"No, Officer...."

Lazy Moms (you can click on them on my Blogs I Follow list) are asking for our embarrassing, crazy stories this morning and seeing as how I have more than one !!!! I thought I'd try this "link-up" thing and spill ......Here goes -----

Our family had recently moved to the big city of Fort Worth, Texas for my husband to go to grad school. We were from a little town of less than 75 people and at the time, 3 million people lived in the metroplex, so "culture shock" was at every turn. My husband went to school all day, then to work until midnight. So, I was home alone with three small children much of the time.

Being struggling students, we were living in a seedier part of town and I was always suspicious, always a bit "jumpy". Sirens were common. Gunfire, though less common, was occasionally heard. For this little girl from the laid-back country, was bug-eyed and amazed most of the time. And always "on the look-out".

Sooooo, when the kids and I got home from church that Wednesday night to find our front screen door locked, my heart dropped to my stomach, and I knew there was a burglar (or worse) in our house. I herded the kids back into our little Honda wagon and we sped away to the nearest 7-11 to find a pay phone(before the days when we all had cell phones) and I called my husband. Not the police, mind you. I called my husband who was 15 miles away at work and totally unable to help -- however, he did call the police for me. Good thing, since I was trembling so much I couldn't make complete sentences at this point.

We waited, spy-like, around the corner and out of sight until the police arrived at the house. The two officers went up the steps to the house talking and probably not really very much believing of my "story" UNTIL they tried to open the door and yes, it was locked, obviously from the inside. One officer immediately and silently took off for the back door area, the other officer opened the door with some device and after instructing me to "stand back against the wall" they entered the house, with guns drawn.

Several long, long minutes later, the two officers emerged from the front door and with grim faces told me "yes, ma'am it looks like you've had a break-in! The place has been totally ransacked!!!"

Well, I was completely distraught but trying to keep it together for the kids' sakes. Then the officer said "Ma'am, we need you to walk through the house with us and tell us what is missing." He gets out his pen and paper and readies himself for the list making.

My mind is racing as I'm walking slowly with the officers. Oh my gravy!! My parents are not gonna believe this!!! This is just crazy! This is just what everyone says about living in the big city! I can not believe this is happening to us!!!

Then as we proceed room by room, through the house I start thinking, "Oh my gosh!!! What on earth do we have that a burglar would want anyway????? We're just poor, struggling seminary students!! We have nothing! Well, we DO have a TV" And now I'm getting a little riled up over it. "If they stole our TV!!! So help me!!!!" But, no! There's the TV right where we left it.

As I'm stepping over all manner of clothes and shoes, piles of toys, and food wrappers and what could easily be misconstrued as the ransacked contents of drawers and closets, I slowly am coming to a humiliating conclusion. Now, I start to stall for time.

"Ma'am?" the officer still has his pen and paper ready and is waiting ........
"Ma'am? Is anything missing?" he asks expectantly.

And finally I get out the words. The most humiliating, embarrassing words I've ever had to utter...... "No, officer. This is pretty much how we left it."

Arrrrgggggh!! Now that was 20 plus years ago. And I implore you, I beg you, I beseech you --- PLEASE look at the rest of my blog. You will see that I've grown a lot !!! since those days !!!! And you know what?? As embarrassing as this event was, I mean totally traumatic, it has served a real purpose in encouraging other women. I've told this story so many times to young wives who are struggling with their home and their children. And it's been an encouragement to them. Because they can look at where I am today-- the fact that my home is orderly and clean most of the time-- and have hope that as messy as life may be right now today......it's gonna get better!!! Just hang in there!

Finished Project

Here are the before and after of a project I've been working on

this week --

I've had this chair for a long time. It has just laid around in the barn

UNTIL --

I decided to either fix it up OR get rid of it !!!

Not one to willingly part with my "goodies", I decided to

think, think, think.....what could I use that chair for?????

I cut off all the old seat material and used Ballet Slipper Pink (Krylon brand)

to paint the frame.

Michael's (San Angelo) had a clearance on the huge shapes last week.

There are other shapes that could be used in a ton of other projects --

boy, girl, house --

The picture on the package showed a project where you criss-cross wrap

ribbons around the painted object and then use it

as a message/photo board. Very cute!!

