Archives for March 2012

His, Mine & Ours

His, Mine & Ours

We are a blended family…yes, we are!  What a blessing that is~

Though we met, fell in love in seventh grade and dated until our senior year (seriously), we had other lessons to learn before we were ready to begin our journey together as Mr. & Mrs.

The road was difficult at times but we are thankful for each and every person who played a part in those stages of our lives.  We met significant others along the way, married and have wonderful children to share with one another thanks to those relationships!

 

 

His

Isn’t she lovely???  She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside!  I don’t think I have ever known anyone with a kinder heart!  She is a wonderful homemaker, wife and Mother!  Yes, she has been kind enough to bless us with two, and very, very soon…THREE grandchildren.  We have a grandson who loves to spend time with his Pop Pop and a granddaughter who matches her Tahtee’s (that’s me) every step when she is here.  It is delightful to hear giggles and laughter from youngsters around the house again.

Though they live too far away to visit as often as we would like we are thankful for the times we do get to spend with one another!  Oh, how we love and miss them!

Mine

These are my two angel-babies!  Born just eighteen months apart, I have never known a sister and brother to have a closer bond than these two!!!  Watching them together is ‘home’ for me and a feeling I cannot describe!  I love them beyond measure~

I am unbelievably proud of these two…  They are not afraid to go against the ‘norm’ to do what feels right for them!  They know and understand that they are individuals with different needs and that certain molds created by society and others’ expectations may not be a fit for them AND that is okay.   It takes most people a life time to figure that out so they are a step ahead of most in that respect!   It is exciting for me to watch them as they explore this thing called ‘Life’ and the many opportunities presented to them.  Watch out World….they are just getting started…

Also Mine

OK, so I didn’t give birth to this handsome fellow but he came into my life when he was only 18 months old…my first son…from another Mother.

Comical and brilliant, he now lives on the West coast with his beautiful wife – who happens to have the same name as my daughter.  They will be blessing the family with a daughter in August (yes, grandchild number 4 for me!).  This is the first grandchild for their parents so the excitement is hardly containable.

Watching their relationship evolve, though from afar, has been a treat…from the dating couple, to the engaged couple to the newly married couple and now expectant parents.  Ahhh, life is good!  I only wish they lived closer…love those guys!!!

Ours

And yes, these are ‘OURS’….our sweet, sweet Goldens!  We have three…the two on the left are our youngest.  Gabe is seven and Bailey is four.  Our older Golden, Taffey, on the right, is a rescue so we are uncertain how old she is (13? 14?) and because of her age she mostly just lies around these days and oversees the young whipper-snappers.

My Mother says Gabe looks like/acts like my husband and that Bailey looks/acts like me.  Amazingly enough, there really is some truth to that.  They certainly have our coloring (compare with picture of us above) and Gabe is laid back while Bailey is always on the go!  We joke that we have more pictures of our four-legged children than we do of our two-legged.  The truth is that we really do but, in all honesty, they are here 24/7 and those two legged ones are grown and gone!  Our Goldens bring us so much joy…they love us regardless!  There is much to learn from the animal kingdom if only we will stop and observe them.  They love unconditionally, rest when they are tired, play every chance they get and are wonderful listeners!

And there you have it…our clan….our blended family!  I really wouldn’t have it any other way.  Did I say LIFE IS GOOD???

 

 

ACT NOW!  SAVE OUR BEES!!!

ACT NOW! SAVE OUR BEES!!!

Neonicotinoid pesticides are killing our bees, as well as other pollinators!  Join me in lending our support…just click the link below, sign the petition and send!  It won’t take long and the impact we have could save our lives!

honey

Without bees we would not have many of the foods we enjoy…just do it!!!

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7324

Our bee girls, as my husband and I affectionately call them, will thank you!

Beware….Frost Advisory!

Beware….Frost Advisory!

I was so excited!  I took all of the plants I had been storing in the garage outside yesterday.  I am not talking just a few plants nor are they small plants.  I cleaned them up and re-potted many of them and placed them lovingly and yes, strategically (for those of you that know me) :), outside.

They look so nice that Bailey, our youngest Golden, kept posing in front of them to have her picture taken.  (She is NOT camera shy like her Momma (me) for sure – she actually poses!!!)

Those plants make the outside look ‘dressed’, homey and so inviting.

But, guess what?

There is a FROST ADVISORY in effect Tuesday morning  from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.  Yep, that’s right – a FROST ADVISORY for the Piedmont!

See the peaches all over this little tree we planted in the fall?  It is LOADED with what we hope will be fresh, organic peaches IF they survive the frost!!!

Doesn’t Old Man Winter know that spring has sprung BIG TIME here in the Piedmont???  That we all finally said, “Okay, so this is it…this is the way it is gonna be this year…no real cold weather to speak of….cool, I think I like it!  No….I LOVE it!!!”

And…we start whipping out our shorts, tank tops and flip-flops,  putting out tender plants, even contemplate starting our gardens early!  Our excitement is hardly containable – you can just feel spring-fever in the air!

But the joke is on us and the truth is Mother Nature has a sense of humor…I can just see her giggling as we all scamper around trying to bring in and cover up everything in sight to keep it safe from the impending frost!    Bottom line – if you have tender plants outside, bring them in and if you can’t bring them in, cover them up!

Guess you know what I will be doing today~  As we say here in the South, “Bless…” and you Southerns know my intonation as I type that and exactly which ‘Bless’ definition to apply 😉 !

Gabe thinks I am funny and is loving the fact that we will be outside most of the day today!  Come to think of it…I am, too!  Let’s get to it~