Quiet Time

I'm sitting at the computer, as you can tell.
It's very quiet in the house right now. All of the animals are asleep. Even Alex is sleeping with his little green head tucked under his wing.
The finch chicks still have not peeked out of their nest yet. Mama and Daddy are still sleeping with them at night.
Jerry and Tish are sleeping in anticipation of a busy day at work tomorrow. I can't seem to sleep.
This is a happy home. I look around and see the evidence everywhere. There are little toys scattered around the floor as if, we still had small children. The puppies love to play with their toys. I put them away and they methodically get each one out of the box. Junior makes a little pile of all of his favorites and lays with his head resting on them.Mocha sneaks up on him then quickly snatches one away, the game begins. Back and forth the toy goes as each puppy takes it away from the other while they chase each other madly around the house. then almost at the same time they fall on the floor in exhaustion and go to sleep. I pick them up and place them in the crates for the night.
There is a shredded paper towel laying near the keyboard from Jerry and Alex playing "tug-of-war". After Jerry went to bed and Alex began dozing on his gym. I picked him up and placed him back in his cage for the evening. He mumbled something to me that might have been "night-night" or "thank you".
I enjoy my evenings with my family and my assorted babies. But, I also enjoy this time, when everyone is asleep and safe in their beds and the house is quiet. I have time to reflect on my blessings. I have time to plan my day tomorrow, or I have time to do nothing at all.
When all of your children are grown and on their own, the general idea is that a mother is supposed to be sad and lonely. Or suffer "empty nest". I guess I don't know what that is. After raising four children, it feels kinda right that I have the ability to not have to worry about things any more. I don't have "empty nest" anything.
They also say that marriages fall apart after the children leave. Supposedly that is because the married couple suddenly discover they have nothing in common. I think that also is a bunch of bunk! Jerry and I do have our differing interests, we are different people. We have time to spend doing all the things we never had time to do before. He can finally go fishing any time he wants, tie jigs and flies, play on the computer or do nothing. Unlike the years past when all he had time to do was work to support a larger than average family. I believe he has earned his right to be happy and support him whole-heartedly. I don't think anything has changed between us simply because we fulfilled our parental obligations. I think we now have the opportunity to pursue our separate interests and then discuss in great detail our separate interests. We are no longer obligated to discuss report cards, school supplies, bedtimes, or any other subject that deals with rearing children. We can talk about us!
We will be married 31 years next month. I cannot imagine my life without him. I am 47, that is three quarters of my life with my lifelong love beside me. No, nothing has changed for us, except that maybe we are more sensitive to each others needs, more rspectful of one anothers feelings or maybe we are more comfortable with one another. Maybe our love has just gotten to the point that it is hard to see where one of us stops and the other begins. However it goes. I love him and always will.
I do really enjoy my quiet time alone. It gives me an opportunity to look at my life and realize how incredibly blessed, I really am.
Thank you Lord, for all of my blessings.

Baby Finch Update

The baby finches hatched sometime before Thanksgiving. I am really not sure of the date. We had to listen to them cry for "Mama and Daddy" the whole time Mom was here.
I checked on them over the week-end. They had some wing and tail feathers at that time. I grew hopeful that these two would survive. The last bunch didn't.
Apparantly, "Mama and Daddy" have matured some since the last group of nestlings.
I took a good look at them today when I got home from work.
Both babies are now fully feathered.
My research has led me to believe that they will be emerging from the nest in the near future.
I can't wait to see them in good light.
So far, all I can tell is they don't have any color to their feathers yet. No bright orange checks and their beaks are black.
Both look heathly and fat.
No worries now! I think they are gonna make it!!!!! Yeah!!!!

Christmas Past, Christmas Present, Christmas Future

Christmas Past:
waking up on Christmas morning as a small child, running to the living room to take a peek under the tree, at what Santa left, the odd "new plastic" smell of the sweet new baby doll, the whole house smelling of Grandma's Spice Cake and HOMEMADE Hot Cocoa.
Waking up on Christmas morning to the excited voices of my own 4 children, "Mama, Daddy, WAKE UP, Santa was here!" as if they were surprised that he actually came.
then later in life, colored paper, ribbons and bows covering the floor as my grandchildren rip into the gifts and stockings at Grandma's house and a big family dinner, full bellies and laughter.

