Five Generations of Barbie Dolls and Daughters

My Barbie dolls have resided safely in a box at my Mom's house for many years now!  We always knew I'd be saving them for my daughters one day!  Since Gracie is now beginning to collect and play with Barbies, I asked Mom to send them our way the other day!  But until we opened the box tonight with Aunt Vanessa, I had forgotten just how old and special of a treasure we've had in my family!

Gracie is so excited as you'll see in these pictures.  She's still not quite old enough to entrust priceless family belongings to, but for now, we'll pull them out and enjoy from time to time together!  Tonight we've put together a little fashion show to share with you just how neat these treasures really are!  To know some of these have gone through the hands of and been loved by, five generations of us girls!  So sweet!

Piles of Barbie Dolls!  You can't tell I have one super happy little girl can you???

Some of the Barbie doll clothes my Mom made for me one Christmas!  Even before she sent them, I could have described much of the fabrics and designs just from memory!  And like Mom told me the other day, it's neat to see how the velvet cape on the left seems to fit the newer release of Little Red Riding Hood!  I guess some stories just never get too old!

 Gracie and Grandma's skipper clothes!!!  See the wig in one of their hands?  I always thought those were so cool, and never something we had as kids.  Well except me of course, since my Mom saved hers for me from when she was a little girl!  When I said these were "Grandma's skipper clothes" Aiden got very nostalgic and said, "awww, I didn't know about our Grandma Skipper"!  It was pretty funny!

Gracie holding Barbie's adorned in clothing made by Great Grandma Betty!  And may I add that Gracie's middle name Elizabeth comes from this same Grandma Betty that we love and miss so very much!  I can't wait for her to see these pictures!



Look at the detail on this dress!  I love knowing that this same dress was made with love, patience, and care many years ago for the little girl Grandma treasures and loves so very much!




Aunt Nessie sent some of her Barbies for Gracie girl to have and cherish too!




And the oldest of them all.....these clothes were made by Gracie's Great Great Grandma Vienno!  I sure hope I spelled her name correctly.  Anyhow, I remember and could've described this green jacket to you also, as I played with all of these as a little girl myself!



And for a final thought, let me just share that this dress was one of my most favorites.  I always thought it was so elegant and beautiful!  I think this was my Peaches and Cream Barbie?  I never saw the tatter, wear, and tear that I noticed today!  She was always just beautiful!  I hope my Gracie will enjoy the princess in her like I did!  And yes, you've GOTTA love the getup on these Ken dolls!  Had to share their style for a good laugh!

Confessions of a "Farm Mama"

As promised yesterday, I'm here to update and share on our garden and chickens, amongst other things!  Let me start by telling you that if I were to lack the ability of being able to laugh at myself, I would not be able to do even half of what I do around here!  Perhaps that's been one of the most valuable lessons in Motherhood for me....to let go and laugh when all else fails!  You'd be amazed at the power such a small gesture can hold!  And on those days that everything seems to be falling apart around me, it's proven a most effective survival skill!  It's most priceless when you have three grouchy kids that stop in their tracks to look up at Mom with blank expression on their face and you just KNOW they think you've lost your mind!  And even more priceless, when the next sound I hear is the jingle of their laughter to replace the chaos just moment before!

There's nothing quite like one of those moments when one child is running around imitating jungle sounds, the phone won't quit ringing off the hook, somebody decides to experiment with markers as makeup, and on my way to the garden I step in doggie doo.......yes, this is an average day around here!  And I'm living proof that a burst of laughter is the best, and probably only cure for these frazzled nerve moments!

With that said....I have no problem sharing with you that I almost locked myself in the chicken house the other day!  Yes, I was the only one outside!  Yes, my only option would have been prayer while carefully planning an escape.  But thankfully, it was only an almost and I now know to stop the wooden latch from swinging before letting the door slam shut behind me!  So to reintroduce our much grown chickens and lonely duck, I leave you with the thought that they are probably very entertained by our daily antics.  If only we could see things from their view, I'm sure we could have our own comedy show around here! 

Now of course this isn't everybody, just a handful of our feathered friends.  Hmmm....on second thought, is it proper to refer to our future dinner as a 'friend'?  ;)  These birds are so much happier in their new home!  Can't wait to get them fully grown and have fresh eggs every day!

