And then we.....

Yes, not only did we practice shooting while Sydney and Jackson were here.....Jackson also put up the volleyball net and let the competition begin.

Well it wasn't long before the volleyball game descended into a soccer match.   

Unfortunately for Sydney, Jackson is very adept with a soccer ball and he took command of it immediately.    It was so much fun to listen to their giggles and taunts as they ran around the yard, all the while chasing the ball between Jackson's feet.

Can't you see the delight on Jackson's face as he keeps the ball away from Sydney?   He is a bundle of energy that never seems to quit.   And he's a darned good soccer player for his team back home.

And then he ran away with the ball.....literally...and that was the end of the game.    Much teasing ensued.....and then they were onto other fun "stuff".

All week long we kept talking about doing a nighttime fire in the fire pit.   But with temps in the 90's and high humidity none of us felt much like sitting by a blazing fire just so we could make s'mores.   Ha!   The next best thing is to be in Grammy's air conditioned kitchen and use the vintage stove's broiler to toast marshmallows.   And so we had s'mores after all.....on some of them we used the old standby Hershey's chocolate bar and on others we put Reese's peanut butter cups between the marshmallow and graham crackers.   Yummy!

Before we knew it the week was over and Julie and Cameron were winging their way back from London to Orlando.    We had discussed several ways of getting the kids back home and I just decided that it wouldn't be fair for Julie to spend her birthday alone in the car driving all the way up here to get the kids, less than 12 hours after flying internationally.   Talk about jet lag added onto a long drive!

So, I drove them back to Sanford.   It's very interesting how many times one can stop with two teenagers at Starbuck's while driving down interstate 75 for over 11 hours.   giggle......and yes, we played all the usual car games while trying to make good time on the highway.   By the time we arrived at their house Julie had prepared a wonderful meal and we all enjoyed some quality time together as Julie and Cam told us all about their trip to England.

We had some ice cream cake to celebrate Julie's birthday and then it was time for Sydney and Jackson and I to give Julie her present.

Wow!   Was she ever surprised to get a quilt made by the 3 of us.   AND, it totally matched their newly decorated living room.    Several months ago I offered to make Julie a quilt to use while snuggling on the couch at night with the family and she let me know what colors she would like....should I ever get around to making her another quilt.  I don't think she believed it would happen any time soon.

It was uncanny how much this new quilt matched the living room in their new house.   How about that beautiful dove grey leather couch?   I love it...as a matter of fact I loved it so much I slept on it that night....and Julie even let me use her new quilt to cover up with.    Morning came all too soon and after a wonderful homemade breakfast that Julie put together I was back in the car once again.  With so many animals on the farm it's just not fair to saddle Joel with their care, so, I was anxious to get back home again. 

I'm so grateful Joel and I had this precious time with our constantly growing, two oldest grandkids.  I keep telling them to stop growing!   But they just don't seem to listen.  Ha!  So I figure we had better enjoy every single moment we are blessed to spend with them.   And we do.

Now we just need to get Julie and Cameron up to the farm....I'm working on that!

Deb

Gun Safety Lessons

Grandpa asked the kids if they would like to learn how to shoot and Jackson gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.   Sydney, on the other hand, decided she would rather stay inside and draw.    Until the following day......Grandpa gave both kids an unloaded rifle to hold and they posed for the camera giving me their best "bad boy" look.   We cracked up!

 Joel had bought a new target for the kids to use.....one of those metal things that has posts that you push into the ground and the targets are swinging pendulums that move when struck by a bullet.    Jackson did really well his first time trying to hit the targets.   He did so well that Sydney decided the next day to give it a try as well.

 But first things first.  Joel is extremely careful about gun safety and spent time explaining to both Sydney and Jackson how to safely use the firearms.

 Fifteen paces back, she took aim and fired.    And hit it!  Again and again!

 Ten minutes later she took off her safety googles and exclaimed to both Jackson and Joel, "This is fun!   It should be a sport!"    They both cracked up as they explained to Sydney that not only is shooting a huge sport, but it's also a winter and summer Olympic event!   Needless to say, she had a good time....mainly because she was a very accurate shooter.  

 And speaking of accurate shooters, you should have seen Jackson.   Both the kids were naturals and did really well hitting the targets.

 Next up, the .22 came out.    And once again, Sydney did really well using the scope and hitting the targets.