Christmas Present:
God's blessings on my life are too numerous to count. I am thankful for all He has provided. I have a good life and a content heart.
My wish would be for ALL of my children to come together to celebrate. I want to cook for them, fill stockings with little surprises and see the joy on their faces as they open the gifts their Dad and I picked out especially for each of them.
I will have Christmas, and even if I can't have my wish, I will have each of them there in my heart and in the memories of Christmases Past.

Christmas Future:
Down the road of life, we can never predict what the future will bring.
I pray for many happy Christmases with the love of my beautiful family surrounding me.

God grant me Peace this Christmas and for those yet to come.Bless my children and grandchildren with an overflowing abundance of happiness and love.

For my family, those close and those far away:
May all of your Christmases, past, present and future, bring you fond memories and a happy heart. I love you, all!!!

Beth's Cake!!!

Mom and Beth, decorating her cake. I think she did a great job. More important she had a really good time doing it! Way to go Beth. You can always take up cake decorating, if the Education thing doesn't work out.LOL!!!

It's Hard to say, "Good-Bye"

What a wonderful week-end!
I just waved "Good-bye" to Mom, Eddy and Beth. They are headed back to Shreveport. We all had such a good time. I got to show off my cooking and Eddy got to eat, and eat and eat.
Mom made Grandma's Spice Cakes. It is a traditional family recipe that my Great-Grandma Wynn used to make. I guess the recipe is at least 100 years old by now. The smell of the Spice Cakes baking brought back some fond childhood memories. It is the scent of happy times at Grandma's house. Licking the batter off the beaters, I felt like a little kid again!
Mom loved it here. Eddy commented on the fact that when he was outside, two cars and a lady walking her dog passed by. This is a peaceful little neighborhood.
Beth got an opportunity to bake and decorate a cake. She really enjoyed it. I sent her cake home with her so she could show off her artistic abilities and so we wouldn't eat any more. Although Weight Watchers doesn't put any restrictions on what you eat. A dark chocolate cake with rich dark chocolate icing and decorated with Buttercream icing is probably not a good thing to keep around.
It's really hard to express the joy I felt this week-end having my family here and being able to cook for them and show them personally how much I love them.
I hope that they all enjoyed their visit as much as Jerry, Tish and I enjoyed having them. I hope that they will return again very soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am having a great Thanksgiving! Mom, Eddy and Beth are here! Geri and Brian came over for lunch and we ALL pigged out on Honey Brined Smoked Turkey, Smoked Ham with Brown Sugar and Pineapple Glaze, My Famous Cornbread Dressing, Sweet Potato Cassarole, Mashed Potatoes, Giblet Gravy, and among other holiday traditional dishes, a brand new favorite recipe.........Fresh Cranberry Salsa. That's right, salsa made with Cranberries. It was great.
After eating ourselves silly, Mom and I sat at the table and just visited. That was nice.
Tish played the Wii with Brian and beat him silly.
The younger crowd took Saul for a walk(drag) while us older folks chilled!
Now all the food is put away, the guys have gone to bed and we are all just winding down to go to bed.

All in all, it has been a wonderful day.

In recognition of the day's meaning, I am going to take just a moment to list those things I am personally thankful for.
I am BLESSED to have a wonderful husband who adores me and treats me like a queen. I have 4 healthy, grown children, 2 gorgeous grandchildren and 2 more on the way. I have a comfortable home, a good job, and enough money to stay content. I have my precious Mom, my sweet step-dad, my great, little sister. I have my brother and step-sister, whom I love dearly and best of all, I have my Salvation and my Faith in God. I have the belief that I am protected and loved by my family and my God.

I have a good life and I am more blessed than many people in this world.

For all that, I AM THANKFUL!!!!

I Love Shopping!

