So little time...

  I was just sitting, having my coffee and thinking about what things I need to do and how much I am looking forward to everyone coming out for the day. I picked up my phone and noticed the date. Not that I didn't know what day it was, but just seeing that May 31, 2010 shocked me. May is over. I got an instant stomach ache just seeing it and realizing that in 4 months and 12 days, Ashley leaves for Spain. Most of the time I try to keep the emotions under control but it is little times like this that take me unaware. 

  I am blessed to have friendship with all my girls and I think it is that friendship that makes this hard. Not only is my child leaving for 5 years but my friend is too. And the mixture of being so proud of the choices she has made with her life and knowing that this is right where God wants her is sometimes hard to reconcile with the sadness of knowing that I will miss having her near to laugh with and chat with and make cookies with. Who will mess up my kitchen as soon as I get it cleaned up? Also knowing how much Bobbi and Jayme will miss her is hard. 

  One day I was talking about Ashley leaving and someone told me that I needed to untie the apron strings from her...have I untied the apron strings? Yes, I believe I have, but does that mean I can't use the apron to wipe my tears?

One more today...

Bryan and Tom Christie fish every Sunday afternoon and today Bryan asked if I wanted to go out with them. He said "It looks like it is going to be rather nice out, a good day for fishing." We started fishing and it started to rain. We had a good laugh about that one. I wasn't catching anything so they were taking me back to the dock so I could go in, I cast one more time and caught this one. So, not such a bad day out after all. I had just told them that if I caught one no matter what size, I wanted a picture of it. Fortunately it was a good fish.

Evening Calm

My favorite view is the setting sun, breaking through the clouds, shining on the barn.
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The Epp's visit...

Saturdays are usually a very quiet day for me out here since Bryan is at church from about 2:30 until 9:00 but yesterday the Epp family came out in the afternoon and hung out with me. It was fun. Dave rode Dakota. Abby and Hunter wanted to then didn't want to then wanted to then didn't want to... so maybe next time. :-)

Beau spilled the horse feed so he decided to put it back in the pan. Then he decided it tasted pretty good. Getting his grains I guess.

Abby decorated the back patio.

Hunter showing that winning smile. 

Beau kept himself busy playing in the dog's water for about 30 minutes. He is such a darling. We had a wonderful time just hanging out and talking.

I just want to check out...

This post if dedicated to Bobbi, because she and I have the same disease. No, it isn't an addiction to marshmallows. They are the item that caused the disease to manifest itself today in the grocery store. I was in line and finally got to the check-out. I needed to get home as I had company coming and wanted to finish up some stuff. I was buying the marshmallows for Memorial Day (the girls and Blake are coming out). The checker (and here is where we get to what the disease is) proceeds to pick up this package of gigantic marshmallows

(I should have put a regular size one next to this to show the difference but oh well, take it from me they are huge)

ANYWAY...The checker says "These are certainly huge aren't they?" I think I um hummed. Then she says "Well, that will be a lot of fun don't you think? Are you going to roast them? Do you have company coming? The kids will love these." I am just um humming and trying to sack the other stuff. She then turns the bag over and says "Let me just check here..." She reads the writing on the back and then says, "Oh good, yes, here it is."

I am just staring at her, maybe with an open mouth.

This is what she was looking for. She reads it to me and then says "Will you be roasting them? I just want you to be aware that kids could choke on these and suffocate or get burned. But there is a warning, so you won't get sued." REALLY? I am thinking "Well, there's a pleasant Memorial Day for me!" What I actually said was "The youngest person that will be using these is 19, so I'm pretty sure that we are safe." And so there you see what the disease. It is:

The Checker Makes Comments About Our Purchases

Try aiming down and left...

Ashley and Blake came out last night for some food cooked over the open fire and we were supposed to watch "Man From Snowy River" but the evening was beautiful and the deck and gun were too much temptation. So we just sat out there and shot at the target in the pasture.

Bryan wasn't sure the scope was sighted in correctly so he kept trying different things to see where it was. They weren't endangering the bulls eye that's for sure. So I said I would try and well, yes, I did hit the target then the black center and the target again. Bryan was giving me grief about it not being an accurate test of skill and told me I had to hit the hanging metal target on the target stand. So I did. Boom, Roasted.

Then he decided it was my chair. So he switched. I was walking behind him, he missed and said "Walking on the deck doesn't help." Ashley, Blake and I were laughing and I believe Blake said "I am sort of embarrassed for you." Bryan missed. Then Blake said "Now I am really embarrassed, am I turning red?" Which made us laugh even harder. Bryan did eventually hit the metal target.