 Jackson patiently waited his turn.....what a little sharpshooter!

I think both kids will want to go shooting again with Grandpa on their next trip to the farm.  

Learning to be responsible with firearms is very important and gun ownership is an integral part of our national heritage.   We feel it's imperative to pass along a love for the Second Amendment to the next generation so America can remain free and strong in the world.

Proud to be an American,
Debbie

Guess Who Came to Dinner?

And breakfast and lunch?    Our two oldest grandkids, that's who!   Our daughter and her husband attended a wonderful conference in London for 10 days and we were thrilled to share "kid watching" duties (they're too old to call it babysitting!) with their other grandparents.   So after the kids spent a week in the mountains of North Carolina, we met them halfway and brought them here to the farm for the remaining week.

 As soon as we had the kids in our car we whisked them off to Chattanooga to meet up with their Uncle Jeremy.    He picked a Japanese restaurant as a fun place to have our lunch and then it was off to the Chattanooga Aquarium.    We spent a few cool hours escaping the heat and humidity walking thru the fresh water side of the aquarium.....chatting all the way as we all caught up with each other's lives.   Joel and Jeremy hadn't seen the kids since we moved here 2-1/2 years ago!   That's just way too long to go without spending some quality time together.

 We said our good byes to Jeremy and headed up the Plateau to the farm.   And it wasn't long before Sydney and Jackson were playing with the puppies.   Everyday.    Several times everyday.   I'm not sure who enjoyed playing the most.....the kids or the puppies!

 It made my heart swell to peek out of the back screen door and watch the kids carrying the puppies back to their pen as their giggles floated to me thru the air.   I love to see our grands taking advantage of the fresh air and freedom to roam our farm whenever they feel like it.

 Then we got the brilliant idea to watch some movies.....except Joel and Jackson had to rearrange some wires in order to try and make that happen.   They were trying to get things set up so we could use Netflix.    Don't even ask how long they worked on that project!    And we never were able to make it work.  Oh, well, we went back to our little library of movies for movie night.

 It was exhausting for Molly to watch the guys work so hard.....so exhausting, in fact, that she had to take a nap.

 Meanwhile, Sydney continued drawing.....mostly faces this week.   Instead of having her work at the kitchen table I cleared out one of my sewing machines and repurposed the cabinet for her to use as an art space.   She spent hours drawing faces on fabric!   Pretty cool, huh?   She is so talented....and sweet....and......well, you get the picture.

 We decided we might turn some of these into fabric dolls on their next trip up to see us.

 And then the kids and I worked on this project together throughout the week.    I had already made the blocks just before they arrived here.   Because it was going to be Julie's birthday the day they were scheduled to be back home in Florida, we three wanted to have a present for Julie.   So we did a joint project.....a quilt for Julie!  

The kids helped me to arrange the blocks on my design wall before I sewed them together.    Then, I loaded the quilt onto the longarm machine and showed them how to sew thru all 3 layers, creating a quilt.    As a finishing touch, Sydney made a label that I sewed onto the back of the quilt.   Now Julie has a permanent memory of her 45th birthday, complete with a present from her mom and her kids.  

As a finishing touch, Sydney made a label that I sewed onto the back of the quilt.   Now Julie has a permanent memory of her 45th birthday, complete with a present from her mom and her kids.   

It was so sweet to sneak onto the sleeping porch each morning and watch Jackson sleeping soundly.   He seemed to enjoy his own special place tucked into the corner of that room. 

As I came around the corner one morning I cracked up when I saw this......

Yea, that's a lot of shoes, wouldn't you say?   It was great to know the kids were relaxing here and fit right into our routines.   And now we are hoping they can come back up real soon....and bring their mom and dad with them!

Grateful Grandparents,
Deb and Joel

Yes, another Puppy Post

Several of you have asked for updated pics of the puppies...so, here they are.   They are now 11 weeks old and growing like weeds.   Shadow, the black female is much larger than Saber but he is doing his best to catch up to her.   Twice a day when Joel goes down to the chicken coop he let's them out of their 10'X10' pen and they eagerly follow him everywhere.......that is, they follow him after they inspect the barn for any food the cats may have left behind.   Oh, the curiosity of puppies!  Of course we play with them several times a day in between those chicken coop trips.

The puppies follow Joel to the two large gates leading to the coop and then sit patiently while he feeds and waters the chickens.  Well, sometimes they sit patiently.

