An Open Letter for Mother's Day

Mammer,

How hard it must have been to raise us in the conditions you had to raise us in.  The uncertainty of if or when your husband would come home and the condition that he would come home in?...three children to raise...doing it a good bit of time alone.  But you did it, and we turned out well, I think.  So, thank you.

And just that you know...even though times were so hard...I don't regret anything.  There was so much stuff we asked you to do, and you always had to say no because we didn't have the money and Dad's alcoholism made things so very unstable.  So, I never got to play basketball and I never got to play the flute in the band.  But now as an adult, it doesn't matter a bit and I don't feel like I missed out on a thing.  And though my children get to do those things now, sometimes I think the busyness it causes to run to violin or basketball or taekwondo, etc. etc....it makes me think that sometimes saying "No" is the wise decision.  So, even though you didn't really have a choice of telling us yes, thank you for saying no.

And even though I didn't really start cooking until I was an adult, I learned so much from just watching.  The kitchen truly was and is your domain.  Your food, your meals, our times in the kitchen.  They are some of our fondest memories.  Chocolate pie.  Need I say more?  Thank you for chocolate pie.

And you never knew that when I went to the district science fair in the 8th grade and I had to go away overnight to do it, I was so glad to get back home.  And you were the one to pick me up...in an orange B210 Datsun.  Not the coolest car.  But that night at that moment I could have cared less.  I was just glad to see you and to be going home.  So, thank you for coming to pick me up.

And those steno books, I watched as you track bills and such.  Making sure the money would somehow work.  I know that my love for budgeting surely must come from you!  And I know that the money always worked because you did without.  Any extra you always spent on us.  Thank you for your selflessness in giving to your children.

A few memories for this Mother's Day.  Happy Mother's Day, Mammer.  I love you.

~Kathy

I find myself lately growing and stretching in ways I'm uncomfortable with. Wanting to let go of what is life draining to find and take hold of what is life fulfilling. Again, I'm uncomfortable and I find that the ugliness of my heart greets me at every corner. "The heart is desperately wicked..." the Scriptures so aptly testify. When I talk with Jesus, I say often "Lord, I'm so glad you've shown me this so that I can work on it, so that I can repent....but it's so hard to see who I really am." I'm so thankful for the One who extends grace when He's known all along who I really am. His grace goes further still.

And with this growing and changing, I wonder often what to do with this blog. I barely post anymore, and I wonder is it because I'm still trying to post for others...is it because I'm caught up in the busyness of life I can't find the words or time...is it because I've nothing of worth to say...is it a combination of all of that??? Does this blog give life or does it drain? I've gone private and back public again. Does any of it really matter?

I've decided that maybe it does matter. That maybe this blog gives life. Because most of what is recorded is the goodness that He creates. They are my memories. My loves. My family. Our stories. One day when I'm gone or if something tragic were to happen to me, my husband and children could come to these pages and remember me. The good parts of me that loved the great parts of them.

Hello. I am Mrs.The Bob Doe...

(photo credit: PicApp Images/Internet/Getty Images)

One of my very favorite shows ever is I Love Lucy. I can watch it over and over. It really doesn't matter that I've seen each episode 500 times. Besides that Lucy and Ethel are one of the funniest duos to ever hit the screen, I love the 1950's. I think I really could have lived back then. I love how they dressed. I love the view of the wife, mother, and homemaker from that era. I love the simplicity and slow pace.

The other day Fep and I had on I Love Lucy, and Lucy and Ethel were introducing themselves to some other ladies. And they introduced themselves as "Mrs. Ricky Ricardo" and "Mrs. Fred Mertz". Fep asked why they said their names that way. She's never heard it before and it was really foreign to her. To be honest, I don't think I have ever introduced myself as "Mrs. The Bob Doe". I don't think I've ever written it out that way for any reason either. Just my name Kat Doe.

