TT: Sonora

Where in the world have I been?
Turns out, all over the place.
Mostly I've been at my mom's in East Texas (with no real Internet),
while hubby's been working in West Texas (finishing out a guesthouse so I could join him).
The first of May we flew to Maryland for the birth of our seventh granddarling, Makenzie Lynn.
Then flew back to Dallas, drove three hours east to mom's, loaded up and headed west.

 

Eight hours later we were in Sonora, where hubby is remodeling a house, and the guesthouse awaits me:). 

I come from the piney woods area of Texas, and this is hill country. 

Indian Blankets

First there were lots of Indian Blankets,
and Mexican Hat wildflowers on the roadside...

Then the landscape changed to sparser flowers, and more brush...

This is why they call it hill country, very hilly...

Prickly Pear

One plant that there just became more of was the Prickly Pear cactus in bloom.

Prickly Pear and Yucca

Lots and lots of thorny things.
Cactus, Mesquite, you even have to watch the flowers a lot of them are thorny too. 

The ranch we are on has a lot of similar views, there is a beauty here that is all its own.

Our little guesthouse is surrounded by massive Live Oaks and the views are wonderful.
We have seen a lot of wildlife not common in our East Texas area.

 

Sutton Co. Courthouse and Live Oak Trees

The town is the county seat and is small, but neat.
It has all the necessities, Dollar Store, Sonic, DQ, Pizza Hut, Grocery Store and Alco.
Real stores and church is a hour away.  
The weather here has been wetter and cooler than normal (which I LOVE).
Hubby will be here a while and I am SO THANKFUL (yes I'm shouting) to be with him.
We have a nice, safe place to stay and we are together.
My kids are grown and now he and I can really enjoy this place in life.
And this is a very good place. 
I am very, very thankful. 

{In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 
I Thessalonians 5:18}

Join others for Thankful Thursday

(NONE of these are my photos, my camera battery is dead (taking too many new baby pics I guess), and this little town doesn't carry them...so I guess I can wait til we go to the 'city'.)

Happy 49th Hubbs!

On 11/08/11 My sweet hubby, Eddie, turned the big 49!! 
Happy Birthday darling!!

TT: 07/21/11 Week In Review

Friday hubby was able to take DS Eric to his favorite college for a private tour.
(Nothing planned, the right people just happen to be available and willing to share.)

Eric is attending a junior college.
He and hubby had so much fun checking out the growth of this college campus, and all the options.
Be neat to see if Eric takes the bait and goes to hubby's choice what Eric decides. 

Also Mr. Granddarling Kale stayed the weekend with us (while his daddy, SS Mike, was at drill).

Kale has always held his head to the left, never fully working out his muscles.
So, lately, for most of the day he wears a DocBand, a weighted helmet which causes him to use the neck and face muscles.
This is our second granddarling to wear one, and they are amazing.
In no time at all it will be like he never wore one at all.
And he is so young it really doesn't bother him at all.

Part of the time we take it off to 'dry' out his head.
At 7 mos he up to 3 teeth and is working on crawling and sitting up. 

Also this week we are fostering a couple of dogs from one of my elderly friends.
She went to the hospital and it doesn't look good.
The chihuahua is regrowing her hair after her last litter.
At just 1.5 yrs she looks much older.
She is a very, very good dog.  (and very very scared)

Because she can escape under our backyard fence, I took the little chi with basset LadyBelle to visit hubby at the camper.
(What a mess)

They ate separately because LadyBelle is a food hog has food issues
(probably from making sure she gets ANYTHING to eat at home around our fat basset Reba). 

Ever helpful, LadyBelle polished off the chi's food too. 
Hubby said the chi might actually be cute...
if she had hair:).

And even though we have toys at the camper, LadyBelle chose to STEAL a pair of gloves from the hubby's bag on the couch and destroy them. 

Look at this face...could you tell her no?  Us either:).

Outside the camper, planter Donut, and Flo the Flamingo were happily showing off the growth of the plants in their care. 

I thought these were mini yellow Happy Day day lilies, but you can see they are not.
Oh well...

Tiny blooms on the rose moss...

I spent the morning cleaning up after my slobby husband tiding the camper, then checked to see, and am pleased to report that we have Internet at the camper!!!  Woot Woot!!

Also I am one step closer to having all the supplies to clean the outside of the camper...maybe next week when I go back down...(I hope I hope I hope)

We are buying (one at a time) rubber mat stepping stones ($7 at Lowe's) to make our own portable walk way, and may be even a patio...

Sweet daughter, Misty, gave this to hubby for Father's day.
Its one that fits in your car window, and hubby was so pleased when it fit the camper window.

Our little (dirty) home away from home....

