What to do?

We've been going through boxes in the garage lately. It's quite a project, but we are getting surprised and rewarded for our hard work. These boxes were packed up about 5 years ago when Cathey decided to become a traveling nurse. Hubs parents packed up what wasn't a bare essential and put in storage.

Most of you know that we are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of her death. We have all been a bit emotional around here. No one is sleeping well, including the kids. It's hard. It makes the process of sorting her belongings a lot harder. On a good day like Sunday we uncovered this.

This is a very old quilt made by hubs Great Grandma, known in this house as Big Momma. I was amazed at the quality of work but saddened that it had seen better days.



There are several spots where the material has shredded, or torn. There are, however, blocks that are intact and still beautiful. That brings me to the question of the day.





What in the world do I do with this? I have thought of several options.



1. Repair the quilt knowing full well that my quilting skills would never do it justice.


2. Leave it be. Which leads me to keep or donate?


3. Use the good blocks to create something new. Maybe a lap quilt?



I seem to be stuck, and not leaning in any one direction. What would you do?



I should also mention that there is a nearly identical quilt that is in good shape that we have already placed in the cedar chest.



So there ya have it. What are your thoughts?

Pictures of Sara

I thought I'd drop in and share some pictures with ya'll. I don't have much time lately....but at least I am having FUN!!! Hope everyone is well and having fun too!



As much fun as all this horse stuff is, we have our work cut out for us. Sara is quite a bit underweight, and her mane and tail are almost completely matted up. You won't find a sweeter horse though. I think she knows in the few times we have been out to visit her that we are going to love her very, very much! Heck, I already do!

Flickr Friday

Once again, it's time for me to bore you with my pictures. Brace yourself! HAHA!


Introducing Man and Dog, Jax and Hubs. 2 totally spoiled men in my life. Good grief! This furry friend of hubs can snore louder than he can. I think sometimes they hold a contest just to annoy me. I get annoyed and then I see this picture and it's all better. They are cute together.

Oh- By the way- the Dog IS actually snoring in the picture. What a nerd!

We had no intention of adopting this dog. I think, well, he's just a lucky dog to have met me if I do say so myself. He had been bounced around in the neighborhood where we lived in military housing. He was timid and obviously feeling unloved. My neighbor who had taken him in didn't like him because he just hid out under her table. Boy- she was a winner. One morning in passing she mentioned that she was going to take him to be put to sleep. WHAT? She didn't want him, and everybody else had already had him. She must of seen the look in my eye when she said that because she quickly pounced on my emotions. I agreed to "foster" him until I found a family that would love him. Soon after that Jax adopted my husband.

You would think that that is where the story ends, however it is not. A few weeks had passed and yet another neighbor appeared to claim "their" dog. They brought the original owners to prove that they had left the dog in their care, and that they had "rights" to him. This neighbor went on and on about how this dog cheered her up while she was dealing with cancer (which later turned out to be fake cancer) and that she really needed him back. I gathered his things and broke hearts as I walked him back to her.

Yet, that is not the end of the story either. A few weeks later, that same neighbor came to my door asking if the dog could come back. She said she was too sick to take care of him and that she knew we loved him. Sure I said, I was ecstatic! We got him back with nothing we returned and immediately had to get him untraumatized yet again. This time around we immediately changed the name on his microchip and established him with our vet to prove that he was ours now, and forever. 2 days later, that same lady came home with a Weimaraner. I swear, some people..............

He's a good dog, we saved him, and he loves us. We love him too.

Oh- the lady with "cancer" her ruse was discovered about 2 or 3 months after that. Not quite sure what makes people fake terminal illnesses, I hope she got the help she needed. And I dont mean the cancer!

**NEW** Thursday Thirteen!!

Several of the newer blogs that I have found lately are doing Thursday Thirteen. From what I've read it can be about anything really. Todays inspiration comes from a fellow military wife. Check her out over at Chaotic Home. Tell her I said Hi too!

Here we go. Thursday Thirteen #1.

Random thoughts

1. I'm in a bit of a rut. Not sure why, just off in a ditch waiting for a tow.

2. My son is moving mountains in his speech therapy. I nearly cried on Tuesday while he was doing so well. I have even noticed some of his words are getting clearer!!! YAY!!