Lots of overtime can be TOO MUCH WORK sometimes. But, it sure is nice to get that paycheck with all the overtime, the raise and $50.00 in Walmart cards. I went shopping today for some of my "company coming" items that I needed. I bought a really nice comforter set for the bed in the "guest room". And I finally got a nice comforter set for my bedroom.
I also got a Wii for the whole family to enjoy! There is even a fishing game on it. Jerry is going to get it all hooked up for me when he gets home from his usual Saturday morning fishing trip.
Tish and I got matching heating pads for those aches and pains from all that overtime we have been putting in. Both of us seem to be having more back pain than usual. Not that my job is all that physical but sitting at a computer all day can make your back hurt too. And lifting babies, getting up and down off the floor all day and spending hours on your feet is not all that easy for an expectant mother.
I still have a lot of work to do. tomorrow we are going to the laundry mat to wash all the winter bed clothes. The heavy blankets and comforters are just a little too much for my machine to handle. She also wants to get all the baby's things washed.
Sunday we are steam cleaning carpets. It has been a little while since I did that last and they definately need sprucing up. Sunday evening, grocery shopping is on the to-do list.
I have to buy stuff to make those cookies for Eddy. I'm afraid he might decide to stay home if I don't have his Oatmeal Raisin Cookies waiting for him when he arrives.LOL.
I hope Mom is prepared to never want to leave, once she gets here.
I am looking forward to seeing my sisters, Beth and Vickie. I can't remember when the last time was that I was so excited about Thanksgiving. I love cooking for and entertaining people I love.
It feels good to be able to get things done that I have been wanting to do. It really feels good to know that the bills are all paid and there is some money left over to have fun with. God is good all the time. Thank you Lord, for family and good times! Thank you for good jobs and all the little blessings I find every day!

Count Down to Thanksgiving!

Only one more week to go until Mom, Eddy and Beth arrive for their first visit to my home! I am so excited. I can't hardly wait. I have a whole weekend of entertainment planned.

Beginning of course with dinner, Wednesday night.

Followed with the whole family thing on Thanksgiving Day. My step-sister and her husband will be here for the Big Dinner, along with Geri and Brian and of course, me, Jerry and Tish. I wish Aaron could be here, but I won't get to see him until Christmas. I would love for Mom to meet her great-grandchildren, but they already have other plans. I guess, it can't all be perfect!

Friday morning is the "all girls" shopping trip. We are going to brave the "Day after Thanksgiving" crowd and have some fun!

Then Saturday, Ashley and her family are coming over for Dinner, so they can meet Aaron's grandparents.

Sunday, Mom and the gang will be headed back to Shreveport. Hopefully with a lot of cool and interesting things to tell about their trip.

I am praying that they will decide, they want to come back to stay!

I love you Mom and I can't wait to have you here so I can treat you like a queen and Beth like a princess.

Oh yeah, I haven't forgotten the home-baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for the king!

Showering the Baby!!!!

What a face! She doesn't like this picture because she is making a weird face. However it is a great picture of her round belly. At 7 months, you still can't tell she's pregnant unless she turns sideways.


We went to her Baby Shower yesterday at Ashley's house.

Here are some highlights.





Here is the cake, I made and decorated for her. It is surrounded by candles made from a baby food jar.

The jars were painted with blue and green polka dots, they are tied with blue, baby footprint ribbons and have a tiny blue pacifier hot glued to the center. They were a big hit.




Pictures Of games and some highlights of Tish opening presents. Tish was really happy to see Mrs. Howe who has always been a special friend to her. We both want to thank Ashley and Jenny for such a great party and the sweet baby gifts.

We had such a fun afternoon. Baby showers are great, we were both really tired when we got home. It didn't take me long to go to sleep once we got home.

