It might just be time...

Today it feels like fall is coming. I think we have squeaked out every last bit of summer around here. I mean it is almost Oct. 1st and we are still pushing 90 degrees outside. I think that is all about to change this week and I can feel it in the air. Fall is going to make her way into town. So it might just be time to......

can the last of the tomatoes
trim the raspberries
plant some bulbs
till the garden
winterize the pool
put up the patio furniture
clean the deck
OH and best of all get my craft table!

So as fall makes her way into town we find ourselves curled up inside just a little more. Football blaring on the TV and it might just be time for me to cut into some fabulous fabric and start making some Christmas gifts or that Mermaid costume that my daughter wants for Halloween. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

~Scarlett

9/11….just those words render feelings in all of us. Thoughts about that fateful day 8 years ago... 8 years, it sounds like a long time yet seems just like yesterday. I know we all have stories about where we were that day when we heard the news. I was somewhere between rocking babies and standing in line for my Starbucks, heading off to work and listening to the radio announcer say things like the Pentagon has been hit. I remember thinking this is the United States of America, planes do not fly into the Pentagon. I watched TV just like the rest of the world and my heart ached for those families. I felt a special connection to those women who lost husbands that day and all those little faces we saw on TV, the little ones who we came to know as the babies of 9/11. You see my little girl was just three months old. I wondered what would happen in her future and how the world would look. I wonder what happened to that America. The one where we all had flags flying and we supported our troops. I remember listening to George W. Bush and feeling proud to be an American. He brought this nation through one of the most difficult times in history. We are back to complacency. Congress can’t get anything done because of the division in parties, the economy is in the tank and Obama is not proving to be the Savior everyone hoped for. In spite of all of this I hope that America can reach down deep again and stand together. I hope that we will pray for our troops and remember those men and women not just fighting in Iraq right now but all of those that fight everyday of their life, those that fought in Vietnam, Korea, and WWII. All of the people that serve us every day and keep us safe. Today, my little girl is 8. She remembers nothing of 9/11. It is something that she will learn in history and I will tell her stories about where I was on that day when she is older. She doesn’t understand the threat of terrorism. She goes to school in a safe place and says the pledge of allegiance. She learns to sing the Star-Spangled Banner with sign language. She studies the Presidents and makes Abe Lincoln’s hat. She comes home and sleeps soundly at night. She knows that her great-grandfather fought in WWII and Korea and her grandfather fought in Vietnam. She knows her daddy was in the Navy. She is an all American girl. One day she will understand the sacrifice that they made and she will be thankful just like I am today.

~Scarlett

Perfect Imperfection

I am a perfectionist, yes I will admit it. I can’t just let something go it has to be perfect. Ask anyone, my husband, my kids, my mom…they will all tell you that I am a perfectionist. Sometimes I love it other times I dread it. There are bare walls in my house with no art because I cannot find the perfect piece and I don’t want to just stick something on the wall. I have repainted, resewn, and revamped many an item because it was not just the way I wanted it. Yeah, seems like a lot of work but once it is perfect, I am happy. If I leave it I just see all the imperfections and it drives me nuts. I will admit though it is tough being perfect especially with a house full of kids, family, dog, cats, rabbit, pigs, life. I have learned to overlook a lot to keep my sanity and occasionally I stop and ask myself…does this really matter? Who cares if the beds aren’t made or stacks of clean laundry sit in the laundry room…life will go on and it does. The world does not fall off it’s axis and we all manage to survive but have you ever experienced perfect imperfection? You know where you plan for everything to be just so and it doesn’t work out yet somehow the moment is perfect? Things fall into place in a way that you would have never imagined they could. I love these moments. They keep me humble and human and help me to remember that I really have absolutely no control over this world or my life. I try but in the end…no control! This week was one of those weeks. I planned, prepped, and prepared the best I could for the first day of school. Lunches packed, backpacks filled, clothes laid out, alarms set, bedtime stories, and goodnight kisses. I even reminded myself to set out the camera for those first day of school pictures. The morning went smoothly and we all made it out the door in time, excited, happy, anticipating that first day and guess what, yep not one photo. I check facebook that night and everyone is posting pics of the kiddos smiling with their new school attire. What did I have….nothing. Nothing but lots of hugs and kisses before the bell rang, a million mom I am going to miss you’s, and two will you please come see me at recesses….see perfect imperfection….who could ask for more. So, maybe today or tomorrow I will break out the camera and get 4th day of school pictures but for now I will cherish the fact that they will miss me and yes, I will go peek on them at recess.