3. I am amazed at how many wives I know are in the same situation or feel the way I do. I know that I am not alone, or not the worst off!!

4. I got the go ahead from the Landlord to paint the walls! Thank goodness. Say bye bye to white walls!!!

5. Now I need to figure out colors and how to paint with a 2 year old running around.

6. Sara, (formerly
Faith) will be here on the 1st. I already love her.

7. It's 12:36 and I just brewed a pot of coffee, I'm a bit behind schedule.

8. I'm pretty darn proud of myself and my recovery from a shopping/ thrifting compulsion. I just met some ladies that are far worse, and farther in the hole.

9. I am very grateful to God for allowing us to be out of the hole, and providing the means to get there.

10. The material I have listed on Ebay is flying off the shelf. I have a new batch listed. And as always, if I know you from my blog and you win an auction, I'll mail it to you for free.

11. The 1 year mark of Cathey's death is fast approaching. It's still hard to believe she's gone!

12. I really, really want this scrapbooking vacation with Sis to work out!! (fingers crossed!)

13. This 13 thing is kinda fun, you should try it!

Ellen calls gladys! Hilarious

This is an absolute MUST SEE!! What a great laugh!!

To do's

Just a quick list of stuff to get done sooner rather than later.

1.Locate Hay, buy and store.

2. Purchase supplements, and tack needed for horse.

3.Get rid of this template on blogger

4. Laundry

5. Make a separate honey do list for before deployment

6. Jax to vet. Again.......

Humm, thats all I can think of right now. Wish me luck!

Only Maybe....

Don't go getting your hopes up. Mine are already up, but I am trying to be cautious. I am seeing both sides of this situation, and there is a whole lot of work to be done and perfect timing is a must.


Meet Faith (soon to be renamed)



Faith is a 20 year old Arabian Mare who is, possibly, coming to live with us next month. Her current owner has her pastured in a field of mud with no shelter and finally realized that she isn't doing her justice.

Therefore, we are, possibly, bringing her to the stable where the gal takes lessons. She can be our horse to shower all of our love and attention on, and the gal can ride her providing she is indeed a great beginner horse.

So that's what I have been up to. Trying to arrange Stables and budget costs plus attempt to plan for the unknown expense. I hope that the transition is smooth, both for us and Faith. She needs a good restart!

I mentioned above that her name will change and that is for several reasons. First is that there is already a horse at the barn named Faith, and frankly, I don't like the name at all. I like more old fashioned names like Rose or Betsy....something like that. Do you have any suggestions? Maybe I'll hold a poll once the adoption is official. How bout that? Winner can get some yarn and stuff as a gift.

To go along with Faiths story, I found out that Hubs ship (which he is not on yet) left yesterday and that it is officially part of the Surge to Iraq. What does that mean you ask? Word is that they will be deployed til the first part of next year. Please understand that I am not complaining. My hub will be in the middle of the ocean on a huge ship. I can not tell you how thankful I am not to be an Army or Marine wife. I respect them so much, I know that I could not do it. no way! But never the less he will be gone a good long time in a child's eye and this horse could prove to be a good distraction and maybe, fill in some holes. I know that I loved to just be in the barn when I was sad as a kid. Nothing like the feeling of a horse hug or the look in their eye like they understand. It's very therapeutic!

I'll let you know the moment it's official!

I told you I'd forget!

It seems I have forgotten Flickr Friday again. Gheesh.

Well, you're gonna have to wait. We have a busy day ahead of us. Hopefully we will be mid-calf deep in mud building a new pasture hide-away for the horses. That would be excellent. If not, than just poo poo duty will be fine. Anything to be there for a bit.

Also- I will be switching templates in the New Blogger. I am just having a heck of a time getting all the stuff to show up right. I don't prefer the plane Jane styles, my personality is anything but. I can start from fresh and see what I come up with though, and maybe, just maybe, it will work.

So nothing much today, chat more later!!

F A M O U S!!!

Check it out! My little gal made it into the new Camp K brochure !! How freakin' cool is that?!!??
She's the one next to the counselor in the second row!

YAY GIRL!!!!!

