Too Close for Comfort.....

Well what a night, my husband watched a movie while I was working on a Power Point presentation for one of my projects and then after the movie was finished, we went to bed. I do my typical routine, check on the kids, give kisses, etc...look out my son's window as always to see the shimmer of the moon and then went to our room.
It didn't seem long, before we hear this loud bang on our door, my husband goes to the door where a neighbor informs him that our shed in the backyard is on fire. I immediately jump up, run to my son's room, look out the window and stare in complete shock as flames are engulfing our shed where we built the chicken coop, so yes, the chickens.
I call 9-1-1, the dispatcher informs me that our neighbor called it in, he asks if anything flammable is in there, the lawnmower, gasoline tank, so yes.
It didn't take long for the fire trucks and police to arrive, I asked the policeman if I should evacuate my children from the house, as the flames were high, he said we should be okay. I'm sick to my stomach watching it, so I go inside to check on the kids, call my parents in panic and my sweet pea comes hiding from her room, she woke, saw the lights and looked outside her window. She wants to know if the chickens are okay, I tell her I don't know and squeeze her tight.
The fire department does their job, puts the fire out and the chickens are okay, thankfully they ran to the outside of the shed, but me, I'm still in shock. I have a fear of fires and this was too close to my comfort zone. It was our garden shed and thank you higher spirit that it was only our shed, it wasn't our home.
The fire department is still here, my husband is outside and I will get little sleep tonight. I've moved the kids into our bed because their rooms face the backyard and I just feel better with them in my room.
So, it looks like I will be delivering some sort of goodies to the fire department, not sure what yet, but it doesn't seem like "thank you" is enough for their service.

"As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world." ~Terri Guillemets

Yes, Fall is upon us.....

The kids are adjusting to the routine of going back to school and seem to be enjoying the start of the new school year. I feel a bit guilty that are summer plans lack some major adventures like hitting the Black Hills, but it seemed that the summer swept by us before I even realized it. We made a couple weekend getaways and I told the kids that we will each write up a list of activities for next year and maybe pick one or two and just focus on achieving those, maybe instead of having a huge list of "things to do" and focusing on one or two, we will be more likely to accomplish it.

We went camping over the weekend, it was such a beautiful day yesterday and it was completely last minute, but we were able to squeeze it in. My husband had been at this campsite a few times before, but it was a first for us as a family and wow, what a well-kept secret. There are only six campsites (no electric) and it is tucked away in some rolling hills, there is a trail that leads to what was once the site of a Native American (Woodland Indians) burial ground. It is called, Hickory Hills.

The kids chased monarch butterflies and impressed me with their newly acquired knowledge of butterflies that they have been learning in school. We looked at various plants, such as milkweed and then looked at the stars. It was a great night, no t.v. or phone or computer, movies, just us.



I wish I could say I slept like a baby, but for one I am a light sleeper and second as much as I like being outdoors, I have an overactive imagination, so when you combine that with sleeping in a tent outdoors in the middle of a secluded campsite, your mind plays tricks on you. The owls were hooting, coyotes were howling, and then all the other noises that you typically hear in the woods, my sleep was not restful to say the least. You would think I would learn.....


"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." ~Henry David Thoreau

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." - R.Tagore

Wordles are fun

My Wordle for the day......I took a poem I wrote and created a Wordle, where it generates a word cloud from text you provide, just fun!

Can it really be that many......

Indeed, it has been 9 years since my husband and I said, "I do" and it amazes me how time has passed. I'll try to spare the cliche "my husband is my best friend" speech, but I can't make any promises, so I give fair warning now for those faint of heart in mushiness that this blog may contain some touches of warm fuzziness, please proceed with caution.

I didn't grow up dreaming of my wedding day, nor did I believe in true love or that somewhere out there one man was out there for me, I mean come on, it's a big world and considering I had moved several times to different states, I never knew where I was going to settle and all I can say is Iowa wasn't in my plans. Yet, fate if you believe in such things, had different plans......

It amazes me how one person can significantly change the course of your life. There is a quote that I love by Javan that goes something like,"it is not about finding the right person as it is finding them at the right time" and I find that to be ever so true.

I think had he and I met any earlier or later in our lives, things wouldn't have turned out as they did, neither one of us were prepared for the other, let alone a relationship, but somehow and in some way our paths crossed and we were never the same. I told him early on, I had big plans, I was going to move out of Iowa and he told me the same, that he was planning on leaving once his lease was up and he did leave when his lease was up, but closer to me ;) and I graduated from college and moved....in with him.

I was in awe of him, he made me nervous and I think it is because he did something no other could do, he challenged me to my core and tore down my wall. And I am ever so glad he did.

