a Fifth Child” by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton to myself a thousand times. It calms down my racing mind long enough to make me sit still – and be fully present for my daughter. …The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, For children grow up, I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep. And that’s all I got. Except for pray a lot and take all the help you can get. Veteran moms, what would you add? New moms in the trenches of 1st year, what have I forgotten?
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I like these women...
There are certain people who have an impact and greatly influence your life and it can go either way: for good or bad. Well, there are two ladies that I absolutely love, enjoy, wish I was more like, and all that good stuff. Who are they: Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummnnd, http://thepioneerwoman.com/ and Beth Moore, http://blog.lproof.org/. I like them for different reasons.
Beth Moore:
Who cannot relate to Beth. She is down to earth, but spiritual, and reveals enough about her life, both past and present, that I think, "Oh, I have been there, done that, and gotten the T-Shirt." So here are the things I have gleaned from her that I really like.
1. She is faithful to be in the Word and study the Word, even when she had young children.
2. She loves her man, and lets everyone know how great he is.
3. She devotes her time to family. Her job as a Bible teacher is second.
4. She went to great lengths to make sure the word was taught to her kids.
5. She did not cram religion down the throat of her husband. She let God deal with him.
6. When she is speaking somewhere, she prays in the area WITHOUT her makeup on. She comes before the Lord as she is and after she prays, she "puts her face on."
7. When she and her husband pray together, she always positions herself LOWER than her husband to acknowledge that she is in submission to him, and he is head over her.
8. She is funny.
Pioneer Woman:
I think everyone loves PW. I first found her blog because of photography, and her free actions. (I do love those actions). I never read the other things very much until others would ask, "have you read PW blog today?" So I began reading it. I love how she writes. It is entertaining, to the point, and not to the point at the same time. Her recipes are to die for, and will literally kill you if you are a city slicker and don't work off those billions of calories. What I like about Ree.
1. She is faithful to post to her blog and encourages others to do likewise.
2. She takes amazing pictures, and I wish I did too.
3. She loves her man, and lets everyone know how great he is.
4. She devotes time to her family first; all the rest comes second.
5. She loves the Lord.
6. She home schools her children. (how can anyone send their child to public, and unfortunately some private schools? It like sending them to the wolves).
7. She is hilarious. Her book, From High heels to Tractor Wheels, is the only book that had me laughing out loud through the whole thing. A must read.
The things these women have in common is: 1. They love the Lord. 2. Family is more important than their work. 3. THEY LOVE THEIR MAN, AND EXPRESS IT CONSTANTLY TO OTHERS.
Ladies, be appreciative of your man. Love him. He is a gift from the Lord. Our purpose is to be HIS helpmate. Be his helpmate, and you will be the most blessed woman on earth, besides me.
"If he...
makes you laugh...
kisses your forehead.
says he's sorry.
makes an effort.
Holds your hand.
Works hard.
Attempts to understand you.
Then...believe it or not...
He's quite perfect."
-unknown
Beth Moore:
Who cannot relate to Beth. She is down to earth, but spiritual, and reveals enough about her life, both past and present, that I think, "Oh, I have been there, done that, and gotten the T-Shirt." So here are the things I have gleaned from her that I really like.
1. She is faithful to be in the Word and study the Word, even when she had young children.
2. She loves her man, and lets everyone know how great he is.
3. She devotes her time to family. Her job as a Bible teacher is second.
4. She went to great lengths to make sure the word was taught to her kids.
5. She did not cram religion down the throat of her husband. She let God deal with him.
6. When she is speaking somewhere, she prays in the area WITHOUT her makeup on. She comes before the Lord as she is and after she prays, she "puts her face on."
7. When she and her husband pray together, she always positions herself LOWER than her husband to acknowledge that she is in submission to him, and he is head over her.
8. She is funny.
Pioneer Woman:
I think everyone loves PW. I first found her blog because of photography, and her free actions. (I do love those actions). I never read the other things very much until others would ask, "have you read PW blog today?" So I began reading it. I love how she writes. It is entertaining, to the point, and not to the point at the same time. Her recipes are to die for, and will literally kill you if you are a city slicker and don't work off those billions of calories. What I like about Ree.
1. She is faithful to post to her blog and encourages others to do likewise.
2. She takes amazing pictures, and I wish I did too.
3. She loves her man, and lets everyone know how great he is.
4. She devotes time to her family first; all the rest comes second.
5. She loves the Lord.
6. She home schools her children. (how can anyone send their child to public, and unfortunately some private schools? It like sending them to the wolves).