I am thankful to have DS Eric nearby, he is always delightful.

I missed him so much the four years he was away in the navy.

I am thankful we are close enough to watch GS Kale while his daddy serves our country locally.

I am thankful amazing doctors that notice what infants need so soon and have such wonderful methods to help them. 

I am thankful for my hubby who works so hard for our family, and always has.

I am thankful for his job, and our camper which provides a safe, sweet little place for him to stay and me to visit during the week.

I am thankful for our sweet basset girl, LadyBelle, who brings a smile to hubby's face,

I am thankful for the freedom to visit him and the means to do so.

I am thankful for our history and our friendship.

God bless on this Thankful Thursday

Son-Day: "I Believe In You"

I Believe In You
-Don Williams

I don't believe in superstars,
Organic food and foreign cars.
I don't believe the price of gold;
The certainty of growing old.
That right is right and left is wrong,
That north and south can't get along.
That east is east and west is west.
And being first is always best.

But I believe in love.
I believe in babies.
I believe in Mom and Dad.
And I believe in you.

Well, I don't believe that heaven waits,
For only those who congregate.
I like to think of God as love:
He's down below, He's up above.
He's watching people everywhere.
He knows who does and doesn't care.
And I'm an ordinary man,
Sometimes I wonder who I am.

But I believe in love.
I believe in music.
I believe in magic.
And I believe in you.

I know with all my certainty,
What's going on with you and me,
Is a good thing.
It's true, I believe in you.

I don't believe virginity,
Is as common as it used to be.
In working days and sleeping nights,
That black is black and white is white.
That Superman and Robin Hood,
Are still alive in Hollywood.
That gasoline's in short supply,
The rising cost of getting by.

But I believe in love.
I believe in old folks.
I believe in children.
I believe in you.

I believe in love.
I believe in babies.
I believe in Mom and Dad.
And I believe in you.

For my sweetie on Father's Day.  Love ya baby!!!

~God Bless~

Birthday Wish...pt 3

On our 'workcation' in Maryland, our son wanted us to go to Arlington Cemetery and Monuments in Washington DC. 
I had never been and was very excited...
The weather was overcast, warm, and lovely...

Arlington Cemetery, JFK's burial site

The cemetery was lovely, and so was the look out from John F. Kennedy's burial place.   We didn't see all the cemetery, or go to the grave of the unknown solider.  Everyone was so nice and reverent.
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own   John F Kennedy

The (long) walk toward the Potomac River, was lined with huge statues of every war.

Impressive.
We happened to be there on Rolling Thunder 2011, a HUGE motorcycle rally on the Capitol in memory of all soldiers.
The web said over 40,000 and I believe it.
WOW.
Beautiful, moving, and loud.
VERY loud.
We finally found our way across the street to the monuments.

Lincoln Memorial, looking out toward Washington Memorial and US Capitol


I love Abraham Lincoln. 
So cool to see so many reading his amazing words of wisdom printed on the walls of the basement area.
Also there is a great view of more monuments.
I first thought the Capitol was the White House.

WWII Memorial

See the flags surrounding the Washington Memorial? 
Actually that is the World War II Memorial, shaped like a Roman Colosseum, it is amazing...
We decided that was as far as we could go...
So the menfolk walked the miles back to the truck and picked us girls up:). 
Nice to be a girl.
We tried to drive by the White House (sweet hubby actually drove by THREE times), it is tucked in between two HUGE buildings, off the road, and you have to walk to it.
By that time we didn't want to walk another step.
And that is ok.

Granddarling Katherine actually saying CHEESE!!

Can't get enough of this cuteness!! 

GD Katherine, DS Taylor, DIL Lindsey and puppy slept all the way home.
What a tiring, wonderful day!

to be continued...

Rocky Mountain High 03/11

Usually, every year, hubby and I take a little trip to the coast. 

This year, however, we went a different direction, we went North. 
Northwest from East Texas, North to Denver, then West into the Rocky Mountains. 

This was a working vacation for hubby. 

 (ALL vacation for me:)

Tiny Minor's Cabin, Builder's Model Home

Our in-laws are re-doing their little (darling) Minor's cabin,

and the builder they are using does some amazing work. 

We were able to go see some of his creations. 

WOW.

I can't wait to see what they design together.

The landscape was interesting,

and we saw this group of mountain sheep nearly everyday.

Hubby was able to sneak up and get this close-up of MR. Ram. 
Great shot. 
I think this herd was more of a domestic group,
every time we went to the model house they were there.  
While hubby was inside talking 'shop' with the builder,
I was able to sit outside in our truck and watch SheepTV.
 (Very relaxing)

We stayed at a casino in BlackHawk (impressive),
where there wasn't much snow on the ground,
but just around the corner the snow was 5 foot deep. 