I'm thankful that I have a husband to which I can attach my identity. I'm thankful he's honest and moral. A man of integrity. And I found an opportunity to tell him about my conversation with Fep and that I was thankful I can happily be identified as Mrs. The Bob Doe. Part of me is sad for those ladies that don't have that kind of husband. The husband that's not a man of integrity. However, I guess in this day and age it doesn't really matter. Feminism has taken over so that no one introduces themselves or writes their name that way anyway. While I may not say it or write it, I really am Mrs. The Bob Doe. It's so much a part of who I am.

The Little Things....

I'm not sure when it happened? I'm not sure when I stopped doing the little things? You know the little things...the things that don't cost money, but make memories...the things your children will talk about when they get older. And that's true you know. The things I talk about from my childhood and growing up usually never involves what we did that cost money. Being that I grew up on the poor end of the scale and the fact that we didn't have money anyway is no never mind. If I talk about my childhood from a poverty perspective, it's usually that I'm grateful. My memories are that my Mom fixed the best ham ever on Christmas and Easter. And I fix that ham today at Christmas, and my mother-in-law tells me it's the best ham ever. My memories that my Dad fixed the best pancakes ever. And they weren't really pancakes, but flapjacks. There's a difference.

So, I used to do these things that made memories. The Bob did, too. Like when he would fix Green Eggs and Ham. Like when I used to set the table nicely for occasions or events.

On any given day, this is what our dinner table looks like...

It doesn't look like this every day, but any given day. Can you see the laundry hanging over the doorway and over the chairs? Fep's bird puzzle she's been working on here and there for weeks. Lovely, isn't it?

So, Saturday was Valentine's Day Eve. The meal plan was Pioneer Woman's Lasagna (which she says is the best ever. While it is absolutely the best recipe I've ever had to make at home, I find the best ever lasagna belongs to Avellino's Pizza in Mississippi...just in case you're ever in the area and want some Italian ;) ) Creamed Spinach, Garlic Bread, and Turtle Cookie Bars with Ice Cream for dessert. Yum. It was to be our Valentine's Dinner as Sunday yielded itself too busy with Church and stuff to think about creating such a meal. I walked into the dinning room, and the above scene just wouldn't do. I have not set the table nicely in forever. Years maybe? So, I started digging through the China Hutch to see what I could use. And this is what I came up with. Simple. Very simple. But so much nicer than the above, don't you think?

And it looked even nicer with the candles lit. Cause candles make everything look better.

Fep walked through after I was finished and said, "The table looks so nice!" Moose walked through and said, "WHY IS THE TABLE ALL DINNERY?" (and please say that loud and with a heavy Southern accent). Moose is a grammar lesson waiting to happen. And when The Bob got home for dinner he was quite pleased. Quite. I have not taken the time to do this in forever. And my time and my thought was all they needed this Valentine's Day. It's the little things.

I was so pleased with myself, too. So pleased that I gave myself a thumbs up and took a very cheesy picture....

Cheese. I'm full of it :)

The little things are worth unwrapping

December 2009....

This has been a busy month. And it's held more activity than just my return to work...

Christmas card photos...

Local missions Christmas Party....eyes blackened for protection of the children...the children at the party were neglected and abused and they just don't need any other trouble....but I can tell you that little fella' was the cutest little shepherd I've ever seen!


Made and ate more Christmas treats and goodies than my waistline can handle...and this may not look good, but trust me. It IS veeeeeeeeeeery good. Golden Graham cereal, pretzels, pecans covered in melted white chocolate bark. Mmmmmmmm. Yummy. I may have to loosen my belt just thinking about it....

Fep was in a wedding....


Christmas weddings are just sooooo pretty. Don't you think?

Christmas was spent with some of our favorite friends...

Love, the love of Christ, family, friends, and food. What more could you ask for?

