Texture Tree

Daryl and I love trees.  There is something about the fact that they are alive and stately and beautiful that touches us.  This one is just off of Greer Farm Drive and greets us every time we leave home.

I decided to play around with Photoshop a little on this picture and added some texture.  Whatever that is.

Have a happy Monday!

The Big 3-0

Today is Sarah's 30th birthday!

And, Sarah, I want you to know that the next ten years are going to be wonderful!  You are going into this decade with toddlers and will leave it with teenagers.  One day you may look back and think these are the best years of your life!

Seize the Day!

Roses and roses

Yesterday, I walked around the back side of my house and this wall of roses is what greeted me!  I had planted them in the fall of 2009 to make a blank wall outside our house look more presentable for Jackie's wedding.  Last year they bloomed some, but the plants were not very large.  I saw these just a little over a week ago and I think they must have shot up at least a foot since then.

 Hi, little dragonfly!

The flowers don't have a strong rosy scent, but they sure are beautiful!

Monkey Owls Heard on Alabama Farm

I was sitting outside about 5:00 this evening, knitting a little, enjoying the breeze.  With no thoughts in my mind of identifying a new species of owl.  It happened, though, and I would like you to hear what it sounds like.

The Monkey Owl Hoot

There were at least two of them, maybe three.  It's a jungle out here!

And, by the way, there is such a thing as an owl monkey.  Which should never be confused with the monkey owl.

Concert Culture

We went to a concert last night and saw a group named Gungor.  The lead singer's name is Michael Gungor, thus the strange name.  It was a great concert!  I loved the music and the talent of the musicians.

There is an interesting bit of concert culture that people my age and older may find a little odd.  See the two nice young men standing up on the front row?  

They stood up the whole time.

Even when no one else was standing up.  

So the people behind them couldn't see a thing.  I know that people stand up at concerts, especially on the front rows.  I stood up quite a bit, too.  But, in most situations, it is inconsiderate to stand up with people behind you wanting to see, also.  

I really think that it is okay at a concert, though.  Just a bit of concert etiquette that doesn't flow through to normal society.

Bennett came to the concert and I found out that he isn't afraid of loud music.  Abbie came to the concert.  She is the one who invited me.  Ben came to the concert 30 minutes after he was in a wreck that really damaged his truck.  He seems to be okay.  Daryl came to the concert.  That may be surprising, but he came to be with me and ended up enjoying himself.

Gungor made me think of my other son, who did not come to the concert.  David is a great musician, too, and he would have loved the music.  I offered to keep his children for him and Sarah to be there, but they decided to go out on a date later in the week. 

David turns 28 today.  Instead of being at a concert last night, he was probably doing something similar to this:

This was Bible story time just before bed one night last week.  

It has been interesting to watch David mature.  I know that he would love to still be living in Colorado with Sarah and their children, climbing mountains and making CDs.   He chose to move back to hot, humid, flat Alabama to raise their family close to us.  I'm so very grateful to have a close relationship with all of them, but I think I understand the sacrifices. 

Happy Birthday, David!  You are my favorite rock star!

Boo, Daniel!

Come to Mama

Last week I stepped out of my front door and all my girls came running to kiss me.  Because they love me.  Especially if I have some treats. 

I had my camera and started taking pictures of them.  But, I really wish I had had a video camera.

Here they come...

Then suddenly some of them started turning to go back....

And they started running, squawking, pretending to fly home...

Bye, girls.  What did I do?

Then, Shiloh slowly walked out from behind me.  She is so intimidating.

Mornings at Minnie's

David and Sarah have a new house!  Moving day was Saturday so they are living in the middle of lots of boxes, but I doubt they care.  They get to be a family in their own home again.

Between houses, though, they lived with us.  I'm not sure how many times our house has had two families living under its roof, but it has been several.  Anna and John lived here for a while with Beau and Joy, we have lived with Beau and Joy two times, and David and Sarah have been here twice with us.

It can be a challenge to combine multiple generations under one roof.  I'm pretty sure, though, that in every instance we have all been up to the challenge.  It is good for 'every mouse to have his own house' as Joy's dad used to say, but it is also a blessing to walk in each other's shoes for a time.

While we were all together most recently, Jonathan, Daniel and Bella slept in rooms upstairs where our bedroom is.  So every day as they got up, they would look into our room to say, "Good morning."

Sometimes we would all snuggle in bed together.

I'll miss that.

Beautiful Music

This medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" takes me straight back to Maui.  The song was sung by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole.  His voice was so gentle, the music so peaceful - you just have to smile when you listen.

Daryl and I were in Maui about ten years ago and we saw lots of rainbows.  Every time I saw one I called it an umbrella.  I had never done that before, but sometimes when I see one now, I have to stop and think, "Is that thing an umbrella or a rainbow."  And my children still trust me to babysit their children.

ANYWAY....

IZ died when he was only 38 and this video uses the song as a tribute to him.  I think you'll enjoy it.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for this little piece of organization for several reasons:

1.  My sister made it!  Thanks, sis!

2.  Until she gave it to me, my crochet hooks and knitting needles were scattered all over the world.

3.  Now I know that I can stop buying size "I" crochet hooks.  You can only use one at a time and I have four.  Until they were organized, I was unaware of this.

4.  Taking this picture out in my yard reminded me of how bad my burweed problem is.  As if I needed to be reminded....

Bangs

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I haven't been very good at keeping my horses groomed lately.  Midnight needs his face washed - at the least.  He grows the furriest winter coat and starts to lose it in the spring so he really is a mess right now.  When Daryl saddled him up this evening, I took one look at Midnight and went back in for my scissors.

Every boy has probably had a time when their mother gives them a really bad haircut and today was just Midnight's turn.  That hair was hanging down almost into his eyes and I chopped it off!  It looks a little like a bowl cut and he is not happy about it.  While giving Jonathan a ride around the yard, he thought about bucking him off, but Daryl had the lead and stopped that little bit of monkey business.

Sorry, Midnight!