So Long Ordinary

We had an excellent weekend. Most of our time was spent here at home, doing all manner of things around the house - peeling wallpaper off the bathroom walls (ugh.), finishing our garden fence, preparing the garden for planting, shopping for and planting some seedlings (yay!), planting a couple of crabapple trees (love 'em!), cleaning house, having friends over for a meal (awesome fun, we're so glad they're here), putting out the hummingbird feeder (they're already coming around), getting our new boots and hats (see post below)....you get the point. It was a really full, really great weekend. On Monday we went on a little drive up to Clear Creek Falls. It was a beautiful, slightly wet, cool day. I LOVE being in the mountains. We stopped for lots of pictures, of course, and had lunch in Creede. (Creede is one of my favorite places to visit. It's a tiny old silver mining town in the mountains. I remember going there as a kid, and for as long as I can remember I'

With all the sand and mud right outside our door these days...and all the time spent playing in it, we decided it was time to invest in some good outdoor boots. Somehow, flip-flops and crocs were not doing the job. Red ants were making mincemeat out of our toes (as well as climbing up our pants to bite us in places an ant ought not be) and even if we took our shoes off at the door we were still tracking in loads of dirt just from our bare feet . After a trip to Big R (local cowboy store), we are all now more properly outfitted for the country! The hats have been quite useful too - against the sun and the gnats that like to eat our scalps. (Yes, even I got a hat and some boots...and I LOVE them! It's quite nice to be able to step anywhere without getting muck stuck between my toes.... I've never been a fan of real shoes, but I'm starting to appreciate being able to walk.)

Oh, this girl is getting too big. I don't think I like it. She's a regular farm girl, as you can see. She hopped right up on that mule at Grandpa Ron's house the other day without thinking twice. She's not afraid of anything! How can she love princesses and dancing and singing so much but still love getting dirty and doing "boy" stuff? She's social too - she feels no shame to holler an invitation to come play across a couple of acres at the neighbor girl that she is now best buddies with (after meeting once). I see so much of myself in her, but her outgoing personality is all from her Daddy! Yesterday was Brooklyn's last day of preschool. She "graduated" in a simple ceremony in the morning and feels quite proud of herself as a big Kindergartner now! As we move on to the next stage of life for her, I find myself tearing up, realizing she's no baby anymore. The evidence is in the jeans that now fall way too high above her ankles. But

I had a really long post all written up. And then I re-read it and not even I could decipher what I was trying to say. So I started over. And because I'm still waiting on fried brain cells to regenerate after this last semester of college, I'll try to keep this short and sweet. Life still feels incredibly busy. I just can't figure out how to have a nice, well-ordered day. Chalk it up to three needy, but beautiful little girls that are keeping me running around in circles all day long. I can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that I have no more schoolwork to do. I still feel like I need to stay up late to work on something . Then I realize I have NOTHING to do (school-wise anyway) and I skip along merrily to bed at ten. I love this weather!!! I love it. The change in seasons is such an unexpected treat after a few years of living in pretty much the same climate year round. This morning I breathed in deeply on my walk and just about wept at the beauty of God's

Hallelujah, it is finished! I just sent off my last paper. I don't believe it. I'm actually done. Is it real? Somebody pinch me! Now off to bed I go to sleep.....forever and ever and ever Hallelujah....

I happen to have a brief moment here.... I'm nearing the finish line. I've completely finished three of my five classes. I will finish a fourth today and then will take a few days to complete the assignments for the last class (which includes a 10-page paper that I feel pretty nervous about). So far my grades are pretty good. Not perfect by any means but considering my situation..... I'm really beginning to feel the effects of no sleep. Thankfully, Paige continues to sleep through the night. I usually stay up until around 12:30 a.m. working on homework and maybe catching a quick shower before bed....and, every once in a while, it might happen that I find a friend in some other country where it isn't too late to chat. But only sometimes . C'mon, a girl needs a little break now and then! Yeah, I'm on Facebook now. I resisted it for a long time...until I realized that it would allow me to connect with friends all over the globe. It's been pretty cool, th

Hello! Oh my goodness, I am just so tired. I'm plugging away at schoolwork. Finished one class (12-page paper, blech) and am working on finishing another class by Wednesday (five tests, double blech). Then just three more classes to complete - 3 more tests, 2 essay assignments, one 10-page paper...all in the next week and a half. Anyway, things are moving along. It's gonna get done! I'll probably look like a zombie at the end of two weeks, but it will get done. And then I shall sleep for a week. Don't I wish. In the midst of all this work, not to mention the stress of trying to keep the floor free and clear of Cheerios and numerous failed attempts at potty training, I realized I'd kind of lost my sense of humor. Okay, I'd lost all sense of humor and, boy howdy, was I in need of a good laugh. Then, I came across this little video. I'm still chuckling. Laughter really is good medicine!