Go Play Outside

Moms, how many times have you hollered* those words to your kids? Your husband? It gets them out of your hair and, after all, the clean, fresh air is good for them.

I walked outside yesterday and figured out that maybe we've done it wrong all these years. Maybe WE are the ones who needed to go outside to take in that God-breathed air.

Maybe it would clear our head. To hear Him better.

I had lots of things on my mind. Lots of things that needed to be prayed over.

I stepped out on to the newly painted porch (thank you kids for birthday Lowe's gift cards) and glanced up at the ceiling fan (thank you kids for the Mother's Day Lowe's gift cards) and I smiled. Thank you God for giving me kids who understand how I love Lowe's gift cards!

Love my cute little frog watering can!



Our baby chick went from Bed Baby Nursery to the Toddler room - adjusting well.






Wooden ice cream freezers should make even the hard-hearted smile a little bit.






We brought Spencer (AKA Delilah) home from the church to snack on the weeds in our old chicken pen. The girls named her Spencer then realized he was a she so changed her name. Eli still calls her Spencer because he likes that name. I went out to make friends with her because I think she is missing her buddies at the arena.



She liked me and I think she wanted me to take my shoes off and stay awhile. She untied my right shoe, then went straight to the left. Like she knew exactly what to do. Smart goat.

When I went back into the house to start on "stuff", I felt so much better.

My mind had cleared, I felt like I could hear Him.

Thank you Father, for sending me to play outside for awhile. I needed it.

* Texan for screamed

Memorial Day Weekend - Busy

We started last weekend on Saturday morning with the Polka Fest parade. That is one of the longest parades ever. We had lots of people on the float and riding horses behind the float.

We grabbed a burger then went out to the church for the Car Show and Buckout going on until mid afternoon.

Then I went on to the house to continue getting things ready for the church picnic on Sunday evening at our house. Kayla, Rachel and Sam were coming in from Oklahoma and they brought a surprise. Actually, two surprises: Eli and Journey.

I always love when they come.

We went to church on Sunday morning then hurried home to put on the beans and make the hot sauce for the evenings' festivities.

Bob and Madeline came out about three to start cooking burgers and hotdogs.

Glenn helped a lot because Michael was meeting with a family who was about to bury their daughter.

I think we fed probably about 160-170 people. And probably that many chiggers, despite the attempts to eradicate them before the humans got there.

Overall it was a great, very full weekend.

Monday morning I wrote what I was thankful for in my 'Writing Down Grateful' book:

A yard full of trash after a yard full of party.

Cowboy Church of Ennis float in Polka Parade.

My man on his horse.

Church members riding in parade.

Choosing "Pastor's Favorite" award at Car Show at the church.

Garrett doing his thing - and doing it well.

Gene ready to help.

Dominoes at the picnic.

Relaxing and enjoying the fellowship at the house.

Sweet girls.

Volleyball game.

Chiggers are from H E DOUBLE TOOTHPICKS

My sophomore year in high school I sat behind a boy in government class that always called me “legs”. He was pretty impressed with my calf muscle. Between cheerleading and running track my legs didn’t look all that bad. As a matter of fact, they looked pretty darn good. They don’t look so good anymore.
When we moved down here from Oklahoma almost three years ago it was Autumn. It was so beautiful here. It was cool outside, the colors of the leaves were so pretty, and most of the bugs had already gone into hibernation. That next May all of our kids came in for Mother’s Day. It was such a fun weekend. The next week I started getting phone calls from them confirming what we also had just come to realize – we have chiggers in our yard. I hate chiggers. I have yet to figure out if they fly, walk, or just plain run as fast as their eight little legs can carry them to the playground of your body. They think elastic is more fun than Six Flags. I believe they set up base camp at your ankles, lay out their maps, and start their adventures from there. Several hang back just in case they are needed later on.
The thing with your skin as you get older is that it gets “see-through”. Your scars don’t heal quickly and they show up better than they ever have before. I’ve mentioned before that I fall a lot. I have several scars because of it. I also have the heartbreak of psoriasis on my knees. I also have scratches from trekking off into the woods to see the land one of our church members just moved on to. It was beautiful out there and as we were praying God’s blessing over their place, I could feel a little trickle of blood slowly coursing it’s way down to my tennis shoe. "oh shoot! Another scar!" Nothing comes without sacrifice. So Lord, I give You my legs. Sorry for the pride I had in high school all the way up to a couple of years ago because I thought I had nice legs. Sorry for the envy I have over Christy’s thick-skinned, beautifully tanned legs that poke out of her shorts down to the sandals that show her pretty toenails that she can clip with regular fingernail clippers. Thank You that I can still walk on my legs and that even though Fred Flintstone feet aren’t pretty, they are kinda cute sometimes if I have toenail polish on. I guess I’ll get used to the scars and the GPS system mapped out in blue all up and down these tired old legs.
As for the chiggers . . . I’m on a mission to eradicate them from our yard. I feel power when I have a sprayer in my hand knowing that chiggers are dying. My legs aren’t too pretty, but if I can get rid of these little varmits, I’ll have less scars, and if I ever hear anyone shout “hey, legs!”! I might turn to see if they were shouting at me. Ha.

