Better late than never, eh?

Here is a collage of Brady's 12-month photos in February.

Not for me, thanks.

I am SO thankful that I am not a single mom. God is pretty smart for intending families to be made up of one man and one woman. I realized not everybody is so fortunate to have the traditional family and are doing their best to make it work. I also wouldn't be too opposed to at least trying out plural family living. Not Plural marriages, but families. For each wife there is a husband. There is one Main house and each couple has a smaller but adequate residence in close proximity. The men folk would go off to their work. The women folk divide and conquer the womanly duties of a home while still leaving ample time for chatting and down time. It could work.....

Until that day comes (it's unlikely that it ever will, though) I'll still be thankful that I do have my husband as my helpmeet more often than not.

My Album Cover

Ever wanted your own Album?Ever wondered what it would look like?Well here is your chance.Follow the simple instructions below and you will create the perfect album for you!

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to http://www.quotationspage.com/ and select "random quotations"The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7daysThird picture, no matter what it is (barring inappropriate pictures), will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.This is a fun game. You should try it. Let me know when you do!

I always wanted to name a band "Sweet Abyss."

There's a snake in my bathroom!

I was getting ready one mid-morning to go out and about. Brady toddles in and looks into my curling iron/blowdryer/hair-fixing stuff drawer and says, "Nake" and moves his little fist about. I knew he was saying and signing something, but couldn't figure it out. "Nake" usually means "snake," but there wasn't a snake, or anything that looked like a snake, in the drawer. I'm finishing up my "do" (ponytail) and spray down the fly-away hairs with some hair spray. Then it hit me. "SSsssssssssssssssssss" Oh DUH!!! The hairspray!! It says "SSSsssssssssss" like a snake!!! He was saying and signing snake (index and middle fingers curved and hand moved forward in a snake-like movement) because the hairspray sounded like a snake. Those wheels are definately turning.

On a related note, he no longer says "Melmo" for Elmo. It's just Elmo now. Sad, huh? Although he does call popcicles "broccoli." He's working on it though.

I'm no poet

Yesterday I needed to SING! So I turned on some Jewel that I knew I could belt out. As I was listening to this song it seemed to explain that very moment in my life. I've bolded the lines that I stick out to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ois2GPVLUc
(skip past the coloring of the turtle drawing to hear the song)

You find yourself falling down
Your hopes in the sky
But you heart like grape gum on the ground
And you try to find yourself
In the abstractions of religion
And the cruelty of everyone else
And you wake up to realize
Your standard of living somehow got stuck on survive

When you're standing in deep water
And you're bailing yourself out with a straw
And when you're drowning in deep water
And you wake up making love to a wall
Well it's these little times that help to remind
It's nothing without love

You wake up to realize your only friend
Has never been yourself or anybody who cared in the end
That's when suddenly everything fades or falls away
'Cause the chains which once held us are only the chains which we've made

When you're standing in deep water
And you're bailing yourself out with a straw
And when you're drowning in deep water
And you wake up making love to a wall
Well it's these little times that help to remind
It's nothing without love, love, love
It's nothing without love

We've compromised our pride
And sacrificed our health
We have to demand more
Not of each other
But more from ourselves

'Cause when you're standing in deep water
And you're bailing yourself out with a straw
When you're drowning in deep water
And you wake up making love to a wall
Well it's these little times that help to remind
It's nothing without love, love, love
It's nothing without love
It's nothing without love

This life would be meaningless if there were nothing/noone to love. Even if you don't feel you have anyone to love, Christ loves you.

Three syllables

He doesn't eat it (well, he tries but it doesn't get very far. It's all them nubbies,) but he can tell you what it is.

What a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Today was a nice day for a ride in your horse-drawn buggy. It was also a nice day for....

Yardwork!!!

We got our landscaping in!! Yea!! Hoooray!! Yipee!!
You know, we get by with a little help from our friends. Allen and Todd provided the "truckage" necessary for hauling all the goods: 2 scoops of dirt, 1 scoop of mulch, 8 bushes, monkey grass (variegated liriope), a crepe myrtle and a silver maple tree.

From bottom to top: Dwarf Buford Holly Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii Nana', Nandina-Fire Power, and Lochinch Butterfly Bush Buddleia davidii 'Lochinch'.

Carl and I have been working, working, working on getting the area prepped. We removed the grass (and replanted some of it in the back yard), lined with newspaper (it's eco-friendly and FREE) set edging, loaded and unloaded dirt in a wheel barrow. Then the MEN came in and rigged the drainage from the gutters and moved more dirt and dug holes and planted plants and laid mulch and much much more. Allen was the aesthetic master. Even though I had a plan made up, he helped it become perfect making sure everything was in exactly the right place.

Variegated Monkey Grass, aka Liriope. I like the purple flowers.

This is a Crepe Myrtle Catawba. It's going to have almost purple flowers blooming on it. I kept seeing these everywhere around here and LOVED them. I HAD to have one in my own yard.

We've got a bit of a drainage problem between us and the neighbor. We put in some Arctic Blue Willow Salix purpurea 'Nana' to help soak up some of that water.

The side of the house where the willow bushes are.

Last but not least, OUR TREE!!!! It's a Silver Maple Acer saccharinum. It's over 9 feet tall and was $32!! Can you believe that? We had budgeted for $150 on a tree for the back. We were able to use the savings for the butterfly and willow bushes.
Thanks to Dave and Todd for digging the hole and giving our tree a place to grow grow grow!

The total bill was just over $400.00. And yes, this was budgeted for. Even though the charges went on the Credit Card, we have the cash to pay for it. Ahh, landscaping debt-free. I'm so happy to have this done. We still have some azaleas to put in, but I think Carl and I can handle that on our own. I would have liked to get my hands a little more dirty, but I had motherly duties to attend to. Oh! I almost forgot! I want to thank Cousin Tyrza for playing with Brady while I was out working. She has definitely earned a "video game playdate" at our house. Thanks, Cuz! And thanks again to the men that made it possible. Without your gracious service we COULD have done it, but it would have taken a long time and we would have been VERY VERY sore.