I sprayed on the chalkboard paint. Then wrapped a yard of tulle around the bottom part in order to hold the pink daisys in place.

Then made a simple bow to attach.

That's it --------

Spray paint is one of THE best inventions EVER !!!

Write your message on the board in chalk and voila, you're in business!

SO -- the chair becomes our WELCOME sign and will sit out by the front door when we are having guests

such as the ladies group Thursday night,

Easter, Mother's Day.

What kinds of projects are you working on??? I'd love to hear about them.

Happy Crafting!

Gwynie Pie

SUNDAY

And GOD is able to make all grace abound to you,

So that in all things at all times,

having all that you need,

You will abound in every good work.

II Corinthians 9:8

Beautiful Sunday!

Gwynie Pie

SATURDAY SUNSET

Later that day..... as William and I were driving home from big town tonight, I saw the sun setting fast in the rear view mirror. I remembered that I had dropped the camera in my purse as I walked out the door earlier. (You just never know when you might find a subject that needs its picture taken, ya know?) So, I got him to "stop the car!!" and I jumped out and snapped this. I just love being able to see both sunrise and sunset -- a real treat!

Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!!

Gwynie Pie

SATURDAY SUNRISE

It's really dark at 6-something in the morning! I stepped out of the back door for just a few seconds (it was also really chilly!) and snapped these two pictures. Hope you can see how the entire eastern horizon was glowing --- Beautiful!!!

Part of the beauty of living out in the country AND in this part of the world is this !!! nothing between us and the sunrise.

Have a Spectacular Saturday!

Gwynie Pie

Here's an after shot of my pantry shelves. I lined them with red gingham fabric and moved in the white wire shelves holding the canvas baskets of potatoes, onions and snacky foods, cloth napkins and tablecloths and "green" bags for the grocery store. The old suitcase now hides trash bag rolls -- a little rustic perhaps, but better than bright colored cardboard boxes they come in.
Call me crazy (and they might) but William cleaned up the front screen door from my Grandparents house and then attached it as the door to my pantry/laundry room. It is very, very rustic and looks a lot worse in these pictures than in person. But I really love it! Adds a lot of character to a bland working room.

Today was a super fun one! I spent all day with my friend, Elaine. We just sat around and visited, drank a little coffee, ate a wonderful lunch, shopped a little and even caught a few garage sales on a Friday afternoon. Lots of fun! Great bargains! I'll show you those later.
Happy Friday!

Gwynie Pie

Before and After

Here's the completed project I worked on yesterday. The above is the Before picture of our office/craft room. I didn't even take a picture of the Before of the desk area because, frankly....well, there are just some things you shouldn't have to see!

Here is same shot -- AFTER -- Cleaned up, straightened and "fluffed". The antique shopping cart in the foreground holds the ironing and mending piles.

Moving to the left, here is the finished and much improved desk area of the room. I made a little skirt with some leftover black and white gingham and a shower curtain rod. I just found the right length for the curtain and "sewed" the rod pocket and the hem with fabric glue -- one of the wonders of my world, along with stitch witchery. Great inventions!! Anything that prevents me from actually sewing at the machine is a great invention!!

The skirt hides a multitude of sins -- the computer "business", the paper shredder/trash basket and a couple of banker's boxes that store all those pesky papers you don't know what to do with, but can't EVER throw away.

Still moving to the left, this is a shot of one of my better ideas!! There on the corner where the blank looking strip is -- that is where my parents measured my children through the years. I live in the same house I grew up in and so, this house was "the grandparents house" to my kids in their growing up years.

When we moved in nearly 8 years ago, I wanted to paint in this room, but knew I could not paint over the "growth chart" of my children. So I just kind of painted around it and since no one could see it from the door, it was okay. THEN one day I found a bunch!!! of old give-away yardsticks, some old, some newer. AND I had my solution......

I got William to make a "border" of sorts using the yardsticks. So on both sides of the growth chart, there is a line of yardsticks....pretty cool, I think. This is, of course, also where Lily Kate gets measured from time to time. Good Stuff!!!

As you come past the "growth chart" corner, there is this old, old chest of drawers. It was my grandparents and it was old then....no tellin' .

My son, Devin's, antique typewriter that he left in his things. Better displayed here than picking up dust in storage, right? A stack of old books I picked up at a Friends of the Library sale in College Station, an old random teacup filled with potpourri and a tiny picture of pressed flowers from Israel.

