Catching up

MY THREE KIDS ----

Dana has just fried up some Jalapeno Bacon

and her brothers are giving a "review".

It's bacon ! What could be bad about bacon, I ask you?

I've been "away" for awhile --

It's been 4 months !!!

So much has happened during that time.

Life has been super, super busy.

and...can I just be honest? .....a bit weird too

In those few months a lot has happened at our house ---

* we had a wonderful Christmas on New Year's weekend

* right after Christmas, William became unemployed and

is still applying and interviewing -- no job yet.

* Colin and Ronnie went on a mission trip to

Guatemala

*then they attended a week long class that taught them

how to drill low-cost water wells and their plan is to take

that knowledge to third world countries and teach villages

to drill wells

*Blake ran "The Cowtown" in Ft. Worth this year -- his

first race ever

POPS wrestled by son and Jigs.

I have a fun family!

The guys often "attack" each other.

Just for fun.

NOT Four Christmases style though --

Just craziness.

* Devin has spent hours at Dry Hollow fighting the prickly pear

and mesquite

* Dana is just about a month away from presenting us with

a grandson, William Barret Boles,

named William after both his grandfathers,

and William Barret after a hero of the Alamo,

William Barret Travis.

* my part-time-gone-full-time-job, just went

fuller-time

* my mother has been with us for about a week

and will be living with us for probably another

4 to 6 weeks.

She had an accident last Sunday involving

her house and her car.

Yep. It's pretty ugly.

She, however, was not hurt.

This past weekend, everyone came for Easter.

Sunday night, we girls were all ready for bed---

I looked around the living room and realized that

never, ever !!! had all of us -

my mother,

me,

my daughter,

my daughter-in-law,

my grandaughter

spent the night in the same house.....not ever !

It was quite fun and very sweet.

A 4 generation sleep-over.

* Oh, and I started couponing !!!

What fun!

Where's has that been all my life??? I wanna know.

I'm definitely NOT "extreme".

But I am saving a substantial amount every month.

Truly makes me feel like I'm contributing in a bigger way to the

well-being of our household.

Grand dog Jigs -- having a well-deserved rest. He is the best dog EVER!

So much more has

happened to us over these past few months.

It's pretty overwhelming when we think on it all.

Sooooo - we don't !

But honestly, it just sounds like whining when I say them out loud.

AND -- I am so not whining.......

Along with so much stress and

upheaval in our lives,

has also come

just Pure Joy !!!

I know that many of my prayers,

the very desires of my hearts,

are being aswered.

I truly feel like we are up above all the mess,

just skimming along,

under the protection of the Father.

We have experienced incredible blessings over these months.

Manna on the ground.

Enough for today.

We only have to pick it up,

be grateful for it,

and

trust God for the next day's supply.

POPS and Lily Kate enjoying a cool winter's day

LK trying out her new soccer ball and shin guards.

All in all --

2011 is off to a great start!

Gwynie Pie

Weekend........

A perfectly wonderful Fall weekend!

~~~~~a little firewood gathering~~~~~
with good friends

~~~~~a little coloring time~~~~~
for Lily Kate
and
Wunky Toot

~~~~~a tea party for Jigsy~~~~~
He was soooo excited!

~~~~~
just a most wonderful
Fall
weekend.

Hope your weekend was wonderful as well.

Gwynie Pie

WEEKEND FUN

Having a great time here in Ft. Worth with our kids.

Literally, we have 24 hours here with them

so we have to cram in lots of

visiting,

eating,

playing

into a very short few hours.

We ate ribs at Cousins BBQ for dinner

I intended to take a "before"......

uhhhhh

but we had made happy plates

before I even thought

about a picture

so

how about an "after"?

Not the same huh?

Then we went to the community pool for their subdivision
and had the best time
swimming and playing.

It was somewhere around 105 today
and the water felt great.

Lily Kate is quite the swimmer but
the most fun was going down the big slide.
I was amazed that she is so fearless.
Just 2 months ago, at the beginning
of summer, while taking
swim lessons,
she was NOT going to go off the
lowest diving board !!!
NO! NOT happening!