Bryan convinced Blake that it was the chair. So he tried it from there. Enough said. Ashley was trying to be a good little spotter.

It was such a fun time. Relaxing and memorable. So glad that we can laugh at ourselves and with each other. Unfortunately we didn't get footage of the Great Muskrat Hunt that ensued shortly after this last photo. The Muskrat is still safe.

Coffee with a shot...

Just one more from this morning. The geese were all over the dock lawn and Bryan, instead of sitting down and watching the news with his coffee, decided to "discourage" them.

Coffee on the deck...

It is mornings like this that make living here special. The birds singing, the cottonwood trees making their unique sound in the breeze, the sun coming up and the smell of the Russian Olive tree that is blooming. It just isn't anything I can adequately describe because it has to be felt. But this is my attempt to share it with you since you aren't here.

Mae, of course, being her regal self. (Not the clownish and sleepy self)

Oliver, waiting expectantly for me to throw that toy for him. Biggest, little country dog ever.

I looked over to the southwest and saw that there was a rainbow starting. The colors from the sun coming up were intense.

"He restores my soul, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of my days."

From my viewpoint...

I always tell Bryan that even if I never really ride them (he does) I think I would keep the horses because they are so peaceful and beautiful. Montana always has to investigate what is going on but he tries to act like he's not that interested. My favorite story about Montana is that when he was about 2 and we still had Eeyore, our miniature donkey, they found an old shoe in the pasture and Eeyore was trotting around with it in his mouth tormenting Montana. Montana tried to take it away and Eeyore ran off. Montana chased him down, easily, and then I watched as he gently knelt down in Eeyore's back and forced him to the ground, laid down on him and took the shoe out of his mouth and ran off with it with Eeyore in hot pursuit. I wish so much that I had video of that. I can still see it so vividly in my mind.

Dakota really isn't interested. :-) Montana is almost 10 and Dakota is almost 16.

This is an old seed planter that would have gone behind a tractor. I converted it to a flower planter. Same name, different function. Sometimes the greatest joy is finding something that you can convert to another use.

My Beauty Bush has bloomed. I was told that the cuttings I took, from the 3 at the Kessler house in town, wouldn't grow out here and I am happily proving that person wrong. These are a bush that is not very commonly found anymore but used to be all over Lincoln. I love that we are able to preserve it by growing some at our place.

What can I say this little car makes me happy. Especially since it still works and our goal is to someday restore it to it's former good looks. For now it sits on the front porch and holds flower pots. These are just a few things a that are a delight for me to look at around the place.

I am the luckiest...

I was cleaning off the fridge and thought how very, very blessed I am to have these 3 girls in my life. They are the best daughters. They make me laugh, they let me cry, they ask me out to lunch, they ask me to make them cookies and food, they come home at random times and watch movies with me, they are just three of the best people that I have the joy of knowing. The cards were from Mother's Day but really I should have given them cards since they are the reason I am a mom. I love them more then I can ever find the words to say and I am the luckiest. (thanks Ben Folds for that quote)

Redneck- yup; Genius-Of course!

I have had the two young chickens, Emily and Victoria, in the barn in this cage I made out of old screens and today (of course the wind is blowing 45 mph) I wanted to get them outside because it is 80 degrees and I figure they would like some fresh air. So with Bryan's help we moved them out next to Bella, Alice and Rosalie. I thought they might need some protection from the elements so I put Oliver's (dog) little kennel in there. We stood back and declared it extremely redneck but at the same time the whole thing is genius. Victoria and Emily get acclimated to the other three without getting beat up!

Emily & Victoria

It took them all of 15 minutes to scatter food all over the inside of the kennel.

A place to rest...

This isn't a recent picture as you can tell by the snow on the railing, although it has been cold enough lately, but I just loved that this little bird found a place to rest on the door handle. Honestly at the time I think he just wanted in because it was so cold and snowy this winter. But it made me think, where do I find a place to rest?

For me that physical place is down in my office among my paper, paint, glue and all the other colorful stuff that makes me happy. Sometimes I just go down there and sit in my chair and drink coffee and breathe.

My ultimate place of rest should be in the arms of Jesus but so often I just breeze by them and say a brief hello on my way to other stuff. Lately though, with all that is coming in our lives, I am finding my way there more and more and letting Him collect my tears in His bottle. I think I have a large collection of them.