FYI - Use Equate Acne Treatment cream instead of regular chigger medication. Just spread it on and your chigger affliction is reduced from a couple of weeks to a couple of days.
FYI - Don't use Terro Spider Killer instead of Equate Extra Hold hairspray. The cans are the same size and the lid is the same color, but the spider spray will not keep your bangs in place.

Graduation Day

A couple of weeks back, I went out the back door to our makeshift chicken coop to change the water and feed the chickens. It seems like overnight the baby chicks had grown in to adolescent chicks. The baby chick poop had changed to adolescent chick poop. The smell was almost unbearable. It didn't blend well with the Creme Brulee' candle burning in the kitchen window. It was time for a move into the big boy and girl chicken house. Hannah, Rachel, and I grabbed up some chicks and headed out to the barn. Bogey and Bacall (the grownups already in the chicken yard) weren't too sure they like the new residents, so I stayed out there with them while the girls made several trips back and forth with their arms full of chicken. I was standing in somewhat of a daze watching the chickens running around finding things to eat off the ground. The horses were in the pen next to us and I thought to myself, "Is this my life? Really? Standing in a chicken yard and loving it?" I kind of time travelled back to the halls of Denver City High School, and don't recall one time ever thinking I would one day own a horse or come up with movie star names for chickens. But I do. And I really like it. Then reality hit again when I had to go back to the house and move the 6 foot tub we used for a nursery. The girls and I lifted it up on its side and they rolled it to the back of the yard behind the trampoline. I shoveled most of the stuff out of it and threw it over the fence. I forgot about it until last Saturday when we were cleaning up outside. I walked over with the hose to finish cleaning it out. It smelled awful, but as the water hit it and spilled out on the ground it was exactly the color I've been wanting to put on my living room walls!
A real pale shade of green. I believe that Lowes wouldn't appreciate me bringing a sample of that to put in their color match machine. I'll just have to find a color swatch like most other people do. Anyway, my back porch is finally back to normal. Smell and all.

Here are a few chicks that already have names. George and Martha Washington, and Phyllis Diller. Obvious, huh? It looks like George is sitting for his presidential portrait!

Fresh Eggs For Sale - in approximately 24 weeks

I got a call from the Post Office here in Chatfield Monday morning and I heard "Carol, your chickens just got here!" We live in downtown Chatfield, so Rachel and I ran to the van, drove down our drive, turned the corner and then another, to pull into the Post Office parking lot about 1 minute later. We heard those little furry balls of baby chick the minute we walked through the door. You can't help but smile when you hear 40 little chicks chirping at the top of their little bitty lungs. Life is sweet.

We have two large chickens, Bogey and Bacall. Bogey is a rooster and Bacall is a career hen, I guess, because she hasn't given me one egg. Not one. No maternal instincts whatsoever. So we decided to order more. I think we got a little carried away, but there were just so many to choose from. So now we have forty chickens outside our back door with two heat lamps to keep them warm and fencing around the tub to keep dogs out.

I guess I could blame Daddy on the chicken thing. When we were little we had an old record player that had belonged to my grandmother. The records were cylinder shape. You would slide the cylinder on this little thing, wind it up with the crank handle on the side, and lower the needle. Whenever Daddy would let us listen to it, he always played a song called "Chicken Reel". He'd play it, we three girls would dance. We loved that song. You could hear chickens singing in the chorus.

Jesus, could You please tell Daddy that I just got 40 chickens? I know he would get a kick out of that. Oh yeah, and could you tell him Happy Birthday? And that I really miss him? Tell him that I've never heard anyone laugh like he did but when Kyle laughs, I see him. Tell him Adam has his sense of humor and Kayla has his eyes. I even see him when I see little Eli's ears! Does he know about Eli? Could you make sure that he knows? Tell him he would love him so much. Probably call him "Clawhammer" like he did Kyle. I don't know if I ever told him how great he was at being Papa. Could You tell him? He was so gentle and got so much joy out of each one of his grandkids. Tell him he would be proud of all of them. And he sure loved us girls. There was never a question about that in any of our minds.

Maybe I just look for him in our kids, I don't know. I just know it makes me feel good when I think I see it. I think of him often and tell Hannah, Leah, and Rachel about him because I want them to know him. Could you tell him I have a hound dog named Pearl but Michael calls her "Blue" most of the time? He'll know why I wanted him to know that. You can tell him anything else You want, except maybe, that I have a horse. I'm not sure how he would feel about that. Happy Birthday, Daddy, I love you, and miss you terribly.