Yuletide...

like this little fella?

find more like him right here

I have a confession to make. I had to look up "yuletide" in the dictionary to see what it meant. Just in case you may be in the same boat I was in, it means "Christmas season". So yes, that title fits this post. And YES I know we've not even had Thanksgiving yet. But I like to put up the tree some time during Thanksgiving week, and seeing that we've taken a break from home schooling this week for the holiday, we put it up today. I have to say, I am like Ebenezer Scrooge when I put up the tree. Up to the attic to get down a gazillion heavy boxes. Down an attic ladder with a gazillion heavy boxes. Children rushing to see what goodies are in those boxes. Paper flying everywhere. Tangled lights. And then this...

A floor that I cannot even walk across. It's enough to make a neat and tidy person crazy. It took about 2 -3 hours to do everything, and I had to apologize two times to my children within that short time period (shamelessly hanging head low). And why? Why do I get so grumpy about it? I love it when it's finished. And I hate being this way...I wish I savored this time with my children. I think I need a professional Christmas decorator to come and do it for me. I vowed to the children today that I will not do it without the help of The Bob again. That's what his manly muscles are for...taking heavy boxes from the attic.

And when it's finished...


all is well. Even Dixie was glad to find a spot on the floor again ;)

The Sickies

The last several days in our home was spent battling the sickies. Fep came down with the flu on Wednesday and Moose and myself on Friday. Swine Flu or H1N1, take your pick, is running rampant in our part of the country and it found our way into our home. We were blessed in that it was very mild and very short lived. By Saturday, Fep was back in full swing, and that was my "sick day" which had me in the recliner watching Little House on the Prairie on The Hallmark Channel aaaaaaall daaaaaaaay looooooong. It was a long day, full of Pa, Ma, Laura and Mary. At the end of the day, after Fep and The Bob made dinner, Fep brought me this....


And this is what it said inside:

Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for caring for me while I was sick. I'll do the same for you. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it. You really mean a lot to me, Mom, and I want you to know that. Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for your support. I love you =) I will always be there for you, too, Mom.

Fep =)

She really put those smiley faces in there. There were other treasures found over our sick weekend. Illness forces you to slow down. And we did slow down. In that we found time together, good family time. And I found even in the midst of the Swine Flu that I had treasures to unwrap.

A Day in My Life (Part 2)

My goodness. I feel like this is the post that will never end...my hat is off to Jessica and Candy who have done several of these post. They take quite a bit of time and thought. It did for me anyway.

So, picking up where we left off....

12:15 Lunch Break. The kids ate lunch and had some "screen time" and Fep got on the computer while Moose finished a DVD he had started the day before. Then they both went outside to play. I eat, check the computer (blogging and such), clean up kitchen from lunch, finish the laundry to do for the day, and start dinner preps making a chicken casserole to put in the oven later....

Time to start back to school work at 1:20. Fep has to do spelling and history. Moose has to do spelling, penmanship, and practice guitar. Normally he would do this late afternoon /evening, but I have errands to run later, and he has guitar lessons this evening...

While the kids work on school work, I work on Payables and Receivables for our company. They finish their work and I finish mine, and we leave for the library at 2:50....

We are regular library patrons. But today, Fep "officially" gets introduced to the Dewey Decimal System. After going over it with her, I have her look up books to test her new knowledge....

After the library, I go completely brainless and forget that it took me 15 minutes to find something to wear, weight gain, etc., etc. We stop here for a Frosty...

Right across the street from Wendy's is my next stop...

Once every 4 - 6 weeks, I go to Sam's and stock up on some meat and household items. I like to buy my chicken, ground beef (or any beef), laundry detergent, and some other misc. items there. After Sam's, I take Moose to our office to meet up with his Dad who will take him to guitar lessons...I also pick up the work left in my "Box". I handle payroll, personnel stuff (benefits, insurance, 401K), and deposits....Sometimes we don't know if we own a business, or if it owns us.....Anyway, I do all my work from home, but this is the main office :)

Fep and I get back home at 6:15. I unload my Sam's purchases. She does her afternoon chores. I started back on dinner preps and looked through the work I picked up at the office. Got frustrated when looking at the work laying before me. Decided I would look at it when I was fresh tomorrow. Then I tidied up the house. I love me a tidy house. Love it with me, will you....