Here are two of our side beds, growing cantaloupe, watermelon, yellow watermelon, and cucumbers.  As you can see, I'll be spending some time this afternoon cleaning these up as they are in much need.  I've decided on a new household rule....Tommy is NOT allowed to fertilize right before he leaves for work, it is to only be done as soon as he comes home.  Once he fertilized, the garden has taken off like crazy!  And that includes the grass and weeds!  And yes, that is my new chicken house in the background....go ahead and laugh at the thought of me stuck inside of there with no escape!!!!

Don't be fooled by his good looks.....this here is the sneakiest cat in the Parish!  As to who he belongs to, it really depends on who you ask!  Tommy's Dad insists that this is his cat and we lured him up here with food.  Gracie will argue otherwise and the rest of us just love him amidst this ongoing custody conflict! ;)  Properly named Crip (short for crippled) by my father in law, this little fella' has one front foot he won't put weight on.  He's proven to be the sweetest thing, although he thinks he lives in my house.  I don't allow inside animals and I honestly can't count the number of times I've turned around to find this little guy in my house just relaxing or walking around like he owns the place!

Now let me find the little girl in all of you....excluding the men reading this that is!  Every time I look at these Pole Beans, images of Tinkerbell run through my head!  This just seems exactly like the Fairytale homes of every fairy from childhood past!  Gracie knew exactly what I meant the first time I mentioned it, as did Gena!  Just goes to show that we never outgrow those memories and pictures of our childhood!  There's a Scentsy scent that smells like my old Strawberry shortcake dolls.  And just like these beans, Gracie knew EXACTLY the smell I was talking about!  When I mentioned that it smelled like my dolls, she laughed and told me that it smelled just like her Dora dolls!

Our beautiful garden!  I can't explain how wonderful these plants make us feel!  So unbelievable that we've had a hand in something so awesome!

We're starting to see squash!  I really need to fill the Hummingbird feeders in hopes of more pollination.  And for the record, YES, we've considered beekeeping.  We'd have the honey and more production from our garden!

Two of our pepper plants.  These are such strong plants.  If I remember right, they're 'Chocolate Pablano' peppers.  I really need to do some research on what I can do with the peppers, other than enjoy how they look!

Our older tomato plants!  They're doing great!  And the others aren't far behind!  Tommy and I staked the smaller plants before he left for work and tying them up is on my agenda for this afternoon!

WOOHOO!!!!!  Look at these babies grow!  Can't wait to taste them!  First fried green tomatoes and Chow Chow to put up, then BIG RED juicy maters on my sandwiches and lots of cannin' to do!  We can't wait!

My baby girl and our pumpkins!  They've really taken off!

A good view of most of the garden!

Look at the new babies grow!  They're bigger every day!  Today I even saw one outside of this house!  Won't be long until they're running around!

Now isn't that the life???

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11-12

How much we take for granted the simplicity of this scripture and what it tells us.  Take a minute, look at these pictures, and realize just how awesome this is.  Most of our garden started from seed.  And soon we'll be eating the fruits it bears.  And all from a tiny seed.  Of course we've had to nurture, water, and feed these plants.  Not to forget that weeding out of the unwanted grass and such, along with thinning the plants for better growth.  Isn't all of that so much like life?  So much of this simple garden can be turned into a lessons on life.  God intends for us to see Him in these things, and to stand in awe of such wonderful creation!  Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

God Bless,

Jennifer

A week in pictures!

So much to share, so little time to do so this last week or so!  I've come to the conclusion that this time of year can be as busy, if not busier, than the holiday season!  I've had many moments this last week that I wish I could blog about but haven't found the time to do so.  However, my Mom has insisted that I share pictures!  So as not to be disobedient to Mom, I had to take the time today to share a few glimpses of what's gone on in our lives!

I promise to post on the garden and chickens very soon, hopefully tonight after the daylight is gone and the children are in bed!  I also plan to FINALLY figure out how to get this blog looking how I want it to!  I guess that can be one positive in the fact that I'll be in bed for awhile after my surgery next week!  I can catch up on my reading and get my blog up to my expectations!  But as for now, we hope you enjoy these moments we captured for you.....

A good view of two of our Walker dogs, and of course our little Freckles....kissing someone as always!

Gracie and I had a wonderful time at a Tea we attended last Saturday!  She loved being a part of this and we were able to share tea, brunch, fellowship, and a wonderful comedian/actress that was able to make us laugh about the daily life we live as Christian women!  Gracie especially loved all of her outrageous costumes!