7. She is hilarious. Her book, From High heels to Tractor Wheels, is the only book that had me laughing out loud through the whole thing. A must read.
The things these women have in common is: 1. They love the Lord. 2. Family is more important than their work. 3. THEY LOVE THEIR MAN, AND EXPRESS IT CONSTANTLY TO OTHERS.
Ladies, be appreciative of your man. Love him. He is a gift from the Lord. Our purpose is to be HIS helpmate. Be his helpmate, and you will be the most blessed woman on earth, besides me.
"If he...
makes you laugh...
kisses your forehead.
says he's sorry.
makes an effort.
Holds your hand.
Works hard.
Attempts to understand you.
Then...believe it or not...
He's quite perfect."
-unknown
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Meet Maggie
"A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever, and generally stopping before it gets there."
Agnes Repplier
On Wednesday, May 2, I went to pick up and bring our new little kitten home. I was very excited about it. Maggie is the most adorable and beautiful kitten. I knew it would be traumatic for her, so I fixed up the laundry room as her "safe room" and since she has been an outdoor kitten, a safe place in case she has accidents while learning how to use the cat box.
She seemed to take everything very well. I did not hear any loud "meowing", and she seemed quite content in her little cat house, which was her cat carrier when I went to feed her the next morning. The greatest thing was she found the cat box and is using it fine. In fact, she takes forever to scrap out her perfect spot, and then covers everything with the entire kitty litter. Her covered mound resembles Mt. Everest when she is done. She has a mouse toy, compliments of Amber, Mark's wife, which she loves. It did have feathers, but she has pretty much destroyed or eaten them all.
She is on a schedule for her eating, grooming, and social time. She loves to watch T.V. with Warren and me. Since she is so little, and tends to hide, I decided it might be wise to get a collar with a bell on it, so I could find her as I was introducing her to her new environment. Today, she had the run of the house, but she was content to stay close to us. I have been more careful with the outdoors. There are just too many places to hide, and I want to make sure she will come when she is called before I give her free reign outside. Right now she has to stay close to me when we are outside.
Welcome Maggie, and many thanks to the Berry's for taking care of her in her beginning of life. So far, so good!
Agnes Repplier
On Wednesday, May 2, I went to pick up and bring our new little kitten home. I was very excited about it. Maggie is the most adorable and beautiful kitten. I knew it would be traumatic for her, so I fixed up the laundry room as her "safe room" and since she has been an outdoor kitten, a safe place in case she has accidents while learning how to use the cat box.
 |
| Maggie |
 |
| She loves her mouse. |
 |
| See the green feather stuck on her face! |
She is on a schedule for her eating, grooming, and social time. She loves to watch T.V. with Warren and me. Since she is so little, and tends to hide, I decided it might be wise to get a collar with a bell on it, so I could find her as I was introducing her to her new environment. Today, she had the run of the house, but she was content to stay close to us. I have been more careful with the outdoors. There are just too many places to hide, and I want to make sure she will come when she is called before I give her free reign outside. Right now she has to stay close to me when we are outside.
 |
| Lounging in her bed. |
 |
| Erynn left her bow, so I put it on Maggie's collar just for fun. She did not seem to mind at all. |
Welcome Maggie, and many thanks to the Berry's for taking care of her in her beginning of life. So far, so good!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Stephanie photo shoot
Our photo club had the most wonderful safari in the Dexter/Hagerman area last weekend. One of the sites was an amazing, old house that a rustic, run-down inside, perfect for a romantic photo shoot. Fellow photographer, Stephanie, volunteered to be my model. Here are some of the photos.
 |
| Okay, can you tell I liked the door photos a lot. |
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Moth invasion and other stuff...
When I say we are having a moth invasion, I am not kidding. It is horrible and disgusting. There are thousands of Miller moths everywhere. I start off the morning sweeping them up, and there are hundreds. No joke or exaggeration. Then in a couple of hours, I do the same thing, and that is how my day goes. We have a bug zapper on the back porch, and my patio area underneath the light is covered with dead moths. We have nice, plump birds in our backyard. I think they are satiated because usually they eat all the bugs, and they are leaving a lot of moths...which means I have to sweep them up! Someone told me the life span was 12 hours, but that is not so--I looked it up. What I did not know is the caterpillar stage is of this moth is the army cutworm. This information makes me more determined to get rid of the nasty things. Cut worms can wipe out your garden overnight.