At 7:00, I did more dinner preps. Fep had been on the computer, and I told her it was time to get off. When she did, she set the table for dinner for later when The Bob and Moose got home. After helping, she went outside to play.

7:15...I sat down to work on this Day in My Life post. Fep comes running in to look up something about a bird she saw in the yard. Fep is a bird nerd :)

7:30....The Bob calls and he and Moose are on the way. They are running late as he forgot to transfer the company phone to the answering service and had to go back to the office :( Looks like it will be a later dinner....

8:00 The Bob and Moose arrive home. Moose is excited because his guitar teacher went over music from Star Wars with him. Moose loves Star Wars.

Then we eat dinner....chicken casserole, green beans, rice, and roll...

The cake on the end is supposed to be for a pot luck over the weekend. Oh, and The Bob is smiling in the picture, but he's really thinking, "Woman. I'm starving. Come on and let's eat!" ;)

8:20 The Bob and I go on the front porch to talk while the children clean up the kitchen. When they get dinner and the kitchen cleaned up they join us. And we all chat for a few minutes.

8:45 We come inside. We decide that the cake I bought will not make until the potluck on Sunday, and we decide to cut it and have a piece ;) The Bob checks emails from work, I lay down on the couch and listen to a sermon on CD from my pastor, and the children play.

9:00 The children get their baths and resume play afterwards.

9:45 The Bob comes to chat with me on the couch, so I turn off the sermon I've been listening to. It's a sermon on submission. The Bob comments it sounds like a good sermon, and asked if I put it on for him to hear. I told him no that it was on the wife's role, but if he wanted I could give him the sermon CD on the husband's role ;) We chat for about 15 minutes and realize that it's 10:00 and that the kids should have been in bed 30 minutes to an hour ago. At 10:00 we all go to bed....

I'm not sure if this was a typical day. But this was my day yesterday. The Bob works a lot of hours, but if at all possible, we try to eat earlier in the evening. 8:00 is not our normal eating time. Also, the days I don't have to leave the house don't seem so hectic. As I scan back over this day, I think it looks like I'm living like a crazy woman. But the day really did flow smoothly. My heart's desire is to be at home and to be a keeper of my home for my family and for the Lord.

A Day in My Life (Part 1)...

There are a couple of blogs that I like to visit that will from time to time take you through their day in words and pictures. I really like that. I don't know why, because it's just everyday stuff? But I like it. I like it a lot. I've always wanted to do "A Day in the Life of Me" post, but I knew how much time it would probably take. And I was right. So, my daily life will be done in two parts. I'd also like to add that when you do this it makes you extremely mindful of how you are spending your time and your actions. Extremely. So, I've found this to be a beneficial little experiment of sorts. So, here we go....oh, and these pictures are so blurry. One day I'll have a nice camera.....

7:15 am - Rise and shine little lady. You're getting up late!!! (I should get up at 6:30). Have coffee, swing with Fep on the front porch, make hummingbird feed for their feeder, and start laundry...

8:00 am - Go to my room for personal bible time and devotion which I always do in my unmade bed...

While I'm doing this the children are working on their morning chores and stuff...

8:30 am - Look for something to wear - this took 15 minutes!!!! I knew I'd end up in a picture so I was trying to look my best. It didn't happen, and it took 15 minutes because I've gained 14 lbs., and my clothing options are very limited at the moment. (Sigh) I also reboot the laundry.

8:50 am - Clothing picked out, I get in the shower, then dress, put on make up and fix my hair. I'm high maintenance, and I always fix my hair and put on makeup. Always. I'm high maintenance, plus I need it. If you know what I'm sayin'!

9:33 I'm ready and I decide that my bed will have to wait and we need to start on school.

We go to the front porch swing to start school off with our Bible lesson...

Then, I started Fep on English and Moose on Math...