Above the chest is a hat I found in my grandmother's things......very, very Audrey Hepburn-ish......framed by an old ornate frame I found at a flea market somewhere.

Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed the tour of our completed office/craft room. I can now check this room off the "To Do" list.

What kind of project are you working on? I really desire this to be an inter-active blog, so "comment" and tell me what projects are in process at your house. It is also my hope that we can inspire and encourage each other in our tasks as homemakers. Let me hear!

Thanks for visiting!

Gwynie Pie

JUST one thing....just leads to the next "one thing"

This is one of my Mamaw's kitchen aprons. It so pretty - a red and white gingham with a"chicken-scratch" border. I like to starch and iron it until it nearly stands alone and use it like this -- it just says "spring" to me. This has absolutely nothing to do with today's post.....I just wanted you to see the pictures. When we have projects to do around the house, William and I agreed a long time ago that the best way to communicate all that needed to be done was with a written list. I've worked off of lists pretty much my whole adult life. It's just how I run. So, one day, after William and I had a miscommunication and "words" over a particular project that needed doing, he suggested I just make a complete list of everything that needed to be done -- his, mine and our jobs. So....I did.....and it worked out so well, here we are years later still using our lists...... SO---- in getting ready for Easter and sprucing up for Spring and Summer, I have a whopper of a list. I write down EVERYTHING that needs attention ------the big stuff -- like "till up the garden spots" and the small like "change out curtains in bedroom #2". Some of the items are strickly his, some are just mine and then there are the "it takes two" projects. When an item is finished, we mark it off the list with great flourish and satisfaction. I LOVE IT!!

As you all know, one small thing always leads to another and that leads to another and so one......before you know it......you are deep, deep, deep into something crazy ......like remodeling or taking out a wall or putting down new flooring. SOOOOO - we have to be very careful to stay with the list. Do Not Wander Off the LIST!!!!

Well, Too Late ------ I'm waaaaay off the list. With no intentions of coming back any time soon.

I've re-done all the shelves in my laundry room. (THAT was on the list) I put down some red gingham fabric as the shelf liners. Uh, NOT on the list. Well, that looked so cute!!!! and country !!! and what's more country than screen doors?????I ask you??? And I just happened to have a couple of extra screen doors in my "stash" in the barn. Oh, you probably know the rest of this story. --------------pictures to follow soon!!! Gonna be cute!

Gwynie Pie

Me and My Peeps !!!!

GOOD MONDAY MORNING !!!!! I went to Walmart this weekend and found the Easter aisle, which usually, I'd have passed by. However, as I glanced down the aisle I saw very, very bright spots of violent spring color and had to go investigate.

Well -- the Peeps were out in force --- and in the most spectacular colors ever. I bought some Peeps chicks and bunnies(in pink) to use on top of cupcakes I'll be making for the ladies group that is coming for coffee and a visit on April 2. I have a whole "pink" Spring theme going on for that event that I think will be very cute.

But, there were also Peeps in the traditional bright yellow, a brilliant orange and also in a couple other colors. So fun! I always have to have Peeps at Easter. I'll have the one in my hot chocolate this morning. And maybe one more. Then I'm done with them. I don't love them. It's just my own personal tradition, I guess....

Anyway, much to do this week getting ready for the ladies group. Really the house is in need of a lot of just sprucing up for Spring and the ladies group coming is just the push I need to get me motivated and up and moving.

So, from me and my Peeps -- have a great Monday!!!!

Gwynie Pie

Check out THIS website

Hey! My Saturday has been busy and productive! Hope yours has been great too! William and I worked several hours today getting the clothesline poles in place and pouring the cement around the bases. Then William officiated at a wedding, which was quite beautiful, came home and got quite a bit of one garden spot tilled.

I spent some time continuing to "fluff" the house a bit. In checking out my favorite blogs today, I came across one that is just great!! And I have to share this with you all.

The name of the website is Little Window Shoppe. She is a young mom and business woman. She designs websites for businesses. When you go to her main site, you can access her blog, a craft section and a recipe section and several other areas.