"More Alex"

Alex surprises me everyday with his intellegience.
He is always coming up with some new behavior or phrase that catches me unaware.
A few nights ago, we were sitting on the couch, watching T.V. after dinner. Alex was perched on my shoulder, preening my hair (a new behavior for him). Tish was sitting on the other end of the couch. Alex climbed off my shoulder onto the back of the couch and made his way toward Tish. She is a little nervous around him (he is a notorious biter) so she moved forward a little bit, out of his reach. She was talking to him, however and she said, "Gimme a kiss!" Expecting his reply to be his usual smooching sound. Alex surprised us all by replying , "Come here!"
Tonight, I decided to offer him a new treat. I know that he loves fresh strawberries. He will pick all the seeds off, eating them one by one before finally nibbling on the fruit itself. Tonight, I offered him a piece of pomgranate. Alex took one look at it and promptly asked, "What's that?" Of course once he tried it, he loved it. I knew he would.
This morning, he woke up with Jerry, and while Jerry was ironing his clothes for the day, Alex walked over to him and waited to be picked up and placed on his play gym. I think that is another breakthrough behavior for him. He normally does not appraoch Jerry to be picked up. And has a tendency to bite, when Jerry tries to pick him up. What a switch!
I have had a Quaker parrot in the past. She was extremely affectionate and loved to be held and cuddled. Alex does not like to be touched other than stepping up to be placed on his gym or on my shoulder. He still will not let me stroke his belly or scratch his head. I usually end up with a sore finger and a parrot that is laughing hysterically at me for hollering out, in pain.
The biggest difference in the two is the level of intellegience. Jada would talk, some. But she had a very limited vocabulary and she really didn't use her words in their proper context, except when she wanted to be cuddled and she would say, "Pick up Jada!" Alex usually speaks in concrete requests and replies to questions appropriately. He greets me in the afternoon by saying, "Hello, Mama." He tells the dogs, "Night, night" when I put them to bed. And he will say, "Shut up" when they are barking. He still says, "Here, kitty kitty" and answers, "Meow" when you repeat it to him.His word and phrase vocabulary is just too large to list it all, or even to remember, what all he can say, in just a few minutes.
We have definately come a long way from the aggressive little, green monster that would not let me near him, to a real, little, social butterfly. I am looking forward to the day that I can actually pet him and cuddle him.
I hope that the day will come, when Alex will enjoy snuggling under the blanket, on my chest while I read a book. I think we are on the way.

It's called "dog food" for a reason!

I think they call it that because it was created to feed dogs! Little dogs, big dogs, Chihuahuas, mutts, Quakers!
If it barks, chases it's tail and eats dog food, it's a dog, Right!
No, it's a bird that thinks it's a dog!
It's "Alex"!

Alex's favorite new thing is to get up very early in the morning, when I do. He climbs down, off his cage. Follows me around a bit. Chases "Mocha" and "Junior" away from their food bowl and helps himself to his favorite crunchy bits, in the "Kibbles and Bits".
Sometimes he doesn't even bother to chase the puppies away first, he just perches himself on the edge of their dish and glares at them. I know he is getting really spoiled, but I can't seem to help myself. "Alex" has such a funny personality. How can you possibly speak sternly to anything that makes you laugh so much.

Speaking of puppies, "Mocha" and "Junior" have become "Best Buds". Tonight, they played for hours. I watched them play "Tag, you're it" and "Keep Away". Then almost together, they collapsed and fell asleep! "Junior" is responding to his name. We have started "crating" them at night. "Mocha" sleeps better (like: all night, for a change) and as a result the rest of us sleep better. "Mocha", barking at her shadow, in the middle of the night, can make your heart stop beating. "Sami" still roams the house. I guess, he has earned a little special treatment.

Well, time to go to bed. Gotta work tomorrow! See ya!!!!

What a Catch!!!!

Jerry left early this morning, as is his usual routine on Saturday. Saturday is my "sleeping in, until I feel like getting up" Day. Jerry always leaves early, without waking me, and goes fishing. This morning, he stayed gone a little longer than usual. I wasn't really, too concerned, because, if he starts catching fish, he won't come home until the fish quit biting.
Needless to say, today, THEY WERE BITING!!!!!!!
I finally heard from him around 2:30 this afternoon.
He showed up at home with 17 of the biggest crappie, I have ever seen.
One monster was 16" long. It was so big, I couldn't get it to fit in the clip on my cleaning board.
There were several more between 14-15" and just a couple around 12". Not a one smaller.
I cleaned them all and put them in 7 "quart size" freezer bags. 7 quarts of crappie! Now, that's a fish fry!!!!!!