Hubby and I went for a little walk along the creek

(I call them rivers, but the Colorado folks call them 'creeks').
Walking with the hubs is sooooooooooo romantic...
Pictures don't do justice.
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G....

Frozen waterfall, romantic walks with hubby, great purple paint action in Georgetown, Co.

Hubby and In-Laws did the pre-build leg work in such a sweet Georgetown, set in a valley,
and the weather was so beautiful,
I was able to spend hours walking up and down the streets looking at the darling small Victorian houses and shops.
Almost every building had some purple on it, and I love purple.


Our 'work-cation' ended with a marvelous evening at the Denver, Colorado Temple. 

Good times...good times...

23 Indian Paintbrushes

I arrived at the camper, on our 23rd wedding anniversary, to this treat:

23 Indian Paintbrushes.

(bamboo, Indian Paintbrushes, ZZ plant)

Every April 11th, for 23 years, my sweetie has scoured the local fields and ditches for this beautiful wildflower, the Indian Paintbrush (my most favorite flower).
He looks for the fullest, brightest blooms, and each year adds one more bloom...

Nothing could be sweeter...

LadyBelle, our camper mascot, hard at work...

Except, maybe, a sweet white basset tummy:).
~Thanks Babe~

Happy Anniversary To Us

23 years of history...

there has been lots of these...

And this...

And this...

And, yes, even lots of this....

But, it ALWAYS comes back to this...

Today, on a Monday night, 23 years ago I married my sweetheart. 
I 'hoped' it would last. 
I 'hoped' he was the right choice. 
I hoped correctly. 
I firmly believe,
no,
I KNOW God made up the difference. 

Why are Eagle couples protected by law but Human Marriage is not?  Not cool, not cool at all.

We will be celebrating at the camper (where hubby is working out of town) with a fancy smancy meal of meatloaf, fried taters, green beans and cornbread.  It should be lovely. 

~God, bless our little marriage.  Bless us as we each TRY to keep trying.  Help us remember the sweet moments and let the not so sweet fade quickly.~




First eagle couple: http://www.cs.duke.edu/~carla/edgehouse.html
All middle pictures:  http://www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/get-involved/keep-the-camera-rolling
Last eagle couple:  http://www.towleroad.com/2011/04/watch-bald-eagle-hatchling-cam.html

22 years of Indian Paint Brushes

Every April 11th, for our wedding anniversary, my sweetie picks me my favorite wildflower.
One bloom for each year.
Hubby teased that he is working his way toward two dozen.
They don't last long in the vase, but they are SO pretty!!
Happy 22nd Anniversary sweet heart!!

Blooming Tuesday

Weekend At The Coast

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the fam, and that weekend we took off for the beach.
It is only five hours south of us. Hubs usually goes in the spring to the Corpus Christi area (10+ hours), and this year he couldn't go.

I love to go too, and really felt like I missed out, so I planned to 'run away' this last weekend, just the two of us.

We were really on a scouting mission, to check out future camp sites. Just driving around was so fun.
The Galveston beach area was hit hard by a hurricane, and all tho it was wonderful to see the clean up, the damage was a bitter-sweet reminder of the destruction. In 2004, hubs and I stayed here. My step-daughter had graduated in 2000, all the way in WI and that was a fun trip. We couldn't afford to take the kids, and going alone was a blast:).

Then in 2004 my step-son was graduating. We were all packed and ready to go to WI, when we got the call that he would not be walking the stage, instead he would be going to his grandfather's, who just had open heart surgery (and did very well I must add)). We were bummed. Bummed for our step-son, his grandfather, our step-daughter,
and us-we really wanted to get away. We decided to go anyway. After all the truck was loaded, sitter was arranged, day's off were set up. What the heck. Instead of north to WI we went south to the coast. Hubs insisted we stay here, on the beach, it was wonderful. We went to the Moody Garden's aquarium (first one I have been too, and I must say amazing), ate at fancy restaurants, and took a sailboat ride at sunset.
Later I asked what his favorite thing was, and he said "Walking with you on the beach."
(how romantic:)

Such a powerful reminder of the strength of Mother Nature...
The Flagship Hotel,

The old fishing pier...

Even the concrete beams and pillars have fallen...

Most the beach at the seawall gone...

Then I realized I was only taking pictures of the destruction...

So I focused more on the beauty...

Pictures do not do this justice...

The sounds...

The colors...

The smells...

The company...

The peace...

We drove around Galveston, and on down to Port Arthur (two hours east along the coast), we walked along the beach, and in Crystal Beach we drove along the beach and hunted shells (found the best on Crystal Beach). The weather was 70 and over cast, very few people were out and it was lovely.

Just Lovely...