Each table was decorated differently!  Gracie chose this table for us!  What good taste my baby girl has, I thought it was one of the most beautiful of them all!

What a treat!  Baby girl won the prize at our table!  She was so happy!

And to continue a wonderful day, the girls and I enjoyed pedicures together!

Matching toenails!  We wanted something different than the everyday pink or red and then Alaina had the great idea of adding the Zebra stripes!  We may just have to make this a tradition in our family!

Me and my two favorite girls!  We are blessed with such wonderful children and have the most beautiful, smart, sweet daughters we could ever ask for!

At the ball park with Daddy!

TBall practice!  If only I knew what exactly he was thinking about when I took this picture!

Soccer awards!  Aiden did so awesome in this and we all enjoyed it so much that we were sad to see the season end!  Soccer ends and TBall begins!  This Upward league was AMAZING!  Such an uplifting, organized, and spiritual way to have these kids thrive in athletics!

Our toothless soccer star!

Our first EVER harvested veggies from our garden!  We have beautiful radishes and we were so excited!

Our beautiful Gracie and Aunt Gena enjoying my mothers day gift!  Aiden picked this bench out for me and I don't think he could have done a better job!  It's perfect and I LOVE it!  The middle is a cooler so it's also a great way to relax out by the garden, which just happen to be my favorite view of all!

And I have a chicken house!!!!  Great job to my husband, from me....and the chickens!  :)  This turned out great!  We still have to add the roof, but this will have to do for now until he's in from work again!  And I LOVE how he used the tree trunks in the frame.  I've requested the same for my outdoor kitchen!

Tommy setting the chickens up in my new chicken house!!!!

And a final mothers day surprise.....Suzie gave birth to 7 absolutely perfect, healthy puppies that night!  She's proven to be a good, strong, protective Mama over these pups!  This was just a great addition to a great week....well, 7 great additions I should say!  Thank God for a healthy litter and healthy Mama dog!

 In the hustle and bustle of all of these activities in our lives, I just want to take a moment to thank God for every circumstance, opportunity, and challenge that has weaved it's way into our family!  We serve an awesome God that has freely given an abundance of love, joy, and peace for us to enjoy.  But if you're like me, I often forget to slow down and do just that!  I pray this post finds you all in a moment that you can close your eyes and be still long enough to feel our Lord working in your hearts!

God Bless!

Jennifer

Gains and losses on the homestead this last week

What busy days we have had this past week!  So much has taken place I'm not even sure where to begin.  We've added new additions to the life out here on our hill, and sadly we've lost a few little ones too!  We've had good times and some sad times.  Lots of peace, and moments of anxiousness.  But at the end of each day we've been able to thank the Lord for His provisions and protection.

It wasn't until several days after the tornado devastation of last week that I realized that God clearly spared my husband from being right in the middle of these storms.  An unbeliever would say Tommy got lucky, but we clearly see that God isn't done with my husband and this family!  Any other hitch, my husband drives the exact route of these storms home from work.  And this devastation took place on the exact day and time that he was supposed to be there, in the middle of the storms.  Fortunately, it was one of those deals where he had been scheduled to leave work early to attend a class in Houston.  Thank you God for looking out for my husband.  I'm not talking about a 'maybe' here, I'm telling you that any other hitch, the day and time were exact....there would have been no way for him to be ahead of or behind these tornados, he would most likely have been pulled over on the side of the road seeking shelter.  What little faith we have when facing life's daily trials.  No matter what has happened, my husband and family are alive and well and our home is still our home!

Now onto life here at the house......



How far I have come with our cows!  Me and this here handsome white bull have no problems at all, and I've recently been informed that I should be afraid of him.  After a little contemplation I've decided that's just silly, I'll continue to be aware of and respect him, but white bull and I are doin' fine!  This is a huge step from how I use to let the larger cows intimidate me.  And trust me, they KNOW!  I'm living, walking, talking proof that a cow CAN and WILL bully an unknowing Northern girl if given the chance and the right personality of cow!





FREE AT LAST!  FREE AT LAST!  So the piggies were set free this week!  A few weeks of good feedin' and some pretty tame pigs and it's time for them to head back into the woods!  Maybe they'll just fatten up enough to end up on the dinner table!  I regret to tell you that I didn't capture a picture of the greatest moment of all.....all the pigs running across the pasture, Freckles a few yards behind them.....and then my husband, just trying his hardest to get ahold of that dog!  It was very entertaining!

