I enjoyed reading this blog I spent hours reading all of the previous posts.
She is lives not to far from where I grew up. She has a dog, chickens, children, gardens and is a talented crafter.
Her simple posts about life are a delight, I think that is one of the things I enjoy most about reading blogs. I can smile, nod my head, laugh and relate to all of the simple but "important" things in one's life.
And her etsy shop is adorable. Stop by!
Today we had dinner with my in-laws, we brought little Michael home with us. He took a bath and quickly drank a bottle on the couch. He was asleep by 8:30. The summer is making him so tired. He is playing and talking and having a blast.
I found this link and I am going to be checking in periodically… In Their Boots

Our friends 11 year old boy went home from the hospital. PTL. Seriously, last Friday was bad, and less than a week later things are beginning to look better. Please continue to pray for him. The daughter is doing great at camp. They had a break out session today where people were paired up in small groups to buy a few bibles and write notes inside of them and they would all be sent to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. She was touched by the project and decided we should cdo the same when she got home. She loves Ft Lewis even more and really feels this might be where she goes to school. I just saw that the author of Three Cups of Tea is going to be out there in September They have a compost and the plates are compost friendly... I wonder what she will see when she spends two weeks at Hollins. I am excited to hear the stories.

pure trouble with extra sweetness

As he gets older he is developing his own little personality. He is curious and will risk getting in trouble for the experience. His sister said they were making sand burgers. I laughed. we made mud pies, but that was in the 1970's, I guess today they make burgers.

The daughter left for camp yesterday with her cousin. They were pretty excited. Durango is beautiful, she loved seeing all of the cows yesterday. Our weekend was consumed with visiting with our friends at the hospital. Please continue to pray for Nick. He is out of ICU and up playing nintendo yesterday. We are hoping the infectious disease doctor will provide more insight today.
My garden in the yard is pretty much a disaster. The dogs trampled down the fence we put up and have been digging. So, I am thankful I did not spend a ton of money on it this year, but disappointed because I really enjoy watching the progress. The community garden is growing fairly well.
We picked out a traditional Korean gown for one of the poses for her senior pictures. We are pretty pleased. We have the first settings next week and then we will have another in early fall.
It is hard to believe it is almost the 4th of July. No plans. But that is ok too. Hope your week is going well.

vacation pics

One of the best books so far this year.
Two years ago I read her first book and was hooked. I have been since reading her blog weekly.
He new book Moose, is another great book. I feel in parts of the book she looked at my journal from middle school using it as the story line.
Book link
Her youth is painted in a vivid picture. I highly recommend you will be comsumed.

We made it home.
During the last week we took over 200 pictures, visited and ate! We traveled the length of Texas and smidge of CO and NM.
We passed the Feedlot in Clayton, NM which leaves with split emotions, I love cows and to see so many all together means only one thing.. the slaughter house which I hate.
The highway had many sightings of antelope and the wide open space is majestic in by book. The kids were pretty good considering the time they spent in car seats and driving.
We picked our friends that got back from India last night. They were very excited about the trip and talked non-stop. All of them were jet lagged, but in a day or two we will catch up with them.

travel log

One hundred degree temps, but it is not too bad. I enjoy it! Vacation is going well. There are so many babies it is like a daycare on wheels. Clearly the generations have now been separated. The years when the nieces and nephews change positions to moms and dads and the grands are now the greats. I would say that tension is the best word for the underlining mood of the group. You know the way the air feels when a storm is miles away. You can feel it in the air and see it in the clouds but at the moment there is no evidence on ground.
We went to the Mexican market to walk through the vendors. My daughter wanted to pick up a purse like she found two years ago in Peru. We have this affection for wool and alpaca from South America. We found a great shop with friendly faces and sweet hearts to purchase them from. We picked up a few finger puppets, one of my favorites for the kids. It is hard to complete with a handmade yarn finger puppets and all of the flashy toys, but I chose those. Traveling this week has made me yearn to go back to Azerbaijan. I have been thinking and praying about the work to be done all week. Please continue for the enormous amount of unspoken needs there. We are headed to Ikea tomorrow north of Austin and then back to Colorado on Monday. With all of the graduation talk I cannot help but think of next year and the excitement at our house.

wow -

Stolen Innocence
My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free

wow

I bought this book out of interest and love for the HBO series Big Love.

This book will give you insight into the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). I do not want to judge, but there are some serious issues in my book.

The proceeds of the sale of the book go to young girls looking to the leave the that part of the church.

good travels, good reading...

This book is fantastic... I finished before we even made it to Texas! Her memoir is strong and personal. Her story is real and heartbreaking at the same time.

What's on Ann Hood's nightstand?

beginning

Bags are packed and we are drinking coffee.
The vehicle convoy will be lined up in about an hour.
It is a family affair and a big to-do.
We are carrying rations for a week for a 17 hour drive.
All preparations have been made, anything left unprepared will just be unprepared.
I am sure we will see a fair amount of road kill today, New Mexico and Western Texas fashion and many other bloggable moments. This trip is sure to bring good material. My daughter promises to write a book someday. We have several chapters dedicated to exercises such as these. I have packed 6 books and one bible and told my father in law that I bringing more books than underwear. You can always find extra underwear, but cannot always find a good book.

ciao.

Two more days gone, just like that.
The weekend went by quickly. I had drill and involved about driving almost 6 hours total. My Brigade commander and I had a wonderful conversation, She is very nice and it is nice to have another female in operations/cmd team.
We will busy all summer preparing for the events in August.
We were busy so both days went by pretty quickly.
We leave for vacation tomorrow. Last night I made an evening trip to Walmart to pick up a few things. Amazzing how quickly you can spend 100.00. Kitty litter, dog food, car snacks, cat food, new tooth brush for everyone, etc...
The plan is to not eat out a lot on the drive down (Let's see how that goes) My mother-in-law has 4 jars of kimchi and yakimondu all loaded as well as other Korean requirements, It is going to e a Tex-Mex, Korean hoe down. Posts will come later.
I picked up cheapo sandals for both my husband and I. All of our sandals have dog indentations. I figured we might just try to look like we do not live with he wild and appear somewhat decent. We picked up shoe laces too for my daughter's sneakers as they were munched by the dogs too.
Today I have errands up the wazoo and I need to make sure work is all set for the week. Of course our hotel has internet and I will check in from there. I have coordinated dog care takers and garden takers. I am more concerned I will come back to the garden parched and wilted more than anything. It has been unseasonably cool and rainy, if this continue for a few days I should be all set. We had two radish ready in the garden and by the time I get back others should be ready too.
Our friends are in India - they were missionaries there for years and have been back in the states for six years. We have been getting emails from them via internet cafes. Keep them in your prayers.

humility

We are having the carpets cleaned. I swear he got down on all four's scratched at the carpet and put his nose to it. He also had a black light.
This guy is good.

my question can the momentum last...
People this is not American Idol this is the President of the United States. One of the most influential people in the entire world.

I bought more rice and oatmeal from the food co-op yesterday.
I chatted for a few minutes with the gentleman that runs the deal. Food prices are rising by the day... I guess I should stock up. I guess..


We are preparing for the road trip to San Antonio next trip... road trip.. 16 people, three vehicles.. please pray... I will take our Evening Primrose. It is blistering hot and I do not do well with tank tops or bathing suits. shoot... AND they run the air conditioning 24X7 down there.

The garden is going very well and I hope to post some picks soon. I have two raised beds planted at the house and then I have a bed planted at the community garden. Peppers, greens, squash and cucumbers.