Well, back to the chickens. In about 5-6 months, I'll have enough eggs to supply most of the metroplex. I'm not going to name all the chicks until I see their personalities. I usually name my chickens after old movie stars. Marilyn was my best laying chicken out of the last batch until we couldn't find her anymore. She laid in the barn, the horse stalls, buckets, anywhere she could fit, she'd drop an egg. Hopefully I'll have another Marilyn. I believe the odds are in my favor.

Family is Home!

We don't get to all be together very often, but this past weekend was very special. They even brought their solid color shirts for pictures! I have great kids. We enjoy them so much. Kayla, Jade and Eli got to stay until Tuesday and we went to Target to shop a little. Such fun. I played with Eli and watched all my beautiful girls try on clothes. Doesn't get better than that.
I love for them to go to church with us. Our church family feels like they know them but hardly ever get to see them. Sometimes I worry that our kids don't think we have time for them because of the needs here. When they come, my prayer is always that they will see again God's hand in this place and know again that He brought us here to do His work. I know they already know that.
There is nothing in this world I love doing more than serving our sweet kids.
God chose to put us all in different places to serve Him. He wouldn't have done that if we weren't trusting Him enough. We would still need to depend on each other being close by until we got strong enough to serve elsewhere. They are strong enough to serve elsewhere. Lord, bless them in their service for You. I pray for their faithfulness to You. Let them by in Your will so they will hear Your voice.

Papa and Eli

There is such a sweetness having this little guy around. Poor thing, when he is here he never gets a complete nap, has kisses all over his face, and has tons of pictures made. We don't get to see him often, so we take advantage of every second we have. Expecially his Papa. Jade is an angel to let Michael have him even when it means getting off schedule, because she knows we have precious little time. Thank you, Jade.
We don't get to hold him in our arms often enough for me, but we hold him in our hearts and pray for him more than once or twice a day. God bless you little man, Jesus hold you precious one.

Can I have a pony?

I know at some time in every child's life they ask their parents for a pony. I wasn't one of those children. I liked kitchen stuff. My daddy made us a sink and stove that we kept in a little play kitchen at the back of the Montgomery Wards store in Denver City. Mom and Daddy owned that store so we would go there after school and play in the back. I loved it.
Back before Christmas a couple from our church asked Michael if we would like to go on a trail ride with them. My first reaction was "no". I then remembered the number of times I have shared with newly married girls the importance of doing things their husbands enjoy. So "no" came out of my mouth as "sure, that would be fun"! Okay, it really came out as just "sure". So we loaded up Lily, our big draft horse, and The Old Man, our big old man horse. I love them because they are pretty. I like pretty horses. I rode Lily and Michael got on The Old Man. We got to the end of our trail and turned around to ride the four miles back. When we would go up a little hill, Lily would kind of trot up so she would get both me and her up the hill. I didn't really want her to trot so I would pull back on the reins. We did okay until there were two hills in a row. She trotted. I pulled. She trotted faster. I pulled harder. She kicked. I flew. I did a very graceful Superman impression as I catapulted to the ground, landing on my back. I jumped up to see if I could find my finger I thought I left in the reins, and saw it was still attached to my hand. There are two good things about falling off of a horse. One is that it happens so fast you don't realize what happened until you are back in the saddle. Two is that if someone asks you to go ride and you go with your first reaction and say "no", they completely understand.
People that know me well know falling is something I do often. My kids are never surprised when I tell them I've fallen off of something. I have weak ankles. When I was 28 living in Houston, I fell off the curb while checking the mail and broke my hip. When I was digging a hole in Stillwater to plant a tree, I fell off the shovel and fractured a bone in my ankle. I fell down a step in our bedroom in Snyder and off our sidewalk in the front of our house here in Chatfield. These are only examples of when bones have been altered. There are countless other times you would be bored with. Sometimes my foot even falls off the gas pedal when I'm driving. If I was Indian my name might be something like "Come Tumbling Down". If that is my lot in life, so be it. I'll do it with as much grace as I can muster.
Back to the kitchen/pony stuff. I hinted to Michael a while back that I might want a new kitchen sink for my birthday. The big day was on a Sunday and when we got home from church there was a brand new pony. Actually it was a horse. A very beautiful horse. She is a paint with the thickest black mane you ever saw. Her tail is white at the top and black at the bottom and almost drags the ground. She is so pretty. Someone very dear to us in our church got her because she would be good for me and the girls to ride and we wouldn't have to be afraid of falling off. Thanks, Jim, we thank the Lord for you and love you very much.
It was tough coming up with a name for her. Michael mentioned "Jubilee" because in scripture the 50th year is the year of Jubilee. Her tail kind of looks like a skunk so I was trying to think of some girl skunk names to fit what she looks like. I was trying to think of a name that had something to do with her tail end because it was so pretty. Meet Fannie Jubilee.
I may never have asked for a pony growing up. Now that I have one, there's a certain amount of pride when you get to say "My horse". I'll take good care of Fannie, and I believe she will take good care of me.
Oh yeah, I'm going to Lowe's today to pick out a sink! I love my life.