After I got them started, I made my bed, folded laundry, and emptied the sink of dishes....
I had to stop mid fold on the laundry and help Moose with his next subject...you can see he takes it very seriously ;) The pile beside me was the laundry I'd been working on....

Moose finished up his morning school work. He worked from 9:30 to 11:00 he did Bible, Math, English, Reading, and Science. Fep did not get finished until 12:15, and she did Bible, Math, English, Reading, and Science also. Moose is in the 3rd grade and Fep the 6th. She has quite a bit more work than he does. At 12:15 we stopped for lunch. The kids had frozen pizza, and remembering that it took me 15 minutes to find something to wear, I had a Weight Watchers friendly sandwich and pretzels...a 7 point value :)

Are you tired of this yet? I just about am...but part 2 will come tomorrow :) There's more school, more housework, some errands, and just.....life.

Heavy, Busy, Yogi, and the Veterans

How's that for a title?

I haven't posted much here or commented much at your place because there are just some heavy issues in my life right now, and I've started school with my children again. School keeps us veeeeeeeeery busy. Very. We are three weeks into this school year, and I am so very pleased at how things are going.

Last weekend we went camping with some friends to Yogi on the Lake, a Jellystone Park located in Pelahatchie, Mississippi...

There was so much to do there...During the summer, they have a theme for each weekend. The theme for the weekend we were there was "Honoring our Heroes" And that morning as Yogi met everyone at the flagpole, they brought out policemen, firemen, military, and veterans. When I saw these gentlemen, I got rather caught up in the moment. I must say I even became a bit verklempt, and hoped that nobody saw me wiping tears, because who cries at a Yogi Park?

When I looked at these gentlemen, I wondered about their story. I'm sure they were born during a Depression and have lived through many wars. Obviously they served our country, too. Perhaps, even during wartime. This generation never fails to touch my heart. I think they are some of the greatest Americans to ever live.

Learning Music...

Moose and The Bob started taking guitar lessons with their first lesson being last week. The first lesson wasn't much to it....parts of the guitar, kind of an overview of what's what, etc., etc. Yesterday, they had their second lesson, and they found out what will be the first song that they'll learn to play. Fep takes violin lessons, and her first song was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I know that piano students learn Twinkle or Mary Had a Little Lamb or Chopsticks or something like that for their first song. You want to know what Moose and Bob's first song will be? No Twinkle. No Mary. Their first song will be.........Sweet Home Alabama! All I can say is....rock on....

Coming to a close...

My goodness gracious have we been busy. We celebrated Fep's 11th birthday camping. We had such a pretty spot this time. That's Fep, Moose, and Dixie at our spot at sunset. We were right on the lake, and it was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

I find that all the summer projects I wanted to get done have not gotten done. We started the window cleaning...not finished. Clean out closets...not done. Get horse trailer listed for sale...not done. Go through homeschool stuff and make way for new stuff...not finished. Repaint bathroom....not done. All this stuff got left behind in the busyness of other stuff. And now summer is coming to a close, and I only hope we can finish the windows and get the horse trailer up for sale....and sold! But in the midst of my Summer To Do's not getting done, we did find time for friends....

And we found time for much needed rest...

And we found time for fun...

My summer is coming to a close as it looks like I'll start up with homeschooling in two short weeks. And yes, we'll finish the windows and sell the trailer (hopefully), but the other stuff, it'll still be there. And we'll be grateful that we left it for camping, family, swimming, friends, and the memories made....

{ And memories are made for unwrappingwith
Emily:) }

Mowing along....

I'm not sure where the time goes? I'm quite certain that just yesterday he was scooting around on a plastic toy tractor? Or wasn't it just yesterday that he got a bike? And was it yesterday that he got to take the training wheels off his bike? I thought it was.....so now here we are. I'm certain it must be a definite passage into manhood when you get to drive....even if it is the lawn mower ;)

And when you have almost 10 acres to mow, you'll let anybody get on the lawn mower....and often you have two mowers going at the same time......

"Hey Dad. Beep. Beep."