The Other Dog

You've met Dixie. You might as well meet this dog, Rupert. I'm a bit miffed at Rupert, because he ran off with Dixie last night and I thought they were gone for good. It was very distressing, and so he's not made it back in my good graces yet. You see, Rupert is a wild man.

He is a wild man, and that is why I could not get him to sit still for one measly picture. His love for roaming the streets and the neighborhood has landed him in a dog pen. We hate it. We really do, but it's for his good and ours. Before his life confined to the pen, he'd roam the area and would pick fights with other dogs. Or neighbors would call and say, "We have your dog." But we take pity on him and let him out to romp from time to time. Dixie loooooves Rupert. She is always up for a good wrestling match with him. It's like the WW Smackdown...not that I watch that stuff....

Is it me, or is Dixie looking like something out of a horror movie in this picture?

Ooooooo. Scary. Anyway, right after this picture was taken Rupert and Dixie made a mad dash around the house, and when Fep and I went to follow them they were gone. Poof. Disappeared. The reason it was so unsettling is that we live in a rural area where any animal can very easily become road kill, and Rupert and Dixie did not come back until after dark. So, I have vowed that it will be a long time before I give Rupert another romp. The Bob has vowed he will work on his obedience training some more. That's probably the better option.

The Magnificent Corgi

Dixie. She's a corgi, and she's magnificent. Really. Just look at her... that tail-less rear, those large pointy ears, those little legs. Magnificent.

Her fox-like appearance. Magnificent.

Her love for people........

simply magnificent.

Grown Up

Is this the young girl that walked in my kitchen at 14, just a teenager, to keep my children for me? Is this the young girl that kept my children for me for years and was the best babysitter you could ever ask for? This is the young girl who taught Moose that he didn't need to be pushed to swing, and he could do it on his own. This is the young girl that gathered sticks in the yard with Fep and built a real tee pee. This is the young girl that modeled godly character to my children and loved them. She loved them and still does. But now...


this young girl is all grown up. And she's getting married. Man, she still looks so...young. Congratulations, Jarah. We love you!

Nothing is everything.

When I started this blog, I didn't do it to become "big" in the blog world. There are others far more worthy than myself for that. I did it because blogging makes me really notice things. It makes me very reflective. The blog was to be my little online journal. My little online scrapbook. My Reflections. I would say that for the most part, I've stayed true to that purpose.

Last week I didn't link up with Emily and Tuesdays Unwrapped., but I could have. I realized that every other post I have could be linked. This whole blog, for the most part, focuses largely on the simple little things that my family does that brings me joy. Things that would be largely overlooked if I didn't put it out here on the world wide web. Not for the world wide web and it's audience, but for me. So, that I'll remember.

I want to remember these faces,

these times,

and goodness knows that I would not want to forget this dog.

To most this blog is nothing, but to me it's everything.

Tournament Winn-ah!

My name is Fep, and you know what I got? {What do you got?}

I got a team that is hotter than hot. {How hot is that?}

Base hits and home runs, too. {Da-na-na-na}.

So, hit that ball like "Brie" can do.

"Brie" is a girl on Fep's team. And yes, our girls won their tournament, and they cheer much of the time they spend in the dugout saying cheers like the above. I know the English in it is atrocious. Fep and another girl, Destiny, just refuse to cheer with the other girls. Their introverted self's just won't let them. So, the other girls on the team say the cheers for them. As in they say the one I put above above as if they were Fep or Destiny (My name is Destiny, and you know what I got...). I find the cheers quite cute, and the girls make me giggle....a lot. Also, that cheer above, well, it gets in my head. I've been going around all night saying the first two lines. And every now and then I like to throw in dance moves as I say it. It's reeeeeeally on Fep's nerves. Really bad. She's begging me to quit, but I can't. I love torturing my children that way. MUWHA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

Captured

After a stressful start to the week, I find myself drawn to these images. Images of simple pleasures. Images of a little boy without a care in the world. His only care is thinking about all of the cool bugs that can be caught....

And catch them, he does...

And with these images, I find that the day's stress seems to fade at his delights. It fades at his simple pleasures. I find my joy at simply watching him. And I find that it's not only bugs he's captured but also my heart...