I saw her recipe for Hawaiian Haystacks -- I'm trying it this week!, and then started exploring the rest of her site. There are wonderful crafts to do with kids, great recipes that were all new to me and her daily blog was just fun to read. Hope you like it as much as I do.

http://www.littlewindowshoppe.com/ Well, the address came out pale pink, but I tried it out....it will connect you. Gwynie Pie

SPRING FLUFFING

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!!!! Seems a "trend" is emerging -- instead of Spring cleaning, I'm hearing a lot about Spring Fluffing!!! I like it! Same concept, but with a twist, I guess......Fluffing, I can get into that!! Since I am about to do some serious Spring Fluffing, I thought I'd show you some "befores". I have 2 weeks until a ladies group from out of town will be having dessert and coffee with me, so I've got to get fluffing....and fast!! The above picture is in our bedroom. And that lovely armoire was a freebie!!! Can you believe it??? The mother-in-law of my daughter's sister-in-law --- (keep up!)--- was sending it, along with literally a truck load of other delightful items, to the Salvation Army store and we found out about it and .... well, we did an intervention. NO...we didn't hijack the Sally truck. Might have. But, it didn't come to that. I've always wanted an armoire.......

Master bedroom -- the ancient German farm table was made for my great-grandparents as a wedding present, by a man who helped them on their farm. It was made in 1898 !!!! I adore this table! It's been everywhere -- in every room of the house and on the back porch as well.

Another shot of the farm table with perfumes and jewelry and other treasures.

Sitting area of the bedroom -- cute little aqua, wicker chair was my mother's when she was little. And the double screen doors came off the old Mereta general store that my grandparents ran for-ev-er!!!

This bookcase is really two bookcases that William put together. They are hiding a perfectly useless window. Much better use of the space, I think. The bookcases were built many years ago by my Daddy and I remember them being used as a room divider between the kitchen and living room.

Top of fridge--------nothing noteworthy here. Except, I think the lamp is totally sweet. I got it years ago at Target, of all places, and I've never seen a lamp like it since -- at Target or elsewhere.

In the living room -- I've had these old picture frames on this wall for a long time now. And I really ought to shake things up and move them -- but I just love the look! It is somehow soothing to me.......don't know what that says......nothing deeply psychological, I'm pretty sure........hmmmm??? ------ a bunch of old, empty picture frames.....now what could that mean...? The rest is a compilation of old German postcards, one from a cousin who was in a prison camp in Colorado. Also collected turkey feathers, glass door knobs, an old leather calendar, a lacy-edged baby pillowcase and that is a very, very old copy of Alice in Wonderland. Just a bit of my mish-mash!

Also in living room -------------this old window came out of the church of my childhood. The church building was no longer in use, in fact, it was pretty much falling down when I sent William and a child to steal -- uh, I mean, re-locate -- the window to my living room. Seriously, the building was torn down soon after. I consider it a rescue really. That window would have ended up in a landfill ----or worse!! someone else's living room!!!

The corner of the fireplace hearth------------that's a stack of all our family Bibles and various other smaller Bibles -- all tattered and worn. I seriously love this!!!! The top Bible is one that was given to my Daddy before he left for WWII. It has a steel front and is inscribed "The Lord Be With You". That always makes me cry.

I keep the nativity out year 'round. It's pretty old, from our seminary days, and it just "speaks" to me. I found the funeral fan in a box of old, old stuff of my grandparents. It folds up to one-third the size so you can carry it in your purse, I guess. It's very cool -- har har! get it??

Well, that was a partial house tour. Thanks for visiting with me today. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Happy Spring Fluffing to you all --

Gwynie Pie

Flour Sack Dishtowels

I do dearly love a cute dishtowel.....the ones with little barnyard animals or those with little fruit appliques on them. All very cute. Very, very cute! I'm a real sucker for a cutesy dishtowel. In fact, my dishtowel drawer overfloweth! But, for the actual business of drying dishes, give me an old fashioned flour sack dishtowel every time. I love the softness of the fabric. And I love the way they quickly and efficiently soak up water and dry the dishes. But, when they are not hard at work in my kitchen......don't they look super cute sitting here in the red enamelware colander? surrounded by some of my favorite things? Check out those cookies ---- Dana made up a few dozen for her Daddy and me while she was here this week. I can not adequately stress to you just how delicious these cookies are! Don't know what they are called. But she also made the equally delicious granola that she used as the base of the cookie. I kept telling her, with each cookie I consumed, that she really, really needed to enter a contest with this recipe. They are spectacular!!! I so wish I could share a cookie and a cup of coffee with you right now. You'd be so very happy!!!!!!