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| Gross isn't it? |
Okay, on a more pleasant note, we had a mini birthday party for Erynn today since it is the Thursday before her 7th birthday. (Monday she is officially 7. Can you believe that?). We had cake and ice cream and a few presents. Then we went to Roswell Regional Hospital or should I say "Lovelace" Regional Hospital since it sold, to feed the Coy fish, then on to the railroad tracks to look for wonderful RR spikes. Reid found the most, and he started testing the ones that were holding down the track and found a ton that were loose. He pulled them out and had quite the haul. Hopefully, we will not have a train derailment as a result. Oh, and we laid pennies on the track and will go back next week to see if we can find our flattened pennies.
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| Little Miss Erynn and her cake. |
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| Notice the loot in his hand, and he is diligently searching for more. |
Now for some our flowers from our yard. Are they not gorgeous?
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| Peony and Iris. |
And I cannot forget my wonderful man tucked away in his favorite spot doing his favorite past-time.
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| Love this man! He makes my heart sing! |
"Life is like photography. You use the negatives to develop." --Anonymous
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Nice surprise
On Thursday, Warren went to get his final diagnostic test done for his back...a CT myelogram. It was pretty uneventful, and we do what most others do at a hospital...wait, then wait some more, and then wait even more. I had to go with him because they did not want him driving afterwards. So I waited and read while he was getting the x-rays done, then while the dye was diffusing into his spine I joined him, and took pictures using my iPhone to document the day.
We learned what we already knew--his back is a mess. We will send the films and report to the Dr. in Denton, TX, then see what he recommends and go from there. So it was not a very fun, or exciting way to spend the day. But I am happy to report it did end on a very wonderful note. When we got home, there was a strange box in our mailbox. Warren is usually the one who orders stuff, but he had not ordered anything. I looked at the address which was not familiar with me, until I remembered that my niece had her mom had moved recently. Well, this was a "just because" box filled with the cutest, most wonderful stuff! It did bring tears to my eyes. It was from my niece, Melissa Norcross, and her mom, Mara Yachik. There was a very sweet note tucked inside, and it made feel so very loved. A big hug and thank you go out to them. I know your on pins and needles wondering what wonderful stuff was inside...
There was a tea towel with the cutest lambs all over it; Mary Engelbriet cards, notepad, pen, and cupcake papers that are just the cutest things I have ever seen. I wanted to stir up a batch of muffins or cupcakes right then. See for yourself.
Since I received this and it lifted my spirits way up, I want to encourage everyone who reads this to think about doing a "just because" package for someone. What a wonderful thing it is. Thank you so very much.
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| Signing his life away. |
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| Waiting...pictures are good when you are waiting. It helps kill time. |
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| He was hungry afterwards so we literally integrated Burger King. We were the only white people in the place. |
There was a tea towel with the cutest lambs all over it; Mary Engelbriet cards, notepad, pen, and cupcake papers that are just the cutest things I have ever seen. I wanted to stir up a batch of muffins or cupcakes right then. See for yourself.
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| Isn't this just the cutest stuff ever! |
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| And aren't these cupcake papers adorable. Good advice on the bottom too! |
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| Love these sheep... I am the "worried" one. My slogan is "I worry so you don't have to." |
Since I received this and it lifted my spirits way up, I want to encourage everyone who reads this to think about doing a "just because" package for someone. What a wonderful thing it is. Thank you so very much.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
For a Senior Album
I am in the process of putting together the pages of an album for a local graduating senior. Here are a couple of my favorite pages. Well...I should say as I finish each page I think it is the best, so I guess I like them all, but I won't make you look at more than two.
Of course, it does help to be beautiful like this as well. I just love working on these photo albums, and seeing the final product in print. Most of all, I like seeing the eyes light up of the person for whom I have created the album. I am about half-way done with this one. Here's a good quote for all those graduating seniors.
Of course, it does help to be beautiful like this as well. I just love working on these photo albums, and seeing the final product in print. Most of all, I like seeing the eyes light up of the person for whom I have created the album. I am about half-way done with this one. Here's a good quote for all those graduating seniors.
"Where so ever you go, go with all your heart!" -Confucius
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