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. He caught this beauties, while paddling around in his kayak!
What a catch!! (Jerry, not the fish) And what a catch!!(the fish)

Just An Update!

"Alex" is still enjoying his new playground.

"Junior" and "Mocha" are now best buddies.
They do everything together. Eat, Sleep, Play, Snuggle.
"Sam" is not too impressed with having two rowdy, little puppies in the house,
but he is still "THE BOSS" and they don't worry him too much.
They have too much fun playing with each other to mess with a grumpy old man.

Speaking of, Jerry is doing great. He is still losing weight each week on Weight Watchers.
He has really become a big fan of Fly Fishing and goes almost every weekend. I think the crappie boat is getting jealous of the kayak. Now he is thinking about trying his hand at (building? making?) his own fly rod.

Tish is gaining more weight. Not too much! She looks so cute with her round belly! We are having a great time getting ready for the new baby boy. We have the nursery pretty well set up. The Baby Shower is in the works for November 10. We still have to address and send out invitations, so if you haven't gotten one, it's because they haven't been mailed.

The rest of the gang is doing well. I put the nesting box back in the finch cage. "Digory" is getting big and fat. "Saul" has decided to be the neighborhood "barking dog".

Plans are still in the works for Mom, Eddy and Beth to come out for several days at Thanksgiving. Tish and I are planning a "Black Friday" outing with Mom and Beth. The last time, I got to go, I took Jerry and he pretty much looked like a cat surrounded by pit bulls and no tree to climb. I don't think I will ever convince him to go again. Mom is bringing her boxing gloves for the occasion.

All in All, life is great and I feel blessed to be a part of it all. God is GOOD all the time.

Hi, from "Alex"

I bought "Alex" a new playground.
I think it is pretty cool.
He only bit me three times, while I was trying to get him to sit on it.
Parrot Trivia: Parrots are very suspicious of new things and should be introduced to them slowly. According to the experts, you can really upset a parrot by introducing a new piece of furniture into a room. So, new play gyms, should definately be introduced slowly over a period of a few days. You are 'supposed to' put the new item in the room, and over a period of several days, move it closer and closer to the parrot a little at a time until he is no longer upset by it's presence.
So much for that!! I put it together, picked "Alex" up and put him on it!
He survived, meeting his new toy. I survived his protests, now we are both happy!!!!


NOW MEET "JUNIOR"

Any one who knows us, know how devastated we were at the loss of our beloved "Snickers".
He was probably the smartest dog I have ever had the previlege to share my home with. When he was killed, it left a big hole in our lives.
However, "Snickers" did not leave us to be lonely. He made sure there would be someone special to help fill that void.
This is "Junior"
"Snickers" son!!!!
He is 6 weeks old. He is already bigger than "Mocha" and making his presence well known.
He bounces around here as if he never lived anywhere else. He plays with "Mocha" and answers to his name already.
When I look at his sweet little face, I see my "Snickers" in his eyes!

Little Pig, Little Pig, let me come in!

Only coins, that is. Or bills if your just wanting to be different. Here is a picture of Liam's first piggy bank. Hand painted by his Mom. I think she did a great job. I really enjoy watching Tish create her own special additions to the baby's corner.
I love to do crafts and it makes me feel proud that my children are imaginative and creative.
Of course, I can't take all the credit, her Dad is a pretty creative and imaginative guy, too.
He has been tying flies as well as jigs and comes up with some really attractive and imaginative designs. The cool thing is his flies and jigs catch fish. That is the ultimate test.
I looked to see if he had posted a picture of his kayak on this computer, but I can't find one. I guess I will have to wait to post that.