They do end up playing "Tag, You're It" with one another once they lose sight of Joel.   And the leaves piled up against the fence line make wonderful rustling noises when they run through them.   How much fun is that?

Whenever the puppies are frolicking around the farm, the alpacas walk up to the fence to keep an eye on them.  We're not sure if the alpacas are curious about them or if they are watching to make certain the little dickens stay out of trouble.

Trouble?    Me?    Never!    Shadow is a little bit independent.   Unlike her brother, she prefers to wander off when called.   But just look at that adorable face.

Saber, on the other hand, is more than eager to run right up to us when called, especially when there are treats involved.  Today they had their first lesson on walking with a leash.    Um, not something they were especially pleased about.   But they'll get the hang of it eventually.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you we had another mama hen hatch 3 more baby chicks.   Can you see them under the chicken on the left?  That makes 5 new chicks this summer, although one of the first chicks didn't make it.   This hen struts up and down the chicken yard clucking to her babies, as proud as could be.

Once Joel finally finished taking care of the chickens these little guys decided to greet him at the gate again.

See what I mean?   Saber is more than happy to run to Joel and receive his reward of a treat.   Not Shadow, no way.  Those leaves and twigs on the ground are much too interesting to obey such a simple command as "come".

Alright, so, eventually she did go to Joel and get her treat, too.   Then it was off to another adventure. You can see the alpacas walking behind the pups to watch where they were off to next.

What lucky puppies to have so much free space to roam.   One of their favorite places is up near my studio.   They really like to hide under the studio where it's nice and cool.   We can't always see them but we can hear them nipping at one another and then suddenly they will appear in the sunlight again, one always chasing the other.   I'm so glad we decided to get two pups as they keep one another company and have so much playing together and tumbling over one another.

This is our first experience with "outside" dogs so we feel better knowing they have each other for companionship.   AND, it keeps us from feeling guilty leaving them in their dog run and dog house instead of bringing them inside with us.    Hey, two "inside" dogs is already enough for our little house.

While I was shooting these pics today I noticed some yellow leaves on the ground.   Wouldn't you know that some of the trees are already starting to turn into Fall colors.  

Pretty soon this tree will be totally covered in brilliant red leaves.    Ah, Fall must be just around the corner.  Yippee!

Covered in puppy kisses,
Debbie

What Does it Mean to be "Mean"?

How's that for an intro question?    It's something I have been pondering off and on for a few weeks now.    It seems you see stories about bullying in the news almost weekly.  But those stories mostly involve hormonally supercharged immature teenagers.   But I have found that bullying occurs throughout our lifetime......with one major difference.    As we age, the "meanness" is displayed with more subtlety in adults.

Our son experienced bullying in elementary school....at a lovely Christian school.   Surrounded by caring adults.   In what my husband and I thought was a caring, nurturing environment.   We ended up pulling him out of the school after he suffered from depression that we believe was caused by the bullying.    We should have pulled him out 2 years earlier but thought he  was going through a "phase" and that it would pass.   Ha.   As parents we definitely goofed on that call.  Lesson learned.

And then there are the people as adults who interact in our lives that are just plain ornery.  You know, like the sour faced lady at the grocery store who grumbles about every little thing....the price of food is too high, the cashier is too slow, it's too loud in the store, why are those children crying.....and on and on it goes as she vents her irritation to anyone close enough to listen.   At least she isn't being mean to the person unfortunate enough to be behind her in line at the register.   She's just a sad excuse for a human being.   And, I can ignore her.....nothing she says hurts me.

The folks that cause me to stop and reflect the most, though, are those we first meet and walk away thinking, "Huh, this may be a new friend for me.".   You get your hopes up and think of ways to spend time together to get to know one another better.   You let them into your personal space.   And then as you get to know him or her, you find yourself replaying their words to you over and over in your mind, wondering what exactly did they say that made you feel uncomfortable.....or hurt.....or "on guard".....or even angry.  

Yup.  I'm sure you have all had an experience like that at sometime in your life.   Unfortunately, I've run into someone lately that I had high hopes of becoming a close friend.    It seemed that our paths had crossed for a purpose and I was happy and excited to spend more time with her.   After all, we had so much in common.  Until.    Yeah, those danged words again.   Seemingly innocuous words.   Anyone else hearing them wouldn't give them a second thought.   But those words had a purpose.....they were intended to hurt.....however subtle, the intent is still there if you recognize it.  And a lifetime of experience has taught me how to recognize the intent.

