Farm … this & that 2

This is my favorite spot on the farm.  First picture is walking out onto the prairie.  Second picture is looking back where we just walked through.




Two of my favorite cowboys!!!



Wet prairie is finally wet again!!!



Sassy does not like walking in water so she gave me a dirty look when I told her we had to cross this ditch!!!


The views from my work “cubicle”.  It is a tough job but somebody has to do it.

The view from my work “desk”.       The view from my “throne” because I am the Queen of the Farm!!


My fluffer looks like some kind of freaky spider.

A thousand words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  This is so true and a picture is also worth a thousand emotions. It is finally here… our Family Beach Photo Shoot Gallery.  I am glad I can post about this because it is kind of overwhelming to me.  These are my beautiful people.  My family.  The loves of my life.  This is our story thus far.





This picture brings to mind many words and emotions…. loyalty, continuity, endurance, and infinite love.



                                                     …. hope, pure joy, be still my heart!!







Grandbabies…  they are here to exhaust us and energize us at the same time.  So much fun to just sit back and see what happens.  Never a dull moment and we are forever learning about life at it’s best from them.






My boys… not of my blood but definitely of my heart.  They stole my heart long before their Daddy did.  They are amazing men who make this world a much better place.  I am constantly amazed at their outstanding character as well as their intelligence.  They turned this wicked step mothers heart to mush. I am so happy they let me love them.


My girl… my life, my reason to exhale after I inhale.  She makes me want to be a better person.  She is a blessing from God and the single greatest thing I have ever done.  My daughter, my heart, my world.






My kids… these are the people that make it all worth while.  Sometimes life is not so good to us.  But they remind me every day that we are blessed beyond belief and there is nothing we cannot get through together with the help of the Lord.  These people make me really happy!  This is what I live for!!  Oh my, how absolutely beautiful are my kids!!




 
I feel like we as a family share many emotions… of course love and compassion.  But there is also a mutual respect for each other and always that deep feeling of knowing we are never alone. We always have someone on our side and most of the time more than just “one” someone.  We run in a herd.  There is a pile of us.

words… utter chaos, loud, massive fun, laughter, sarcasm, dry humor, cheesy, never boring, competitive, perfection, thankful, well-loved (not spoiled), constant, admiration and I could go on and on and on.  As I have said before, these are the people I laugh with, cry with, share the joys and sorrows of life with.  I would kill for or die for them.  I know that is extreme but the LOVE I have for them is extreme. That is how I roll.



Trust, adoration, respect, amazingly awesome, selflessness, extraordinary, true love, blind faith, strength, and hope.   My favorite love story of all time.  This is truly a story book romance.  They teach me something wonderful and good every day and I am so happy that I get to witness a love like this.  My wish is that my Kelsey gets to experience this kind of love one day.  This picture melts my heart.





My words for this man are too many to name them all.  I know what it feels like to be adored by someone.  This man, this wonderful man, adores me. It goes above and beyond love.  I am not sure why he puts up with me but I am thankful he does.  I love the way he loves me and I love him for so many reasons.  But mainly for his strong sense of family.  Pride and honor come to mind.  Truly blessed & extremely thankful, unconditionally loved, & “i‘ve got your back”.  We are a force to be reckoned with.





We got THE PICTURE.  It was all about the picture.  Kellee wanted a picture with ‘ere body in it.  I was not concerned with hair and make-up… thank goodness because we all melted in the first five minutes.  I was concerned with getting all my people’s beautiful faces in one picture.  Mission accomplished.  We got THE PICTURE and so many more.  Plus some great memories on how we came about getting them.  I love my family and I love the beach… I got the best of both!!  I am really blessed and well-loved.  And ~~~dang, we look really, really, good!!!!


... crazy, goofy, nerdy, gorgeous, beautiful, handsome, hot, sweaty, grumpy, short fused, ADORABLE, silly, precious, talented, integrity, magnificent, epic, excellence ……. MINE!!!