On to other news. Thanksgiving is getting closer. I can't hardly wait. I am so excited about having my family over. I want Mom, Eddy and Beth to have such a good time, they will never want to go back to Shreveport.

new baby belly pic

Tish
6 Months and counting.
She has gained 9 pounds so far
and it's all belly.
She is still wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans.
Of course, they are low-rise jeans so they don't interfere with
her growing bump.
Isn't she just too cute!!!!!

One more project completed

We finished the changing table, today.
I had to run up to Lowes and get the correct size screws, so I could assemble it safely. Then, Tish and I put the completed pad and bumper pads and baskets on it. I think it turned out cute. Everything coordinates with the bedding and wall decorations that we had completed earlier.
Only, one unfinished, sewing project left. I have the bed skirt partially completed. When it is done, I will post pictures of the completed nursery area.
We are pretty much ready. We still need to get daily living items, like bottles, nipples, pacifiers, diapers, baby care items (body wash, shampoo, lotion), etc.
Of course there are plenty of things we need still. Towels, baby wash cloths, blankets and infant toys. We have not been able to find any suitable infant toys. We still need a mobile for the crib, bassinet sheets, car seat and misc. other things.
Most all of that is small items we can buy a little at a time over the next few months. I think we are real close to being ready!

Can't Sleep!

I'm tired, but I can't sleep.
We had a good day, today! We worked on finishing projects for the "little man". I finished the pad for the changing table and the bumper pads. I covered the wicker basket with fabric that matches the theme of the room. Tish and I also worked on a couple of small projects. She found a piggy bank that she liked and bought an unfinished one at Michaels. She spent the afternoon, painting it. It turned out really cute. I made another plaque that matches the ones Tish made.
Tomorrow we will work on getting everything put together.


Jerry has a new passion. He bought a kayak. Hopefully the rain will clear enough tomorrow, he will be able to take it out for a little while in the morning.


We also saw "Junior" today. He is looking more and more like "Snickers" each time I see him. He is growing really fast and is bigger than any of his litter mates. He also is the most active, according to Beth, the lady they all belong to. In just a couple of more weeks, he will come to live with us.

Tonight was really nice. I worked on my sewing projects for the baby. Tish painted her piggy bank. Jerry sat at his work table and tied flies. We didn't even talk. We didn't have the T.V. on. It was quiet, we just enjoyed being together. Each one of us concentrating on our individual project and thinking our own private thoughts, knowing that the others were nearby, keeping us company and admiring the work we were doing. Being together doesn't always include talking. Sometimes, it's just being together. Sometimes, together time, is the best time of all.

Tish's baby is a very fortunate little boy. He will be born into a family who loves him and one another without limits. We are a very fortunate family. We are being blessed by one of God's greatest gifts. A beautiful baby boy to love. Without limits!

Shopping!

O.K. So, what will the" well-dressed baby" be wearing this winter?
We have cute little "onesies", blanket sleepers, sweaters, over-alls, tennis shoes, a button up plaid shirt, bluejeans, crawlers, jackets, socks and bibs. All in coordinating "mix&match" colors from "Old Navy", "Carters", "Little Me", "The Childrens Place" and of course "Toys 'R' Us".
Tish and I have been shopping. She bought some things on Wed. after we found out we are having a boy and I bought some more things tonight. I love outlet stores. We found some really cute things. Some of my favorites are a little blanket sleeper that is soft as down and has sweet little ears on the hood and bear foot prints on the bottom of the feet, then there are the bibs. We had to buy them. One of them says,"My Great Grandma loves me", the other one says, Grandpa's little angel". The navy blue crawler says," S.B.G., spoiled by grandpa". We really found some wonderful little boy clothes. I saw a lot of really cute little girl things, too. I can't wait to find out what Krysta is having. Tish and I will be doing some more shopping.
I love the fact that this baby will arrive during the winter. Winter clothes are so much cuter than summer clothes. All the little fuzzy and furry little outfits.
I am having too much fun.
I laid everything out on Tish's bed and there wasn't enough room to spread it all out and take a picture. This little man already has a lot of great clothes.
Hurry up, Krysta and find out. I am in the mood to do some BABY SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!!