 


Louie Louie!  We're loving this new little guy!  He is so smart, just like a grown up dog trapped in a little doggie body!  The kids love him, Gracie will stay outside all day walking him around, or just watching him for the longest time!  Beautiful dog with a great personality!  We're excited to see just how this little guy will turn out when he's grown up!  Until then, I will admit that I'm having to restrain myself from spoiling little Louie rotten!  He was named by Aiden!


Okay, now how's this for cheap entertainment?  Our kids are so grateful and appreciative of everything!  We took a short little trip this last weekend and their favorite part was easily the motel room!  Can you tell?  They're so fun!  So here's the 'before' shot.....and then 'after' all of the excitement of the short hotel stay!

And sadly, I feel I must share one of the sad moments of the week along with the good ones.  We returned from our overnight trip to a very horrible occurrence.  We had just decided to set the ducks out free by the pond when we got back home and sadly, we can't do that now.  It was sad, scary, aggravating, and all around horrible to come home to a snake in with our chicks and ducks.  By the time of the discovery, we already had one less duck and the snake was in the middle of one of our little sexlink biddies.  I'm thankful this wasn't worse than what it was, but it still shook us up a good bit.  We've worked with and nurtured these little fellas way too long to lose one to a hungry predator.  Anyhow, if you look closely you can see the snake on the right of the first picture and towards the front of the second.

So as not to end on such a sad note, I'll leave you with the latest glimpses of my very loved garden!  I'm learning that when everything gets hectic or my mind gets to full of the world or events going on....I can always find hope and stillness out here!  So this is a good final place for me to share tonight!



Look at the runners on these guys!  They're very much in need of poles to climb!  The rain got in the way of that today, but hopefully by tomorrow evening I'll be able to have them on poles!  It's neat to me how they're reaching out and wrapping around each other!




And we have 'maters!!!!!  I'm SO excited!  I can't believe how they just appear overnight!  I find myself out there several times a day just to inspect!




More of my little accomplishments!

On another note, I've enjoyed some great new things from a good friend!  I've now been using a homemade dishwasher detergent for a few weeks and am really happy with the results.  I do need to adjust my ingredients to better fit our water quality (or lack thereof), but for a cost of .014 cents a load, I'm definitely NOT complaining.  And the recipe she found explains how to go about that until I get it customized to our water supply!

Another great thing I was given was my very first homemade deodorant!  And yes, I know how unsure this may sound to many of us!  But let me be the first to tell you I am SO impressed with just how great this seems to be working!  After a few days of use (and yes, I was too chicken to try it out in public the first time) I'm finding that it really works great!  I feel so much better knowing also that I'm not covering my body with an antiperspirant.  Our bodies were meant to sweat so it really does make sense that stopping them from doing so on a daily basis would set us up for problems!

Next on the agenda is homemade laundry detergent!  I'm excited for that, and excited to make my own dishwasher detergent and deodorant after I've enjoyed and used up what I have!  If you're interested in any of this,  I believe my friend found the recipes for all on two great blogs we enjoy following.  They are Homestead Revival and Country Blossom.  And no, I'm not going to go find the exact link because I hope to see you enjoy reading and browsing these blogs as much as we have! 

Lord, how I thank you for this family, this land, the opportunities you have given us, and the beauty I see around me every day!  Please forgive me for my worries, you have been so patient and faithful to remind me that you have our lives completely and fully under control!  You are such an awesome God, a faithful God, a loving God, and MY GOD!  We love You and will follow You and ONLY You the rest of our days!



Click here to join in on the fun or just to discover some great new things!

Oh how my garden and children grow!

So much has happened in this last week!  Easter was great, we attended our first Passover Sedar and I encourage any of you who have never done so to look into this!  It's an amazing demonstration of how the old tradition points straight to Jesus Christ as the awaited Messiah of the Jews!  I hope to see it become a yearly tradition for our family!

And oh, how my crops and children are growing!  And yes, animals too!  It looks like we may have puppies any day now, so that will be excitement for all of us!  Thankfully the only damage we sustained in the storms this week were a couple of beat up plants and no lights for almost 24 hours.