Back to the dishtowels ----- here is how they look at Target. I found them alongside the plain white chef aprons in the same kind of packaging, hanging on a display. They are super cheap!! A package of 6 costs less than $5.00!!! That's a deal, kids! I got two packages, but pretty sure I need a couple more.

THIS is how we wash dishes at the Rosser house. No, I do not have a dishwasher! I have had dishwashers in my past and honestly, I just ended up griping about having to empty the clean dishes. So when we moved into this house with it's very inefficient apartment-sized dishwasher and its limited kitchen storage, we decided to chunk the dishwasher and opted to use the empty space a little more creatively. William built in some shelves there and it now houses the microwave and the potato and onion bins.

This is how drying dishes look at my house. Usually though, they are not nearly this attractive. There are a ton more dishes than this and they are piled up in a heap. I wanted this to look spiffy for the blog, ya know.

Well, that's it, folks! Just thought you should know...... Happy washing and drying.....

Gwynie Pie

Feed On The Word

I love, love, love these dishes!! My kids gave them to me this past weekend for my birthday. I have long admired the entire set of this very beautiful china. Every piece, and there are many pieces, is an off-white with scripture in black around the edge. Every piece has a different scripture. And there are many scripture "themes" to choose from -- Faith, Prayer, Heritage, Children, Family, Country -- lots more.
There in the background to the side you can see the footed cake stand that was given to me on another occasion. The cake stand has held beautiful cakes and pies year-round as well as floral arrangements in the Fall and big chunky red candles at Christmas. I love it!! The kids also gave me the big fruit/pasta bowl with the fruits of the spirit written around the inside edge. It's filled with apples today but in the future I'm seeing maybe chicken fettucini alfredo or maybe a huge green salad.

Anyway, I love them! Just wanted you to see them. I figure you might love them too. And if you are interested, you can see the entire collection on the web at feedontheword.com.

Spring Break

I realize it is only Wednesday of Spring Break week -- lots of the week yet to come. But, so far, my week has been great!! This past weekend started off with Dana and Lily Kate coming in on Friday afternoon, followed by Colin and Ronnie and then Blake later on that night. I didn't take many pictures. I never do------I'm always having too much fun with everyone to be the photographer. I love having the pictures, but the memories are so much sweeter! I always have good intentions and sure enough, the camera was in the kitchen where I could just grab it up at a moment's notice, but.......I always think of pictures long after the fact, ya know?

I did get a couple.....here is sweet girl flashing her best "cheeeeeeeeese".

And Pops and Lily Kate lounging and visiting in the back yard. We did a lot of lounging. And a lot of visiting!

We (I use the word loosely, since I was not involved) dug up, loaded and brought home the much-desired, much-sought after clothesline poles (thank you friend Lauri for locating them for me!). Now -- to get them set in the ground and painted a nice, crisp white. I will hang up clothes to my little heart's content......

Colin and Ronnie had to leave soon after church and Blake headed back early that evening. They all had to be back at work Monday morning. However, Dana and Lily Kate stayed until noon today and we have had such a great time with them, just being....not doing a whole lot, just enjoying.

A first of sorts also occurred Monday night. Dana, Lily Kate and I all went to visit my mother, GG, in the afternoon and were still there when Pops got off work, so we decided to go to Double Dave's, one of Dana's fav eating places in San Angelo. We asked my mother to go with us. And what do you know???? She did!!! I know that isn't an earthshaking event in anyone else's world, but in ours.....well, it made the blog!! (Man, I wish I'd had that camera!) My mother isn't a very spontaneous person. She likes to plan things well in advance. So for her to say "yes" was a great thing. Very note-worthy. It meant a lot to me. We all had fun eating pizza, playing air hockey and visiting.

Tomorrow, we will all be back to our usual activities. We so enjoyed the first half of Spring Break. And can't wait to see what fun the last half of the week brings. Hope your Spring Break is FUN!