Those words seemed to have the power to cut me deep inside.  And put me on guard.  And made me not want to be with her. There was a purposed "dig" in those words, meant to hurt...meant to elevate her and demean me.  Seriously?   Who needs that kind of garbage in their life?   What I think bothers me the most is that I let those words make me question my value, my worth, my abilities.   And yes, it hurt to have someone be so thoughtless.

So what does it "Mean to be Mean"?  It means always putting yourself before others.   It means using your words to purposely spew ugliness at someone else.  It means you might not have very many friends, because who would want to spend time with someone who isn't kind?  It means being thoughtless or rude or condescending or plain ole snotty.  How un-adult of them.   How un-Christian of them.  How self-serving of them.

I choose kindness.   I choose love.   I choose happiness.  I choose to be positive.  I choose to be hospitable to those who come to visit us.   We all have our weird foibles, those personality traits that try as we might, we will more than likely never change.    And if any of those foibles are hurtful, I hope that I, as well as you, will decide to limit those hurtful exchanges whenever possible.  Because you never know what someone else is going through.   We all have some kind of hardship in our lives.....so be kind to those you meet because the road they travel may well be much more difficult than the one you are on.

We still live (I hope) in a civil society.   And in a civil society there are socially acceptable norms and I believe courtesy and kindness are two attributes that always bear repeating with those whom we come into contact.   Manners count, but so does thoughtfulness, loyalty, and true friendship.

I hope this post gives you pause and makes you think about the power of your words.  Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.   Oh, yeah, and as for the person that I thought was going to be my friend?   All I can say is, no way, Jose`!!!!

Happy Farm Chick,
Debbie
 

Newest Arrivals: The Puppies

Yes, today we brought home the newest members of our farm.   We're pleased to introduce you to the sweetest puppies......Saber and Shadow.  Last weekend Joel and I helped to feed the animals at Craig and Kristi's farm while they were out of town.  It was an interesting experience, to say the least.

Let me see, I believe they have 5 horses, 2 jersey cows...or is it 3?   Two of the biggest hogs I have ever seen.....they are both the size of a VW bug.   They also have 11 alpaca, 1 mule, a turkey and dozens of chickens.   We also fed 1 inside dog and 3 outside dogs including the mama of our puppies.  Oh, and yes, there were 8 puppies, too!  Whew.   And I thought we had a lot of animals to feed.

While we were there, I spent a lot more time with the puppies as I wanted to make certain of our choice before bringing them home to our farm.   You know, you really can't begin to tell the personality of a puppy until it's a little older.    And maybe I jumped too quickly on the "white puppy" bandwagon a few weeks ago when I switched from the black puppy to the white one.

On websites that describe how to choose a puppy they warned over and over again not to pick the one that is too hyper, or the one that is too shy, etc.   Wouldn't you know it, as we observed the puppies over the weekend we noticed that the white one was a little more "active"  shall we say than the black one.   What we are looking for are puppies that can calm down and have a laid back disposition.   After working with the puppies over the weekend I/we changed our mind back to the black one.  And so, today we brought home the tan male puppy Joel is attached to and his sweet black and tan sister for me.

They were a little bit shy about coming out of the pet carrier once we got them home, but soon they were both eating and drinking from their new dog bowls and playing with one another....little tails wagging the whole time.    There's just nothing like adorable puppies, is there?    They give you unconditional love and puppy kisses, all the while their tails are thump thump thumping back and forth.

We've been down to play with them several times already today and now they are tucked in their new dog house on a cozy new dog bed.   Saber is the tan one and Shadow is the black one.  Yes, we have finally decided on names.

They seemed oblivious to the alpacas and our cow, but the alpacas and cow were most certainly watching the puppies from the edge of the fence.

 And the alpacas kept screeching their "alarm" sound whenever they looked over and saw those dastardly puppies frolicking around in the grass.   Heavens, no!    Even Buttercup stood at the fence staring at the newest creatures.   Pretty soon these little puppies will be big grown up guard dogs patrolling our property line and protecting all our animals from coyotes and intruders.

As I looked over into the barn I caught the cats lazily sizing up the puppies.   It seems the puppies have created quite a stir on the farm.   

One thing is for sure, they have already captured our hearts.

In Puppy Love,

Debbie