I Fear. . . . .

. . . . . there's no turning back!  Baby Girl  has figured out how to get in Goldilocks's chair ~ all by herself!
 Goldilocks is stressed.  She's not ready to give up her chair.  Not just yet.  But Baby Girl is persistent. 

When the girls sat down for breakfast this morning, Piper bee-lined to "stake her claim", all the while causing grief for Helena.  Alas ~ it is on. 

Happy Birthday, Seth!

Do you know this Boy?

I know this Boy! !

I miss this Boy! !

He's grown up into quite a young man.

But. . . this is what my heart will always see,

A young man as carefree as can be.

His bright blue eyes could light the dark,

And his smile ~ will melt your heart!

Happy Birthday, Seffer~doodles!

I love you!

AC

The Sights, The Smells, The Sounds, The Sensations of Fall!

Although Fall's official "move in" date is today, She has been sneaking stuff into her domain for a bit now.  If you've been paying attention you would have noticed her subtleties.

Even before Fall started her own personal decorating, the signs that she was on her way were visible for us to see.  The school buses busy on the roads like huge golden caterpillars, picking up and dropping off their charges ~ from home to school and back again.  Diligent they are, yes indeed.  In the air you have the crop duster who is out there soaring like a huge giant butterfly, readying the fields for the farmers for their fall and winter crops.  He scoops and lifts no less gracefully than a Monarch.  He too, is very busy, and very brave!

The farmers are loading pumpkins on their flatbeds to take to the local produce stands.  The "you pick" mums are in full bloom, and the corn fields of summer may now give way to Fall's frolic in the Corn Maze!

Fall has also started picking the color pallet for her "home".  She is testing out the reds, yellows, greens and browns on the trees, fields and bushes around her. A dab here, a dab there.   The swatches are just a sample of what is to come.  She's painted the moring sky with hues of pink and she's hung a harvest moon in the night sky ~ just for us ~ for our enjoyment. She will eventually have all the colors in place as she settles in for her stay.  Once she has selected her pallet she will carefully, but quickly apply her selections to all things around her. She will decorate just quickly, for she knows Old Man Winter will do things his own way upon his arrival.  And. . . she knows we need time to enjoy.  And adjust.

If you have a keen sense of smell, you will notice the dampness that comes will Fall's arrival.  The heavy dew on the ground leaves a musty smell on all it covers, especially in the shaded, wooded areas.  The "hot" smell of Summer has faded away.  You can smell the rotting melons in the fields, the ones that missed summer harvest, or were root rotted because of too much rain. Soon in their place will be the smells of burning leaves and  wood stoves that are warming up homes kissed by cool nights, spice sprinkled goodies baking in the oven, and the cool crisp air that tingles as you breathe. A breath of fresh air, indeed.

One of the sounds that eluded to the fact that Summer was winding down and Fall was on her way was the sound of the Cicada.  Almost an urgency to their music. "Hurry up and play.  School and Fall are on the way!"   As time wore on, the Crickets began their songs, nestled up against the house and under the bushes in hopes of finding shelter before Fall made her appearance.  The crows make themselves known by perching on wires or hiding in trees, cawing to their cronies ~ feeling like  a cross between  Edgar Allen Poe's, The Raven,  and Hitchcock's movie, The Birds!  Then we have the honking of the geese (a more pleasant sound) as they fly over, moving from one field to the next, looking to fatten up before Fall opens her doors to Winter. The song birds of fall brighten her sunny days and remind us of seasons past and seasons to come.  Fall is "uploading"  her music before taking up residency amongst us.  A beautiful orchestra that only she can conduct.  The songs are always original, cleverly blended and free for the listening.  And listen I do.

Fall is a sensation of escape - an escape into a  gallery of color, sound and smell.  She leaves no sense untouched.  She is cautious of her responsibility to move us from Summer to Winter in a way that wraps us like a warm, fuzzy blanket.  She loves her job.  It shows in her handiwork.  I love her!  I cannot wait for her finished product ~ to bask in the results of her skills. I will miss her when she goes, but that's ok ~  she will be back.  Of this I am certain.