Now she is climbing the stairs
of this very high water chute
and coming down all by herself.
She looks so tiny.
Then she swims to the side,
climbs out,
does it all over again.

Over and over and over again.
Until................

They weren't very far into "Babe"
when she absolutely crashed.
Just worn out.

What a very, very fun day we have had.

Tomorrow we are visiting a church for early service

and then going to

Blue Mesa Grill for

brunch.

I'm certain I will have more to say about it all.

Hope your weekend is a time to just

breathe,

relax,

reflect

and

laugh.

Gwynie Pie

Dinner's On......

Cool and overcast days like today..........really put me in the mood to cook.

Buttermilk pies. Cranberry cheese bread. A spicy tortilla soup. Or some fluffy fragrant biscuits.

I'm sure inquiring minds want to know-------- yes, she had been freshly bathed and came out of
the bathroom to find someone cooking without her. Couldn't be bothered with putting on clothes first.....

Creating all these delightful delights would be ever so much more fun if only I had my Lily Kate here to help.

Since she was big enough to sit in her high chair, she has been cooking. Her mama loves creating with food. And she
has passed that love on to her daughter. Dana would put the high chair in the middle of their very small kitchen and
she and Lily Kate would fix dinner for Daddy.

When Lily Kate comes to Pops and Pies house, we almost always cook something yummy.

And honestly, she would rather cook than watch Little Einsteins.

Bon Appetite !!!

Gwynie Pie

"Fancy" Chandelier

We needed a "fancy" drippy chandelier to hang in the big backyard tree for Lily Kate's birthday party a couple weekends ago.

Sooooo- I set out to make one. I remembered an old black iron candle-lier that had been put away in the barn. So, I dug that out and
spray painted it Heritage White, a can of paint I already had in my paint stash.

Next, I hot glued 3 strands of crystally Christmas garland. This part was amazingly easy. The only hard part was making sure each "drip" was equal. I bought these garlands at Hobby Lobby 1/2 price, spending a total of $3.00.

Then, I looked at small canning jars, Dollar Tree glasses and teacups to glue on each arm and hold a candle. However, teacups would cost too much. And I couldn't stand to ruin a teacup like that anyway.

My friend Elaine came to the rescue with 5 mis-matched clear punch cups. And my daughter, Dana had 5 sweet old china saucers without any cups. Soooo

the saucers glued upside down onto the arms and the punch cups glued onto the bottom side of the saucers.

I found a box of vanilla scented tealights on sale at Target and voila !!!

Fancy, Drippy, Crystally Birthday Chandelier !!!!

And I love it so much hanging in my living room.

It was a "Fancy" birthday !

A perfect Sunday afternoon.
Mama and Daddy
Uncle Toot
Aunt Ronnie and Uncle Roos
GG
Chris, Charla and Cora
Pops and Pie
And everyone dressed up "fancy".
Pink sparkly cupcakes
Drippy chandeliers hanging from the trees
Jigs even dressed up "fancy" in a pink princess crown and a feather boa
What more could a girl want for a
beautiful and fun 3rd birthday party???

Camp Pops 'n Pie

It's almost time, once again, for Camp Pops 'n Pie !!! We've been talking about what fun we're going to have this year. Last year was great! Lily Kate is our only camper so far. But we're certain there will be more as the years go by. What a fun time we had last year. Pops takes the week off work and we just play the whole time.


Here we are having mani/pedi day.

Lily Kate is a great helper and wanted to rinse the dishes.

She's also a really good cook. She loves to help put the meal together.

Wonder where she gets that ??

Lily Kate and Pops went for a long walk every morning after breakfast while Pie straightened up the house a bit.

Checking out the peach crop. And as the summer went on, WOW! Did she love those peaches!

Stopping off at our neighbor's field to visit with Trouble was a regular stop on their walk.