A conversation overheard by a mother that involves her 5th grade son and friends....

Boys:

So, who is your teacher this year....various answers.

So, who is in your class..... various names.

So, what girls are in your class....various names.

Um, I think there are some new 5th grade girls....who....what class....what do they look like.... oh, you know her name.

Mother:

oy!

It's time for Fair

Fair.... corn dogs, rides, fried dough with sugar, animals, and lemonade.....close of summer. Well, it is fair week in Kerbyville and for us that means lots of excitement. We have 2 4-H'ers in this house which means lots of projects to get done. Let's see decorate pens at fairgrounds, record books, interview, load pigs, shave pigs, brush rabbit, load tack box, and make sure show clothing is ready. Whew, I am tired just thinking about it. Ah, but Fair, the excitement in the air, a culmination of all that hard work over the winter coming to an end. The final project completed. My daughter's eyes will light up tonight as she walks into those barns. She should have been born to a rancher or farmer. She will walk the aisles and pet every beast in that barn. All the cows, sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and horses. She will ask to do every project next year and we will have to tell her she has to pick one. She will clunk around in her pink cowgirl boots and by the end of the night she will be every one's best friend. That is just how she is, she loves fair. I love it to, I have to admit. I think I should have been born to a rancher. Don't get me wrong, I love some good shopping and dining in the city but there is just something about being in a barn full of animals. Yeah, I know...it stinks...for some. As a girl I always dreamed of having a horse or cows or pigs. I can see that same dream in my girl's eyes. If I could I would buy some land and we would move to the middle of nowhere and she could have all those animals to love. For now we will settle for the pigs, rabbit, dog, and cats. So tonight we are off to fair. Here are the projects that they are taking:



Thumper (the rabbit, no she does not sell him, he will come home)


Hambone (he will be sold)



So next week we will be exhausted but in a good way and in October we will start all over!

Scarlett

August

(deep breath)...August, it is such a strange month for me. Part of me is ready for a schedule and some structure in my life and the other part of me longs for the lazy days of summer to last forever. Laying by the pool, taking trips to the lake, visiting friends and family, talking fireside until the wee hours of the morning.....summer, all the things I treasure in my life. A few more weeks and we will be back to early mornings, packing lunches, football practice, homework, schedules. It is funny how the school years have changed for me. It used to be me looking at the calendar and counting the days until I was done with work and could spend all day home with my babies. Now I look at that calendar as a time keeper counting down the years until they leave home. They just seem to be moving faster than I ever though possible. Summer is coming to an end and my boy is entering his last year of elementary school. I don't know what is harder, watching him walk into that kindergarten room or watching him walk into 5th grade on his last first day of elementary school. Part of me wants to squeeze him and make him stop growing so fast but the more I squeeze the more he tries to wriggle free, just like when he was 3. Only this time it isn't just out of my arms, it's away from me into his own little life. With a role of the eyes and "mom" in only the tone that a preteen can give you he navigates his way through this world taking a piece of my heart with him. I know, we all did it, became independent, we just didn't know what it was doing to our mothers. Good thing or we might all still be living at home. I want him to be free and independent. Strong, sure, successful. I love watching him grow and gaining insight into his world. I will cherish this last year of elementary. I am blessed to have been with him the whole way, working at his school. So this year as I look at the calendar, I won't be counting down the days until summer break. I hope this year is long and sweet. I hope it takes it's time before June roles around. Until then, I will enjoy every last minute of our summer break. September take your time!

Let's Go Down to the River

Last Sunday my gigi was baptized. I can hardly believe that she has reached this stage in her life but I am proud of her. She was so cute when the pastor asked if it was okay if he baptized her. She said yes, just don't let go of me cuz I will just float away. So we all gathered at the river and watched her special day. Here are a few pics....