Are you ready for some football… Gator style

We are really serious about Gator football around here!!!  This game was very exciting for many reasons.  It is always exhilarating to get ready for that first game, Gracie and Sam were going with us, and I was going too.  So much excitement I can hardly stand it!!  On top of all that Amber, Taylor, and Warren were going too.  It was a family affair.  All we needed was Annabelle and Mamie and we would have had the whole gang.  But it was way too hot for the littlest of our crew, so they got to hang out with Pop & Grammy.  We had a full suburban so Sam being the most flexible got to ride in the back.  It was so cute to look back and see him just peeking up over the back seat.  And of course Pug thought it was funny to tell him to “load up” with a whistle each and every time he had to get out and back in. :) We all felt kind of sorry for him until we got in to go home and he was the one in the back with the cooler and the snacks!!  He laughed at us as he munched on a cookie.

We “tailgated” at Sonny’s (Sam’s fav. place and they don’t have them in D.C.) so we just had something cool to drink before the game  and watched the kids play.  Warren and I were learning a new dance from a Korean dance video he saw on line.  It is so funny that he likes it so much.

 

 

And then finally time for the game.  It was hot and crowded and people were loud and obnoxious and the Gators were sometimes awesome and sometimes not so awesome… some things never change.  It was just like I remembered it.  We had a great time and ended up winning.  As usual we raided the cooler for water, gator-ade, and diet coke on the way home as we munched on rice krispy treats (thanks to Annie).  It was a good day.  More family time.  That is always a good time… win or lose.  But the ride home is always more pleasant with a win.  Go Gators.

WE ARE FAMILY!!

Around our house we don’t ever under-do anything.  Everything is a production, a celebration, a time of utter chaos.  It is how we roll and I would have it no other way.  So we went all out while Sam and Gracie were here for a week.  I cooked a few meals for Sam because that is what I do.  I like to feed people.  We had his favorite Monday night, country fried steak and gravy, black eyed peas & rice, Granny’s fried corn bread and banana pudding for dessert.  Tuesday was spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and Gracie’s cupcakes for dessert.  Wednesday was “all the family night”, we even had our newest adoptee (Annie’s cousin)—Stephanie eat with us.  It was b-b-que pulled chicken over home made mashed potatoes, green lima beans, corn, rolls, and brownie sundaes for dessert.  Thursday was fried pork chops, steamed green beans, wild rice and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  And of course Pug had to make comments about how he was glad Sam came so I would cook a real meal.  But it is obvious by just looking at all of us that I do my fair share of cooking.  It would not be a get together without Pug’s hysterical comments.


We played games. There were many Uno and Guess Who tournaments.  One night of Scategories.  We had a few dance parties.  We had a tap and ballet demonstration.  The best by far was the banana dance (thank you Lauren).  Everyone got a turn to participate in which ever event they felt like participating in at that given moment.  There was definitely fun had by all!  Some more than others. 

 
Gracie got to ride a horse and a tractor.  We got a picture on a tractor at the barn.  We also got to dig peanuts with Uncle Pug but his camera card ate the pictures and we could not print them.  But it was really fun.
 
We did a little shopping.  Gracie and Sam got some new Gator stuff for the game.  Gracie got a new “build-a-gator”  and she named him Albert.  We also got two new books—”weird but true”!  Gracie is a great reader and she wowed us with many interesting facts while she was here.  we also made some yummy cupcakes.

Not only was this the first Gator game of the season… it was Gracie’s very first Gator game.  I usually don’t go to many games but I was not going to miss out on this one.  It was even more fun because Taylor got to sit with us.  We had fun tailgating with everyone before the game.  It is great to be a Florida Gator!!  And thank goodness we WON!


We swam in the pool, ran some errands for Uncle Pug and watched quite a bit of the Disney channel.  Annabelle came and played too and that was so much fun.  They played dress up and had the best tea party.   Gracie also went to Sunday School with me and did a great job keeping up with the 11 –14 year olds in my class.  She went in the nursery with Annabelle during church and they had big fun.
 
But the absolute best thing we did while Sam and Gracie were here was “Family-time”.  We do that really good and really just can’t get enough of it!!!




We are so very blessed to have such a big, loving, and amazingly - extended family.  If you have one and you don’t appreciate them… shame on you, get with it and love your family!!  if you don’t have one then by all means go get yourself one because after all family is not about blood… while blood is thicker than water, love is thick than blood.  Family is about people being loyal to each other, having each others backs – no matter what, and knowing the true meaning of unconditional love.  We have that and it is the greatest gift we can get from God besides the gift He gave of His son, Jesus.