Gwynie Pie

BUCKSHOT! --- yumm-o

THIS is Lily Kate -- she's blissed-out while eating what she called "da goodest chokit in da ho woold"! And this girl knows her chokit!! THIS is Buckshot! an almost full box of these delicious and chocolaty little candies. William gave me this beautiful box of candies during my birthday week. It was quite pretty in a bright red, sparkly box with a cream-colored bow. The buckshot, as you may can tell, are very pretty as well.
If you haven't been to Sugar Daddy Desserts yet and if you even remotely enjoy chocolate, give yourself a treat and stop in for a real delight. The owner and chocolatier is James Crowder. The address is 2411 College Hills Blvd, across the street from Ichiban's. The website is sugardaddydesserts.com.


Each buckshot is the perfect size to pop in your mouth and let it melt...yum!....unless you are a two year old chocolate lover. Then it may take you four blissful bites to consume.

Stop in and tell them a two year old sent you.........

Grand weekend in Granbury

William took off Friday from work and we headed out to see our Granbury kids. Dana was at their church in Fort Worth that day, prepping for the next day's beignet frying, and Lily Kate was napping in her classroom at the childcare center when we arrived. We sat out in the hall and visited until we heard the classroom stirring awake and then surprised her appearing there outside the door....what a priceless look of happiness on her face as she came running across the room to jump in our arms! She just adores us and of course, we adore her. But, what a great feeling to just be loved so much -- just because.

Lunch was at Yucatan Taco Stand on Magnolia. Dana had discovered this eatery recently and loved it and I was very excited to give it a try. We ordered the nachos and an order of yucca fries with garlic aioli. I also had a chicken taco, which was outstanding but it paled next to the nachos and fries. The nachos were IN Cred Ible!!!! WOW! I wish I could fully and adequately describe them, but know I won't do them justice. The chips were light and crisp and everything was layered up to a height of almost a foot tall!! There were layers of meats, cheeses, finely shredded lettuce, tomatoes and a fantastic light garlicly sauce over and under and around and through it all. Topped off with a huge scoop of sour cream and THE best guacamole ever. There is a spicy red pepper sauce on the table that is really good splashed on it all. The fries were --- well....perfect! I'd never eaten yucca before but holey moley.....can't wait til I get to eat that again. I am hooked! Oh, oh ---- how good is it???? It is soooo good that William Rosser (a confirmed non-foodie person) talked about them and "re-lived" them on Sunday -- 2 days later!!! That tells ya somethin !!!!

SO - if you are in Fort Worth and looking for a great, fun place to eat.....try The Yucatan Taco Stand on Magnolia. It's in the hospital district -- pretty easy to find.

The rest of the trip was fun. We had beedos (burritos)for breakfast, played kitchen and played dollhouse and read some books and took a nap and after Dana got home from the beignet frying (for a VBS fundraiser), we all went to have a late lunch at Babe's before we had to leave for home. Now -- if you've never eaten at Babe's in Granbury -- you MUST! Very relaxed. Very basic, delicious home-cooking. Very crowded. (go early and go late, just not at usual meal times). They have basic entrees to choose from -- fried or roasted chicken, chicken fried steak, chicken strips, pot roast or meat loaf -- then they serve the mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cream corn, salad and biscuits, family style in big bowls on the table. It is all delish! Fun place to eat!

We had a D-lightful!! time visiting with Dana, Blake and Lily Kate. We always have a good time with them whether we sit around all weekend or get up and go do stuff.....it's just good to be together! You need directions to the aforementioned eaterys, let me know.........

It's My Birthday!!!

Goodness, I can sure relate to that old line that goes "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself!" HA! It is amazing for me to realize I am 57 years old today! Just a couple months ago I was 40. Time just moves on -- waaaaay too fast!

I've had a few phone calls and some Facebook birthday good wishes. That's been fun. Birthdays are funny things for me....I don't know if it's just me or if everyone is this way. I just remember very, very few of my birthdays. I know they come and go but very few have been noteworthy.

My parents never made a really huge deal of birthdays. They were always acknowledged with a special meal and a gift when I was younger. Then after I married, the gift turned into money. Great with me! Money is always the right color and always fits!! And every single birthday that I lived at home, my parents would come into my room to wake me up singing "Happy Birthday!" Even after I got marrried, my parents would always call, usually early in the morning, and sing to me over the phone . Never did they miss or forget, not once.