My right hand garden hands and I would like to share our progress around here!  It's SO amazing to me how things are growing!  Something that seems so simple is bringing me so much joy!  There seems to be a lesson in everything our garden does, it's almost like God has used this show us how life should be!  I'm finding a peace in this work, a stronger bond with my family, and gratitude to our Lord for the accomplishment He's filling our hearts with as our garden grows!



Pole beans and squash!  Aren't they beautiful!  Can you see how proud my baby girl is of the work we're putting in?  She loves her garden and I'll be the first to tell you that this tiny little girl works right beside me!




Our first runners on our pole beans!!!  Good thing Daddy's home from work, I couldn't reach high enough to stake these guys even if I tried!  I look forward to harvesting, preparing, and canning these together with the kids!  I think they'll get such a kick out of this!



One of my favorite plants!  This is a type of Chocolate Pablano Pepper...I'm still not quite sure what to expect!  But it sure is growing good!

Another of the pepper plants!  And let me tell you about this little piece of equipment you see in the background!  You can tell my kids are country....they call this their tiller and take it up and down the rows tilling the ground for me!  And Tommy just had to point out that they broke the wheels off of their tiller, just like their Mama did to one of ours earlier this spring!



Our bigger tomato plants!  Aren't they beautiful?  I followed the advice to break the bottom 'splits' off of the plant's main stalk.  Not sure that was best, as I seem to be learning that it's only the 'suckers' that need to go!  I just have to remember that after each trial and error....we will find our greatest success!  And in the meantime, I'm trust God to fill in the gaps where my efforts fall short!




Look at that baby boy!  I definitely have the greatest, and best looking, garden crew around!  And yes, that includes our own little Freckles back there rolling around!  Where we go, that sweet dog follows!

 I Can't leave my oldest boy out of the posts today!  He's at school during most of my picture taking, so I want to take a minute to focus on our Aiden!  We are so ready to have him home for the entire summer!  This last week of Easter break made it SO hard to resume the final bit of the school year Tuesday!  I can't believe my first born is already so big, so smart, and just so amazing all around!  We're very proud of this little man! 


Let me tell you the story behind this tooth!  Aiden has pulled all three of these teeth himself!  He thinks he's pretty tough, I think he just wants the money to go to the dollar store!  When it was time to put his most recently lost tooth under his pillow Friday night, it was nowhere to be found!  We even dug through the trash looking for the ziploc bag that held it!  Aiden was quick to inform me that, "you're trashy Mom".  He's so funny!  Anyhow, we decided to leave the tooth fairy a letter in another bag!  He wrote and told her that he couldn't find his tooth and to leave him some money!  He did add a nice heart to the bag that read, 'Love Aiden'!  Well, it worked, and the next morning he had money....and no letter.  I suppose the tooth fairy took the letter for a keepsake!  But, it wasn't long that next morning until the mystery was solved!  We hear this mischievous little laugh as Gracie giggles and tells us....."haha, I hided Aiden's tooth from the tooth fairy so her not find it!".   And we still don't know where the missing tooth has been hidden!




My little soccer star!  This kid loves soccer, and he's great at it!  Saturday will be his last game for the season and I'm not sure how many goals he's scored this first year, but it's been several!  He loves the game, enjoys the team, and has a great time playing!  We're sad to see the season come to an end, but as soccer fades away for the year, TBall begins!

One of the sweetest sites of the week.....Anybody want a kiss?  Freckles runs straight to this spot every day and kisses a pig!  YES, actually kisses their snouts!  How sweet is that?



On another note, I want to share this picture of the kids and their Papaw Coleman and Grandma Vickie!  A great picture of a great time over Christmas!  Weren't we just talking about how fast they grow?



I have been so blessed with these kids!  I'm 30 years old and couldn't ask for a better family!  People always talk about how sad it is to watch your children grow up.  And I guess I'm just not there yet!  I know one day I'll look back at these happy times with tears of reminiscence.   But as for now, I'm just enjoying our time as what it is.  Each day is so full of the laughter, sweetness, temper tantrums, joys, challenges, and love we have.  We're just too busy 'being' everyday to be sad that yesterday has passed!  I love my kids and I cherish who they are today!  And most of all, I thank God for entrusting them to me.  I'm so unworthy of being their Mom and yet that's who I am!  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'd love comments from family and new friends who are just joining us on our blog!  As for how to go about all of that.....you'll have to ask someone else.....I'm still new to all of this blog stuff! ;)

God Bless,

Jennifer, Tommy, and Kids

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Psalm 91:2,11,16