We got out my old metal doll baby bed and high chair for Lily Kate's baby to sleep and eat.

She needed to try it out first.

Yep, that's pretty comfy.

Every day we went out to the pool to "jump watti". Lily Kate is a little fish and loves being in the water.

Lily Kate and I were eating some potato chips and well....I guess I taught her a bad thing....a very bad thing!

"Hey look! See food!" Mercy, what kind of grandmother am I????

We went in to town one day to visits the Grands and to eat pizza at Double Dave's. Yummmm!

Lily Kate loves my toaster oven and "cooks" all kinds of delicious pink and purple playdough cookies in there.

"Oh man. I'm tired! Somebody take me home so I can get some rest.

Pops and Pie are wearing me out!"

So, that's some of last years pictures from camp. This year camp will be July 8 thru 12. We are already making plans -- lots of swimming,

probably some more neighborhood walks. We'll visit the Grands too. Also, we are going to take a little trip down to Sonora to visit Ronnie and Colin (and Jigs and Chrissy and Ranger). Looking forward to the 2nd Annual Camp Pop 'n Pie. This year maybe we'll get t-shirts made......

Gwynie Pie

"Let's just sit a minute......"

Tuesday was a productive day. A very productive day. About time, I say!!

My days over the past several weeks have been kinda long and kinda tedious. AND kinda depressing.

I just hate being sick and not feeling energetic.

You know how it is. When you want to get some things accomplished. I can even "see" myself accomplishing much....

But the ability is just not there.

And so...I would just try to keep on pushing...keep on trying.

And then fall back into my nest on the loveseat and "regroup" for a while.

Finally -- I just gave in, stopped fighting the feeling and decided to just "go with it".

Just sitting and "going with it" (when "it" = feeling bad) just goes against everything

in me. BUT, I really sensed the LORD urging me to stop, just stop already!

Do you ever get going so fast, accomplishing so much, checking things off the list so well that you just forget to take care of the most important things first?

Boy, I do!

I guess that is evident when I think back over my activities of the past few weeks.

Lily Kate, my little granddaughter, goes full tilt almost all the time. She is a very busy little girl - full of energy. But recently, Lily Kate has started saying, at the most "inappropriate" times "Hey, let's just sit a minute."

I mean, Dana would be picking her up from school and hurrying out to the car on their way to somewhere else and Lily Kate would ask to "just sit a minute" on the bench outside.

Or

We'd be out playing in the backyard and she'd say "Pie! come here! sit a minute!" and

we'd lay back on the outdoor chaises and just rest -- and discuss things....

the sky, birds, ants, airplanes, trees and the God who made them all --

the REALLY important things.

So cute! But, so perceptive.

Lily Kate sees the value in just sitting and listening and

talking and being still.

And isn't that what I hear the LORD say to me sometimes??

"Gwyn! come here! sit a minute!"

I'm ashamed at how many times I've said "But, I've got a list to check off,

things to do, places to be, people to see."

I believe the LORD will let us run. And let us run at our own crazy pace. BUT He will always, always !! rein us back in when we start putting

other things, other interests, other pursuits

in front of Him.

He is jealous for us!

He desires time with us!

He desires to be the author of our plans,

not just our sidekick.

He desires our fellowship with Him.

He wants to spend quality and quantity time with us - not just a "devo".

I'm very convicted about how busy I can get doing the "fun stuff" and forget about the really fun stuff. How DOES that happen anyway???

SOOOOO - yesterday I gave my day, my self to the LORD. I asked Him for His desires for me that day. I told Him what I felt like I needed to do.

And I listened to what He felt like I needed to do

and together we set some goals.

My Tuesday was blessed so profoundly!

so amazingly!

I accomplished so much -- not crazy stuff -- just the things

I actually NEEDED to accomplish

in order to maintain my home (and my sanity).

I would hope and pray this is a lesson learned.

But, experience has shown me -- I'm prone to wander.

The words of this great, old hymn sum it up pretty well and becomes a prayer for my day:

"O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, Lord, Take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above."