That is why I so vividly remember my 50th birthday. Six months earlier, my Daddy died in a car accident. So on that morning of my 50th birthday, my mom called to say "Happy Birthday", but there was no singing and there hasn't been any singing since. Until-------------last night!

The phone rang, it was Dana . She and Lily Kate were driving home from Fort Worth. Lily Kate wanted to talk and as soon as she got the phone she said "Happy Birthday, Pie". Soooo sweet! My heart just melts when she calls me "Pie". She chatted a bit and then gave the phone back to her mom. Dana explained that Lily wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" to me, but was saving it for my actual birth day. As Dana and I continued to talk, I could hear Lily Kate singing it out in the background.....just tuning up for today! So, later tonight, when they get home, I'm looking forward to that sweet little voice singing "Happy Birthday" to me!!

God is so good! He gives and He takes away....blessed be the name of the LORD. My life has been blessed beyond measure. Never did I, in my wildest dreams, ever imagine a life so sweet as the one I am living. I'm thankful for my 57 years -- every wrinkle and every gray hair that living has brought me. It is my prayer that I live another many, many decades and get to see what else the LORD will do in my life and in the lives of those I love. It just gets sweeter and sweeter!

Living out Loud!!!

Gwynie Pie

WHAT AN ADVENTURE

After church this morning, William and I quickly changed into work clothes, then ran through the drive-thru at Whataburger for a #1 combo. Colin had a prescribed burn scheduled for Saturday, but the wind was pretty ferocious and he wanted to get it done, so he rescheduled it for Sunday, when winds were much calmer. William and I were very excited to get the opportunity to help out a little and also, just to see the burn process ---It was lots of fun, from our perspective. We enjoyed watching, and hearing on the two-ways, Colin and Ronnie work.

The burn was for 126 acres located kind of in the middle of nowhere. Actually it was between Menard and Christoval, closer to Fort McKavett than any other city. The burn went well and by about 6:30, we were in the car and heading back to the house.

We headed back toward Menard, planning to go through Eden and then home through Vick and Eola. Only I saw this highway that turned off to the North, just a few miles after we left the burn sight. We got out the map, didn't see the highway on there, but hey.....it looked like a fine, wide ranch road. HA!! It was a ranch road all right......if only we'd known!

Almost immediately, we were impressed by the many, many deer that were frolicking back and forth across the road. Not in a hurry, really, they seemed to have a real sense of ownership of that road. We were throwing on the brakes every few yards in order to miss deer. THEN....the pavement ended!! And at first, the caliche road was nice and wide. Yes, we did consider turning around and backtracking and going back to Plan A, but we would have to negotiate all those crazy deer again and decided to just keep on going. "It can't be a very long road, can it?" "We'll just pop out on a highway in a little while." Uhhhhh......No!

We did not "pop out on a highway" for another 40-50!!! miles!!! And obviously, yes it was a "very long road" .... very long!! AND in addition to the deer that were still threatening, now we were plagued by raccoons running across the road....big raccoons!! It really was funny and I got the giggles a few times. William was tired and hungry by this time and not nearly as amused as I was.

Anyway, the road just kept getting narrower and narrower and bumpy-er and lumpy-er and soon ALL signs of civilization disappeared. It was getting darker now and there was not even a guardlight out in the pastures. All I could figure, is that apparently, electricity has not made its way out into these areas yet...... It was soooo dark! We drove for miles and miles with just fences on both sides, no ranch gates even....just miles and miles of fence. AND the wildlife!

Finally, finally.....we did "pop out onto a highway" We came out onto a divided four-lane highway. But we could not determine where in the world we were. Nothing looked familiar. There was obviously a city off to one side that we hoped was San Angelo, but nothing indicated that for sure. So, we just kept on driving until we found something that looked right and finally made our way to our house. Whew! What a trip!

We figured up that our shortcut saved us......are you ready for this??? Four miles!!! Four! Instead of the 70 miles we would have driven going all the way into Menard and home, we took the crazy ranch road "shortcut" and drove 66 miles. AND it took about 20 minutes longer as well!

Oh well! We did something today we had never done before -- helped Colin and Ronnie with a burn. And we went somewhere we had never been before -- wish I knew for sure where that was.....hmmmmm.... It was all fun! It was all good! It was all an adventure!