PEACE

I just finished reading a post on a dear kindred spirit's blog.  She put into words the very things that I have been pondering, talking about, or just plain trying to wrap my head around.  And she did it quite well.  To the point, no fluff or froo-froo, and most importantly ~ NO appologies.   I am one hundred percent ~ I say ~ 100%!~  with you girlfriend. 

I encourage anyone who happens to read my blog to read her post ~ embracing the curves. 

Christie - I hope you don't mind :) ~  but, I was so pleased and excited with this post that I felt there wasn't time to chat back and forth for me to " get permission" so, I did the next best thing ~ I used it! ! !  You can thank me later :).

My New Banner

I would like to give credit to the photographer of my banner!  I just love the picture.  It is so . . . . fallish!
She has a wonderful eye!   Thank you Sarah Huntington for sharing a gift God has given you with the rest of us!  Keep up the good work!

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This. . . . .

 . . . . . that's what Mama said.  I wasn't so sure I believed her.  Not initially.  But as time wears on, I find there is a lot of truth to these words.  They aren't all crazy days, now mind you.  But they sure do keep me on my toes!

 Snacks are always a treat for Baby Girl.  She finds many ways to amuse herself during snack time.  She will hold her veggie sticks sideways - can't tell ya why, and sometimes she blows thru them like a straw.  Rease is such a good big sister - sharing her after school snack - which just happens to be cereal on this particular day.  Baby Girls makes it her business to see how long she can suck thru the straw to get the chocolate flavored milk.  Anyone counting the minutes?  Rease is - she's waiting, and waiting, and waiting. . . . . .  MOM-MOM! !

One of her favorite things - something she's been doing for quite a while now - is to get into my stove drawer.  Not only does she pull the pans out, the dish towel must go too! 

It's no secret that she loves the dryer.  I left the room to put some of the folded laundry on the table (because I can't trust her long enought to go upstairs), walked back to the dryer and there it sits - pretty as you please.  And. . . the second one found it's place next to her best bud.  Can you tell he's concerned?  Can you tell she is?  Can someone explain it to me? 

Sidenote:  I found the dish towel behind the sofa ~

Cake pans aren't the only things I find in my dryer.   This poor little bunny/duck not only landed in the dryer, but she slapped him into the toy microwave.  Let's just make sure he's in there nice and secure!

When things aren't sneaking into my dryer, they are being sneaked out and claimed by "Her Majesty, the Queen of Dryerville".  This day her loyal subjects were socks.  She's not prejudiced about size, color or condition.  Nope, not her.  Not this day, anyway.

She likes sitting with her Bud.  They share a lot of traits.  Nothing worries them, they aren't afraid to "kick back", life is grand.  There's something wrong with  this  these pictures!

She's not always mischievous.  One of her most favorite things right now is "reading" her books.  She loves getting in the chair all by herself with her books.  Sometimes she drags her blankie along. She will sit for quite a bit - well quite a bit for a 16 month old.  And she loves it when her big sisters read to her.  That makes Mom-Mom happy!  Books ;)



Once in a while I will run her out of her "space" because I need to be there.  She doesn't take kindly to being re-routed.  She retaliates by taking one of the register covers off the duct in the floor.  Not good, not good at all.  I put it back on, tell her no, and place my foot on it as a warning.  Does she worry?  No, no she doesn't.  She places her little foot right beside mine, looks up and smiles -  I know what's going thru her mind - that smile doesn't' fool me - it's a warning to me that I'm might not win this battle!  I. Just. Might. Not!  Can somebody help me?  Anybody?   No?

Yep, Mama said there'd be days like this.

Happy Birthday to My Hubby!

Mr. Sandman, make me a dream . . .
Happy Birthday, Bob!

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

Happy Birthday to my oldest

This year has been a challenge for you

But with God's strenghth, I've seen you pull thru

You've conquered much and reaped rewards

You've dealt with problems by the hoards.

But God is good, as you can see

You're holding a wee blessing upon your knee!

I love you!

MOM

Tea Time - kinda

I must admit, I know little of the art of "Tea".  But, hey, that's perfectly fine with me. I was initially intimidated with Christie's writings for a tea blog.  So, after pondering the situation I felt it was necessary to have a little chat with myself about my ignorance.  "Self", I say, "you don't have to be an English sorta tea gal.  You just need to enjoy the tea."  Self totally agreed!

I tend to drink hot tea in the cooler months and iced tea in the warmer.  Not the same for coffee - I drink it hot and cold all year 'round.  But in my enthusiasm for experimenting with tea and trying new flavors, I found I had a plethora of teas in varying flavors, colors and caffeine choices.  So, what to do with all this tea?  What to do?   Upon occasion I carried it with me to gatherings of ladies that drink tea, and sometimes conveniently left it behind.  But most of the time it just sat in my pantry, unattended.  I felt guilty.  Very guilty.

Then, one day it hit me!  *insert light bulb here* I like ice tea, but sometimes the flavor is just plain boring.  Sooo, why not make ice tea using the flavored tea bags I have on hand?  Why on earth not?  I know this idea is NOT original, but for some unearthly reason the thought had not penetrated this head of mine  - um, no comments here, please.

So, off I went - to the pantry, gathered the participants - the sugar and tea bags, and started trying my hand at flavored iced teas.  I must say, it was a novel thought on my part.  Since flavored teas are a little more pricey than the "bulk" black or orange pekoe tea bags, I decided to mix the two in hopes that they would become best friends.  I used half black tea and half flavored tea.  Sugar to taste.  Viola.  Flavored ice tea!


I can tell you the ones I like, the ones - well, not so much, and which tea bags flubbed entirely for me.
I love the Vanilla tea.  I like the Raspberry, Blueberry and Almond blend teas.  I did not care for the Peach Mango tea.  I guess I'm not a peachy sorta gal.  I considered it a flub.  I found it is not wise to mix black and white or green teas.  And. . . . don't, I repeat, don't, use Earl Grey as a tea base.  I love, love, love hot Earl Grey, but iced - let's just say - it's a hard pill to swallow. 

I enjoy these kinds of "experiments".  They cater to my slightly off kilter side.  They make me happy - and sometimes they taste good!

Oh - I almost forgot!  I can't put my concoctions in just any ole pitcher!  No-sir-ree- bob!  I use the pitcher I picked up from an old favorite antique store - Cheryl's (the girls called it "the blue store").   Looking pretty is half of tasting pretty!  Yes indeedy!

Happy Birthday, Joseph

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

You're climbing to the top!

Just three more years and

~shiver~  you'll be the big "3-0"!

And now - you have a brand

new baby to celebrate with!

Love you much!

Aunt Crickett

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Gre - eg
Happy Birthday to you! ! !

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Much Love,
Crickett

Bible "Study"

I have started a Bible 'study' of sorts.  Well, it's more like a Bible 'definition'..
The Book of James is my "jumping off" place, since this is one of my favorite books.
The idea is to define each word of the verse so that it becomes more understandable, and in my opinion, more personal.  I am NOT going to do every word, and maybe not every verse, but I am going to tackle the meat of it.  Some things are very simple to grasp, so reading it will suffice. 
Here is the first one I did and the way I've chosen to do it:

James 1:1
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting."
James:  one of the twelve apostles - Son of Zebedee and brother to the apostle John.  Author of the book of James.
a servant:  an individual who performs duties about the person or home of a master.
Of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:   God - the one Supreme being, the creator and ruler of the universe.  Jesus Christ - the Son of God.
to the twelve tribes:  the twelve tribes named after Jacob's twelve sons:  Eastern- Judah, Issachar & Zebulan;  Southern - Reuben, Simeon & Gad;  Western - Ephraim, Manasseh & Benjamin and Northern;
Dan, Asher & Naphtali.
which are scattered:  distributed or occurring at widely spaced and usually irregular (there is nothing irregular about God) intervals.
abroad:  broadly; widely; far and wide
greeting:  to address with some form of salutation; welcome

So, there you have it.  Day one.  Right now I am using http://www.dictionary.com/ until I can get a concordance.  It is my regular "Webster" - my "go to" dictionary .  I have to be very careful that I am not defining the "world's" view of Biblical matters, and that is a scary thing if you are not a Bible scholar, which I am not, obviously - so pray I keep my eyes open!

PS -  It helps to have someone hold you accountable and remind you of what you have said you are going to do, and . . . . then text you to see if you are doing it!  Thanks Nancy ;)