Cha Cha Cha Changes

I know, I know. The horse background makes it hard to read posts. I'm working on it, just be patient. I'm a no- nothing when it comes to CSS code, so it's gonna be a day by day thing. Eventually it will be perfect. Just hang in there. Say a big thanks to Hubby for me for getting the background to work at all!! He's my overused computer know it all!! Love you babe!

Yesterday was a bummer. Mother Nature has PMS or something. It snowed theses little ice pellets all day and the roads were darn near impossible to drive on. Hubby watched 2 cars spin out right in front of him on the way home from work. He called and said there was no way we were going to get to the barn for the gals first horse lesson. What a bummer! I had to break the news, she cried and I almost did too! I was as excited as she was (maybe more). Although we missed the lesson we are going to try to make it out there today for some horse time. The gal wants to ride, but I don't think that will be possible.

I feel like I am on my way back to feeling fulfilled. Does that make any sense? I was happy before, but I was not leaving the house except for the grocery trips or family trips to the mall for the indoor playground. The last few weeks I have been out with the gal, slinging horse poo poo getting muddy and rained on, but coming home feeling great! It's just something about being around horses that makes me feel super great. Warm and fuzzy, ya know? It's especially neat that the gal shares this passion with me, and her dreams have really gotten me back involved in my dreams. It's funny how that worked out. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be out there, especially since we do not own a horse of our own (dare I say, yet). The gals are great about sharing the love and that is something I will repay ten fold someday.

As fun and exciting as all this is to us, I need to make sure that I balance it all just right. I need to make sure that the family as a unit knows that they are my numero uno. It's a delicate job to do. I am working on it, perfecting the multi tasking arena. I have researched some great crock pot meals for lesson days so that we can avoid the run through the drive through, and have made sure that I can get all the Mommy necessity stuff done during the day before the bus arrives home. Wish me luck.

Today I am tracking down all non necessity writing tools. The boy has turned the walls of his room into his art project, which I don't mind to terribly much. It is a problem however when he brings his art out into my kitchen and the new fridge. Wish me luck in finding all his hiding places for the stash of markers.

Okay- that's enough blab for today!!! Have a great one!!

I did it!

I switched. Wish me luck while I update all this stuff. If this doesn't work Lucy is in a bunch of trouble! :)

Stinky Blogger

I think that this is my 4th or 5th attempt to post today. Cross your fingers that it works, cause I'm getting annoyed.

Today's post is just some of this and some of that. You know, nothing special really.

1) Can you see the horse that is in between the posts? Is he walking? Let me know. Mom can't see it and that bothers me.

2)Thank you to whomever for keeping my Eastern WA family safe during their horrific wind storm the other day! Good grief! 120 MPH winds are not fun!

3) We are learning Baby Sign language. Our son loves it so far, and I can tell this will give him the ability to communicate with us. Hopefully it will take the place of all the screaming in frustration!! I'll post the link we are using when I can get it from Hubby. (it's on his laptop)

4) Horse lessons start tomorrow and I think that I am more excited than the gal!! I don't even get to ride!

5) If you are at all interested in some great quilting fabric you should check out my Ebay store.( The link won't post right, but you can look me up under kieandalsmom) Don't have a coronary Mom, yours is still set aside for you. As a bonus to all my wonderful Bloggerville friends, if you buy something and let me know you found me at Blogger, I'll mail it to you FREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

What are you still doing here? Go buy something!! :)

Crochet break

I'll admit it, I am addicted to crochet. I need the yarn and hook therapy. I'm a nut.

After crocheting numerous dishcloths and also finishing the Hubs lap afghan, I burnt out. Well my mind did anyhow. My hands were begging to crochet something. It was crazy. I needed something to do in the evenings that I could easily pick up and put down. I decided to raid the stash of cross stitch projects that I have just inherited. I have never, ever, enjoyed those things, but this time I was surprised. Here is the first completed cross stitch project.


Next to the completed cross stitch is another project with a cowgirl. I couldn't get the finished one to show up when photographed alone. That's weird. Anyway---



It was actually fun and relaxing to do. Now I just need to frame it and find a spot for it. Any ideas?

Next on the list are some horse pillow cases I found today at the Craft Mart for the gal. They should be fun too, I hope (fingers crossed) I'll keep you up to date on my progress.