(Come Thour Fount of Every Blessing, Robert Robinson, 1758)

Blessings,

Gwynie Pie

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

I Truly LOVE Aprons!!

Aprons are such a blast from the past, aren't they? When Mamaw tied on an apron, she meant business!!! Work was about to commence.......

The lady wearing the apron in this picture is my great-aunt Pernie. Mamaw is the one wearing the stylish hat and holding the pan; that's my mother looking at the camera -- isn't she pretty? And that's me, there in the background, dancing around, oblivious to the fact that I'm dangerously close to showing off my underpants...........

Wearing an apron to fix a meal was THE rule at Mamaw's house. Actually, I didn't know anyone who would dare to work in the kitchen without their apron --- lands sake, y'all!!

If you were female and standing around in Mamaw's kitchen, she was gonna tie an apron on you. So you just might as well go on and get happy about it!

When we sat down to eat, the aprons came off.....there was a row of cup hooks behind the big, swinging kitchen door that led out to the dining room where we hung our aprons. Then we put them on again when the meal was done. Clearing, washing, drying, putting away....all this required an apron!

I must say, when I was a teenager --- rebellious and a bit sassy ----wearing an apron was not one bit appealing! Gloria Steinham, the "ringleader" of the women's lib movement of the 60's, and her buddies thought the apron (along with the bra) was a symbol of female oppression. I was not so "evolved" in my thinking. I didn't really have a "social agenda" as to why I objected to the wearing of the apron.......

All I knew was -----wearing an apron just made me mad(der)! I mean I was already pretty ticked off that the men got to retire to the living room and relax. Mamaw would shoo them off with a "y'all just go sit and rest a while", while I seethed and gritted my teeth. She just seemed so doggone pleased about it, too! What WAS her deal, anyway????

Years later, I realized that for Mamaw, it was all about having a "servant's heart". It was all about using her talents and abilities and the areas the Lord had gifted her, to serve those she loved and those He put in her path. She was such a servant!!!

Mamaw, if she even knew who Gloria was, would have surely just felt sorry for the poor misled girl and would have called her "liberation movement" pure craziness. "Why, goodness! Whatever would I need to be liberated from?"

I always thought Mamaw must be so tired all the time. And I guess I felt a little sorry for her, doing all that planning and gathering and cooking and cleaning up afterwards. How unfair was that??? But you know what??? Today, I do the very same things. And I love it!!! I love all that planning and gathering and cooking and cleaning up afterwards.

William and I just love having people out to the house. We always eat --- ALWAYS!!! And we play games and visit. We catch up on what's happening in each other's lives. We watch football and basketball, maybe even play a little golf out front. We pile in the trucks and go down to the ranch to fish or hunt or chop firewood.

And yeah, it's work! Lots of work!!! And oh yes!!! It is soooo worth it! We do love it so!!! I guess "we get it honest".

Really, when I think of the Proverbs 31 woman, I see Mamaw. I'd love to be more like her. Because she was just being like Jesus. He was her role model. She did for others because she was infused with the love of Christ. That's what propelled her forward everyday, in every task....she just loved the Lord and did what He led her to do!!!

So, back to those aprons ----- Those aprons that once were such a symbol of female oppression.....now are to me a symbol of having a servant's heart. A symbol of doing for others from a pure heart, led by the Lord.

And as the years have passed, I'm the one admiring and scooping up aprons at thrift stores, garage sales and flea markets. And instead of being all bent out of shape about it.....I've actually promoted the wearing of aprons. HA!

(okay, the fact that I can't make my pictures post within this story is making me crazy!!!! Other bloggers reading this --- if you know the solution, help me out, please) On with the story ------

Here's my sweet Lily Kate helping her Pops and Pie make little loaves of delicious pumpkin bread this past Thanksgiving. AND she is wearing the apron (one of many) that my Mamaw made for me when I was her size. ADorAble!!!! Don't ya love it? it's come full circle now........

Love you all --

Gwynie Pie