I look at pictures when we first met and when we got married and then I glance over at my man now and I still get the butterflies in my stomach, my heart flutters with his touch and I love him more than he really knows.

He knows me all to well, accepts all of me, encourages me, occasionally makes me mad as I'm sure I make him mad as well, and can get me laughing so hard it hurts. And what is so amazing about love, is that even though it is what first initially brings people together, through the years it grows into something deeper and changes. For me, I think it is what the changes bring that makes me fall in love with him all over, like seeing him with our kids or seeing him cry for the first time. It is in those moments when someone shares pieces of their soul that captures your heart.

My sweet-pea asked about how did I know that "daddy" was my husband and I said, I just did. She didn't understand, but perhaps one day she will.
For my kids, if and when they are old enough and ready for that commitment my only hope is that they have someone if their life that will: be kind, patient even when you are ready to scream, is able to laugh, be silly with you, is strong, confident, not afraid to show emotions, full of passion and someone who is willing to share their life, and someone who doesn't give up, understanding, and loving, believes in happy endings. I have found that and more.

And I don't know what our future holds, but I know that it isn't just about love as it is about how he makes me be a better person and so our story continues......Happy Anniversary my love!

"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul." Judy Garland

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." ~Author Unknown

"Whether it was chance or that thing called fate that brought me to you, I really can't say, and I don't believe it really matters. For I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to hold you, not just in my arms, but also in my heart. And should the winds of time blow hard enough to take you from my arms, you can rest assured they will never take you from my heart." - Javan

Giving liberates the soul of the Giver....

I saw a business posting about an organization that gives loans to individuals across the world and they look for people to lend them these individuals or groups the money by lending as little as $25 or lending the entire amount of the loan. The local business said they have loaned out nine loans, six were paid in full and three are making payments, but I found the idea fascinating. These individuals or groups may not have the means necessary to obtain a traditional loan, but through the help of other individuals can pursue a goal or dream.
So, I made my first loan - it was $25, but hopefully with time, I can increase that amount. And the man was located in Peru, I selected him mainly because he was only $100 away from his goal of $880 and he only had two days left to reach it and within an hour, I got an email indicating he reached his goal with the help of 20 individuals across the world.
Mother Theresa said once, that if you can't feed the world, feed one and I felt like as much as I'd like to help hundreds of people, I can't, but I helped one and it felt good to know he reached his goal.
The organization is called Kiva and I hope you check it out. There are times when we are up and there are the times when we are down, so when I have the opportunity to help, I try. I can't explain the feeling, but I feel like when I give, somehow I'm making a small difference as cliche' as it is.

"Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do." Khalil Gibran

Happy Kidney Day

I woke a little early today, took the dogs out and drank a cup of tea in the backyard. As I was sitting there, I could see the sun rising, it was a bit cloudy, but the sun was bursting through some of the clouds and it was still quite remarkable to watch. I put my feet in the grass still fresh with morning dew and enjoyed the stillness of the moment that with each rising of the sun, brings the promise of a new day, new beginning, a new journey.

And so I said a quiet blessing reflecting that today marks two years since I donated my kidney to my mom and considering how things got started after the surgery, two years is grand! So Happy Kidney day to my mother, I'm blessed to have her here!

We easily get caught up in wishing minutes or hours would pass so we can get through another day, yet infrequently stop to realize what we are wishing away and then when it's gone do we regret what we've lost. We are all guilty of this and sometimes it is hard to break the pattern, but take the time to stop and enjoy what's been presented to you today, even though there is tomorrow, there is no guarantee.

"My mother gave me life and never once asked for anything in return. That is her secret you know, always giving without expectations. She helps me find my way through the years and makes me laugh while doing it - there are some things that only a mother can do"

"Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires." ~Charles Caleb Colton

Bedtime Giggles.....

We were doing our typical bedtime routine and reading stories, tonight it was Curious George: The Kite and Olivia forms a band.
As we were reading, the second story, Olivia forms a band, we turned the page and all of us started laughing and we couldn't stop. I know the photo spurred the laughter, but then continued laughing and laughing and as I tried to contain my composure to finish the book, we would continue to giggle.

Then my sweet pea said, "was that part of the book about us...."

I laughed even harder when she said that and said, "well maybe" and the reason why is because on the next page the mom states, "Wipe that glop off your face, young lady, and get in the car NOW!"

So, that is what my sweetpea was referring too....me telling her to wipe that crap off her face whenever she puts it on. Well on the brighter side, at least I know now that she is not the only Olivia who does it.

"Only five books tonight, Mommy," she says. No, Olivia, just one." How about four?" Two." Three." Oh, all right, three. But that's it!" — Ian Falconer (Olivia)