Good News and Flickr Friday

Geez peeps, I have been a cramp in your style lately haven't I? Sorry bout that. I will *try* to be more upbeat and entertaining for ya'll from now on. Okay? Thanks!

First morsel of good news for today is that the girl is officially enrolled in Horse lessons. We went out and visited a new barn, (old dairy farm) Where we knew one of the regulars. She is so nice and is really helping me help the girl realize her dream of horses. An Angel? Maybe. I'm grateful that she is willing to help us out on this journey. I'd be lost if she had not shown me the way to get involved.

Anyway- The gal starts lessons Wednesday so stand by for pictures! Oh and even cooler than that? I get to muck stalls in exchange for the lessons. Isn't that cool?? Maybe not for you, but I love it. 8 stalls=great workout!

On to Flickr Friday.

Here is one of the pictures that lives in my Flickr box on the right. If you have ever had little kids you know the significance of these little notes. It's enough to choke you up, and makes it impossible to have hurt feelings.




This note took place after this conversation with the gal.

"Hey Mom, did you know that I love Josie (her cat) more than I love you?"

"You what?"

"Well, it's true, I love her more than you"

"That really hurts my feelings, why would you say that?"

"She's my cat, your just my Mom"

"Go to your room........."

Shortly after that she came out crying with this note and gave me a big hug. That fixed everything! She's a pretty cool kid, even if I am just her Mom.

After 8 years....

I finally feel like I am somebody!





I have a nice, new to me, Side by Side refrigerator. With (hold on to your chairs) An Ice maker!!! Yep, that rocks. My hubby was playing with it all night.

So now that you think I am a geek. Here's the story.....

We moved into this house in October 2005. We rent, so nothing in here as far as appliances are ours. The fridge that was here worked, but that's all. I wish I had a before picture for you. If you open your fridge at home you usually use a handle to pull the door open. We had no handle on the outside. You'll also note on your refrigerators that on the inside of the door you have a place to store condiments like mayo and whatever else. We had a spot there but nothing to hold the items in place. We used Duct tape. Seriously! We did. The best part was that sometimes the duct would give away and you would open the door to an avalanche of stuff trying to attack you. It wasn't pretty.

So now I am someone. I have a nice refrigerator, and I feel whole.

Adjusting

I blogged a while back about my son being diagnosed with a speech delay. I told you I knew before the "official" word was used, and I also mentioned that I was willing to do anything to help.

Obviously, I am his mother and I love him 1000% no matter what the circumstances. Sometimes, especially lately, I am getting so frustrated with the situation that I can barely stand it. This past week he was sick, and we retreated back into some old habits that I thought we had broken him of.

When he was small, like brand new baby small, he HATED his Dad. Nobody could figure it out. He was a Mommas boy, and therefore I was in a prison consisting of the walls of my home. I could not leave with or without him. It was horrible. Dad was questioning himself a lot, and we were all stressed out beyond belief. Unimaginable stress!

About 1 year later all that passed and he decided that Dad was okay after all. I was able to get out of the house for a quick trip to the grocery store, or run and get a coffee. I thought all that was gone for good. Until last week.

The boy was sick last week, fever, whiny etc. He wanted his momma and I understood that. What I didn't, and still don't understand is the fact that Dad is not an "approved" person anymore. It's back to me. All me. Sis, maybe. No Dad. Except when Dad asks permission to look at him and the boy agrees. (You think I am kidding or exaggerating, your wrong!)All of the stress of before has returned. Dad doesn't want to come home from work (Thank God he still does!)and he certainly doesn't feel any form of love or admiration from the boy.

As hard as you try to contain these feelings, they start to carry over to your marriage. I'm sure Dad wants to run away, and frankly, me too. I'll run.

All this stress, and then add that the boy can not communicate his feelings. Well he can in the form of a blood curdling, ear piercing scream. He also has taken to hitting himself in the head and banging his head on the floor or wall. I can't imagine not being able to communicate. Poor boy.

Speech Therapy starts next Monday. That's good. So far today, Dad is approved, that is good. They are playing as I am typing. Thank God for small minutes of peace!!!

A crochet doll

I got this story as an email from a good friend today. She must have had a premonition, cause I really needed it today! Thanks Steph!


A man and a woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.

"When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

"Honey," he said "that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh, that?" she said. "That's the money I made from selling the dolls."