Great Words

A couple of times already, I've shared some of my favorite quotes. This quote is my all time favorite line from a movie. It comes from Forrest Gump. And no, it's not about Bubba Gump Shrimp or "Run Forrest, run!" Remember his childhood friend, Jenny? Remember how he absolutely adored her? This line was said during a scene in which Jenny was giving him all her reasons for not being able to stay with him. I think it sums up what the need of every single human heart is.

"I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is."
~Forrest Gump

Yes. We all know and need.......love.

Changes

Well, Moose changed his birthday outfit. I think he had to out of necessity. The "birthday shirt" was the only clean shirt he had. But as soon as I got the laundry caught up, he put this ensemble together....

He's added a ball cap to the outfit. I think I like the new shirt he's picked out better...

I think it's fitting to wear a Happy Shirt on your birthday. Notice he still has the sticky note "birthday cloths" on them. What's even funnier is that while I'm typing and posting this, exactly right now while I'm doing it (and he didn't even know), I heard him tell his dad, "It's only 17 more days until my birthday. I already have my clothes picked out." That boy. That boy ;)

Remembering Beth

I have been linking up with Emily's Tuesday's Unwrapped for the last couple of weeks. I've gone back and forth wondering if this should be linked. I decided I'm linking it. One, it is Tuesday, and today is a very important day to me. Two, does everything linked have to be all happy? It can be bittersweet, can't it?

On May 12, 2003, my daughter Beth was born. I was 24-25 weeks pregnant, and I knew when I gave birth to her that she was already gone. I've posted about her before here. Why is the loss of a child bittersweet? Well, I think that when Jesus finds you in your pain and brings you out of the unthinkable, then yes, it becomes bittersweet. I would give anything to have Beth back, but I would not take anything for what the Lord taught me in her passing.

I wanted to post this to make sure she is remembered. I don't get by her grave site as often as I should. Honestly, I'm embarrassed at how long it's been. Fep keeps reminding me that we haven't put flowers there in a long time. I may not get by her grave as I should, but I'll never ever forget. She would have been 6 years old this year. Happy Birthday, Beth!

Elizabeth Reagan Stewart

May 12, 2003

Motivate Me Monday...

I don't usually link up with Motivate Me Monday, but this week the list maker in me just wouldn't let me miss it. Yes, I am a list maker. I love making to do lists and I love making schedules. The problem is that for the past year or so, I have a lot of trouble implementing them. I used to be able to make a schedule for the season of life I was in and seem to follow it to a "T". I just really don't know what has happened? Am I just looking back at life with "rose colored glasses" OR have I become, dare I say it, lazy in the running of my day? I'm still trying to figure that out. I will say that despite my inability as of late in keeping things running like clockwork, I still manage to get everything done on my weekly to do list. The house gets cleaned, groceries get bought, etc., etc. etc. Here are my two lists that I copied and pasted from Microsoft Word in my computer:

The Daily Schedule:
(6 AM) Morning Routine:
Coffee time & computer (30 min.)
Start laundry
Quiet Time
Shower & Dress
Wake Children
Breakfast & chores
Start School (9:30)

(12 – 12:40)Afternoon/Evening:
Lunch & Break
(1:30-2) Finish School
(2:30-3:00) School done/Chores/Free
4:15 Exercise
5:00 Fix supper and children chores
7:00 Supper, clean kitchen, final house tidy, make next day's to do's


Daily Chores: Other things for Saturday:
Super Tidy clean fridge
laundry organize? a closet, a drawer, etc.
project?

Weekly To Do's:
Change sheets, Office Work, Fep's Violin, Cleaning, Groceries, Errands

When I look at the above, it all looks so simple. I might add that I homeschool and work part-time for my husband's/our plumbing business. So when you see "office work" that's a lot more than just our personal budget and bill paying. And those are my excuses. Everyone has things in their life that keeps the extra busy. Like Sarah Mae has toddlers and a newborn right now. She's sleep deprived. So as I've said, I am really struggling with everything right now. For example, that daily schedule says that I should have gotten up at 6:00, but I didn't get up until 8:30. Tired from all that Mother's Day love. Most everything on that daily schedule will get done, it just won't flow as smoothly as I'd like because I got up late :( So, I guess I'm off to get caught up on my day! I'm feeling pretty motivated now ;)

Linked at Sarah Mae's: