Dear Mr. Crop Farmer,

Thank you for growing food for the rest of us to eat. You work hard. I see that now. Forgive me for thinking you had it so easy during those winter months. You woke me up with your tractor in the field next to my house at approximately 1 a.m. this morning!!! Don't they let you sleep? And do you have a little toilet in that great big tractor thingy?.....because I am wondering how you find time for that with all of your plowing and spreading and blowing stuff onto the dirt. I don't know much about this whole farming thing yet......pretty much just what I saw on Food Inc. I am new to the area and pretty clueless. But I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for growing food for us to eat. Thank you for working so hard.

Sincerely,
A City Girl

P.S. Would you buy a refreshing cold beverage from my girlies if they set up a lemonade stand?
P.P.S. Would you take my girlies for a ride in your tractor thingy?
P.P.S. Could I go for a ride in your tractor thingy?
P.P.P.S. I hope they pay you well!

A party of NINE

Today my baby girl turned 9. Wow!

Nine? Can that really be?

Saturday we had a party that just happened to include 9 of us.

Our family of 6 plus three friends.

The weather was perfect.

They all got along and entertained themselves easily.

Addie got a Best Friends picture frame from one of the girls.

How blessed she is to already have such wonderful friends:)

The kids have found a way to use my $1 ladder until Daddy builds them a tree house.

They're off, chasing yet another clue in the scavenger hunt for goody bags.

Happy Birthday Addie!

We love you bunches and are incredibly proud of you!

runner's high

Or perhaps more likely an "I can't believe we were able to buy this house of my dreams" high.

Because I can hardly call myself a runner.

Either way, I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Inspired by last night's Biggest Loser

I started the day with sprints up and down the driveway.

And by "sprints" I mean I jogged.

Whatev.

It felt good.

Surrounded by fresh air and the sounds of the birds.....

even a few turkeys.

And I think lots of ditch living frogs.

I took it all in.......

the peace.......

the space........

the freedom to go for a decent run

without having to leave our property.

And then the girls coming out to join me on their bikes.......

Gwen in her princess dress and Josie's big red cowboy boots.....

arms outstretched running toward me with a big bear hug.

Ahhhhh!

Life is good.

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW.........

He's pretty much a big deal.

Or so he likes to remind me.

I'm afraid his debut on Kelly's food blog has gone straight to his head.

I suppose.......I can admit that I am a lucky woman.

Just remember that he leaves his socks under his side of the bed

and then blames me when there aren't any clean ones in his drawer.

Brighter

I came across this in my DRAFTS folder and though it is outdated (our rental home is soon to become our real home), I thought I'd still share it.

OK. So it really is ridiculous how internet access, painfully slow as it is, seems to directly relate to my emotional state. As you could probably tell from one of my more recent posts, I've been in a funk. And I'm really not very prone to funks. I am intentionally choosing to use the word "funk" over "mid-life crisis" to downplay my recent........umm.....issues.

I'll spare you all the details of my crisis, but know that with dial-up internet securely hooked up in our lovely rental home, life is now much brighter. Brighter because I am once again aware that there is a beautiful world filled with beautiful people and their beautiful creativeness beyond the dark muddy fields surrounding my humble existence. Brighter because I can now see the faces of your beautiful new babies. Brighter because I can look up that recipe and set something new on the table for my family. Brighter because I can see the happy spring colors you've used to decorate your homes. Brighter because you inspire me to try something new. Brighter because I can write something down and feel heard if not understood.

Brighter.

Much brighter.

Pre-Easter Tragedy

We have never lead the kids to believe that Santa Claus or the Easter bunny are real. Now the tooth fairy is a different story. So the girlies were more intrigued than distraught by the decapitated bunny they found just inside the barn door last week. Apparently they poked and prodded it with sticks until they managed to get the furry headless creature into their sled. Then, with a girl at each corner of the plastic casket, they carried it funeral procession style up to the house to show me.

And Ella was wearing her reversible garage sale Gap vest.......bunny side out.

Decapitated bunny bodies.
A deer bone filled Kohls bag on the deck.
Aaah, life in the country.

Hostess once again

sturdy table and 6 chairs from garage sale.....$80

staple gun and fabric to recover 6 chairs.....$35

tablecloth to cover table discolorations.....$15 (OK....I splurged)

A place to host dinner parties again.....PRICELESS!

just what the doctor ordered

OK. So they really haven't napped in awhile. We unfortunately got out of the routine right around the time that I got busy with packing and The Move. But now with the time change I can no longer get away with putting them to bed at 7:00 and the days can seem really long. So when the morning started off with multiple whiney "what can I do?"s and "what can I have?"s, I knew it would be a day for naps. And how convenient, cuz I really wanted to show you this darling patchwork quilt I found at the local antique store! Well actually, the extremely helpful older gentlemen working there found it for me in the back in an old claw foot tub. Wow! It didn't take him long to get my style! Now to replace the old bunchy batting.

Happy Napping!

FOR TODAY

stolen from Sabro's blog who stole it from someone else's

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... sun shining, willow weeping, bikes strewn, flower pots waiting.

I am thinking... I hope the bank doesn't approve the financing for the thieves trying to steal this dream home right from under me!

I am thankful for...internet access....duh. And this gorgeous home. And the warm sunny weather. And the peaceful morning I spent cuddled in bed with my girlies, listening to them read. And my recent flexible "dream" OT job offer. And so. much. more.

From the kitchen... prep for a dinner of stuffed chicken, fettuccine, garlic bread, garden salad, and blueberry cream cheese dessert for tomorrow night's out-of-town guests. Yay! I get to play hostess again!

I am wearing... brown yoga pants and a spring green tank in hopes of sitting in the sun later today. Hey, I live in the middle of nowhere....I don't have to match!

I am creating... a springy tablescape for tomorrow's dinner. To unpack the china or not?

I am going... to P90x these flabby arms. And finish my application for Iowa licensure.

I am reading... Wild at Heart, New Moon, and Raising a Reader.

I am hoping... that we don't have to move AGAIN! And that our renters up north pay their rent on time. And that they fall in love with our house and decide to buy it. Soon.

I am hearing... Ella and Gwen singing "I've got the plates....you've got the cookies," as they prance around the house in their aprons.

Around the house... dolls nestled in their homes made of flat-screen TV packaging. (Steve got a hold of our tax return.)

One of my favorite things... color. Bright color. The older I get the more I crave color. It does something to my soul.

A few plans for the rest of the week: cleaning house, sun bathing, tomorrow's company which is sure to include a few heated games of the recently ignored Settlers of Catan, seed planting at the nursing home.

A few things I never thought I'd hear myself say

• Hooray! We have dial-up!!!!!
• Aaaah! The pigs have never smelled so sweet! (upon our return home after a showing of the dream house we've been renting but is still on the market.......we prayed that the pigs would be really stinky to scare the prospective buyers away. Not sure that it did:(
• Girls, I don't want you to poop or pee in the barn anymore!